Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. The consequence for the diseased tree that bears bad fruit is not merely identification but removal: cut down and thrown into the fire. The image returns to John the Baptist's warning in Matthew 3:10 — the same cutting down and fire language. The prophet and the Messiah share the same eschatological seriousness about what the fruit examination reveals. The fire is not purgatorial but destructive; the tree that cannot be reformed is removed. John 15:2 says the Father prunes every branch that does not bear fruit and removes it.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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