This is not the only time in the Bible when wicked men are compared to
trees. There is a notable example in Nebuchadnezzar, who, in his dream,
saw a tree great and high, and saw an angel come down from heaven, look
at it and then cry out--
"HEW DOWN THE TREE!"
But in his case it was not said, "Cast it into the fire," but leave the
stump with a band of iron and brass. You will remember this dream was
fulfilled, and the king of Babylon lost his reason, and became like a
beast, but the tree was allowed to grow again. Not so with these: John
is speaking about the trees to be burned.
But we may be asked--What are the trees in the devil's orchard? They are
men and women whose lives are wrong. You may see what Paul says in the
letter he wrote to the Christians in Galatia--Adultery, Fornication,
Uncleanness, Lasciviousness, Idolatry, Witchcraft, Hatred, Variance,
Wrath, Strife, Seditions, Heresies, Envying, Murders, Drunkenness,
Revellings, and such like.