The Last Generation

THE DAILY WORD
By Jim Seekamp

Thursday May 14, 2009

Matthew 24:32-34 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
32. "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened."

So what is this "fig tree" Jesus was talking about? Fortunately, the Bible tells us!

Mark 11:12-14 (NIV)
12. The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 13. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14. Then he said to the tree, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard him say it.

After Jesus cursed the fig tree, it withered:

Mark 11:20-24 (NIV)
20. In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!"
22. "Have faith in God," Jesus answered. 23. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, `Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.
24. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree, since, as Mark pointed out in verse 13, figs weren't in season?

The question is answered in a publication called "The Barren Fig Tree" written many years ago by W. M. Christie, a Church of Scotland minister in Palestine under the British mandatory regime. He pointed out first the time of year at which the incident is said to have occurred: during the first days of April.

Christie wrote: "the facts connected with the fig tree are these. Toward the end of March the leaves begin to appear, and in about a week the foliage coating is complete. Coincident with [this], and sometimes even before, there appears quite a crop of small knobs, not the real figs, but a kind of early forerunner. They grown to the size of green almonds, in which condition they are eaten by peasants and others when hungry. When they come to their own indefinite maturity they drop off."

These precursors to the real fig are called "taqsh" in Palestinian Arabic. Their appearance is before the fully formed figs about six weeks later. So, as Mark says, the time for figs had not yet come, but if the leaves appear without any taqsh, that is a sign there will be no figs. Since Jesus found "nothing but leaves" - leaves without any taqsh- he knew that it was an absolutely hopeless, fruitless fig tree.

Jesus was giving a parallel to what the prophet Jeremiah saw concerning figs:

Jeremiah 24:1-8 (NIV)
1. After Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the craftsmen and the artisans of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the LORD showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the LORD. 2. One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very poor figs, so bad they could not be eaten.
3. Then the LORD asked me, "What do you see, Jeremiah?"
"Figs," I answered. "The good ones are very good, but the poor ones are so bad they cannot be eaten."
4. Then the word of the LORD came to me: 5. "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. 6. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.
7. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
8. "`But like the poor figs, which are so bad they cannot be eaten,' says the LORD, `so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt."

Since the good figs and bad figs were both Israelites, the fig tree has to be Israel itself as a nation! God refers to a "righteous BRANCH" in Jeremiah as well:

Jeremiah 23:5 (NIV)
5. "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will raise up to David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land."

When Jesus found no "taqsh" on the fig tree, He cursed the tree. He was showing that the nation of Israel still as yet had not born any fruit from the righteous branch! The fruit God wanted started to appear once Jesus arose from the dead, and the new birth became available. Yet the great majority of Jews still do not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah.

Now that the "fig tree" has grown tender and brought forth leaves (Israel has become a nation again), that is about to change! A great spiritual rebirth has been prophesied for Israel, and many will tell you it has already begun! Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel foretold that when Israel returned to its own land, there would be a "new birth" among its people:

Jeremiah 24:4-7 (NIV)
4. Then the word of the LORD came to me: 5. "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: `Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. 6. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them.
7. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the LORD. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.

Ezekiel 36:24-26 (NIV)
24. "`For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.
25. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

Both those passages are blatantly referring to the new birth experienced by every Christian! So Israel becoming a nation again in 1948 was the precursor to a great revival of Christianity among Jews!

Now lets look at what Jesus said in Matthew 24 again:

Matthew 24:32-34 (NIV) (Jesus speaking)
32. "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened."

Jesus told us that THIS GENERATION, when the fig tree (Israel) became tender and brought forth leaves, WILL NOT PASS AWAY until ALL the things Jesus foretold about the end times come to pass!!

We know He was talking about Israel becoming a nation because He did not mention the FRUIT! The SUMMER would bring forth the harvest of fruit, but the generation that will not pass away is when the fig tree's branches become tender and it BRINGS FORTH LEAVES! In other words, when the tree comes to LIFE again!

WE ARE LIVING IN THE LAST GENERATION BEFORE THE RAPTURE!!

PRAYER
Thank You Father for Your Word, and the many prophecies you gave us that are already fulfilled. Help me to be a light, and a reflection of Your love to this world, so Your Kingdom may expand greatly before Your return.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

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