Was Israel’s return to the land in 1948 a fulfillment
of Bible prophecy, specifically, the prophecy of the fig tree budding Matthew
24:32, Mark 13:28, Luke 21:29-30?
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
By Tuese Ahkiong
Zionists Christians
teach that the prophecy about the fig tree budding was fulfilled in Israel
returning to land in 1948. Nothing could
be further from the truth!!! These
Zionists rip the passage right out of its historical context and eisogete their
meaning into it around 1900 years later.
The lesson from the fig
tree is written in response TO the disciples questions surrounding the
destruction of Israel’s Temple.
The disciples’ questions
were:
1.
When
will these things be?
2.
What
will be the sign of your coming?
3.
What
will be the sign of the end of the age?
4.
What
will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?
Yeshua then ANSWERS His
disciples from v4-34 in Matthew 24, Mark 13:5-31, Luke 21:8-33 and tells them
that all these things would take place in “this generation” (first century) and
they did if you believe Yeshua.
In Scripture, the Fig
tree sometimes is identified as Israel.
This is NOT one of those times.
The Luke account differs from Matthew and Mark’s because it not only
mentions the fig tree but ALL THE TREES.
Christ’s is comparing “all these things,” the signs: false christs,
wars, rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, persecution, put to
death, The Gospel preached to the world, the abomination of desolation (which
is Jerusalem being surrounded by armies), great tribulation, The Son of Man
coming on the clouds of heaven.
When the disciples would
SEE the fig tree and ALL THE TREES budding they would KNOW it meant that Summer
was near. This is compared to the signs
coming to pass as meaning Christ and His Kingdom were near, at the very gates.
It’s interesting that James writes in 5:7-9
It’s interesting that James writes in 5:7-9
7 Be patient,
therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the
precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming
of the Lord is at hand.9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged;
behold, the Judge is standing at the door.
Yeshua said to His
disciples, “TRULY, I SAY
TO YOU, THIS GENERATION WILL NOT PASS AWAY UNTIL ALL THESE THINGS TAKE
PLACE.
Many Christians believe
that Christ was wrong or mistaken about what He said to His disciples in that
all these things would take place before that generation passed away.
This writer does not
believe that Christ was wrong or mistaken but spoke the truth in that all these
things did take place in that “this generation.”
The context of the
disciples’ questions are CAPITALIZED BELOW along with THE FIG TREE CONTEXT. Matthew 24:32-35, Mark 13:28-31, Luke
21:29-33.
Matthew 24
JESUS LEFT THE TEMPLE AND WAS GOING AWAY, WHEN
HIS DISCIPLES CAME TO POINT OUT TO HIM THE BUILDINGS OF THE TEMPLE. 2 BUT HE
ANSWERED THEM, “YOU SEE ALL THESE, DO YOU NOT? TRULY, I SAY TO
YOU, THERE WILL NOT BE LEFT HERE ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER THAT WILL NOT BE
THROWN DOWN.”
3 AS HE SAT
ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, THE DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM PRIVATELY, SAYING,
“TELL US, WHEN WILL THESE THINGS BE, AND WHAT WILL BE THE SIGN OF YOUR COMING
AND OF THE END OF THE AGE?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one
leads you astray. 5 For many
will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many
astray. 6 And you will
hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for
this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and
earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are
but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to
tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all
nations for my name's sake. 10 And then many
will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and
lead many astray. 12 And because
lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be
saved. 14 And this
gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole
world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 “So when you see the abomination of
desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy
place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those
who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down
to take what is in his house, 18 and let the
one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those
who are nursing infants in those days!20 Pray that your
flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until
now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those
days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the
sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the
Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets
will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray,
if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I
have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they
say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say,
‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.27 For as the lightning comes from the east and
shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will
gather.
29 “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 heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be
shaken. 30 Then will
appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes
of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a
loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the
four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 “FROM THE FIG
TREE LEARN ITS LESSON: AS SOON AS ITS BRANCH BECOMES TENDER AND PUTS OUT ITS
LEAVES, YOU KNOW THAT SUMMER IS NEAR. 33 SO ALSO, WHEN
YOU SEE ALL THESE THINGS, YOU KNOW THAT HE IS NEAR, AT THE VERY
GATES. 34 TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, THIS GENERATION WILL NOT
PASS AWAY UNTIL ALL THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my
words will not pass away.
Mark 13
13 AND AS HE CAME OUT OF THE TEMPLE, ONE OF HIS
DISCIPLES SAID TO HIM, “LOOK, TEACHER, WHAT WONDERFUL STONES AND WHAT WONDERFUL
BUILDINGS!” 2 AND JESUS SAID TO HIM, “DO YOU SEE THESE GREAT
BUILDINGS? THERE WILL NOT BE LEFT HERE ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER THAT WILL
NOT BE THROWN DOWN.”
3 AND AS HE SAT ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES
OPPOSITE THE TEMPLE, PETER AND JAMES AND JOHN AND ANDREW ASKED
HIM PRIVATELY, 4 “TELL US, WHEN WILL THESE THINGS BE, AND WHAT WILL BE THE
SIGN WHEN ALL THESE THINGS ARE ABOUT TO BE ACCOMPLISHED?” 5 And Jesus
began to say to them, “See that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come
in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and they will lead many astray. 7 And when you
hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. This must take
place, but the end is not yet. 8 For nation will rise
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will
be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are
but the beginning of the birth pains.
9 “But be
on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be
beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings
for my sake, to bear witness before them. 10 And the gospel
must first be proclaimed to all nations. 11 And when they
bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what
you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is
not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother
will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will
rise against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will
be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end
will be saved.
14 “But when you
see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let
the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the
mountains. 15 Let the one who is on the housetop not go
down, nor enter his house, to take anything out, 16 and let the
one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 17 And alas
for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those
days! 18 Pray that it may not happen in winter. 19 For in those
days there will be such tribulation as has not been from the
beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will
be. 20 And if the Lord had not cut short the days, no
human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom he
chose, he shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to
you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe
it. 22 For false christs and false prophets will arise
and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the
elect.23 But be on
guard; I have told you all things beforehand.
24 “But in those
days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon
will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be
falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they
will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and
glory. 27 And then he will send out the angels
and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of
the earth to the ends of heaven.
28 “FROM THE FIG TREE LEARN ITS LESSON: AS SOON AS
ITS BRANCH BECOMES TENDER AND PUTS OUT ITS LEAVES, YOU KNOW THAT SUMMER IS
NEAR. 29 SO ALSO, WHEN YOU SEE THESE THINGS TAKING PLACE, YOU KNOW THAT HE
IS NEAR, AT THE VERY GATES. 30 TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, THIS GENERATION WILL NOT
PASS AWAY UNTIL ALL THESE THINGS TAKE PLACE. 31 Heaven and
earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
Luke 21
5 AND WHILE SOME WERE SPEAKING OF THE TEMPLE, HOW
IT WAS ADORNED WITH NOBLE STONES AND OFFERINGS, HE SAID, 6 “AS FOR THESE THINGS THAT YOU SEE, THE DAYS
WILL COME WHEN THERE WILL NOT BE LEFT HERE ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER THAT WILL NOT
BE THROWN DOWN.” 7 AND THEY ASKED HIM, “TEACHER, WHEN WILL THESE THINGS BE, AND
WHAT WILL BE THE SIGN WHEN THESE THINGS ARE ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE?” 8 And he
said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my
name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after
them. 9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not
be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end
will not be at once.”
10 Then he said
to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom.11 There will be great earthquakes, and in
various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and
great signs from heaven. 12 But before all this they
will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the
synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings
and governors for my name's sake. 13 This will be
your opportunity to bear witness. 14 Settle it
therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, 15 for I
will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be
able to withstand or contradict. 16 You will be
delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends,
and some of you they will put to death. 17 You will be
hated by all for my name's sake. 18 But not a
hair of your head will perish. 19 By yourendurance you will gain
your lives.
20 “But when
you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has
come near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the
mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who
are out in the country enter it, 22 for these
are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23 Alas for women
who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there
will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24 They will fall
by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations,
and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the
times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25 “And there
will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of
nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people
fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world.
For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they
will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great
glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place,
straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is
drawing near.”
29 AND HE TOLD THEM A PARABLE: “LOOK AT THE FIG
TREE, AND ALL THE TREES. 30 AS SOON AS THEY COME OUT IN LEAF, you
see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near. 31 SO ALSO, WHEN YOU SEE THESE THINGS TAKING PLACE,
YOU KNOW THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS NEAR.32 TRULY, I SAY TO YOU, THIS GENERATION WILL NOT
PASS AWAY UNTIL ALL HAS TAKEN PLACE. 33 HEAVEN AND EARTH WILL PASS AWAY, BUT MY
WORDS WILL NOT PASS AWAY.
