Never heard of "Vine & Fig Tree." I clicked on a link from another page of yours. What's your basic idea?
I've heard this site is a fringe, right-wing, anti-government cult. I'm gathering evidence for a government dossier. The tanks are rolling.
I've heard this site is full of subversive heresy. I'm going to find evidence for myself -- to warn and protect the Church.
The phrase "Vine & Fig Tree" gives me a feeling of peace, wholeness, harmony: shalom.
In the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
On Radio
Our Prayers
And it will come about in the last days
That the mountain of the House of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains
And it will be raised above the hills
And the peoples will stream to it.
And many nations will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
And to the House of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths."
For from Zion will go forth the Law
Even the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation
And never again will they train for war.
And each of them will sit under his
Vine and under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid.
For the LORD of hosts has spoken.
Though all the peoples walk
Each in the name of his god,
As for us, we will walk
In the Name of the LORD our God
forever and ever.
"In that day," says the LORD, "I will assemble the lame,
I will gather the outcast And those whom I have afflicted;
I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation;
So the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on, even forever."
Micah 4:1-7
which are found in the prophecy.
Clicking on any of these archetypes will begin a chain of links which flesh out each theme, showing the "Vine & Fig Tree" vision for life in Christ's Kingdom.
1. The Kingdom: Christ established it at His First Advent.Let us take apart Micah's prophecy theme-by-theme. We will see the overall theme of global-human-Divine Reconciliation emerge.2. Catholicism: He promises that it will spread across the globe, and will be global, or universalistic, including all nations, all peoples, all races.
3. Law: This global spread of Christ's reign will be in terms of obedience to Biblical Law, which is Christ's Standard of Love, Justice, and Holiness.
4. Peace: Biblical Law teaches attitudes of virtue and service; when mature, these qualities beat "swords into plowshares."
5. The Family is the root and center of Kingdom growth -- overthrowing the violence of the State, abstaining from the sycophancy of the Church. Vine & Fig Tree means a return to Biblical Patriarchy -- and then new growth in terms of this family-centered paradigm.
6. Garden-Land: Militaristic industrialism is then replaced with contentment and a harmonious relationship with the land.
7. Community: Christians do not practice "rugged individualism." The "nuclear family" is culturally sub-Biblical. Living in extended-family communities, Christians exercise dominion and resist the pressure of worldly peers spouting the myths of the pre-Christian "principalities and powers."
And it will come about in the last daysThe Old Testament Prophets foretold (and Christ's Apostles confirmed) that the Messiah's Kingdom would be established when the following had taken place:
That the mountain of the House of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains
And it will be raised above the hills
1. Satan is bound and his power to deceive the nations curtailed (Revelation 20:1-3).All of these things have happened. What are we waiting for?
2. The Eternal King is enthroned upon the Throne of David (Psalms 2 and 110).
3. Believers are anointed as priests and kings to reign and rule with the Messiah (Isaiah 61:6; 66:21; Revelation 5:10).
Explore First Archetype: Victory
And it will come about in the last daysThe Gospel ("Good News") is predestined to succeed.
That the mountain of the House of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains
And the peoples will stream to it.
And many nations will come and say,
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
And to the House of the God of Jacob,
World-Wide Reconciliation: The entire planet will be governed by Christian principles.
Postmillennialism or Apostasy? Why postpone "the Rapture" by working for Reconciliation?
Man's work of reconstruction is backed by the Power/Promise of the Spirit.
Explore Second Archetype: Catholicism
And many nations will come and say,The whole Bible -- including the Old Testament -- is God's Law-Word.
"Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD
And to the House of the God of Jacob,
That He may teach us about His ways
And that we may walk in His paths."
For from Zion will go forth the Law
Even the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
The Weightier Matters of God's Law: Justice, Mercy, Faith
The Comprehensive Scope of God's Law: Every Area of Life, Every Activity
Obedience in Life pleases God more than Ritual and Sacrifices in Church
For from Zion will go forth the LawBiblical Law teaches us to work and pray for peace: personally, locally, globally.
Even the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations.
Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks;
Nation will not lift up sword against nation
And never again will they train for war.
And each of them will sit under his
Vine and under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid.
For the LORD of hosts has spoken.
Obedience to Biblical Law will eliminate "the State." Justice is altruistic, not adversarial.
The Glory of God, not the Glory of the "Fatherland"
Militaristic Industrialism or Decentralized Harmony? Swords into Plowshares
Explore Fourth Archetype: Peace
For from Zion will go forth the LawNot Priesthood, nor Statecraft: The Family is God's Central Institution.
Even the Word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
And He will judge between many peoples
And render decisions for mighty, distant nations.
And each of them will sit under his
Vine and under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid.
For the LORD of hosts has spoken.
Training Ground for Morality, Forgiveness, Self-Discipline, Competence.
Obedience through the Family eliminates tyranny, protects property.
Institutions such as Church and State were formed in rebellion, not faith.
Explore Fifth Archetype: Family
And it will come about in the last days"Deep" Creationism vs. Evolutionism / "Deep Ecology" / Fascist Genocide
That the mountain of the House of the LORD
Will be established as the chief of the mountains
And it will be raised above the hills
And each of them will sit under his
Vine and under his fig tree,
With no one to make them afraid.
For the LORD of hosts has spoken.
Dominion vs. Domination: The Model of Christ or The Survival of the Fittest?
Culture vs. Commerce: Salvation by Grace or by the Machinations of Man?
Agrarianism vs. Industrialism: Covenant Blessings or Humanistic Idolatry?
Explore Sixth Archetype: Garden
Though all the peoples walkPatriarchal Communities: Beyond the "Nuclear Family" and "The American Dream."
Each in the name of his god,
As for us, we will walk
In the Name of the LORD our God
forever and ever.
"In that day," says the LORD, "I will assemble the lame,
I will gather the outcast And those whom I have afflicted;
I will make the lame a remnant, And the outcast a strong nation;
So the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on, even forever.
The Weak and Illegal: Standing Against the Principalities and Powers
Perseverance of The Saints in Community
Encouragement from Believers vs. Social Peer Pressure
Explore Seventh Archetype: Community
I have this gut feeling that there are a lot of other people like me; people who are terrified at the emerging secularist dictatorship ("The New World Order"); but uncomfortable with the cold machismo of the militia-minded "Reconstructionists." If you find the "Vine & Fig Tree" vision attractive, please write me: Kevin4VFT@aol.com.
In our experience we have found two types of people who might classify themselves as "feminists." If you hate men and children, and hope to arm yourself with the violence of the State in order to bring about your vision of social order (a socialist system of gun-wielding matriarchs), you will definitely be challenged by Micah's vision of Vine & Fig Tree. If politics, guns, condoms, and shouted slogans don't interest you, you are probably in the right place.
Our definition of "patriarchy" differs from many who oppose that term, because we are pacifists, anarchists, and anti-institutionalists.
Q. What kind of "patriarchy" can exist in a context of anarchism, pacifism, and decentralism?[Back]
A. One you should explore with an open mind; open to ways of thinking which are so old, they appear new.