Zenos' Olive Tree Parable and Prophecy

There appear to be traditions of gathering and fusing of different peoples preserved in various First Nations' culture, such as the tree symbolism of the Six Nations Haudenosaunee. I find these (that I have detailed in their own posts) to be similar to this parabolic prophecy in scripture, so I am including this in its entirety to be studied.

Found in the Covenant of Christ, Jacob 3:

My people, let me remind you of the words the prophet Zenos spoke about the house of Israel, saying: Hearken, O house of Israel, and hear my words, the words of a prophet of the Lord. This is the Lord’s message: I’ll compare you, O house of Israel, to a tame olive tree a man took and nourished in his vineyard. And it grew, became old, and began to decay. And the lord of the vineyard went out and saw his olive tree started to decay, so he said: I’ll prune it and loosen the soil around it and tend it, so perhaps some young, tender branches will sprout and it won’t die. So he pruned it, loosened the soil around it, and tended it according to his word. After many days it began to sprout a few young and tender branches, but the main top was dying. And the lord of the vineyard saw it and said to his servant: It makes me sad to lose this tree. So go and retrieve branches from a wild olive tree and bring them here to me. Then we’ll cut off the main branches that are starting to wither away and throw them into the fire to be burned. And the lord of the vineyard said: I’ll remove many of these new, tender branches and graft them in places I choose; then it won’t matter if the original tree root dies, because I can still save its fruit for myself. Therefore I’ll take these young, tender branches and graft them in places I choose. Now take the branches of the wild olive tree and graft them in to replace them. Then I’ll throw the ones I’ve cut off into the fire and burn them, so they won’t take up space in my vineyard.

And the servant of the lord of the vineyard followed the lord of the vineyard’s plan and grafted in the branches of the wild olive tree. And the lord of the vineyard had it tilled, pruned, and tended, saying to his servant: It makes me sad to lose this tree; so I’ve done this to perhaps be able to keep its roots alive, so they don’t die, because I would like to save them for myself. Therefore follow the plan; watch the tree and tend it following my instructions. And I’ll place these branches in the lowest parts of my vineyard, where I choose, and that isn’t your concern. I’ll do this in order to save the tree’s natural branches for myself and to store its fruit for myself in preparation for the harvest time. Because it would make me sad to lose this tree and its fruit.

And the lord of the vineyard went his way and hid the natural branches of the tame olive tree in the lowest parts of the vineyard, some in one part and some in another, according to his deliberate plan. After a long time had elapsed, the lord of the vineyard said to his servant: Come, let’s return to the vineyard to work there.

Then the lord of the vineyard with his servant returned to work in the vineyard. The servant said to his master: Oh good! Look here! Inspect this tree. And the lord of the vineyard looked and saw the tree where the wild olive branches had been grafted in. It had sprouted and begun to produce fruit. He saw it was good and its fruit was like the natural fruit. He said to his servant: See, the wild tree’s branches have taken hold of the root’s vitality, so that the root has provided them with vigor. And because of the root’s vitality, the wild branches have produced tame fruit. If we hadn’t grafted in these branches, the tree would have died. Therefore I’ll store plenty of fruit that this tree has now produced. I’ll store the fruit for myself as part of the harvest.

The lord of the vineyard then told the servant: Come, let’s go to the lowest parts of the vineyard and see if the tree’s natural branches have also produced a lot of fruit, so I can store the fruit for myself as part of the harvest. And they went out to where the lord of the vineyard had hidden the tree’s natural branches, and he said to the servant: Look at these! He saw the first tree had produced plenty of fruit, and he saw it also was good. Then he told the servant: I’ve tended it a long time, and it has produced plenty of fruit. So take the fruit of the tree and store it as part of the harvest, so I can save it for myself.

The servant asked his master: How was it that you came to plant this tree or this tree branch here? It was the poorest spot in the whole vineyard. But the lord of the vineyard replied: Don’t complain about it, I knew it was a poor spot of ground. That’s why I told you that I gave it attention and cared for it a long time, and you see it has produced plenty of fruit.

Then the lord of the vineyard said to his servant: Look here! I’ve also planted another branch of the tree, and you know this spot of ground was poorer than the first. But look at the tree! I’ve tended it a long time and it has produced plenty of fruit. Therefore gather it and store it as part of the harvest, so I can save it for myself.

Then the lord of the vineyard said again to his servant: Look here and see another branch I’ve planted. I’ve tended it too, and it has produced fruit. And he told the servant: Look here and see the last one! I’ve planted this one in a very favorable spot and tended it a long time. And only part of the tree has produced tame fruit, but the other part of the tree has produced wild fruit. I’ve tended this tree like the others.

Later the lord of the vineyard told his servant: Cut off the branches that haven’t produced good fruit and throw them into the fire. But the servant said to him: Let’s prune it, loosen the soil around it, and tend it a little longer, so it will perhaps produce good fruit for you, so you can store it as part of the harvest. So the lord of the vineyard and his servant cared for all the vineyard’s fruit.

After a long time had passed, the lord of the vineyard told his servant: Come, let’s return to the vineyard to work there again. Because the time approaches and the end is coming soon, therefore I must store fruit before the final harvest arrives. Then the lord of the vineyard and the servant returned to the vineyard and came to the tree whose natural branches had been taken off and which had wild branches grafted in, and all kinds of fruit weighed down the tree.

And the lord of the vineyard tasted the fruit, every kind that had grown there. And the lord of the vineyard said: We’ve tended this tree a long time, and I’ve stored plenty of fruit for myself in preparation for the harvest. Now it has produced plenty of fruit, although none of it’s good; there are all kinds of bad fruit, and it’s of no use to me, despite all our work. Now it makes me sad to lose this tree. And the lord of the vineyard said to the servant: What else can we do for the tree so that I can again obtain good fruit for myself? And the servant said to his master: Because you grafted in the wild olive tree’s branches, they’ve saved the roots, so they’re still alive and haven’t died; and you can see they’re still good.

Then the lord of the vineyard told his servant: The tree is of no use to me and its roots are of no use to me so long as it produces bad fruit. However, I know the roots are good, and I’ve kept them alive as part of my plans. And because of their great vitality, they’ve produced good fruit from the wild branches until now. But the wild branches have grown and overrun the roots. And because the wild branches have overcome the roots, the tree has produced a lot of bad fruit. And because it has produced so much bad fruit, you see it’s beginning to die. It will soon be lost, reaching the point that we’ll need to throw it into the fire unless we do something to keep it from dying.

Then the lord of the vineyard told his servant: Let’s go down into the lowest parts of the vineyard and see if the natural branches have also produced bad fruit. So they went down into the lowest parts of the vineyard and saw the fruit of the natural branches had also become corrupt — the first, second, and last — they had all become corrupt. And the wild fruit of the last one had overcome that part of the tree that once produced good fruit, to the point that the good branch had withered away and died.

Then the lord of the vineyard mourned and asked the servant: What more could I have done for my vineyard? I knew that all the vineyard’s fruit, except for these, had become corrupt. Now these that once produced good fruit have also become corrupt. All my vineyard’s trees are now good for nothing and will need to be cut down and thrown into the fire. I planted this last one, whose branch has withered away, in a good spot of ground — indeed, a place I valued above all other parts of my vineyard.

And you see I also cut down what was growing in this spot of ground so I could plant this tree in its place. You can see that part of it produced good fruit and the other part produced wild fruit. Because I didn’t cut off its bad branches and throw them into the fire, they’ve overcome the good branch, so it has withered away. Now, despite all the care we’ve given to my vineyard, all its trees have become corrupt, so they don’t produce any good fruit. I was hoping to save these, to have stored up fruit for myself as part of the harvest. But they’ve become like the wild olive tree, and they’re of no value except to be cut down and thrown into the fire. And it makes me sad to lose them. But what more could I have done in my vineyard? Have I neglected my work and failed to tend it? No, I’ve tended it and I’ve loosened the soil around it, I’ve pruned it, I’ve fertilized it, and I’ve worked my hand almost the whole day, and now the end is approaching. It makes me sad that I must cut down all my vineyard’s trees and throw them into the fire to be burned. What’s ruined my vineyard?

Then the servant asked his master: Isn’t it your vineyard’s ambitious overgrowth? Haven’t the branches overgrown the good roots? And because the branches have overgrown their roots — growing faster than the strength of their roots, taking strength to themselves — I ask, Isn’t this the reason your vineyard’s trees have become corrupted?

The lord of the vineyard told his servant: Let’s go ahead and cut down the vineyard’s trees and throw them in the fire, so they don’t take up space in my vineyard — I’ve done everything I could. What more could I have done? But the servant said to the lord of the vineyard: Wait a little longer. And the lord of the vineyard replied: Yes, I want to give it more time, because it makes me sad to lose my vineyard’s trees. Therefore let’s take some of the original branches I’ve transplanted to the lowest parts of my vineyard and graft them into the tree they came from. And let’s cut from the tree the branches with the most bitter fruit and graft in the tree’s original branches in their place. I’ll do this so the tree won’t die, so that perhaps I might save the roots for myself and for my own purpose. And the roots of the tree from which I took the original branches are still alive; therefore, to also save them as part of my plan, I’ll take some of the tree’s original branches and graft them back. I’ll graft the original branches back to the roots of the original tree, so I can also save the roots for myself, so that when they’re strong enough, they might produce good fruit for me, and I can still celebrate my vineyard’s fruit.

So they took branches from the original tree that had become wild and grafted them into the original tree that also had become wild. They also took branches from the original tree that had become wild and grafted them into their original tree’s root. And the lord of the vineyard said to the servant: Only cut away the most bitter, wild branches from the trees. And graft in their place according to my instructions. We’ll tend the vineyard’s trees again and trim their branches and cut from the trees the ripe branches, which have to be destroyed, and throw them into the fire. I’m doing this to let their roots perhaps regain strength because they’re still promising and because changing the branches will let the good overcome the evil. Now I’ve saved the natural branches and their roots and grafted the natural branches into their mother tree again and kept the mother tree’s roots from dying. That way my vineyard’s trees can perhaps produce good fruit again, and so I can celebrate with my vineyard’s fruit. Maybe I’ll be able to have great results because I’ve kept the roots and branches of the original plant alive. Now go ahead and call servants, so we can work diligently with our strength in the vineyard, so we can prepare the vineyard to again yield the best good fruit as I originally had in my vineyard.

Therefore let’s go work hard this last time — the end is approaching, and this is the last time I’ll prune my vineyard. Graft in the branches — begin with the last so they can be first and so the first can be last — and loosen the soil around the trees, both old and young — the first and the last, and the last and the first — so everything can be tended again for the last time. Loosen the soil around them and prune them and fertilize them once more for the last time — the end is approaching. And if it turns out these last grafts grow and produce natural fruit, then you will trim away so they can grow. As they begin to grow, you must clear away the branches that produce bitter fruit, as the good gains size and strength. But you must not clear away the bad all at once as that would let the roots be too strong for the graft, because we don’t want the graft to die, and I don’t want to lose my vineyard’s trees. It would make me sad to lose the trees of my vineyard. Therefore you must clear away the bad in proportion to the growth of the good, so the root and top will be equal in strength until the good overgrows the bad and the bad is cut down and thrown in the fire, so they don’t take up space in my vineyard. This will be how I’ll rid my vineyard of the bad. I’ll graft the branches of the original tree back into the original tree, and I’ll graft the branches of the original tree into the tree’s original branches. This is how I’ll bring them back together, so they will produce the original fruit again and be united. The bad will be thrown out — including from my entire vineyard. I’ll prune my vineyard just this last time.

Then the lord of the vineyard sent his servant, and the servant went and did as the lord had commanded him and brought a few other servants. And the lord of the vineyard told them: Get started and work hard in the vineyard. This is the last time I’ll tend my vineyard — the end is near and the harvest is coming quickly. If you work hard with me, you’ll have joy in the fruit that I’ll harvest for myself at the end of the growing season.

Then the servants went ahead and worked hard, and the lord of the vineyard also worked with them. And they obeyed the lord of the vineyard’s direction in all things. And original fruit again grew in the vineyard, and the original branches began to grow and produce abundantly, and the wild branches began to be cut off and thrown away. And they kept the root and the top equal based on their strength. This is how they worked with all diligence according to the lord of the vineyard’s commandments, until the bad had been thrown out of the vineyard and the lord had saved the good for himself, so the trees had again produced the original fruit. And they became like one body and the fruit was equally good; and the lord of the vineyard had saved the original fruit for himself, which was most valuable to him from the beginning.

When the lord of the vineyard saw his fruit was good and his vineyard was no longer corrupt, he called up his servants and told them: We’ve tended my vineyard for the last time. You see I’ve followed my plans and have saved the original fruit, so it’s good just like it was in the beginning. And you are blessed since you’ve been diligent in working with me in my vineyard and have followed my instructions — and it has produced the original fruit for me again, so that my vineyard is no longer corrupt and the bad is thrown away — and you’ll celebrate with me over my vineyard’s fruit. I’ll store my vineyard’s fruit for myself for a long time as we prepare for the end of the growing season, which is coming quickly. I’ve tended my vineyard for the last time and pruned, tilled, and fertilized it. Therefore I’ll store the fruit for myself for a long time, as I had planned. And when the time comes that evil fruit again grows in my vineyard, then I’ll have the good and bad gathered, and I’ll store the good for myself and throw the bad away into its own place. And then the final season ends, and it will be time for my vineyard to be burned with fire.

(Continuing on to the fourth chapter of Jacob):

Now, my people, since I said that I would prophesy, this is my prophecy: That the things this prophet Zenos said about the house of Israel, comparing them to a tame olive tree, will certainly happen. When He sets about a second time to recover His people, that will be the very last time the Lord’s servants will go out in His power to tend and prune His vineyard — following that, the end will happen quickly. And how blessed are those who have worked diligently in His vineyard! But how cursed are those who will be thrown out to where they belong! And the world will be burned with fire. How merciful God is to us! He remembers the house of Israel, both roots and branches, and reaches out His hands to them all day long. But they’re a stubborn, quarrelsome people. Nevertheless, all those who don’t harden their hearts will be saved in God’s kingdom.