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64 - The Desire of Ages - Ellen Gould · Philosophy and Faith

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  A doomed people. The triumphal ride of Christ and to Jerusalem was the dim
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  foreshadowing of his coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and glory,
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  amid the triumph of angels and the rejoicing of the saints. Then will be
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  fulfilled the words of Christ to the priest and Pharisees, ye shall not see
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  me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name
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  of the Lord Matthew twenty three thirty nine. In prophetic vision, Zachariah was
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  shown that day of final triumph, and he beheld also the doom of those
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  who, at the First Advent had rejected Christ. They shall look upon me
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  whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for
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  his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that
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  is in bitterness for his first born Zacharia twelve ten. This scene Christ foresaw,
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  when he beheld the city and wept over it. In the temporal ruin
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  of Jerusalem, he saw the final destruction of that people who were guilty of
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  the blood of the Son of God. The disciples saw the hatred of the
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  Jews to Christ. But they did not yet at se to what it would
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  lead. They did not yet understand the true condition of Israel, nor comprehend
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  the retribution that was to fall upon Jerusalem. This Christ opened to them by
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  a significant object lesson. The last appeal to Jerusalem had been in vain.
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  The priests and rulers had heard the prophetic voice of the past echoed by the
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  multitude, in answer to the question who is this, but they did not
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  accept it as the voice of inspiration. In anger and amazement, they tried
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  to silence the people. There were Roman officers in the throng, and to
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  them his enemies denounced Jesus as the leader of a rebellion. They represented that
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  he was about to take possession of the temple and reign as king in Jerusalem.
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  But the calm voice of Jesus hushed for a moment the clamorous throng,
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  as he again declared that he had not come to establish a temporal rule.
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  He should soon ascend to his father, and his accusers would see him no
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  more until he should come again in glory. Then too late for their salvation,
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  they would acknowledge him. These words, Jesus spoke with sadness and with
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  singular power. The Roman officers were silenced and subdued. Their hearts, though
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  strangers to divine influence, were moved as they had never been moved before.
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  In the calm, solemn face of Jesus, they read love, benevolence,
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  and quiet dignity. They were stirred by a sympathy they could not understand.
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  Instead of arresting Jesus, they were more inclined to pay him homage. Turning
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  upon the priests and rulers, they charged them with creating the disturbance. These
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  leaders, chagrined and defeated, turned to the people with their complaints and disputed
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  angrily among themselves. Meanwhile, Jesus passed unnoticed to the temple. All was
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  quiet there for the scene upon Olivet had called away the people. For a
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  short time, Jesus remained at the temple, looking upon it with sorrowful eyes.
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  Then he withdrew his disciples and returned to Bethany. When the people sought
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  for him to place him on the throne, he was not to be found.
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  The entire night Jesus spent in prayer, and in the morning he came
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  again to the temple on the way, he passed a fig orchard. He
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  was hungry, and seeing a fig tree afar off, having leaves, he
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  came, if haply he might find anything thereon. And when he came to
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  it, he found nothing but leaves. For the time of figs was not
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  yet. It was not the season for ripe figs, except in certain localities
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  and on the highlands about Jerusalem. It might truly be said the time of
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  figs was not yet. But in the orchard to which Jesus came, one
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  tree appeared to be in advance of all the others. It was already covered
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  with leaves. It is the nature of the fig tree that before the leaves
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  open, the growing fruit appears. Therefore, this tree in full leaf gave
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  promise of well developed fruit, but its appearance was deceptive. Upon searching its
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  branches from the lowest bough to the topmost twig, Jesus found nothing but leaves.
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  It was a mass of pretentious foliage. Nothing more. Christ uttered against
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  it a withering curse. No man eat fruit of thee hereafter forever, he
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  said. The next morning, as the Savior and his disciples were again on
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  their way to the city, the blasted branches and drooping leaves tracted their attention.
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  Master said Peter. Behold the fig tree, which thou cursest, is
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  withered away. Christ's act in cursing the fig tree it astonished the disciples.
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  It seemed to them unlike his ways and works. Often they had heard him
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  declare that he came not to condemn the world, but that the world through
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  him might be saved. They remembered his words, The son a Man is
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  not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them Luke nine fifty six.
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  His wonderful works had been done to restore, never to destroy. The
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  disciples had known him only as the restorer, the healer. This act stood
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  alone. What was its purpose? They questioned, God delighteth in mercy as
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  I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death
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  of the wicked Mica seven eighteen, Ezekiel thirty three eleven. To him,
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  the work of destruction and the denunciation of judgment is a strange work Isaiah twenty
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  eight twenty one. But it is in mercy and love that he lifts the
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  veil from the future and reveals to men the results of a course of sin.
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  The cursing of the fig tree was an acted parable That barren tree,
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  flaunting its pretentious foliage in the very face of Christ, was a symbol of
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  the Jewish nation. The Savior desired to make plain to his disciples the cause
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  and the certainty of Israel's doom. For this purpose, he invested the tree
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  with moral qualities and made it the expositor of divine truth. The Jews stood
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  forth distinct from all other nations, professing allegiance to God. They had been
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  specially favored by Him, and they laid claim to righteousness above every other people.
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  But they were corrupted by the love of the world and the greed of
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  gain. They boasted of their knowledge, but they were ignorant of the requirements
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  of God, and were full of hypocrisy. Like the barren tree, they
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  spread their pretentious branches, aloft, luxuriant in appearance and beautiful to the eye,
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  but they yielded nothing but leaves. The Jewish religion, with its magnificent
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  temple, its sacred altars, its mitred priests, and impressive ceremonies, was
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  indeed fair and outward appearance, but humility, love, and benevolence were lacking.
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  All the trees and the fig orchard were destitute of fruit, but the
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  leafless trees raised no expectation and caused no disappointment. By these trees, the
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  gentiles were represented. They were as destitute as were the Jews of godliness,
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  but they had not professed to serve God. They made no boastful pretensions to
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  goodness. They were blind to the works and ways of God. With them.
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  The time of figs was not yet. They were still waiting for a
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  day which would bring them light and hope. The Jews, who had received
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  greater blessings from God, were held accountable for their abuse of these gifts.
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  The privileges of which they boasted only increased their guilt. Jesus had come to
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  the fig tree hungry to find food. So he had come to Israel hungering
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  to find in them the fruits of righteousness. He had lavished on them his
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  gifts that they might bear fruit for the blessing of the world. Every opportunity
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  and privilege had been granted them, and in return he sought their sympathy and
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  co operation in his work of grace. He longed to see in them self
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  sacrifice, compassion, zeal for God, and a deep yearning of soul for
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  the salvation of their fellow men. Had they kept the law of God,
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  they would have done the same unselfish work that Christ did. But love to
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  God and Man was eclipsed by pride and self sufficiency. They brought ruin upon
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  themselves by refusing to minister to others the treasures of truth which God had committed
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  to them. They did not give to the world. In the barren tree,
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  they might read both their sin and its punishment, withered beneath the Saviour's
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  curse, standing forth, sear and blasted, dried up by the roots,
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  the fig tree showed what the Jewish people would be when the grace of God
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  was removed from them. Refusing to impart blessing, they would no longer receive
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  it. O Israel, the Lord says, thou hast destroyed thyself JOSEA thirteen
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  nine. The warning is for all time. Christ act and cursing the tree
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  which his own power had created, stands as a warning to all churches and
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  to all Christians. No one can live the law of God without ministering to
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  others. But there are many who do not live out Christ's merciful, unselfish
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  life, some who think themselves excellent Christians do not understand what constitutes service for
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  God. They plan and steady to please themselves. They act only in reference
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  to self. Time is of value to them only as they can gather for
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  themsels in all the affairs of life. This is their object. Not for
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  others, but for themselves do they minister. God created them to live in
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  a world where unselfish service must be performed. He designed them to help their
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  fellow men in every possible way. But self is so large that they cannot
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  see anything else. They are not in touch with humanity. Those who thus
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  live for self are like the fig tree, which made every pretension but was
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  fruitless. They observed the forms of worship, but without repentance or faith in
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  profession. They honor the law of God, but obedience is lacking, they
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  say, but do not. In the sentence pronounced on the fig tree,
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  Christ demonstrates how hateful in his eyes is this fagine pretense. He declares that
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  the open sinner is less guilty than is he who professes to serve God,
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  but who bears no fruit to his glory. The parable of the fig tree,
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  spoken before Christ's visit to Jerusalem, had a direct connection with the lesson
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  he taught in cursing the fruitless tree. For the barren tree of the parable,
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  the gardener pleaded, let it alone this year until I shall dig about
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  it and dress it, and if it bear fruit well, but if not,
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  then after that thou shalt cut it down. Increased care was to be
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  given the unfruitful tree. It was to have every advantage, but if it
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  remained fruitless, nothing could save it from destruction. In the parable, the
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  result of the gardener's work was not foretold. It depended upon that people to
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  whom Christ's words were spoken. They were represented by the fruitless tree, and
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  it rested with them to decide their own destiny. Every advantage that Heaven could
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  bestow was given them, but they did not profit by their increased blessings.
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  By Christ's act in cursing the barren fig tree. The result was shown they
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  had determined their own destruction. For more than a thousand years, the Jewish
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  nation had abused God's mercy and invited his judgments. They had rejected his warnings
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  and slain his prophets. For these sins, the people of Christ's day made
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  themselves responsible by following the same course. In the rejection of their present mercies
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  and warnings lay the guilt of that generation. The fetters which the nation had
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  for centuries been forging. The people of Christ's day were fastening upon themselves.
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  In every aide, there is given to men their day of light and privilege,
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  a probationary time in which they may become reconciled to God. But there
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  is a limit to this grace. Mercy may plead for years and be slighted
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  and rejected. But there comes a time when Mercy makes her last plea.
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  The heart becomes so hardened that it ceases to respond to the spirit of God.
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  Then the sweet winning voice entreats the sinner no longer, and reproofs and
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  warnings cease. That day had come to Jerusalem. Jesus wept in anguish over
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  the doomed city, but he could not deliver her. He had exhausted every
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  resource in rejecting the warnings of God's spirit. Israel had rejected the only means
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  of help. There was no other power by which they could be delivered.
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  The Jewish nation was a symbol of the people of all ages who scorn the
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  pleadings of infinite love. The tears of Christ when he wept over Jerusalem were
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  for the sins of all time. In the judgments pronounced upon Israel, those
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  who reject the reproofs and warnings of God's Holy Spirit may read their own condemnation.
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  In this generation, there are many who are treading on the same ground
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  as were the unbelieving Jews. They have witnessed the manifestation of the power of
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  God. The Holy Spirit is spoken to their hearts, but they cling to
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  their unbelief and resistance. God sends him warnings and reproof but they are not
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  willing to confess their errors, and they reject his message and his messenger.
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  The very means he uses for their recovery becomes to them a stone of stumbling.
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  The prophets of God were hated by apostate Israel because through them their hidden
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  sins were brought to light. Ahab regarded Elijah as his enemy because the prophet
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  was faithful to rebuke the king's secret iniquities. So to day, the servant
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  of Christ, the reprover of sin, meets with scorn and orbuffs Bible truth.
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  The religion of Christ struggles against a strong current of moral impurity. Prejudice
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  is even stronger in the hearts of men now than in Christ's day. Christ
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  did not fulfill men's expectations. His life was a rebuke to their sins,
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  and they rejected him. So now the truth of God's word does not harmonize
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  with men's practices and their natural inclination, and thousands reject its light. Men
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  prompted by Satan, cast doubt upon God's word and choose to exercise their independent
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  judgment. They choose darkness rather than light, but they do it at the
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  peril of their souls. Those who caviled at the words of Christ found ever
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  increased cause for cavil until they turn from the truth and the life. So
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  it is now God does not propose to remove every objection which the Colonel art
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  may bring against his truth. To those who refuse the precious rays of light
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  which would illuminate the darkness, the mysteries of God's word remain such forever from
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  them the truth is hidden. They walk blindly and know not the ruin before
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  them. Christ overlooked the world and all ages from the height of olive it,
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  and his words are applicable to every soul who slights the pleadings of divine
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  mercy scorner of his love. He addresses you to day. It is thou,
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  even thou, who shouldst know the things that belong to thy. Peace.
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  Christ is shedding bitter tears for you, who have no tears to shed
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  for yourself. Already that fatal hardness of heart which destroyed the Pharisees is manifest
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  in you, and every evidence of the grace of God. Every ray of
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  divine light is either melting and subduing the soul, or confirming it in hopeless
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  impenitence. Christ foresaw that Jerusalem would remain obdurate and impenitent. Yet all the
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  guilt, all the consequences of reach rejected mercy, lay at her own door.
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  Thus it will be with every soul who is following the same course.
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  The Lord declares, O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself here o earth behold,
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  I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts,
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  because they have not hearkened unto my words nor to my law, but
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  rejected it. Joseah thirteen nine, Jeremiah six nineteen, end of Chapter sixty four