This generation....

[visionary]

Key words

Mar 13:28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

In case you didn't know it, scripture often refers to Israel as the fig tree. Yeshua had just finished answering the question about His second coming and He switches gears to answer the questions about the "signs of the end of the age." The first sign that would show that the end of the age had arrived was the fig tree shooting forth its leaves. The fig tree is one of the last trees to bud in the spring. So when it puts forth leaves, people know that summer is right around the corner. What does the fig tree represent? Hosea compares the people of Israel to figs, Isaiah compares them to plants in a vineyard, and Joel compares the land of Israel to a fig tree.

Hosea 9:10 - "I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the first fruits on the fig tree in its first season."

Isaiah 5:7 - For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant plant.

Joel 1:6-7 - For a nation has come up against My land, strong, and without number; his teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a fierce lion. He has laid waste My vine, and ruined My fig tree; he has stripped it bare and thrown it away; its branches are made white.

Yeshua used the fig tree illustration in another parable.

Luke 13:9 "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the ground?' But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you can cut it down.'"

The passage in Isaiah 5:7 shows us that the vineyard belongs to the Lord. The keeper in the parable above is Yeshua, who was three years into His ministry at the time. Right before Yeshua shared the parable, He warned that unless there is repentance from wrong theology, the nation would perish. We should learn from this. We are not immune.

In the parable, God told Yeshua to cut down the tree, which is Israel. Jesus requested to give the tree until the next season to bear fruit, before cutting it down. Yeshua was to spend the next half-year trying to bear fruit from the nation Israel, before giving up on them. The cursing of the fig tree in the passage below shows us the verdict of the nation Israel. Though Israel as a nation would be destroyed, faith and salvation would still be available on an individual basis, as shown at the end of the following passage:

Matthew 21:18-22 - Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it, "Let no fruit grow on you ever again." Immediately the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, "How did the fig tree wither away so soon?" So Jesus answered and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

We are to be aware that in "like manner" history will repeat itself.

Mar 13:29 So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

Now about Israel. Israel as a nation was cut down. It was no more until the day came when God brought it back. A miracle, because not only was it back where it started, it was in the midst of being attacked from all sides. Hardly an easy beginning for any nation. It appears that the sign of the fig tree is the beginning of the last generation before Yeshua returns. How long is a generation? A generation is said to be about 70 years.

Psalms 90:10- The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

A fig tree typically "puts forth leaves" in March, with the first figs ready for harvest in early June, or about 70-80 days later.

The number "70" appears in other prophecies about Israel. Israel was in Babylonian captivity for 70 years and God told Daniel that there were 70 weeks of punishment coming on Israel:

Daniel 9:2, 24 - ...I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem... Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city.

From 1948 to 2018 is 70 years. If we include when Israel regained Jerusalem in 1967 then one Jubilee time frame brings us to 2017. 50 years between Jubilees where Liberty, cancelled debt, and possessions are returned

Leviticus 25:8 And you shall count seven Sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven Sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family.

The signs rapidly converging around us show that this length is reasonable. It is also interesting to note that all the prophecies predicting the Jewish exile, and destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, all occurred within the normal lifespan of 70 years from the birth of Yeshua.

Mar 13:30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

Then Yeshua moves on to the next sign, but that is worthy of a thread of its own. The next sign of the end of the age, after the fig tree blooms, is the event known as "the day or hour no one knows." I touched on this in the Hebrew mindset thread.

 

[Josiah]

Key words In case you didn't know it, scripture often refers to Israel as the fig tree. Yeshua had just finished answering the question about His second coming and He switches gears to answer the questions about the "signs of the end of the age." The first sign that would show that the end of the age had arrived was the fig tree shooting forth its leaves. The fig tree is one of the last trees to bud in the spring. So when it puts forth leaves, people know that summer is right around the corner. What does the fig tree represent? Hosea compares the people of Israel to figs, Isaiah compares them to plants in a vineyard, and Joel compares the land of Israel to a fig tree. Yeshua used the fig tree illustration in another parable.


The passage in Isaiah 5:7 shows us that the vineyard belongs to the Lord. The keeper in the parable above is Yeshua, who was three years into His ministry at the time. Right before Yeshua shared the parable, He warned that unless there is repentance from wrong theology, the nation would perish. We should learn from this. We are not immune.

In the parable, God told Yeshua to cut down the tree, which is Israel. Jesus requested to give the tree until the next season to bear fruit, before cutting it down. Yeshua was to spend the next half-year trying to bear fruit from the nation Israel, before giving up on them. The cursing of the fig tree in the passage below shows us the verdict of the nation Israel. Though Israel as a nation would be destroyed, faith and salvation would still be available on an individual basis, as shown at the end of the following passage:

We are to be aware that in "like manner" history will repeat itself. Now about Israel. Israel as a nation was cut down. It was no more until the day came when God brought it back. A miracle, because not only was it back where it started, it was in the midst of being attacked from all sides. Hardly an easy beginning for any nation. It appears that the sign of the fig tree is the beginning of the last generation before Yeshua returns. How long is a generation? A generation is said to be about 70 years. A fig tree typically "puts forth leaves" in March, with the first figs ready for harvest in early June, or about 70-80 days later.

The number "70" appears in other prophecies about Israel. Israel was in Babylonian captivity for 70 years and God told Daniel that there were 70 weeks of punishment coming on Israel:

From 1948 to 2018 is 70 years. If we include when Israel regained Jerusalem in 1967 then one Jubilee time frame brings us to 2017. 50 years between Jubilees where Liberty, cancelled debt, and possessions are returned The signs rapidly converging around us show that this length is reasonable. It is also interesting to note that all the prophecies predicting the Jewish exile, and destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, all occurred within the normal lifespan of 70 years from the birth of Yeshua.

Then Yeshua moves on to the next sign, but that is worthy of a thread of its own. The next sign of the end of the age, after the fig tree blooms, is the event known as "the day or hour no one knows." I touched on this in the Hebrew mindset thread.

SEVERAL reactions, but just ONE of them is that I reject the politicalization of the Bible. "Israel" was a political entity for only roughly 200 years - from roughly 950-722 BC. Unless Scripture is written during that time, any reference to "Israel" is not a reference to a political entity. The word means "wrestle with God" and (besides one individual PERSON) came to mean the PEOPLE of God. It means PEOPLE - His people - not some geopolitical state. I think was confuses some is that many, many, many centuries after the Bible was written, some Jews decided to name a new geopolitical state "Israel" but a geopolitical state is not the whole people of God (in fact, it's not people - AT ALL, of God of anything or anyone else). It seems especially odd to me to have a PROTESTANT (of all people!) take this view since foundational to Protestantism is that the people of God are PEOPLE - in direct conflict to Catholicism which argued/argues that church = denomination (institution rather than all believing PEOPLE). In fact, as a Christian, I'm not at all sure I agree that the JEWS (who reject Christ) are THE people of God (at the exclusion of Christians) but in any case, I don't agree that the people are God are a singular geopolitical state that came into existence in 1947.



Sorry.


- Josiah

 

[visionary]

SEVERAL reactions, but just ONE of them is that I reject the politicalization of the Bible. "Israel" was a political entity for only roughly 200 years - from roughly 950-722 BC. Unless Scripture is written during that time, any reference to "Israel" is not a reference to a political entity. The word means "wrestle with God" and (besides one individual PERSON) came to mean the PEOPLE of God. It means PEOPLE - His people - not some geopolitical state. I think was confuses some is that many, many, many centuries after the Bible was written, some Jews decided to name a new geopolitical state "Israel" but a geopolitical state is not the whole people of God (in fact, it's not people - AT ALL, of God of anything or anyone else). It seems especially odd to me to have a PROTESTANT (of all people!) take this view since foundational to Protestantism is that the people of God are PEOPLE - in direct conflict to Catholicism which argued/argues that church = denomination (institution rather than all believing PEOPLE). In fact, as a Christian, I'm not at all sure I agree that the JEWS (who reject Christ) are THE people of God (at the exclusion of Christians) but in any case, I don't agree that the people are God are a singular geopolitical state that came into existence in 1947.



Sorry.


- Josiah

So God is real and God's people are Isreal... sorry pun intended...:rofl3:

On a serious note, I can see what you are saying but have to ask for more info on the concept that Israel is the people and not the geo-political area.

 

[Josiah]

S

On a serious note, I can see what you are saying but have to ask for more info on the concept that Israel is the people and not the geo-political area.

As a proper noun, SINCE 1947, "Israel" does refer to a specific, singular, geopolitical STATE (and not people). But I disagree THAT is what the word means in the Bible. When the NT was written, "Israel" had not been a political institutional entity for some 800 years, and would not be again for 1900 years; it did not mean such. Thus, I think giving the biblical word an entirely foreign meaning is wrong hermeneutics. But I suspect we disagree.


- Josiah

 

[TurtleHare]

SEVERAL reactions, but just ONE of them is that I reject the politicalization of the Bible. "Israel" was a political entity for only roughly 200 years - from roughly 950-722 BC. Unless Scripture is written during that time, any reference to "Israel" is not a reference to a political entity. The word means "wrestle with God" and (besides one individual PERSON) came to mean the PEOPLE of God. It means PEOPLE - His people - not some geopolitical state. I think was confuses some is that many, many, many centuries after the Bible was written, some Jews decided to name a new geopolitical state "Israel" but a geopolitical state is not the whole people of God (in fact, it's not people - AT ALL, of God of anything or anyone else). It seems especially odd to me to have a PROTESTANT (of all people!) take this view since foundational to Protestantism is that the people of God are PEOPLE - in direct conflict to Catholicism which argued/argues that church = denomination (institution rather than all believing PEOPLE). In fact, as a Christian, I'm not at all sure I agree that the JEWS (who reject Christ) are THE people of God (at the exclusion of Christians) but in any case, I don't agree that the people are God are a singular geopolitical state that came into existence in 1947.



Sorry.


- Josiah

I am with you on this. Over 2000 years ago we received a Savior and since then anyone not trusting in this guy Jesus doesn't have the salvation God promised since the very beginning right? I shake my head when I see people claiming others are saved any differently whether it's by race or because they're babies before some non-existant age of reason.

 

[psalms 91]

I am with you on this. Over 2000 years ago we received a Savior and since then anyone not trusting in this guy Jesus doesn't have the salvation God promised since the very beginning right? I shake my head when I see people claiming others are saved any differently whether it's by race or because they're babies before some non-existant age of reason.

They are not saved any different but it is clear that when Jesus returns He will save Jews in Jerusalem and that they are Gods bride. Does that mean all, of course not any more than everyone is saved

 

[visionary]

No other group of people or body of people are known as Israel or Israelites with or without country. If what you say has merit wouldn't there be another group who claim they are the true Israelites of scripture. If they do, what is proof that they are?