The Fig Tree Parable

Pre Ten Virgins - part 2
Post 222


“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:32-34.

What generation? What things? What is “it”?
Just what is the parable of the fig tree talking about?
The reason why this is so difficult and seems to be intentionally confusing is because by its wording it allows it to be properly applied to more than one point in time even though the complete fulfillment is in fact one specific event that covers quite a lot as it regards a process of something coming gradually like the changing of winter into summer.
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The Fig Tree:
The meaning of the fig tree in this Matthew 24 passage has long been debated, but since Israel miraculously became a nation again in 1948 there has been an excited assumption in Christian circles to interpret that as the leaves on the fig tree. Indeed it is very exciting to see that after 1,878 years of abandonment the promised nation has been reborn. Clearly by many genuine miracles from the 1948 war just hours after creating the nation, to the 1967 6 day war, God has once again shown himself mighty on behalf of his people and it is easy to conclude that this is a significant putting forth of tender leaves from the dry bark of the tree long dormant through a very long winter.
But if the leaves of the fig tree in this parable is the 1948 nation of Israel, What is the fig tree?
There can be no doubt the fig tree is THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN which is after all the topic of the whole passage and even premiere in the whole book of Matthew (and Acts, but that will take another post to explain).
We know now that the coming of Christ in the clouds (Daniel 7:13-14, Matthew 24:30, 26:64, Acts 1:9-11, Revelation 19:11-16) prophesied by Exodus 14:20,16:10,19:9, Numbers 16:42, Deuteronomy 4:11,Isaiah 19:1,Ezekiel 1:4+ Jeremiah 4:13, and exampled by the cloud in the wilderness that drew the people and the tabernacle to it (Numbers 10:11-13,25,12:5), is the coming of Christ with his kingdom and the seat of that kingdom the new Jerusalem (Revelation 3:12, 21:2) with his saints (I Thessalonians 3:13, Jude 1:14-15, Revelation 19:14), to establish the 9th GDE on earth (Revelation 19:7) by the conquest of the 8th; “…he (the 8th) shall stand up against the Prince of princes (the 9th) but he shall be broken without hand” Daniel 8:25,
Daniel 9:27 “…even until the consummation (of the 9th)…”, (Daniel 7:26-27, Revelation 19:17-21) and to defend it even after it is consummated (Revelation 20:7-9).
The simplistic rendering of the 2nd coming of Jesus into a single simple event restricts the needful understanding that there are many complex details to the events of his coming just as any event in reality is complex. “My wife is having a baby” speaks volumes to those in the know but says nothing of all it means. The genuinely interested want far more information.

One such needful detail is the wrong “spring” that first comes and goes without the promised salvation of his coming. “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” Jeremiah 8:20
“Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?” Jeremiah 8:22 (daughter is a prophetic meaning of the later generation not to blame for the original suffering still experienced).
“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail… Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Habakkuk 3:17-18

By careful reading of the scriptures we see that there are very specific criteria that identifies the right and final return to Israel and to God, but few bother to figure it out. And God complains.
“Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane and the swallow observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the judgment of the LORD.” Jeremiah 8:7

God’s people can and should know, but the majority simply can’t bother to take the time to learn. Be among the few who can, and who with Habakkuk, joy in their God even though the time is not yet for the kingdom of heaven to dominate this globe.
Until then we are the citizens of that kingdom seeding the earth as sojourners (Acts 7:5-6, Hebrews 11:8-10). Until then that kingdom of heaven is only within us; the people of Christ (Luke 17:21-23) and we are preparing ourselves to be worthy citizens once it does come; “And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear” I Peter 1:17.
We live by a different custom, different laws, a different king while dwelling among the Godless in their kingdom. We are unwelcome guests and treated as such, and it is our job to remember this in humility while extending the invitation to them to transfer citizenship too.
“…Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Matthew 3:2-3
But many, including his own people, will refuse his gracious offer;
“But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us “ Luke 19:14.
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Wrong Again:
Without going into the details of why the parable of the fig tree leaves are interpreted to mean the return of Israel, it has been most common to suppose the parable to mean the generation that saw Israel become a nation in 1948 will be the generation that sees the complete arrival of the kingdom of heaven to earth, and the mistake is understandable. But this error of counting is reminiscent of the decree of Cyrus to build the city of Jerusalem in BC 536 which began the counting till messiah presented himself king in Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25).
Because there were three similar decrees that came close but did not fulfill the accuracy of the prophecy, the beginning of the counting was corrupted and believed to be unknowable by the failure of what seemed obvious, and likewise the 1948 return of the Jews to Israel has been close to fulfilling the prophetic return, but not accurately and so is not the point to begin the count of the Matthew 24:34 promise of the prophetic parable of the fig tree, to do so ends in failure and results in lost or confused faith by the apparent failure of the prophecy when that generation passes but the kingdom still does not come.

Yes the Jews were called back to Israel in 1948 and returned, but not per Isaiah 41:8-20, and not in the promise of everlasting joy described in Isaiah 51:11, not in the promised perpetual return to the Lord that identifies the correct return; Ezekiel 37:23-24, Jeremiah 24:5-7, 31:12-14, Zechariah 13:9, and many others.
We see THIS return of the Jews in Isaiah 30:15 as rejected and spurned by them as shown in prophetic verses 1-14 which prepares the way for the 4th dispersion yet to come as shown in verses 16-17, and the Lord will again wait for them to respond as shown in verse 18, so he can call them yet again as shown in verses 19-24, while the cleansing of the wicked nations continues in verses 25-33. This interpretation can be found by carefully reading this chapter knowing there is more than one return (30:8,13-14,25,26 etc to chapter 34 which describes the cleansing of the entire earth from the nations of iniquity).
Isaiah 35 reveals the kingdom of heaven at Christ’s coming.
Specifically reading verses 4-10 as if it meant exactly what it says, and not just a general pleasant event, reveals this cannot have yet been fulfilled by this present return.

So far I know of three returns shown in both scripture and history which do not fulfill the specific requirements of the promise:
1- The return from Egypt (Genesis 15:13-16, Exodus 12:41, Acts 7:6-7)
2- The return from Babylon (Jeremiah 25:11+29:10, Ezra 1:1-3)
3- The return from the Global scattering (Matthew 23:38, 1948 AD)
4- Can only follow a scattering not yet witnessed (Matthew 24:15,21,29, Daniel 12:1) resulting in the final return at the trumpet of the Lord (Matthew 24:31, Isaiah 27:13, Zephaniah 3:14-20, etc.)

Remember we already discussed there are four horns that scatter Judah (Zechariah 1:12-21,6:1-8). The first two returns are easily rejected as not the right return, but that third one really seems to be close until we understand there is a 4th. How do we know that the return in 1948 is not the promised return? Enter stage right, a very strange verse with now enlightened meaning;

“And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” Isaiah 11:11-12
Before a second recovery from all these places, there must have been a first recovery. 1948 was the first time to fulfill these specifics but it didn’t fulfill other specifics reserved for the second recovery.
A continued reading reveals a very spectacular geological alteration or a Red Sea kind of crossing that clearly has not yet been made! (Isaiah 11:15-16). Isaiah 13 is the events of Matthew 24:31.5 (between what is written), and Isaiah 13:19 is the destruction of Babylon also found in Revelation 18, all before Isaiah 14 talks about the promised rest for Israel (v.3) and the rest of the world (v.7) that now makes it clear all the great cleansing called the wrath of God and the day of the Lord comes after Jesus returns to earth (Isaiah 24). It could be this cleansing that requires the elect to wait an extra 45 days even after his lengthy arrival (Daniel 12:12, Isaiah 26:20-21).

Like the layer one “this generation” that Jesus directly spoke to was the generation that saw Jerusalem fall to the Romans and Israel’s scepter removed in 70 AD, the layer two “this generation” that lives at the time of “these things” is the generation that sees them all completed; therefore the events indicated in this passage all take place in the single last generation of the Gentile Age when Jerusalem will no longer be trampled down by the Gentiles (Luke 21:24, Revelation 11:2).
So what things do they need to see exactly in order to be “this generation”?

1- Matthew 24:15 begins; “When ye therefore shall see…”. This begins the end in the form of the great tribulation of Matthew 24:21-22.
2- Then the next event is the cosmic transition between the end of the tribulation and the coming of the Christ shown in verse 29.
3- Then the next event is the drawn-out coming of the Christ and his kingdom that takes some time to arrive (verses 27-28,30-31)
4- and the last event are the angels calling the elect to gather from all over the world (verse 31) in preparation for the great day of wrath also called the Day of the LORD (Psalm 110:5-6, Proverbs 11:4, Isaiah 13:9, Ezekiel 7:14-19, 38:19-23, Zephaniah 1:14-18).

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.” Matthew 24:32-33
The coming of the kingdom of heaven to earth is the “IT”, and so the signs listed are the “leaves”. The gathering of the elect (including Israel) is the last leaf described before “summer” breaks out. So just because we saw Israel gathered in 1948 as a single premature leaf combined with the pre-game leaf, we did not see “all these things” come with them and so this is not yet that long awaited spring in anticipation of the summer of holiness.

The use of a parable allows the promise to apply both to the generation hearing Jesus in 33 AD, as well as the last days generation. Once to the Jewish age and once to the Gentile age. The events will be fulfilled in both times though applied respectively. Was Jerusalem surrounded in 70 AD? Yes. Will it be again? Yes. Many Jews who did not flee to the mountains but instead fled to the walled city of Jerusalem for reasonably expected protection, experienced unspeakable horrors, and so it will be in the repeat event of the last days though prophesied to be a much faster destruction; as in an instant (Isaiah 30:13, Matthew 24:15-18) most probably by nuclear missiles. Those who flee in obedience, God will hide, but the mass majority will experience the beginning horrors of the Great Tribulation. It seems clear to me that Jerusalem will again fall and the land of Israel will again be desolate because of their unfaithfulness to God; they still turn to others to save them, as in imagined innocence they make God out to be the one who has failed them for so long (Isaiah 30:10-13, Ezekiel 20).

How many Christians today fall to this same delusion? How many Christians looking for the rapture still live in iniquity and will miss it because their hearts are turned inward in the corruption of selfish “Christianity” and not in yielding to Christ? It is easy to mock the Jews for their stubborn blindness against Jesus while doing the very same thing! “Asking Jesus into your heart” is not a magic incantation that then protects you from the iniquity of your own heart, Jesus came to give you a new heart and a new spirit. Do you have them? (Ezekiel 11:19,18:31,36:26)

“All these things” represent the listed events as the leaves that come about by the spring flow of life-giving sap in the tree, and therefore the tree is not actually the topic of this chapter but the summer itself as the “Time”; the “When” the “Season” the “Age”. The summer is the long awaited period and by this we know it means the domain of the kingdom of heaven. The coming of that kingdom is what causes these events just as the resulting birth of the baby is the cause of the labor pains that precede it. And again the whole topic of this chapter is answering “when?” and “what shall be the sign of thy coming and with it the end of the age that precedes that coming?”; Winter to Summer. When will the warmth of the kingdom of summer come?

These are the specific things the proper generation must see confirming that all the events will conclude within their generation which Genesis 15:13+16 declare to be 100 years. If all “these things” events are to fall within a 3-1/2 year period as is most commonly supposed, such a confirming promise of one generation seeing it all seems pointless. Therefore we can be sure that all these events will have every earmark of lasting many years, perhaps even longer than a lifetime! So Jesus encourages them by declaring; No, though taking many years and appearing to take even more, the fulfillment of the end events will all play out in just one generation. And to drive the promise home in an observable reason to doubt, the next verse declares; “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Matthew 24:35. In other words; You can bank on this fact regardless of what appears sure to the contrary.

Since many generations following the rise of Rome (the Iron Beast part 1) have seen these beginning of sorrows signs (Matthew 24:8), we should not suppose any other generation than those who sees the Abomination of Desolation, the cosmic events, the signs of the Lord returning, and the gathering of the elect by the trumpet of the angels, is the generation that sees the establishment of the kingdom of heaven.
“Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.” Matthew 24:34

It seems sorta silly to say “if you see all this, your generation won’t pass till you see it all”, so just what is he saying?
It is clear by his confirming promise of verse 35 that even after that generation sees virtually all these signs, there will still be a very long wait to see the fulfillment of it all; the day and hour that no one knows (v36).
Again we see the waiting. Doesn’t the waiting ever end?!
And so the next several verses of Matthew 24:37-51 speak in parables first of a cleansing likened unto that of Noah's flood, and THEN of the long delay in the transition of the ages and those who lose heart in the waiting.
and NOW we can understand the meaning and purpose of the Ten virgin parable that follows!

“THEN shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom.” Matthew 25:1

These virgins had waited patiently for their groom, and for reasons explained by Jewish tradition, the groom sounded his coming and in excitement the virgins ran to meet him! But wait! He was still some distance behind his trumpet and there was still more waiting to be done!
But the wise virgins expected this for some reason (they knew the scriptures) and were well prepared, but the foolish had already waited with them for an undisclosed period and now at the trumpet call they thought the waiting was over. But the door was still closed.
Now note, they are not shown to be struggling or fighting while they wait, they are all slumbering. Apparently the conflict is over and they are at ease while they wait. But in the pleasure of slumber is the danger of running out of preparation that the struggle seems to feed.
America has likewise fallen into slumber and has like the foolish virgins run out of oil. It seems this last waiting is one of ease after the Great Tribulation and while Christ is seen coming in the sky! Incredible! It seems his coming will be so long we may simply get used to seeing him in the sky like a new sun and forget he is still on his way!
Now if you read the several parables with this concept in mind, they hold significant new meaning.
I will get into that meaning in the next post.

"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Revelation 14:12

Christianity is not something you do while waiting for rescue, it is something you become regardless of the circumstances. (Malachi 3:13-18)
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Note: through developing this post I was struck very near the end of it, by the awareness that my lifelong perspective on the Rapture may be utterly incorrect. Please allow me the time to explore this deeply before I post my conclusions. Until then I leave my original view unaltered.
It is regretful that I don't have the time presently to develop these last two posts as thoroughly as I would like before publishing them, but the Lord has me where I am for a very interesting learning that I feel continues my given mission. I hope to soon share it with you!
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