Newsletter #225 - June 1997 - By Shepherds Chapel - http://www.shepherdschapel.com/

The basket of figs has a great deal to do with you in this generation. Throughout the Scriptures Father likens the fig to many things; however, when addressing the end times, He utilizes the fig to allow us to understand the prophecies of the Bible. Let's turn to the Word.

Amos 8:1 Thus hath the Lord GOD shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.

Summer fruit is mature and ripe. It is ready to harvest.

Amos 8:2 And He said, "Amos, what seest thou?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then said the LORD unto me, "The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.

Some of the summer figs at the end time will be ripe for chastisement. Why? Let's skip to verse 11.

Amos 8:11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:

I am certain Father becomes irritated by His children that don't pay attention to Him. He has written a letter to His children. Those that study His letter are equipped with the knowledge to deal with the events of the end time. The cause of chastisement is a lack of hearing the words of the Lord. Who is at fault? Let's turn to Jeremiah.

Jeremiah 23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. 2 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

God's people are hungry. They are looking for a solid foundation in their lives. Chastisement will not be light for those pastors that drive the sheep away.

Jeremiah 23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase. 4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

Under Christ's direction, the people will be fed.

Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Through the seedline of David, Jesus Christ is promised. He will not return at the 2nd advent as a babe. Jesus will execute judgment and justice. Justice for some means rewards.

Jeremiah 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

You don't have to wait to be feed the good pasture. Get into God's Word. Let's go to verse 16. In the next few verses, God tells you how to find a good pastor and what He expects of you seed planers.

Jeremiah 23:16 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, 'Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the LORD.

Out of the mouth of the Lord came the Bible. Beware of prophets, or teachers, that teach their own words.

Jeremiah 23:17 They say still unto them that despise me, 'The LORD hath said, 'Ye shall have peace;' ' and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.'

Remember, God told Jeremiah earlier that Israel would fall into Babylonian captivity. That captivity is a type for you today. Watch out for teachers that teach their own words by telling you that we will have peace.

Jeremiah 23:18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard His word? who hath marked His word, and heard it? 19 Behold, a whirlwind of the LORD is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.

The wicked are the lawless one including the lawless one, the spurious messiah. Those that follow him, especially pastors, are in the same boat.

Jeremiah 23:20 The anger of the LORD shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly. 21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

They anxiously prophecy "Peace. Peace. Peace." Freinds, there will be no peace, until the Prince of Peace returns.

Jeremiah 23:22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

Preachers and seed planters should cause God's children to hear and understand God's words not their own words. It is no wonder people are spiritually starving to death.

Jeremiah 23:23 Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?

I hope you don't think He is afar off. God is always with you. He is not always happy with what you are doing, but He is there. His Word is also always with you.

Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. 25 I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

God is everywhere, and He keeps very good books. I wouldn't want to be in the dreamers shoes on judgment day.

Jeremiah 23:26 How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; 27 Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.

God will not be happy with those who have forgotten His name. He will not be happy with those that forget His Son's name by worshiping the antichrist.

Jeremiah 23:28 The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith the LORD. 29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

You had better have the Rock that doesn't break, when the Lord's hammer strikes. Fake rocks won't hold up.

Jeremiah 23:30 Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that steal My words every one from his neighbour.

The people don't have God's Word because the preachers are teaching what the neighbors wrote in a quarterly.

Jeremiah 23:31 Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the LORD, that use their tongues, and say, He saith. 32 Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith the LORD, and do tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies, and by their lightness; yet I sent them not, nor commanded them: therefore they shall not profit this people at all, saith the LORD.

Beware of "feel good" pastors. When you leave a church, ask yourself. "What did I learn from God's Word?" If the answer is nothing, you have wasted your time.

Jeremiah 23:33 And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, shall ask thee, saying, 'What is the burden of the LORD?' thou shalt then say unto them, 'What burden?' I will even forsake you, saith the LORD.

Absorb this verse. God does not place burdens on His children. If you want to see your blessings cut off, just blame God for your troubles. Let's skip to 24:1.

Jeremiah 24:1 The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

Here we have the type for the captivity that is yet to come. There are 2 baskets of figs. It is important that you study with a church that teaches both baskets of figs. Why?

Jeremiah 24:2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

This is the foundation of the parable of the fig tree that Jesus told us to learn.

Jeremiah 24:3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. 4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

Those that are taken before the councils to testify with the words of the Holy Spirit will stand against antichrist. These are the good figs that will be acknowledged by Almighty God.

Jeremiah 24:6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

This began in 1948. It is not yet completed to this extent.

Jeremiah 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

The good figs have been given a heart, or mind, to know the truth. They know their God, and He knows them.

Jeremiah 24:8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

The residue are Kenites and others represented by the evil basket of figs. You had better know the difference in these end times. God has given us the intelligence and the Holy Spirit to discern truth from lies. How do you know the difference? If God said it in the Bible, it is truth. If someone else says God said it and it does not allign with His Word, it is a lie. As Christ instructed in Matthew 24 and Mark 13, "learn the parable of the fig tree". The ability to recognize the difference between the good basket and the evil basket of figs will allow you to recognize the difference between the false messiah and the True Messiah.

In His service,
Arnold Murray.