Disciples Digital Library

The  Gospel of Mark  divides the story of the barren fig tree into two sections and places the “cleansing” of the Temple between them. The two incidents are closely linked. The fruitlessness of the fig tree and its cursing highlighted the failure and fate of the Temple, and the actions of Jesus foreshadowed its destruction. After his arrival in the city of Jerusalem, he first visited the Temple and “ looked around on all things .”

After describing the destruction of the Temple, Jesus went on to the subject of his return. How much time would pass between the Temple’s demise and his arrival he did not say, but in the intervening period, he warned his disciples to steer clear of deceivers and “ false prophets ” who would disseminate false information about his coming.

Only Daniel could reveal and interpret the Nebuchadnezzar’s troubling dream, thereby unveiling the future of empires and God’s Kingdom . The second and third chapters of the  Book of Daniel  present a single story told in two parts. First, the Babylonian ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, dreams of an enormous image composed of several materials, which Daniel then interprets. In the process, the Prophet demonstrates the sovereignty of God over History. Second, in Chapter 3, Nebuchadnezzar attempts to implement his dream in his own way by erecting a great golden image on the “ Plain of Dura .”

The arrogant acts of Nebuchadnezzar in the Book of Daniel parallel the incident at the Tower of Babel in Genesis .  The  Book of Daniel  begins by referring to the Babylon of Daniel’s day as the “ Land of Shinar ,” a verbal link to the story of the Tower of Babel in  Genesis  and the founding of the city of Babel that centuries later became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. That incident is echoed again in the third chapter of the Book when Nebuchadnezzar gathered all the nations and peoples of his realm to pay homage to the great golden image that he had “ set up ” on the Mesopotamian plain.