I
just love the Scriptures, and I thank Holy Spirit for every bit of
Revelation that He chooses to impart for the edification of the body of
Christ. My story starts on a day like any other. I was sitting at home
not doing much of anything. Two words suddenly popped into my mind, I
believe, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Those two words were
‘Second sight.' The Holy Spirit spoke those two words to my mind; again I
heard the words ‘Second sight’. He then went on to give me a quote as
follows: “you will need to have second sight to avoid being blinded by
what you see”. These words so intrigued me that I immediately went to
'trusty Google' and typed ‘Second sight’ into the search box. As you can
well imagine, a number of options popped up. I was blessed to discover
the many advances made in the field of medicine with regards to
restoration of sight. I got to know about John Bramblitt, an artist, who
though blind paints amazing pictures from memory and also through
touch, creating images to which any sighted Artist would be proud to
sign their name. Please take the time to look him up. You will be amazed
by what you see. (Pardon the pun :-)). Through this study, I discovered
many wonderful facts but also realized that these were meant to segue
me into a powerful truth that He was about to reveal to me.
“We need second sight to see what first sight has blinded us from seeing.”
I began to search The scriptures for verses on second sight, and this led me to Scriptures quoted below:
22 And he cometh to Bethsaida; and they bring a blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
23
And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and
when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him
if he saw ought.
24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as trees, walking.
25 After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.
26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
27
And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of Caesarea
Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying unto them, Whom
do men say that I am?
28 And they answered, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others, One of the prophets.
29 And he saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
30 And he charged them that they should tell no man of him.
The
above is the account of the restoration of sight to the blind man from
the city of Bethsaida. The Pharisees brought a blind man to Jesus for
the restoration of sight. Jesus then took him by the hand led him out of
the town and then spat on his eyes and after putting his hands on him
asked him if he could see. The man and said that he could see 'men as
Trees walking.' Jesus again puts his hands on his eyes and made him look
up after which he saw men as the Bible says, clearly.
There
have been many teachings by some, with regards to this miracle
suggesting that the process of healing was not completed the first time
Jesus spat on the man’s eyes because he did not see things clearly. They
allude that Jesus had to lay hands on him again for him to have his
sight fully restored. Others claim that healing is a multi-step process,
using this narration as a way of encouraging those who do not
immediately experience the instantaneous manifestation of healing. I
accepted these teachings without question for many years, but on this
particular day, The Holy Spirit gently showed me a fundamental error in
these schools of thought. “This is Jesus! Holy Spirit said. "He does
everything well. He knows everything. He can do anything. He does not
need a ‘do-over’ in anything!"
He
showed me that the restoration of sight to this man involved Jesus
performing two miracles: One the more profoundly influential than the
other. He proceeded to show me by elegantly linking these miracles to
the first words that He spoke to my heart that evening which were
‘Second sight.'
Let us go back to the story and break down what exactly happened:
Jesus
spits on this man’s eyes, and then laid hands on him and asked him what
he saw. To which he answered, “I see men as trees, walking.” I had
previously read this as “I see men walking as trees” (don’t ask me why),
which gives an entirely different meaning to what was said. As I wrote
these words, the Holy Spirit showed me the symbolism behind the use of
the spit. Spit is made up of water, which in scripture is symbolic of
the Word of God, and digestive enzymes, that initiate the breakdown of
carbohydrates, which are the principal source of energy for the body. So
symbolically it could be said that Jesus applied a mixture of The Word
and that which was able to help break down that word i.e. revelation, to
the blind man’s eyes. Now the question is if this was the case that the
word mixed with revelation was applied to the man’s eyes, why did he
not see 'perfectly' the first time?
Hmmm,
Food for thought… This line of thinking then led to the Holy Spirit
asking me this question: “this man saw men, as trees walking. Why as
trees? Why not as sticks walking?” He then brought to my remembrance
scriptures that made reference to trees.
1
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
3
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that
bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither;
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
For
if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were
grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more
will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive
tree?
"So
every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. "A
good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good
fruit. "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire.
In
the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was
there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded
her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing
of the nations.
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.
After
reading the Scriptures above, it was like a lightbulb came on in my
head. "Men as trees, walking. Men as Trees. Men as Trees" Wow!
I
discovered through my study of Jewish tradition that trees occupy a
special place in Jewish thought. They relate to man’s relationship with
the natural environment, our life-support system as it pertains to the
quality of his supply to that environment!
When
God created the first man, He took him and showed him all the trees of
the Garden of Eden. This singling out of the trees of the Garden of
Eden, rather than the showcasing of the Garden of Eden itself, may have
been meant by God to show man the principal entities, which transformed
the Earth from a barren and lifeless mass into an environment capable of
supporting other forms of life such as animals and humans.
Let
us note that after God had created the world, His first action was to
plant trees, which He did on the third day. Let us also remember Jesus’
words:
I
am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
The
blind man saw men as trees. Putting my thoughts and scripture together,
I realized that the blind man seeing 'men as trees' was symbolic of the
blind man seeing men AS PLANTINGS OF THE LORD through the opening of
the eyes of his understanding!
He
saw men going about their daily activities in light of the potential
that the Lord had planted in them! He saw them first by revelation
because God enlightened the eyes of his understanding! This Holy Spirit
inspired insight was so exciting to me because I realized that Jesus, in
the first step, performed the greatest miracle, which went beyond just
the opening of physical eyes - He opened the blind man's spiritual eyes!
He
opened the eyes of his understanding to see people according to what
was 'growing' inside of them, much like Jesus did when over and over
again He was able to discern the thoughts of The Pharisees.
Through
this miracle, Jesus illustrated that the mere restoration of physical
sight would have left the man as spiritually blind as when he first met
Jesus. But, our amazing Lord addressed his spiritual need first, before
He addressed his sensory needs. The principal of which was to open the
eyes of his understanding.
We see this fervent desire of the Lord expressed in Paul’s prayer in Ephesians chapter 1:
Wherefore
I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto
all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you
in my prayers; That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of
glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that
ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the
glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding
greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working
of his mighty power.
Earlier
in Mark chapter 8, we see Jesus speaking to his disciples about the
need to be aware of the Pharisee's leaven. He admonished them saying,
that in seeing they saw not, and in hearing, heard not.
And
so I realized that contrary to the thought that Jesus went through a
trial and error process to effect the blind man’s healing, He in keeping
with His character addressed the needful thing first. He gave the man
‘Second sight’ i.e. opened the eyes of understanding and revelation,
which would enable him, interpret what he saw with his physical eyes
through the filter of Spiritual revelation.
I believe that in actuality, THIS was the healing that was cardinal to his destiny!
Jesus
knew that if he had only restored his physical sight, this man would
have been no better off. This truth we see played out in the verses
following, as Peter identified Jesus as The Christ. This same revelation
is what Jesus said that he would build his church upon that the gates
of hell would not prevail against it!
So why the brouhaha about ‘Second sight’?
We
need second sight to see clearly. We need second sight to interpret
correctly. We need second sight so that we do not remain ignorant of
satan’s devices. We need second sight to appreciate our status in the
Kingdom of God.
What
Holy Spirit taught me through these verses has completely transformed
my thinking and my life, and I share it with you hoping that it’ll do
the same for you.
I
am learning to ask The Lord for second sight in every situation that I
find myself. That I may correctly interpret situations and circumstances
so that I also may be able to see 'MEN AS TREES, WALKING.'
© AdePero Mettabel 08.03.15.
