The Fig tree generation
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He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
(Matthew 24:29-33)
In the above passage, Jesus makes a statement that has been very hard for many people to understand.
His statement was obviously linked to the end times.
After prophesying about the end times events in the passage of Matthew 24:3-28, Jesus mentions the parable of the fig tree. Since it is a parable, it also means that the same parable should be interpreted. Therefore, the words ‘fig tree’ must be interpreted into its real meaning.
The ‘fig tree’ is a reference to the nation of Israel as God said in Hosea 6:9:
‘“When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert;
when I saw your ancestors,
it was like seeing the early fruit on the fig tree.’’
The parable of the fig tree is actually a time indicator that Jesus uses to show when the season of the end times will occur.
In Matthew 24:30, Jesus makes a reference to the sprouting of the fig tree leaves. In other words, He refers to the growth of the nation of Israel. Consequently in the parable, Jesus was saying that when the leaves of the fig tree sprout (or when the nation of Israel would have grown), know that the summer is near (or know that the season of My return is near).
When it comes to Israel, we know that it was a disbanded nation for centuries until 1948. It was in 1948 that Israel returned to the land that God had reserved for them.
1948 is the year where we have to start looking at the sprouting of leaves. As we can all see, Israel has grown to be a fully active nation to the point of acting as a key player at international level.
Now, here comes a key question: ‘for how long should we keep watch on the sprouting of the fig leaves?’
Jesus responds to that question by saying: ‘ Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened’ (Matthew 24:30).
There have been a lot of debates about who the generation represents. Some people assume that Jesus was referring to his contemporaries. However, such assumption is wrong since Jesus speaks about events that are still to come.
Therefore the words ‘this generation’ can only be connected to the parable of the fig tree and the same words are part of the parable of the fig tree. Consequently, when Jesus mentions the words ‘this generation’, He refers to the generation that will see the sprouting of the fig tree (the growth of the Israel nation).
Such an indication leads many to ask the following: ‘what number of years define a generation?’
Sociology has its way of defining the term generation. However, God also has His own way of defining the word generation. And in order to explain the parable of the fig tree, we need to define the word generation as God defines it in the Bible.
In Genesis 15:12-16, God says to Abraham:
“12 As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him. 13 Then the Lord said to him, “Know for certain that for four hundred years your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own and that they will be enslaved and mistreated there. 14 But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves, and afterward they will come out with great possessions. 15 You, however, will go to your ancestors in peace and be buried at a good old age. 16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.”
Notice that God tells Abraham that his descendants will be strangers in a foreign land for 400 years and God says that in the fourth generation, those descendants will occupy the promised land. Pay attention to how God simply says that four generations of Abraham’s descendants equate to 400 years. Such a description leads me to conclude that for God, a generation is defined as a period of a century or 100 years.
Going back to the parable of the fig tree, we can now conclude that the generation that Jesus mentions is supposed to exist within a bracket of 100 years. However, since Jesus said that ‘this generation will not pass away’, it also means that 100 years of ‘this generation’ will not be completed before the full realisation of all prophecies contained in Matthew 24.
So now, we have solved three elements:
A) We know that the fig tree is a reference to Israel
B) We know that the generation spoken in the parable of the fig tree is the generation existing side by side with the sprouting of the fig tree (or the growth of Israel).
C) According to God, a generation lives within a period of 100 years.
Having drawn those three conclusions, it becomes imperative to find a practical link with our current times:
*The fig tree, representing Israel, has been reborn and grown since 1948.
* We (you and I) are part of the generation witnessing the sprouting of the fig tree leaves.
*At the time of writing this article, 100 years have not yet been completed since the rebirth of Israel…
*Since this generation shall not pass away before the completion of the prophecies in Matthew 24, it also means that before 2048 the world would have seen and experienced all prophecies included in Matthew 24, Luke 21 and Mark 13.
When I got to understand those Biblical truths, I suddenly realised why some very dark individuals in this world were (and are) obsessed with implementing ‘dark resetting agendas’ by 2030. Because they are aware of something and they want to be ahead…but most Christians are still sleeping.
I know that many will reply to me and say: ‘But Maurice, Jesus said that nobody knows the hour nor the day of Christ’s return.’
Yes, it is true: ‘nobody knows the day nor the hour of Christ' return’.
However, we can estimate the season and the period especially in light of everything that is currently happening in this world.
So, what does that mean for all of us?
Such understanding of the times should alert us to prepare for the rapture. Furthermore, this should give us a greater sense of emergency in living the complete will of God for our lives and in winning souls for Christ.
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