New insight on The Fig Tree

[Galil7.62x51]

I have listened to many different preachers talk about the fig tree being symbolic of Israel. Israel became a nation once again on May 14, 1948. They say that this is representative of the fig tree “putting forth leaves” in the scriptures.


Matthew 24:32 KJV - "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:"

Matthew 24:33 KJV - "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."


There are other references to the fig tree in the scriptures including the fig tree that Jesus cursed.


Mark 11:12 KJV - "And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:"

Mark 11:13 KJV - "And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet."

Mark 11:14 KJV - "And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it."

Mark 11:19 KJV - "And when even was come, he went out of the city."

Mark 11:20 KJV - "And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots."

Mark 11:21 KJV - "And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away."

Mark 11:22 KJV - "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God."

Mark 11:23 KJV - "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."


I thought it was odd that Jesus would curse a fig tree to die just because it wasn’t season for the tree to make fruit. Then after reading on, I concluded that Jesus was trying to strengthen his followers faith by demonstrating his power. It kind of made me feel like Jesus was kind of showboating off his powers and this seemed to rub against the grain of his nature. Jesus used the power of God to heal and cast out demons and to do good. Maybe this was another kind of parable to show that if we, as Christians, didn’t put forth fruits of the spirit then we would be cursed. I left it at that and never gave it more thought until today.


I watched a YouTube video that kind of popped at me and woke me up to another possibility. What if the cursing of the tree was done as a sign for us living in the end times? Could the fig tree spoken about in Matthew 24:32 be the the cursed fig tree? The video I watched was about the date tree. I typed in a search of the difference between a date and fig tree and got the following.


https://www.reference.com/food/difference-between-fig-date-e321a47f16b257fe


This article states that “Fig plants are shrubs while dates are grown on trees.” It was clearly a “tree” that the scriptures are speaking of in the Bible. In Mark 11:13, Jesus saw that the tree had leaves from “afar off”. Jesus also saw Nathaniel sitting under a fig tree. John 1:48 KJV - "Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." You wouldn’t be able to tell if a bush or shrub had leaves from afar off, nor would you seek shade and sit under a bush. They were definitely talking about a tree that had some significant height and offered shade.


Watch the following video. It is just a coincidence that the tree in the video went extinct around the same time Jesus was here? The scripture says when you see the “tender branch put forth leaves”. The branch of a tree is only tender when it first sprouts and then it quickly hardens up to fend off the elements and insects. The tree in the video was born in 2005. I also found it interesting that the tree was a male tree that can’t make and fruit.

"And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it."


I’m not sure which address below will work. The top one is what it gave me when I hit the share button and the bottom is what I copied out of the address bar. If neither work, the title of the video is “2,000 Year Old Extinct Date Pit Resurrected”, By; Sergio & Rhoda in Israel

 

[lismore]

Also:
Jeremiah 24:5-7
Hosea 9:10

God Bless, thanks for an interesting thread

 

[dailyprayerwarrior]

Interesting! Thanks for posting.

 

[Halbhh]

Matthew 24:32 KJV - "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:"

Read the chapter.
The leaves are the signs Christ had just been saying.

 

[Danoh]

The Fig Tree REPRESENTS or SYMBOLIZES the Nation ISRAEL'S RELIGIOUS life.

Luke 13:6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 13:9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. 13:10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

Rom. 5:6-8.

 

[Halbhh]

The Fig Tree REPRESENTS or SYMBOLIZES the Nation ISRAEL'S RELIGIOUS life.

Luke 13:6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 13:9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. 13:10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

Rom. 5:6-8.

Yes, there are several different lessons to us using a fig tree, about different things, given at different moments.

The lesson about the end times signs is very clear if you listen:

23At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.

26“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ...

32“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it e is near, right at the door. 34Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

36“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, f but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ... "
Matthew 24 NIV

The lesson of this particular fig tree: it's not any one sign alone to watch for, but instead all the signs happening together, just as leaves on a tree grow together, in mass.

 

[mkgal1]

I thought it was odd that Jesus would curse a fig tree to die just because it wasn’t season for the tree to make fruit. Then after reading on, I concluded that Jesus was trying to strengthen his followers faith by demonstrating his power

I'm not so sure it was about Him demonstrating His power per se.

I believe Jesus' message using the fig tree as His example was about hypocrisy. Giving the external appearance of producing fruit, but not. As I understand it - fig trees sprout their fruit first and then their leaves sprout, so a mature fig tree with leaves should have fruit.

I watched a YouTube video that kind of popped at me and woke me up to another possibility. What if the cursing of the tree was done as a sign for us living in the end times? Could the fig tree spoken about in Matthew 24:32 be the the cursed fig tree?

I didn't watch the video because Jesus wasn't speaking directly to us (His message was for His generation). We can apply lessons gleaned from Scripture to our lives, but to attempt to place the timing into our generation misses Jesus' point of instruction.

 

[mkgal1]

The Fig Tree REPRESENTS or SYMBOLIZES the Nation ISRAEL'S RELIGIOUS life.

I appreciate how this pastor summarizes the message in his sermon:

The burden of Jesus’ ministry at this point was to make it clear that the division that was taking place in Jerusalem, was between those who accepted His claims as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and those who rejected those claims, or those who were apathetic about those claims - A Foreshadowing of Judgment, Part 3: The Fruitless Fig Tree

..... I think that's important to point out because there were faithful believers from within Israel (the true People of God - the remnant).

 

[mkgal1]

32“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it e is near, right at the door. 34
Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

.....and Jesus gave instruction for them when they recognized these signs (like the sprouting of leaves on a fig tree are signs of what's to come) in verses 16-18.

Matthew 24:16-18 ~ “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! A man on the housetop must not come down to get things out of his house. And a man in the field must not go back to get his clothes.​

 

[Halbhh]

.....and Jesus gave instruction for them when they recognized these signs (like the sprouting of leaves on a fig tree are signs of what's to come) in verses 16-18.

Matthew 24:16-18 ~ “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! A man on the housetop must not come down to get things out of his house. And a man in the field must not go back to get his clothes.​

Are you wanting to discuss Matthew chapter 24? I'll be happy to share what I understand and listen to what you do, if that's what you'd like. Christ is talking to His disciples in this chapter more than one time (once near the temple in verses 1-2, and then later on the mount in verse 3, where they are intending to ask about the temple destruction but He answers about more than only that one time).

He talks to them about 2 different major future events in this chapter -- one is the fall of Jerusalem that will come in 70 AD, with the destruction of the Temple then, and the 2nd future time He addresses is the last days and His own 2nd coming.

I'm reminded just now of how in our Sunday morning bible study group before services at our church we've just were reading recently Zechariah 9 NIV and suddenly we found ourselves reading about Christ coming! Along with prophecy about other times too. Scripture seems to do this: to mix different times closely together in nearby passages or even sometimes in the same passage, as the way prophecy is given.

 

[mkgal1]

Are you wanting to discuss Matthew chapter 24? I'll be happy to share what I understand and listen to what you do, if that's what you'd like

That's part of the OP, isn't it?

He talks to them about 2 different major future events in this chapter -- one is the fall of Jerusalem that will come in 70 AD, with the destruction of the Temple then, and the 2nd future time He addresses is the last days and His own 2nd coming.

I realize that's one interpretation - but I'm of the belief that He is speaking of one Coming (the Parousia - His presence and dwelling with them - that had been anticipated since His glory departed the first temple recorded in 1 Samuel 4:21).

This coming was one of judgement and of salvation that occurred in the first century (in my belief).

 

[Galil7.62x51]

I'm not so sure it was about Him demonstrating His power per se.

I believe Jesus' message using the fig tree as His example was about hypocrisy. Giving the external appearance of producing fruit, but not. As I understand it - fig trees sprout their fruit first and then their leaves sprout, so a mature fig tree with leaves should have fruit.

I didn't watch the video because Jesus wasn't speaking directly to us (His message was for His generation). We can apply lessons gleaned from Scripture to our lives, but to attempt to place the timing into our generation misses Jesus' point of instruction.

Are you wanting to discuss Matthew chapter 24? I'll be happy to share what I understand and listen to what you do, if that's what you'd like. Christ is talking to His disciples in this chapter more than one time (once near the temple in verses 1-2, and then later on the mount in verse 3, where they are intending to ask about the temple destruction but He answers about more than only that one time).

He talks to them about 2 different major future events in this chapter -- one is the fall of Jerusalem that will come in 70 AD, with the destruction of the Temple then, and the 2nd future time He addresses is the last days and His own 2nd coming.

I'm reminded just now of how in our Sunday morning bible study group before services at our church we've just were reading recently Zechariah 9 NIV and suddenly we found ourselves reading about Christ coming! Along with prophecy about other times too. Scripture seems to do this: to mix different times closely together in nearby passages or even sometimes in the same passage, as the way prophecy is given.

I appreciate your offer to study with me. I have not been able to find a church that doesn't either totally pervert and change God’s word or twist the word of God into something that is convenient for them to believe. That is why I joined this forum, in hopes to connect with fellow TRUE Christians. I understand what you have written above and am in agreement. My post about the tree was because I thought it was interesting and really coincidental. It was like another little sign to me that said, “Look up your redemption draweth nigh”

 

[mkgal1]

My post about the tree was because I thought it was interesting and really coincidental. It was like another little sign to me that said, “Look up your redemption draweth nigh”

That's always encouraging when the Spirit speaks to us and brings things together for us.

 

[mkgal1]

More from that linked sermon: William Hendriksen says this. "The pretentious fig tree had its counterpart in the temple. There was bustling, religious activity there, but no sincerity and truth. Jesus was thus predicting the downfall of unfruitful Jerusalem. Just as the cleansing of the temple was a symbolic denunciation of the Messiah, of the worship of the old Jerusalem, so the withering of the fig tree was a symbolic denunciation by Him of the [apostate] Jewish nation as the privileged people of God." ~ A Foreshadowing of Judgment, Part 3: The Fruitless Fig Tree​

 

[Revealing Times]

I have listened to many different preachers talk about the fig tree being symbolic of Israel. Israel became a nation once again on May 14, 1948. They say that this is representative of the fig tree “putting forth leaves” in the scriptures.


Matthew 24:32 KJV - "Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:"

Matthew 24:33 KJV - "So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors."


There are other references to the fig tree in the scriptures including the fig tree that Jesus cursed.


Mark 11:12 KJV - "And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:"

Mark 11:13 KJV - "And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet."

Mark 11:14 KJV - "And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it."

Mark 11:19 KJV - "And when even was come, he went out of the city."

Mark 11:20 KJV - "And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots."

Mark 11:21 KJV - "And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away."

Mark 11:22 KJV - "And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God."

Mark 11:23 KJV - "For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith."


I thought it was odd that Jesus would curse a fig tree to die just because it wasn’t season for the tree to make fruit. Then after reading on, I concluded that Jesus was trying to strengthen his followers faith by demonstrating his power. It kind of made me feel like Jesus was kind of showboating off his powers and this seemed to rub against the grain of his nature. Jesus used the power of God to heal and cast out demons and to do good. Maybe this was another kind of parable to show that if we, as Christians, didn’t put forth fruits of the spirit then we would be cursed. I left it at that and never gave it more thought until today.


I watched a YouTube video that kind of popped at me and woke me up to another possibility. What if the cursing of the tree was done as a sign for us living in the end times? Could the fig tree spoken about in Matthew 24:32 be the the cursed fig tree? The video I watched was about the date tree. I typed in a search of the difference between a date and fig tree and got the following.


https://www.reference.com/food/difference-between-fig-date-e321a47f16b257fe


This article states that “Fig plants are shrubs while dates are grown on trees.” It was clearly a “tree” that the scriptures are speaking of in the Bible. In Mark 11:13, Jesus saw that the tree had leaves from “afar off”. Jesus also saw Nathaniel sitting under a fig tree. John 1:48 KJV - "Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee." You wouldn’t be able to tell if a bush or shrub had leaves from afar off, nor would you seek shade and sit under a bush. They were definitely talking about a tree that had some significant height and offered shade.


Watch the following video. It is just a coincidence that the tree in the video went extinct around the same time Jesus was here? The scripture says when you see the “tender branch put forth leaves”. The branch of a tree is only tender when it first sprouts and then it quickly hardens up to fend off the elements and insects. The tree in the video was born in 2005. I also found it interesting that the tree was a male tree that can’t make and fruit.

"And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it."


I’m not sure which address below will work. The top one is what it gave me when I hit the share button and the bottom is what I copied out of the address bar. If neither work, the title of the video is “2,000 Year Old Extinct Date Pit Resurrected”, By; Sergio & Rhoda in Israel

The UNDERSTANDING of the Fig Tree parable is not really understood. It's not about Israel, nor can it be because of what Jesus COMPARES it unto.

THE SIGNS..............What signs ? The signs Jesus just gave to his Disciples in verses 3-31. The Temple being destroyed is ONE SIGN, the False Preachers/teachers is ANOTHER SIGN, the Disciples all being killed is another sign, the Abomination of Desolation is another sign, Jesus coming in the Eastern Skies is one of the last signs. So what does the parable of the Fig Tree really mean ?

Matt. 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is NIGH:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily{TRULY} I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

What Generation ? The GENERATION that sees all of these SIGNS and who can that be ? Only one peoples can see all of these signs in the REARVIEW MIRROR, the people {Jews is who Jesus is speaking unto here basically} who will be ALIVE during the 70th Week of Tribulation, they and THEY ONLY will see the Abomination of Desolation AND all the other signs, Temple was torn down, CHECK, False Teachers CHECK, Famine CHECK, wars vs. Nations CHECK {WW1 and WW2 along with 2000 years of wars}, Disciples all killed save John, CHECK, AoD....CHECK.

Then the Generation that sees ALL THESE SIGNS, must see the Moon turn to blood, the Sun go Dark, and the Abomination of Desolation, so THIS GENERATION is referring to those people living during the 70th week of Tribulation !! It has nothing to do with Israel being born again per se.

ALL THESE SIGNS....Learn the Parable of the Fig Tree !! When summer is nigh, likewise when ye see ALL THESE SIGNS !! {Jesus will be nigh}.

 

[Douggg]

Then the Generation that sees ALL THESE SIGNS, must see the Moon turn to blood, the Sun go Dark, and the Abomination of Desolation, so THIS GENERATION is referring to those people living during the 70th week of Tribulation !! It has nothing to do with Israel being born again per se.

ALL THESE SIGNS....Learn the Parable of the Fig Tree !! When summer is nigh, likewise when ye see ALL THESE SIGNS !! {Jesus will be nigh}.

RT, you have it totally reversed. The parable of the fig tree is to everyone who is willing to listen to Jesus. The Jews, Judaism, the ones who go through the 70th week, think the New Testament is all made up, and has no validity.

In Matthew 24:15, it says "let the reader understand". The Jews, Judaism, reject the 70th week, and everything within, is still forthcoming. The ones who believe it is coming are Christians. And even of them, not all Christians believe the 70th week in full is yet to be fulfilled.

In 1Thessalonians5, them who will be surprised, overtaken by the beginning of the Day of Lord, are them who won't believe what it is going to happen. The ones not in darkness are them who believe what Jesus said. The parable of the fig tree is meaningful to them, not unbelievers.

The fig tree is Jerusalem, back in the hands of the Jews in 1967, that generation of humanity alive will not pass away.

Jesus referenced Daniel the prophet, so Jesus was answering the initial question in Matthew 24:3. Which the bible has many chapters and segments in the Tanach, old testament, about the end times, latter days in the text, regarding the end of this age and Jesus's return.

 

[Galil7.62x51]

The UNDERSTANDING of the Fig Tree parable is not really understood. It's not about Israel, nor can it be because of what Jesus COMPARES it unto.

THE SIGNS..............What signs ? The signs Jesus just gave to his Disciples in verses 3-31. The Temple being destroyed is ONE SIGN, the False Preachers/teachers is ANOTHER SIGN, the Disciples all being killed is another sign, the Abomination of Desolation is another sign, Jesus coming in the Eastern Skies is one of the last signs. So what does the parable of the Fig Tree really mean ?

Matt. 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is NIGH:

33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34 Verily{TRULY} I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

What Generation ? The GENERATION that sees all of these SIGNS and who can that be ? Only one peoples can see all of these signs in the REARVIEW MIRROR, the people {Jews is who Jesus is speaking unto here basically} who will be ALIVE during the 70th Week of Tribulation, they and THEY ONLY will see the Abomination of Desolation AND all the other signs, Temple was torn down, CHECK, False Teachers CHECK, Famine CHECK, wars vs. Nations CHECK {WW1 and WW2 along with 2000 years of wars}, Disciples all killed save John, CHECK, AoD....CHECK.

Then the Generation that sees ALL THESE SIGNS, must see the Moon turn to blood, the Sun go Dark, and the Abomination of Desolation, so THIS GENERATION is referring to those people living during the 70th week of Tribulation !! It has nothing to do with Israel being born again per se.

ALL THESE SIGNS....Learn the Parable of the Fig Tree !! When summer is nigh, likewise when ye see ALL THESE SIGNS !! {Jesus will be nigh}.

There are 3 different references to the fig tree that I can see in the NT. There is the tree in Matt 24 that you are speaking about. There is the fig tree that Jesus cursed, and the Tree that wasn’t bearing fruit for 3 years and was commanded to be cut down. I think that they all offer different meanings but yet are tied together some way. Just an interesting topic to study IMO.

 

[Danoh]

RT, you have it totally reversed. The parable of the fig tree is to everyone who is willing to listen to Jesus. The Jews, Judaism, the ones who go through the 70th week, think the New Testament is all made up, and has no validity.

In Matthew 24:15, it says "let the reader understand". The Jews, Judaism, reject the 70th week, and everything within, is still forthcoming. The ones who believe it is coming are Christians. And even of them, not all Christians believe the 70th week in full is yet to be fulfilled.

In 1Thessalonians5, them who will be surprised, overtaken by the beginning of the Day of Lord, are them who won't believe what it is going to happen. The ones not in darkness are them who believe what Jesus said. The parable of the fig tree is meaningful to them, not unbelievers.

The fig tree is Jerusalem, back in the hands of the Jews in 1967, that generation of humanity alive will not pass away.

Jesus referenced Daniel the prophet, so Jesus was answering the initial question in Matthew 24:3. Which the bible has many chapters and segments in the Tanach, old testament, about the end times, latter days in the text, regarding the end of this age and Jesus's return.

The Fig Tree is NOT the Nation israel - the Vineyard is...

Isaiah 5:7 For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.

The Fig Tree represents Israel's Religion: The Law and the Righteousness of the Law that the Nation Israel (His Vineyard) was to have born the fruit of...

Deuteronomy 6:24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day. 6:25 And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.

Luke 13:6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted IN HIS VINEYARD; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 13:9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. 13:10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.

Note the Fig Tree/Israel's Religious life, again...

Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

What righteousness was that? Of the Law...

Matthew 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, 23:2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: 23:3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. 23:4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 23:5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

Romans 10:5 For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

The Fig Tree represents Israel's Religious life: The Law.

Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. 7:52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 7:53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

Luke 13:6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree (The Law) planted in his vineyard (the Nation Israel); and he came and sought fruit (Righteousness of the Law) thereon, and found none.

As for the sense of the following passage?

Matthew 24:32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

He refers to it as A parable OF the Fig tree. In other words, an anology, an observable event within the Fig tree's timeline that can be applied to, or compare to, some other area in life, in this case, to this here...

Matthew 24:33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

His "So likewise" makes it obvious His use of a fig tree, or more exactly, of an event within a fig tree's life's timeline, there was merely an analogy - a kind of "you know how in life whenever you see such and such happening, you know right away that such and so is drawing near, well, just like that, when you see such and such, you'll know that such and so is on the horizon" - His is that kind of "a parable" there.

In other words, He was just using a figure of speech.

As 2 Timothy 2:15-18 makes obvious - in Scripture, things that differ are not...the same.

 

[Douggg]

The Fig Tree represents Israel's Religious life: The Law.

Well, I do not say that Israel was the fig tree, but Jerusalem.

The Law was called the law of Moses because the children of Israel received it through Moses. The religious leaders however had become overly legalistic. Nonetheless, the fig tree in the Matthew 24 parable of the fig tree because as Jesus and the disciples were about to enter Jerusalem, He cursed a fig tree beside the road - knowing that he would be rejected as their messiah. The fig tree is Jerusalem.


Matthew 21:
18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.

20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

Matthew 23:
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

So Jerusalem back in the hands of the Jews is the generation that will say "Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."