The Multi-fruit Tree

UV 599/10,000 The Multi-fruit Tree “ 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.” Revelation 22 v 2 The gospel is not just plain good news for all mankind. It is “ great news”. It is a multi-fruit seed. It is a seed for every need of man. That seed sown in the seed-bed of faith will grow into a tree of life that will bear simultaneously twelve types of fruits. These are the spiritual fruit or the nine fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control. Three more types of fruit that we find strewn through Scripture are wisdom, mercy and grace. Unlike the seasonal fruit trees of the earth, the tree of life yields its fruit, consistently right through the year and every month. The fruit is also a symbol of twelve types of blessings we receive from the throne of God and of the Lamb of God, Jesus. The tree of life is a metaphor for both our god-like character and our blessings. We need to grow from month to month and day to day into maturity, fullness, effectiveness and fruitfulness. The twelve types of fruit manifest the wisdom of God that we should lay hold of in order to enjoy eternal life. The vision of St John of the multi-fruit tree of life is both a revelation of heaven even as it has implications for our earthly lives. The words “ in the midst of the street” to indicate the location of the tree of life implies that we need to take root, grow and bear fruit wherever the Lord has planted us. We evolve and develop spiritually even in the midst of the hustle and bustle of our lives. The location of the tree “on either side of the river” implies our close fellowship with the river of life, the Holy Spirit and the Word. We need to be constantly fed and nourished by their waters. The water of the river flowing from the throne of God is described as being as clear as crystal, implying that the Holy Spirit will make clear the Will of God and that the understanding of the Word of God in terms of both the text and the context will be full of clarity. The street of pure gold means that we need to exercise pure faith in our way of life. The leaves of the tree of wisdom and eternal life are medicine that is meant to heal the sin and afflictions of the nations. The leaves are the verses of Scripture that are evergreen and will endure forever. Meditation on Scripture is medicine. When we munch on the different types of leaves or in other words-meditate, whether these be commands, warnings, promises, precepts or examples, we will be healed and re-vitalized. We in turn will become channels of healing and blessing for people of different nations across the globe. Though the word, “ healing” refers primarily to the salvation from sin, it also implies the solution of the many problems, afflictions, curses and challenges on account of sin in this world. Prateep V Philip