TAKING A SERIOUS LOOK AT ONE OF JESUS' PROPHECIES
TAKING A SERIOUS LOOK AT ONE OF JESUS’ PROPHECIES
It can’t
be clearer. Jesus said it outright in Matthew 24:34 and it was repeated in Mark
13:30 and Luke 21:32. There is no mistaking what Jesus said: He said, “Truly I
say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place.”
So
unless we believe that Jesus was a false prophet, we must ask two questions:
1.
What are all these things?
2.
What generation?
Many
solve the problem by concluding that all of these things (Meaning the entire
sequence of events in Mt. 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21 and of course the book of
Revelation) were fulfilled in A.D. 70 with the destruction of Jerusalem.
This
answers the question quite neatly. After all, the destruction of Jerusalem took
place some 40 after the resurrection of Jesus and indeed those who believed in
Jesus and heeded His warnings fled Jerusalem and were spared the horrible death
and destruction the took the lives of about a million Jews.
This
also ties a neat little bow on Jesus prophetic abilities, not to mention the
fact that we no longer need to pay attention to Mt. 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, the book
of Revelation or Paul’s writings or any of the Old Testament prophets because
it is all ancient history.
So our problem
is solved and our two questions answered. All of these things mean basically the
sum of all Bible prophecy as outlined by Jesus and then of course the
generation that He spoke of would be the immediate generation that Jesus was
talking to in His day. Case closed.
But how
many of you know that the case is not closed and that Jesus was not only
talking about the events of A.D. 70, but the end of the age as well?
Shortly
before Jesus said “When you see all of these things He said this:
“But immediately after the
tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give
its light and the stars will fall from the sky and the powers of the heavens
will be shaken and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and
then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory and He will send
forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect
from the four winds from one end of the sky to the other.” Mt. 24:29-31
Well,
has this happened yet? Was this fulfilled in A.D. 70? No, this event of His
second coming and many if not all of the events listed in these chapters will
also occur at the end of the age at the second coming of Christ and we are
indeed watching many of these events taking shape right now.
Now
right after Jesus made the above statement He went on to say something cryptic
that many do not pay attention to today. He said:
“Now
learn the parable from the fig tree; when its branch has already become tender
and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; even so you too, when
you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. Truly I
say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take
place.” Mt. 24:32-34
So
since Jesus cannot be speaking only about His own generation, the ones He was
talking to before He left the earth we are then forced to ask what it might
mean concerning the fig tree… for indeed, in our diagramming of sentences,
Jesus would be talking about the generation that saw the fig tree blossom. This
is the generation that would see His return. So what does that mean?
Interestingly
Israel is likened to a fig tree or an olive tree. In Romans chapter 11 Paul
likens Israel to an Olive Tree into which the gentiles have been grafted, by
faith in Israel’s Messiah Jesus.
Jesus
Himself likened Israel to a fig tree in one of His parables and He said:
“A
certain man had a fig tree which had been planted in his vineyard; and he came
looking for fruit on it and did not find any. And he said to the vine-keeper, “Behold,
for three years I have come looking for the fruit on this fig tree without
finding any. Cut it down! Why does it even take up the ground?” And he answered
and said to him. “ Let it alone, sir, for this year too until I dig around it and
put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, cut it
down.”
So obviously
Jesu is here talking about Israel because He had been working among them for 3
years and looking for fruit and wasn’t finding any. So shortly before His
death, Jesus committed another strange act. Mark 11: 13 says:
“And
seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would
find anything on it; and when He came to it He found nothing but leaves, for it
was not the season for figs. And He answered and said to it, “May no one ever
eat fruit from you again.” And His disciples were listening.”
So when
they passed by the same fig tree the next morning the disciples were amazed to
see that the fig tree had died and had withered from the roots up.
Well…
was Jesus simply throwing a temper tantrum when He cursed the fig tree? No, He
was saying something very symbolic. He had ministered to Israel for over three
years and now the leaders were plotting His death. They had not born the fruit
of His kingdom and so Jesus was talking about Israel and not about the fig tree
per se.
But we
also need to make note of the fact that Mark tells us that it was not even the season
for figs. So cursing of the fig tree for not bearing fruit out of season, becomes
grossly unfair and so the parable demands a solution or God is not a God of
justice, nor is He justified in cursing Israel, since He has required them to
bear fruit out of season.
Well,
the problem of God’s unjust cursing of the fig tree is answered in Mt. 24:32
where Jesus says to the same disciples that heard Him curse the fig tree a few
days before saying:
“Now learn
the parable of the fig tree; when its branch has already become tender; and puts
forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; even so when you see all of these
things, recognize that He is near, right
at the door. Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all
these things take place.” Mt. 24:32-34
` Here
Jesus is telling his disciples that the fig tree will live again… near the time
of His second coming the fig tree will come to life and when it does, the
generation that sees it come to life had better wake up and be ready because
they are the generation that will also see Him return.
Am I
grasping at straws here? Am I making something up? No for Paul takes hold of
this same theme in Romans 11 saying:
“For if
their rejection be the reconciliation of the world what will their acceptance
be but life from the dead (What? The cursed fig tree coming back to life?) Rom.
11:15
And
then Paul goes on to say: “And they also, if they do not continue in their
unbelief will be grafted in for God is able to graft them in again.” V 23
“For I do not
want you, brethren to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your
own estimation that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness
of the Gentiles has come in and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is
written…” and then Paul goes on in verse 29 to explain that the gifts and the calling
of God are irrevocable and he then reminds us that we too have been disobedient
but we too have been shown mercy.” Rom. 11:25, 29
Friends,
we are the generation that has literally seen hundreds of end time Bible
prophecies being fulfilled, not the least of which, is the blossoming of the fig
tree in our day and we are the generation that will also see the coming of the
Son of Man. So as we witness the events of Mt. 24 and Mark 13 and Luke 21 and the
books of Daniel and Revelation and the prophets coming to pass right before our
eyes, we need to lift up our heads for our redemption is drawing nigh.
We cannot
rightly understand end time prophecies without acknowledging Israel’s role in
last day events. It is not all good to be sure. After all, they are in the
process of building a kingdom and a temple for the antichrist. They have become
part and parcel of the coming global kingdom of the beast and they, along with
the Pope in his forming of a global religion and the New World Order people in
their Luciferian drive to rule the
world; are working together to bring about the greatest deception of all time.
And yet
in all of this mayhem known as the time of Jacob’s Trouble, a Remnant of Israel
will be saved and they will look upon Him whom they have pierced and just like
Joseph and His brothers, there will be a reconciliation as Jesus comes to rule
and reign from Jerusalem for 1000 years… and He will restore everything
promised to them concerning their land and their apportionments and all the
rest of it as described in the book of Ezekiel and elsewhere.
This is
described as the restoration of all things in Malachi 4: 5, 6, Mt. 17:11 and of
course everything promised by the return of Christ at the end of the age. And it
was the subject of the disciple’s question in Acts 1:6
But the
main point today is that we are the generation that has seen the fig tree
blossom again and we will also see the return of the Lord, so we should not
take lightly the things that are happening in the world. We can see the rapid formation
of the global kingdom of the Beast. We see Pope Francis gathering all of the
religions of the world together into a global religion. (And sadly many Protestants are falling away
from the faith and going back to Rome to wonder after the Beast. We see that plans for the 3rd
temple that will be high- jacked by the antichrist are almost completed. The global
kingdom of the beast is coming on line including all of the surveillance and mark
of the beast technology that will make such things possible on a global scale.
We have been watching all of nature turning on its head as crops fail and
animals and fish and birds and insects are going extinct by the millions… we
are watching the shaking of the heavens as our sun becomes unstable and the
earth begins to undergo unprecedented storms, earthquakes, volcanoes and disasters
of all kinds taking place by land and by sea.. We are watching as God shouts
His warnings across the sky in blood moons and eclipses and other cosmic
phenomena taking place such as CMEs and sun flares and waves of energy and
cosmic radiation that is currently bombarding our magnetosphere and heating up
earth’s core. We are watching as the powers of this world march toward world
war… and last, but not least we are watching preparations for what may be the covenant
with many mentioned in Dan 9:27 that will make way for the antichrist.
We
could go on with the signs for hundreds of pages, but the dead will remain dead
and those who are alive already know these things, or we are seeking diligently
for understanding them… for none of us knows all that we want to know and Paul
tells us in 1 Thess. 5 that Jesus will come like a thief in the night just when
everyone is saying “peace and safety.
So Paul
informs us that many will be caught unawares by His return, but that we are not
in darkness that the day should overtake us as a thief… and Jesus has told us
these things in advance. So if we are faithful to His Word and if we live by His
Spirit, we will not be caught unaware and we will be prepared as a bride
adorned for her husband. So study Bible prophecy. Jesus gave us these things
for a reason… and while we may not fully understand ever detail… He has given
us enough information to be ready for His coming as our hearts are united with
His.
So was
Jesus mistaken in His prophecy about the blooming of the fig tree? No, He was
not and the proof is that we have witnessed the rebirth of Israel in our day.
In was born in one day… it has indeed become a cup of trembling and the focus
of all of earth’s last day issues. And thanks to Israel’s literal return to
their land in these last days we now know and understand that all end time
Bible prophecies will take place literally. We also know and understand that Israel
is and always has been God’s physical time piece, a physical template
demonstrating spiritual events in the world.
Everything
we know about God today has come from Israel, from Moses and all of the
prophets and the apostles of the New Testament as well. Likewise we can best
understand all of earth’s last day events going on today as we use Israel as a
physical template for the spiritual issues going on in the world.
We need
to pray for the peace of Jerusalem as the Bible says and we also need to
understand that the evil that is going on in Israel today has everything to do
with the fact that Satan trying to set up His global kingdom in the place of
Christ. He is seeking to preempt Christ’s return and to be worshipped as God. But
we know the end of the Story. Satan and his entire kingdom will be destroyed by
the brightness of our Lord’s return and all of those Jews who receive Jesus
Christ in the end will be saved. Paul said so… and the church desperately needs
understanding of these things so that we can rightly discern the events taking place
in Israel. Right now, Jerusalem is likened to Sodom and Egypt, but a day is
soon coming with Jerusalem will be known as “The City of the Great King.”
“Great
is the Lord and greatly to be praised. In the city of our God, His holy
mountain. Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, is Mount Zion in
the sides of the north, the city of the great King.” Ps 48: and if we keep
reading it says in verse 8: As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of
the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish her forever.”
Think on these things.
There
is only One who can establish Jerusalem forever and that is Jesus Christ
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