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Transcript 154A — The Future For Israel, the Fig Tree
HC: I think what I'll do is get into the question: "What are we going to do with the fig tree?"
I'd like to begin our discussion tonight, if you have a pencil and a paper, you may want to write down some of these verses as we go on in the study, so that you can check me out. Don't trust me; just let the Bible be its own authority. I'll simply lay out for you what I read in the Bible, and then you check the Bible to see if I've covered it well, if I've been fair to the Scriptures, if I have been faithful to the Scriptures. Are there other passages that I've missed? And in this way, you can check for yourself to see if the conclusions I am coming to are correct.
Now in Matthew 24:32 (and in the context, Christ is speaking of the signs that will appear signaling the imminent return of Christ – He has spoken of quite a number of things), and then He says in verse 32: "From the fig tree learn its lesson. As soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that He is near, at the very gates."
Now there are those who say that this fig tree represents the nation of Israel. And the fact that we see Israel as a viable nation, as an independent nation amongst the nations of the world, is an evidence that this prophecy has been fulfilled. The fig tree has become tender ant has put forth its leaves, and therefore we know that this means that we're very close to the return of Christ.
Now I would agree wholeheartedly with that observation. I believe the Bible does teach that the fig tree represents the nation of Israel. I'd like to offer a couple of verses to prove that, or to show that.
In Hosea 9:10 we read: "Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the fires fruit on the fig tree in its first season, I saw your fathers." Now it is very frequent in the Bible that God speaks of Israel as a vineyard or as grapes.
In Isaiah 5:1, he's talking about a vineyard that God hat planted. Ant then this vineyard did not yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And then he says in verse 5: "Now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured. I will break down its walls." And then in verse 7 he says: "For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are His pleasant planting."
And so God clearly indicates that the vineyard is a figure of Israel. So also is the fig tree. And in verse 10 of Hosea 9 we find both the vineyard and the fig tree featured: "Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel. Like the first fruit on the fig tree."
In Isaiah 28 we find a passage that further develops this truth of the fig tree being a figure of the nation of Israel. There in verse 3, God is faulting the Israelites, that is, the priests of Israel, and He's calling them the "drunkards of Ephraim." Ephraim is one of the tribes of Israel, and it is also sometimes used as a name for Israel. He's faulting them as drunkards of Ephraim because they have begun to worship other gods. They have not been faithful to the true God.
And He says: "The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim will be trodden underfoot, and the fading flower of its glorious beauty, which is on the head of the rich valley, will be like a first ripe fig before the summer. When a man sees it, he eats it up as soon as it is in his hand."
Again, in Micah 7:1, I think we have an allusion to the fig tree as being Israel. There we read: "Woe is me, for I have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the vintage has been gleaned. There is no cluster to eat, no first ripe fig, which my soul desires." Here again, you see, it's the vineyard and the fig tree that is spoken about in the context of Israel of old.
So I think we're on very solid biblical ground when we recognize that the fig tree is indeed a figure, or a type, of national Israel. But now let's see once if there are any other statements concerning the fig tree which will give us further insights as to what God's intention for the nation of Israel is.
And I'd like to refer us to Luke 13, beginning with verse 6. Jesus is telling a parable. He told them this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vine-dresser, "Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?"
Now you see, Israel was God's chosen people. Ant notice how pointed this is toward Israel. It's a fig tree planted in his vineyard. You have both the vineyard, spoken of in Isaiah 5:7, and the fig tree in view here. So it's directing our attention right to the nation of Israel. Now, Israel has again and again and again been blessed by God. And God was constantly looking for fruit; that is, He was looking for obedience. The fruit of the Spirit, as we read in Galatians 5:22, is obedience. It is "love, joy, peace, tenderness, kindness." These are the result of being obedient to God and trusting in Him with all of our heart. But, He says, He found none.
And we can see this historically. In the wilderness sojourn, God had brought Israel out of Egypt with a mighty hand, by many miracles. And yet, in the wilderness they perished, because of unbelief; most of the nation perished there.
Again, in the days of David and Solomon, He blessed Israel so that they became a mighty nation, one of the mightiest nations of the world of that day. And yet, beginning with the sin of Solomon in going after other gods in his old age, and continuing through the kings of Israel, we see that wickedness multiplies, until finally in 722 BC, the ten tribes are utterly destroyed by the Assyrians, and in 587 BC, 135 years later, the nation of Judah is totally devastated by the Babylonians, so that even the temple is razed to the ground.
Again and again God has come seeking fruit, and there is none. And now, while Christ is speaking, Israel again is a nation. They're not free, like they were prior to 587 BC, but they are a nation, and they have a temple. Herod has built the most beautiful temple that has ever been built since Solomon's temple. And again it is a fig tree that has been raised up, but again there is no fruit.
Now when God is talking about the nation of Israel as not having fruit, there is an exception, and that exception is a remnant chosen by grace, a trickle of believers that actually did believe in Christ as the Messiah. That is not in view in these statements. That's a separate issue, and on another evening we will look at that. But as a nation, when Israel was there, they rejected Christ as the Messiah and they crucified Him. The trickle of believers included the eleven disciples, and Mary and Martha, and Lazarus, and Mary Magdalene, and Anna, and Simeon, and Paul, and Luke. These were saved, also the 120. But beyond this, most of the nation of Israel remained in their unbelief. As a nation, there was no fruit. And so again, they were destroyed in AD 70 by the Romans. And again, the temple was utterly devastated, so that it was razed completely to the ground.
Now you notice here that it says that he came seeking fruit three times. "Lo, these three years I have come seeking fruit." In the Bible, when God uses the number three, very frequently that means it's the end. God has spoken. You'll recall, when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, three times He prayed, "Father , is it possible that this cup might pass from Me?" And yet there was no answer from Heaven. Jesus had to go ahead and drink that terrible cup of suffering, which was required of Him, in order that He might be our Savior, in order that He might be our substitute in paying for our sins.
In II Corinthians12, we read of Paul, that three times he besought the Lord concerning the removal of a thorn in the flesh, and yet the answer came back, "My grace is sufficient." There was nothing more to say - three times.
Now here too: "Three years I have come seeking fruit." And so, when Israel rejected Christ and crucified Him, and continued in their apostasy, and they were destroyed in AD 70, that should have been the end of the nation. That should have been long enough. Three times God has looked, and there has been no fruit.
But we go on in verse 8, and we see God's overwhelming mercy, God's overwhelming mercy. He says in verse 8: "Let it alone, sir, this year also, until I dig about it and put on manure. And if it bears, well and good, but if not you can cut it down." In other words, God is teaching here that He is going to give Israel one more opportunity. One more opportunity, they don't deserve it; they should have been cut down forever; that's the end. But he's going to give them one more opportunity. And lo and behold, in 1948, after almost 2000 years, this opportunity comes to fruition. We see Israel as a viable nation, as an independent nation among the nations of the world. Really, for the first time in 2600 years almost, they are again an independent nation. The fig tree is in leaf. The fig tree is a tree that looks like it ought to bear fruit.
But, but there is no fruit, there is no fruit, that is, except for a trickle of believers, a remnant chosen by grace. But as a nation, Israel today has no interest in the Messiah at all. And because of this, we can know they are going to be cut down. This is what Jesus says here: "If it bears fruit, well and good. If not, you can cut it down."
Now we therefore can understand what Christ meant in Luke 21:20, where He says, "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come nigh." Jerusalem is surrounded by armies, and God predicts that its desolation will come.
But wait a minute, wait a minute. Maybe you're saying right now, "Now just a minute. Where does it say that they can't still believe in Christ as Messiah? Why can't there be a mass turning to God? There's no suggestion here in this parable that they can't." Well, you're right, you're absolutely right. We've got to get more input from the Bible; my conclusion is too early.
Let's look at a miracle that happened just before Jesus went to the Cross. We read about it in Mark 11. And it also concerns a fig tree. In Mark 11:12: "On the following day, when they came from Bethany, He was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if He could find anything. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. And He said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." Now what's the implication of this? Why does it say that it was not the season for figs?
Here's a fig tree in leaf, just like Matthew 24 is talking about – "When you see the fig tree in leaf, then you'll know that summer is nigh" – and you'll know that it's time for Christ to return. Well now, Jesus is speaking that the fig tree is in leaf, and He looks for figs and there are none, because it isn't the season for figs. And then He curses the fig tree and says, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again."
Now the fig tree was a true representation of Israel of Jesus' day. It was a fig tree in leaf. Now I'll indicate presently why it says, "it was not the season for figs," because that also was very ominous. But as a result of the fact that there were leaves only and no fruit, Christ pronounces a curse on that fig tree which is an everlasting curse. You notice what He says? "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." In other words, this fruit tree will never again bear fruit.
That means that the fig tree that had shown itself to have leaves but no fruit in Jesus' day, that is, the nation of Israel, was cursed by Christ, indicating that it would never bear fruit. And so even though God was going to allow it to be once more a nation, so that it would bear leaves, as we read in Matthew 24, and as we see this fourth time in Luke 13, we will not expect to see fruit, because Jesus said, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again."
And so when anyone says to you today that Israel some day, sooner or later, is going to respond as a nation to the Gospel, and are going to come to the Messiah, they are saying this without biblical validity. In fact, they are saying it in the face of a statement here that indicates it will not happen. That's why we can be so sure of Luke 21:20, that Jerusalem will indeed be destroyed.
But why does He say that it was not the season for figs? Now that's an interesting statement. What significance does that have? Well, let's back up and see once if this was the first time Israel was cursed. Let's go all the way back to Isaiah, about 740 years before Christ.
In Isaiah 6, God says something very provocative. Isaiah is seeing this vision of the holy temple of God. And the seraphim takes a coal from the altar and touches Isaiah's lips so that he is holy and qualified to be a witness. And then in verse 8 of Isaiah 6: "Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I. Send me.' And He said, 'Go and say to this people, 'Hear and hear, but do not understand. See and see, but do not perceive.' 'Make the heart of this people fat and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.' Then I said, 'How long, O Lord?' And He said, 'Until cities lie waste without inhabitants, and houses without men, and the land is utterly desolate, and the Lord removes men far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains standing when it is felled.'"
In other words, God is saying, already, 740 years before Christ, it's the time when the ten tribes are about to be destroyed by Assyria, He's saying, "I have blinded Israel, so that they will not come to Me," the context of course being that they have been rebellious so long that now it is too late for them as a nation to come to God. And then the question is raised: "How long, O Lord?" How long will they be blinded this way? And the answer comes: "Until cities lie waste without inhabitants, and houses without men, and the land is utterly desolate."
Now this could be speaking of one of two times. It could be referring to the destruction of Israel in 587 BC, when they were utterly devastated by the Babylonians, and the temple was reduced to a ruin. Then many of the cities lay waste. Or, it could be referring to Judgment Day itself. It could be referring to the end of time, when the world will be completely devastated, and there will be no men.
We've come in our discussion to looking at Isaiah 6, and we see here already, 740 years BC, God has pronounced a curse upon Israel, indicating that they will not hear the Gospel correctly any longer. They will remain blind. He's talking about the whole nation. We must always remember to exclude the remnant chosen by grace; that's another subject altogether. But as a nation, they will continue in their blindness. And then the question is: How long will they continue?
Now we know that God is speaking here of the end of time, because note in Matthew 13, now Matthew 13 was written 600 years after Israel was destroyed in 587 BC, and in Matthew 13 Jesus says this, of Israel of His day, approximately AD 30, in Matthew 13:14: "With them [that is, with Israel] is indeed fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says, you shall indeed hear but never understand. You shall indeed see, but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for Me to heal them."
You, see, the same condition is still prevailing. When Christ was there, the same curse remained on Israel. This is the time when that fig tree was cursed, and it was told that "You'll never bear fruit again."
Notice, many decades after the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts 28, the apostle Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is still talking about Israel. And he says there, in verse 25 of Acts 28. "The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet: Go to this people and say, You shall indeed hear but never understand. And you shall indeed see but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for Me to heal them."
You see, that curse remained on Israel through that period of time. And so the language that it will "remain until cities lie waste without inhabitants and houses without men, and the land is utterly desolate" has to refer to the end of time. It has to refer to the very end. It is God's purpose that Israel will never again bear fruit.
Let me underscore again. We can now see why the Bible prophesies in Luke 21:20: "When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you know that its desolation is come nigh." And the language of Luke 21, beginning with verse 20 and going through verse 30, is the language of the end of time.
So you see, the very fact that the fig tree bears leaves is no indicator at all that they will come to the Messiah. The fact is, it is an ominous sign, because leaves without fruit . . . Remember the fig tree? There were no leaves; it was not the season for figs. God had already cursed Israel in the days of Isaiah, that they would remain blinded, and so there could not be fruit. It was not the season for figs. And so Christ simply underscores the curse that He had already put upon them in Isaiah's day, by saying that "Never again shall someone eat of the fig tree."
So this emphasizes that when someone says, and many are saying this, that Israel is God's chosen people, and they're going to come to the Messiah as a nation, this I do not believe is in the Bible. If someone says this, ask them where they read this in the Bible. And if anyone says that it is in the Bible, they must answer to these passages that we have been looking at, because this is what the Bible teaches.
Now wonderfully, of course, there is the remnant chosen by grace. This is already implied in Isaiah 6, in the last phrase, which I did not read. In Isaiah 6 it gives this terrible doom on Israel. In verse 13: "And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains standing when it is felled." In other words, every time it looks like it's going to come to spiritual vitality, it's going to be cut down again. God is through with Israel as a nation, that it's going to be some kind of a nation that fears God. Israel will be like all the other nations of the world. There is no nation today that fears God. All the nations stand apostate, stand opposed to God.
But in every nation there is a remnant chosen by grace. Israel stands on the same ground with all the other nations. The minute that you start feeling sorry for Israel, then feel sorry for America, and for Spain, and for France, and for Germany, and for England, and for Brazil, and for South Africa. Every nation stands this way, as being apostate. But out of every nation there are a remnant chosen by grace that are coming forth.
Now notice the last phrase in Isaiah 6. It says: "The holy seed is its stump." Now the "holy seed" is a reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. Out of Israel there comes this branch, this root out of dry ground, and that branch is the wonderful nation of believers, the kingdom of God, that we enter into when we are saved.