"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, let there be light: and there was light." Genesis 1:2-3.

Oh, the depth of the riches of the origin of all things; and they came to be by Words spoken from on High. Such words were not syllables put together to make sounds, but they were His Spirit and Word together as one coming forth in majestic expression.

Moreover, it was not just the moving of His Spirit as the sound of wind. And it was not His Words alone as roaring thunder. It was His Spirit and Words in Union. Teaming together, they could project the substance into expressive form. The two together, as One, would be called the Voice of God. You see, the creative voice is more than the sound of words, such as what we might hear on a CD. True Voice is spirit carried by sound. Sound void of the spirit can be intellectual, but it lacks the life of the sender, and the spirit without the word is imperceptible. True life and its power comes when both, the word and spirit come together as one. In the truest sense of the Spirit and Word is the most powerful substance to be found.

"For by Him, were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him" Colossians 16. "And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist" Colossians 1:17. "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." John 5:21. "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live." John 5:25.

How in the world can the dead hear anything? It's unheard of! There is nothing in a dead man by which he can hear. His soul is gone, his life vanished, his eardrums are leathery and can relay nothing to lifeless nerve endings that lead to a dead brain.

Ah, but whether one's body is laying dead in the ground, or is spiritually dead in the grave of his heart-pumping body, there is a spirit given to man that can hear and answer when called. When Spirit calls to spirit, spirit responds; such as the previous verse states. And by the way, those penetrating words are not a mere invitation – they are an irresistible mandate.

The scope of the above verses is tremendous. One can surely see that they are not limited to a select few who belong to the right church, the in-crowd, or a religious social club. No, it is not that way at all. The voice of the Son of God will eventually be heard by all. It takes in the whole world. When one hears the Spirit of His Word, the man or woman's theological heavens will tremble a little, or perhaps a lot. Their foundations will crumble upon the sandy seashores that they may have built. And their castles will come crumbling down.

Doctrines are not easily surrendered, especially those which have to do with mankind's eternal destiny. People have been known to call upon numerous verses to safeguard established creeds, and this is regardless of how spurious they might be. Among their heavily armored batteries of defense are the words of Solomon: "If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be." Ecclesiastes 11:3.

King Solomon was credited as being the wisest man of all the ages. It has been noted that his wisdom is surpassed by none, save Jesus, of course. If you recall, it was this king who ordered the baby to be cut in half and divided equally between the two women claiming to be its mother. The dispute was settled when the true mother was willing to give her son to the other so he could live. Solomon possessed wisdom to be envied by anyone of reason, and without hesitation, he or she would normally be quick to echo his wise words -- "in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be." That is: "If a man dies a sinner, he will remain a sinner and suffer the damnation of hellfire throughout eternity." However, it would be best to speak with knowledge, especially after the Spirit of God's purpose for all mankind has been riveted into our understanding.

THE FALLEN TREE

We will not belabor the point that trees in scripture usually refer to people, but will only mention a few places that make this point clear.

Six verses are listed in the 31^st chapter in Ezekiel: 

"Son of man, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude; Whom art thou like in thy greatness?" vrs 2.

"Behold, the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs." vrs 3.

"The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field." vrs 4.

"Therefore his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters when he shot forth." vrs 5.

"All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations." vrs 6.

"Thus was he fair in his greatness, in the length of his branches: for his root was by great waters." vrs 7.

THE CEDARS in the garden of God could not hide him: THE FIR TREES were not like his boughs, and THE CHESTNUT TREES were not like HIS BRANCHES, nor any TREE IN THE GARDEN OF GOD WAS LIKE UNTO HIM IN HIS BEAUTY." vrs 8.

I have made him fair by the multitude of his branches: so that all the TREES of Eden, that were in the garden of god, ENVIED him." vrs 9.

And, "For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and ALL the trees of the field shall clap their hands." Isaiah 55:12.

Once again, we will note Ecclesiastes 11:3, yet with understanding and paraphrased for proper context:  If a man falls toward the south, or toward the north, in the place and direction where he falls, there he shall be.

Knowing that trees are people, one would tend to believe that once a man dies, in whatever state of being he is in, he will remain there "forever." It is not wise, however, to take one or two verses of the Bible and build great cathedrals from them. If we do, they will come down when God sends His thunder against their frail frames.

Although it is agreed by most Bible scholars that the book of Ecclesiastes was written from man's perspective of natural events in the world and their effects upon his life and death, it is not necessary to take that approach to see that a dead tree (man) will not remain forever the way it falls.

We can see some conflict with Ecclesiastes and some other areas of the Bible when we compare scripture with scripture. In this book, the end conclusion was, everything under the sun is vanity. However, in Genesis,"...God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good." Genesis 1:31. In another place it is written, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." Romans 8:28-29. That which man would view as useless, God says it works for good, whether we understand or not.

Nevertheless, whether we take the scholars' position or not, Solomon's heart-wrenching words have been used more to pad church doctrine rather than to further the truth. More sermons than we can count have been preached using Ecclesiastes 11:3 as the cornerstone for persuading people that once a person dies – his or her fate is eternally sealed. Whichever direction he might be headed, whether of life in Christ or damnation without Him, the casting die is set in steel for many, and there is no hope of change – ever. Such has been resounded from pulpits, TVs, and pens alike.

It is not necessary to go into all the tales the carnal mind has imagined. Anyone with a desire to know truth will hear what the Spirit of the Word truly is; and if we want some confirming scriptures to what the ultimate end happens to be for the fallen tree, we can begin with this:

"Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: he flees also as a shadow and continues not. Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with Thee, Thou hast appointed the bounds that he cannot pass." Job 14:1,2,5. And, "If a man dies, shall he live again?" Job 14:14.

From reading Job's lamenting words, we could believe he sang the same song people hear when reading Solomon's odes about a tree remaining where it falls. Let us, however, not stop reading just yet, it was given to Job to follow up on his thought. He went on to say:

"...THERE IS HOPE OF A TREE, IF IT BE CUT DOWN...it will sprout again, and...the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through THE SCENT OF WATER IT WILL BUD, and bring forth boughs like a plant." Job 14:7-9.

In hopeful expectation Job declared from the heavens of revelation the budding promise of the dead tree; but in the depression of his pain, he once again echoed the awful death knell of a man's mortal existence, and seemingly with little hope at all: "But man dies, and wastes away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decays and dries up, So man lies down, and rises not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep" Job 14:10-12.

In Job's overwhelming state, he may have supposed he would never see a better day than reposing eternally in the grave like a dead dog. But being a type of Sons of God, there was something that had pierced the depths of his being, and it gave him hope. He spoke again and said:

"O that you would hide me in the grave, that thou would keep me secret until thy wrath be past, that you would appoint me A SET TIME, and REMEMBER ME! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, TILL MY CHANGE COMES. THOU SHALT CALL, and I will answer Thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands." Job 14:13-15.

At the SCENT OF WATER, a man's life will bud and bring forth boughs like a plant! THOU SHALT CALL, and I WILL ANSWER THEE! "Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall HEAR the voice of the son of god: and they that HEAR shall live!" Life from the dead comes by HEARING the voice of the Son of God, at HEARING the call, at the SCENT of water! Great God Almighty! If you can smell it, it's beginning to rain in your land, and you will live!

"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returns not, but waters the earth, and makes it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I send it." Isaiah 55:10-11.

Who will stand and say that the Word of God is non-effectual? Are there any who will declare that the voice of the Son of God, His rain from the heavens, will not cause everything it touches to live? Surprisingly, there are many, as they surely forget that there are no idle words to ever proceed from the mouth of God. That which He speaks, Spirit-filled Word, forms worlds, casts them down, and rebuilds them in the glory of Himself. Although the vast majority of teachers and preachers of what they call the Gospel, deny this truth, the Gospel, the Good News.

To be reminded, the word Gospel means Good News; but that which is often preached as the gospel is certainly not good news. It does not declare God's victory, but rather, a sad defeat. Their words are not the  Gospel of the Father and Jesus Christ. The Gospel is not that which denies the power of God's Word to save to the utmost, that makes God and Jesus Christ the colossal failures of all time. God sent His Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14), which is Good News; but their "news," is not news and is certainly not Good News. That which they call the Gospel has Jesus as a single drop of rain coming down from heaven. This single drop waters one or two blades of grass in the enormous field of humanity. A couple of lucky blades live and go to heaven when they die, while the rest of the field burns forever under the searing heat of the sun – hellfire and brimstone.

What kind of "Good News" is that? It isn't! Not by any stretch of the imagination! It is a pseudo gospel that speaks of bad news, of which Paul so pointedly wrote:

"I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — which is really no gospel at all. Evidently, some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ." Galatians 1:6-7.

Let us look at the following and see man's feeble theology vanish as the vapor that it is:

"For YE shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off." Isaiah 55:12-13.

Let us notice that the rain and snow comes down from heaven which causes the budding of life (vrs10). The rain is His word proceeding out of the mouth which goes forth accomplishing everything it was sent to do (vrs 11). That Word is then identified as YE (you & me) – and we are going out with joy and peace which cause the mountains (the great kingdoms) and hills (smaller kingdoms) to break forth into singing. In our going we also see the trees of the field (people) clapping their hands! (vrs.12).

And instead of the piercing thorns of adversity, shall come up the fir tree, symbolizing everlasting worship to God; and instead of the vexing brier of the desolate wilderness shall come up the myrtle tree – the dwelling of God; and it, the myrtle tree, shall be to the Lord for a name, for He shall be living therein. This tree shall be an everlasting sign that I live in them and they shall not be cut off.

Water is the essence of life, and whether natural water or that of the Spirit, they both contain two elements. With the natural, the elements are gases, hydrogen and oxygen. Joined together, they form a new creation, water. I remember our dear friend, J. Preston Eby, bringing this to light many years ago, and the truth remains, of which we are ever so thankful.

In the realm of the heavens, the Spirit and the Word are the two elements coming together that make up a new creation called RAIN. It is the pure essence of God, the Water of Life!Before the joining of the Word and the Spirit, there was neither natural nor spiritual life. Prior to the Voice of the Son of God being heard upon the earth, the earth of humanity was void, and darkness was upon the face of their understanding. Mankind was swallowed up in death. The Light of Life was absent until the Son came and His voice was heard.

Men have heard one portion or the other of that voice for untold ages, but not in its entirety. They heard Moses and the prophets, yet something was always lacking; and today they hear sermons coming in like a flood – but still, there is a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord. (Amos 8:11). You see, spiritually speaking, due to the debris and impurities of religious flood waters, we should not drink such carnal minded mixtures. Although many words from the Bible come forth in sermons and lessons, there is still a famine of hearing the Word of the Lord, and they are very precious these days; for there is no open vision.  (1 Samuel 3:1).

The average person believes the Bible is the Word of God, and it certainly was when it was spoken. There are no scriptures, however, stating that the Bible is the Word of God. It is a record of the Word, but it is not the Word. It is an inscription of the Voice of God, but it is not His Voice.

When the Word first came from the heavens to form the earth, it was alive and vibrant with the Spirit. It mattered not that there was no human present to hear it, planets, stars and galaxies were still framed by the Word that God spoke.

The writers of the scriptures heard the Word, and what they heard they wrote. In a figure, they took their ink-tipped quills and inscribed the Living Word upon the parchment of earth. The Word was sealed, as it were, inside tombs called scrolls. The Word first descended from the heavens like bolts of lightning into the hearts of the prophets, burning deep into their bones, but like another Word that the scriptures pointed to (Jesus), they were taken and buried in the graves of the scrolls. That word was written in the book we now call the Bible. That which was Life died as it passed through hollow quills. It was buried and without the Spirit, it became the letter that kills

Each word written upon the pages of the sixty-six books became the epitaph of the Truth contained therein. Each word is an inscription carved upon the gravestone of the Word of Life. Each word is a testimony of Life ready to be possessed by all. When men read the Bible, in effect, they read the epitaph of the One who came down from the heavens, of the One who shall come forth in due season in every man, of the One who shall come with the glory He had with the Father before the world was. The words written upon that tombstone testify of the One who has Life, but they are not that Life in themselves (rf. John 5:39-40).

Words upon tombstones can be interesting reading, but obviously, there is no life in a tombstone or the grave underneath it. But when the revelation dawns of the One who was once buried in the grave of those pages – what Life! The gravestones of our carnal minds are rolled away, we see Him, not in the empty tomb, but standing forever in the garden of our hearts as we Live! Praise God –  we Live! He calls our name, and we Live! Yes, dear Saints, we hear the Voice of the Son of God –  AND WE LIVE!

When both, the Word and the anointing of the Spirit come together, there is a brand new creation that comes forth! There is rain, there is water, there is life! At the scent of Water, the fallen tree lives again. It buds and brings forth boughs like a plant! When the voice of the Son of God is heard, when the Spirit and the Word are joined in heaven's celestial concert – WE LIVE!

We can rivet our minds to the scriptures with blurry-eyed fervor; we can stuff ourselves with the Greek and Hebrew; we can go to revivals and Kingdom conferences until we are bursting with knowledge; but until the two essential ingredients of the Spirit and the Word become One, and we hear the Voice of the Son of God, we will remain dead as a fallen tree, lifeless as the letter buried in the Dead Sea scrolls. But don't despair, dear ones, even if your tree is laying dead, in ruin and desolation – there is a season for every dry soul to be rained upon, for every ear to hear the Voice of the Son of God, and THEY WHO HEAR SHALL LIVE!

THE VOICE HEARD

Let us regress in time and see when the Voice of the Son of God was initially heard, and ask, was it perhaps when baby Jesus uttered His first words? It would stand to reason that this might be the case, especially since the messenger Gabriel told Mary that the holy thing that would be born of her "shall be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:35). But does the "shall" refer to the time of His birth or to when God called Him His Son. From Mark's text it was the latter when He was baptized in the Jordan River. His record of the Good News begins there: "The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And straightway coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Mark 1:1,10-11.

The Psalmist also spoke of Him being called a Son, and this was in reference to His resurrection from among the dead. It was from the Psalm that Paul and the author of Hebrews drew:

"God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee." Acts 13:33.

"For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?" Hebrews 1:5.

We may wonder why Jesus was never called the Son of God until after He had become 30 years old and stood up in the Jordan river of death, or was bodily resurrected out of the grave, especially since Jesus Himself, at the age of twelve years, said, "I must be about My Father" Luke 2:49. The answer is simple: The word for SON in these verses is UIOS. This Greek word speaks more than just being the offspring (teknon) of the father. It refers to a male child whom the father is training to be a responsible "SON," but especially once as he reaches the stage of full maturity as a result of the training. At this time, the father turns his business over to the son, along with all his power and authority. The father then says, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. He is a full-grown man of proven character. He is mature – HEAR YE HIM!" From that day on, when the Son speaks, HIS VOICE IS HEARD, for it carries the same Spirit, Nature, and Authority of His Father who taught Him.

A man of maturity in any sense of the matter is an overcomer, and what this Man (Jesus) overcame was the last enemy – death itself! Paul wrote that He was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Romans 1:4. And do we not know that this river typifies not only the death of the cross; but also His death of being separated from the glory He had with His Father before the world was? This being the case, it is not difficult to see why, as He rose victoriously from that symbolic grave of death, the Jordan River, He heard the Voice of His Father, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matthew 3:17.

For 30 years He was tried and proven faithful in the earthen tomb of the first Adam. He was tempted in all points of humanity and without the corruption of sin. In maturity, He was raised from the river, out of the symbolic grave of humanity. The promise of Psalm 16:10 was fulfilled in part that day: "For you will not leave my soul in hell; neither will you suffer your Holy One to see corruption."

Jesus was as much in hell during the first three days of His life as His last three. His first three spanned 30 years in the world, and His last three were 72 hours in the tomb. He was in "hell" both times according to the definition of HADES that the word HELL is translated from. HADES simply means an unseen, imperceptible, hidden realm. While He lay in the grave, he was unseen, imperceptible. He was hidden from view; and He was just as unseen, imperceptible, and hidden from view before He was raised from the waters of the Jordan. His adamic form may have been looked upon, men supposing he was the son of Joseph, but the Son of God was not seen, nor was His Voice heard.

He left the glory He had with His Father when He was born of Mary in the bestial world of a stable, was wrapped in the swaddling clothes of death, and laid as manna in a manger, the feed trough of humanity. Every aspect of His birth spoke of Him being lowered into the realm of humanity's death; but He did not remain there, for His baptism into Jordan and coming straightway up out of the water that signified His victory over that death. It spoke of His death to the world of temptation, sin, and death. The swaddling clothes of the grave failed to keep Him bound, the stable could not hold Him, and Egypt that He fled to had no claim upon Him. He was raised up an overcomer that day, over all things that pertained to the first Adam. This triumphant victory enabled Him to see the opening of the heavens with the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him. And then came His Father's Voice, saying, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Mark 1:10-11. From that day forth the Dove, the Spirit, the Anointing remained upon the Word made flesh.

There are many religious stories, fables if you please, of the miraculous works of Jesus before the day He arose from the river of death, but let us not be fantasized by carnal tales, for it is recorded to the contrary. Shortly after the Dove descended upon Him and His final testing of forty days in the wilderness, He went to a wedding, where He performed His first miracle. He turned water into wine: "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee and manifested forth his glory, and his disciples believed on him." John 2:11.

Why do you suppose He never performed a miracle before this? Probably because He was buried in Adam's grave when the Spirit and the Word had not yet come together. The hydrogen and the oxygen had not combined to form water, the Life-giving Rain from the Heavens. In the same manner, the written word of the Bible has no life to give until the Spirit moves upon it, as it was with the Word called Jesus. Without the commission of the anointing, He had no water of Life to rain upon the world of mankind. He therefore waited patiently for 30 years in the imperceptible grave of His human body; but when that day of rising came, the Spirit of God rested upon Him, and He came forth – ALIVE – the manifested Son of God! The Son of God was finally seen and His Voice, the Voice of His Father, was heard.

There can be no Voice without the anointing of the Spirit. In the beginning, there was a principle of life, and it remains unchanged to this today. The Spirit moving alone over the face of the deep brings no light or vision, and the Word void of the Spirit has no expression of life; but when the two come together, when the SPIRIT MOVES upon the face of the waters, and GOD'S VOICE SAYS – LIGHT – there will be LIGHT! The dark sea of human understanding becomes illuminated with the brightness of the SUN/SON. No longer does the mist of man's clouded logic prevail; but rather, the glory of Christ, the Son of God, is seen and heard bringing Life to all who rest in the rays of His Life.

In relation to our study, let us notice briefly the word, voice. It comes from the Greek word φωνή and is an audible sound made by living creatures. It carries the thought of a disclosing tone that lightens, causes to shine, or makes manifest, especially by illuminating rays. The English word for φωνή is phone. It denotes the cry of an animal or the song of a bird. The main use in the Greek, however, is for human speech. Phone is both the "spirit" and the "sound " as one. Phone is often spoken of as the Voice of deity. God reveals Himself by the Voice of the Son of God.

Socrates appeals to the divine Voice as a force with direction. It is not haphazard or ambiguous, but it has the driving force of a well-trained army in battle. It is like an aimed arrow slicing through the air with piercing accuracy. The voice of God is planned and always accomplishes what it is sent to do. (Think on this truth until it slices through the air of your own mind and finds its mark deep into your heart with piercing revelation.)

THE VOICE OF WHIPS AND SNAKES

The Greeks also used PHONE in reference to the roar of the sea, the splatter of rain, the lashing of whips, the flutter of wings, the crackling of fire, the grinding of millstones, the hissing of snakes, and of course, the sound of the human voice. In essence, PHONE relates to the CHARACTER and NATURE of whatever the SOUND, the VOICE, is coming from. The roar, the voice, of a tornado will send the most ardent brute scurrying for cover, because he knows its terrible nature. A child will hear the warning rattle of a diamondback rattlesnake or the hiss of another viper and will know they are not inviting voices asking to be cuddled and stroked. And it doesn't take a genius, or someone with exceptional discernment, to hear the cooing voice of a dove and know the gentleness of its nature. The voice denotes the nature of a thing, whether of God, thunder, splashing fish, or a person. Simply speaking, the voice is individual and enables us to know the speaker; and praise God, as we hear the voice of the son of God, we know Him, His Father and ours!

We might note that in every case where the term, "This is My beloved Son," is recorded, it always follows something that has to do with "Rising into a  higher realm": Those words of recognition were heard with Jesus rising out of the waters of the Jordan river, indicating His overcoming the world and beginning a walk in a dimension never before traveled. At His transfiguration, His Father spoke the same words. And ultimately, He was declared the Son of God with power and the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from among the dead.

With Jesus being the pattern of our own walk, we can see three distinct steps of standing up in resurrection: His baptism in the Jordan (overcoming death), the mount of Transfiguration (immortality), and the grave (manifestation of overcoming death and glorification). There is a resurrection of our spirit, soul, and body, but none of it comes, except by HEARING THE VOICE OF THE SON OF GOD! 

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