Femi Aribisala linked Jesus to the Tree of Life — Premium Times Nigeria
In a column for Nigeria’s Premium Times Nigeria, Femi Aribisala presented his theological interpretation of the biblical image of the Tree of Life and linked it to Jesus Christ. The piece is marked as the first part, and at the end the author announces a continuation.
A building for the church
At the beginning of the column, Aribisala mentions the Healing Wings church, founded in 1994. According to him, he initially did not like the proposed building at 12 Festival Road in the Victoria Island area of Lagos: it was old, neglected, and had stood unoccupied for five years.
The author writes that after a second inspection with colleagues, he noticed fruit trees on the premises — mangoes, almonds, and bananas. After that, they decided that the building would become the community’s “Promised Land.” Aribisala draws a parallel with the biblical account of Moses’ messengers, who brought grapes, pomegranates, and figs from the Promised Land.
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Interpretation of biblical images
Aribisala notes that the Book of Genesis mentions the Tree of Life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In his interpretation, Adam and Eve could eat fruit from the Tree of Life but violated God’s prohibition by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The author refers to passages from the Book of Isaiah, Psalms, the Gospels, and the apostles’ epistles, in which trees appear as an image of people and their deeds. He also mentions the Apostle Paul’s words about the “first Adam” and the “last Adam” — Jesus Christ.
Separately, Aribisala interprets the cross on which, according to Christian tradition, Jesus was crucified as a tree. Referring to New Testament texts, he calls Jesus the Tree of Life and writes that his sacrifice opens the way to eternal life for people. At the end of the column, the author states that the Old Testament contains prefigurations of Jesus as the Tree of Life.
