Answer: I've taught right along it's a grape. The question is, "How do you know it's a grape?"

     All right, turn to Genesis chapter 2. Genesis 2:16: And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. So we call this forbidden fruit, and this forbidden fruit is forbidden.

     Now, there is only one fruit in the Bible that's forbidden anyway. Turn to Numbers chapter 6. There's only one fruit that's forbidden anyway anywhere in the Bible. Numbers chapter 6, verse 3: He shall separate himself from wine and strong drink, and shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong drink, neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat moist grapes, or dried. All the days of his separation shall he eat nothing that is made of the vine tree. Notice the vine is a tree. Vine tree--that's forbidden fruit.

     Now, why is the vine tree for a Nazarite "forbidden fruit"? Well, the vine tree is obviously forbidden fruit because it's a type of blood. Turn to Matthew chapter 26. The vine tree, grape juice, represents blood. Matthew 26, verse 26: And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament. Then grape juice is a type of blood.

     So now, we know that a tree is forbidden, and grape juice is forbidden to the Nazarite; but, if grape juice is a type of blood, then blood should be forbidden. Let's turn to Genesis 9, and notice that blood is forbidden. So blood and grape juice are inseparably connected. Genesis 9:4: But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.

     Furthermore, it's forbidden in the New Testament. Come to Acts chapter 15. Not only under the law, and before the law, but after the law--before the law in Genesis 9, the blood is forbidden; under the law in Leviticus 17, blood is forbidden; and Acts chapter 15, under grace blood is forbidden. Acts 15:28: For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood.

     All right, now what you have so far is this: There are two items in the Bible that are forbidden to put in your mouth. One of them is blood--forbidden before the law (Genesis 9), under the law (Leviticus 17), after the law (Acts 15). That blood is typified by grape juice. Therefore, grape juice is forbidden to a Nazarite. And grape juice comes from the grape, and the grape is said to come from a vine tree.

     So, the first two miracles in the Bible that are done are converting something into blood or something into grape juice. John chapter 2; get John chapter 2 in one hand, and get Exodus chapter 4 in the other. The first manmade miracle in the Old Testament that Moses does in going down to the land of Egypt is in Exodus 4, and the first miracle Christ does in His ministry is in John 2. And, in both cases, you're dealing with the transformation of something into blood or into grape juice. John 2, verse 9: When the ruler of the feast had the water that was made wine--now there's water turned into grape juice. Verse 11: "This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee."

     Old Testament, Exodus 4, verse 9. Now the first two signs he's done here are done to Pharaoh, and nothing happens. But the first sign that affects the land of Egypt is in verse 8. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.

     Now let's get this together. In the Old Testament, before the law--under the law--after the law--blood is forbidden. In the Old Testament, grape juice from a vine tree is forbidden to a Nazarite. In the New Testament, grape juice is a type of blood. When Christ shows up, the first thing He does is turn water into grape juice, and then He says grape juice is a type of blood.

     So it's a picture of getting life from water.

     That's the picture.

     And the first life in the Bible, in Genesis chapter 1, came from water. The Lord said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life.

     So the first thing Moses does is take that water and turn that water into blood.

     Now, water, grape juice, and blood--those three things right there--are connected inseparably in the word of God. Those things are right in there; there's no way you can get those things apart. Water is going to grape juice, water is going to blood, blood and grape juice are connected.

     Now let's go back to Genesis chapter 2, and see what the original Elizabethan English says. Genesis 2, verse 23; the Lord makes a man and makes a woman. Genesis 2:23: And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and blood of my blood--right? No! There's no "blood" there! There's no blood there.

     Adam was bone and flesh.

     Let's turn to Luke 24, and see how Christ came out when He rose from the dead. It isn't in the commentaries; it's in the Bible. Luke 24--there's nothing that Dummelow and Lange and Delitsch and Kyle and Disentius and Robertson and Trench and Dentson and Davis can help you with at all; they're just as blind as a bat. Luke 24--Christ coming in the room in the resurrection. Luke 24, verse 39: Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and what? Bones as ye see me have. The resurrection body has no blood. Neither did Adam.

     First Corinthians 15. It has flesh and bones, it has a circulatory system--but there's no blood in the system! First Corinthians 15:50: Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Your blood can't get in. You'll have glorified flesh and bones, but no blood.

     What's the context? Verse 45: So it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Then Adam, when he was made, had flesh and bones but no blood. Christ, when He arose from the dead, had flesh and bones but no blood. At the Rapture, you'll have flesh and bones--but no blood!

     The question comes, then where did Eve get her blood from? And where did Adam get his blood from?

     Well, he had to get it orally. He had to take it through the mouth.

     They say when a person's really rich or royal, they say they're blue-blood. That would be a circulatory system with water; that would be Adam's original condition.

     All right, now, on your question, what that tree was. Let's go to Genesis chapter 3, and see how many trees were in that garden. Genesis 3, verse 2: And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. We know one of them; it's the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We know another one, too. Look at verse 7: They sewed fig leaves together. There's a fig tree in that garden!

     Let's see if there's another tree. Genesis chapter 2, verse 9: And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. All right, in that garden of Eden there's a tree of life, there's a tree of knowledge of good and evil, and there's a fig tree. There are three trees in that garden.

     One of them's a fig; we don't know what the other two are.

     All right, let's go to Genesis chapter 3, and in Genesis chapter 3, look at verse 18. When the Lord drives Adam and Eve out of the garden, Genesis 3:18, he says, Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee. So, in Genesis 3; I know four things: In Genesis 3, there are thorns and thistles, a fig tree, a tree of life, a tree of knowledge of good and evil.

     Let's see if we can find them. Let's turn to Judges; that would be a fine old Book nobody reads! Scripture with Scripture; the Scriptures interpret the Scriptures. The best commentary on the Scripture is still the Scripture! Judges chapter 9, verse 8; the English comment on the English text is always superior to any fundamental scholarship's opinion about any text that exists in any language. Judges 9, verse 8: The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them; and they said unto the olive tree, Reign thou over us. Verse 10: And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. Verse 12: Then said the trees unto the vine, Come thou, and reign over us. Verse 14: Then said all the trees unto the bramble, Come thou, and reign over us.

     Four trees.

     In that place there, there's an olive tree, a vine tree, a fig tree and a bramble. In Genesis, there's a tree of life, a tree of knowledge of good and evil, thorns and thistles, and a fig tree.

     They're going to have to match.

     Those of you who know your Bible in Romans chapter 9 know that the good olive tree is a picture of God's life to Israel. And what is olive oil a picture of in the Bible? A type of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the tree of life is an olive tree.

     And the tree of self-righteousness is a fig tree; it's cursed.

     And the vine tree has to be the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Because it's forbidden fruit.

     And if you eat it, ladies, it will make your lips red! So that's where you put the lipstick. Right there. On the lips.

     Now, there's another better way you know it's a grape, which is much easier. I took you the hard route. All right, now here's the easy way:

     The Lord told Adam, Be fruitful and multiply. He told Noah, Be fruitful and multiply.

     He told Adam, Replenish the earth. He told Noah, Replenish the earth.

     Adam had Seth, Cain and Abel. Noah had Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

     One of Noah's boys is under a curse (Ham); one of Adam's boys is under a curse (Cain).

     One of Adam's boys is a type of Christ (Abel); one of Noah's boys is a type of Christ (Shem).

     Adam is naked; Noah is naked. And Noah began to be a husbandman, and planted a vineyard, and became drunk.

     That's what Adam did.

     So, what they took was a grape.

     Now, I'm not saying these grapes out in California will make you drunk. And I'm not saying that that is the original sin, because obviously that's a supernatural tree with supernatural properties. But it is a grape tree. And from henceforth, forevermore, drunkenness and nakedness are always associated.

     Woe to him that puts the bottle to his neighbour, that maketh him naked, that ye may look upon his nakedness. They always come right together.

     If people want to take each other's clothes off, they get them drunk first to quiet their conscience. Genesis chapter 2; chapter 3.

     The King James Bible always sets the pace.

     Every Sunday morning at 11 o'clock, a Roman Catholic goes to church and blasphemes the Bible and the Holy Ghost--and the entire Bible--by taking Mass. Because Mass is eating forbidden fruit that's forbidden in all three Testaments. If that wine becomes the literal blood of Christ, the Roman Catholic is a cannibal who has defied all three Testaments, and everything God ever said from Genesis to Revelation.

     Turn to Deuteronomy 32. Do you know what the original sin is? It's a Roman Catholic Mass--taking blood through the mouth. Tell that to your Catholic friends! Deuteronomy 32, verse 31: For their rock [small "r"] is not as our Rock [capital "R"], even our enemies themselves being judges. Their rock is Simon Peter. What's our Rock? Jesus Christ!