12. The Parable of the Fig Tree
“Learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see all these things, recognize that he is near – at the door. Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”
Matthew 24:32-35 | cross ref: Mark 13:28-30 and Luke 21:29-33.
Prophecy Fulfilled from AD 1948 to AD 2025 (Present)
This parable Jesus tells is critical to determine the timing of the end times and when Jesus is “at the door”. At first it may seem confusing as to why Jesus is talking about a fig tree becoming tender and sprouting leaves. Once we understand the fig tree as little better, it makes perfect sense!
Throughout the Bible, the fig tree is symbolic and represents the nation of Israel. Between AD 66-73 in the First Jewish-Roman War and then AD 132-135 in the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the ancient Nation of Israel was destroyed and hundreds of thousands of Jews were killed, with all remaining Israelites being enslaved or forced into exile. The Jews were mostly dispersed and lived in various countries around the globe over the next ~1,800 years.
Multiple world events and the intense persecution of the Jews during World War II contributed to their attempts to regroup as a Nation. In AD 1948, the State of Israel was again formed in the same place where the ancient Nation of Israel had fallen almost two millennium earlier. This re-establishment of the Jews having a Nation is a very significant event and fulfills the prophecy of the fig tree’s branches becoming tender and sprouting leaves (signs of coming alive, just as the State of Israel did in AD 1948).
Understanding Jesus’s statement to mean that once Israel again becomes a nation and that the generation of people who are alive or born during that time will not die until all these things take place gives us an incredible timeline as to when the End of the Age will arrive. As of this being written in AD 2025, Israel became a nation 77 years ago. The average global life expectancy is 73.5 years and the maximum life expectancy is around 125 years, with the current oldest living human being 116-years-old.
This means that all the end-times prophecies and the End of the Age will arrive before the generation passes away that was born in AD 1948. 77 years has already passed (longer than the average global life expectancy) but still 48 years less than the maximum life expectancy of 125 years. This means that within the next few decades (at most, I believe all the additional signs and the state of the world bring us within a much closer timeline of 5-10 years), all the end-times events laid out throughout the Bible will happen.
The Bible is clear that nobody knows the “day and the hour” of Jesus’s return and that directly before the End of the Age, things will still be as in the days of Noah (See Genesis Chapter 7), with people still living life as normal, intentionally turning a blind eye to the imminent judgement that is about to take place . Time is quickly running out. If you are not saved, please repent and accept Jesus into your life now before it’s eternally too late. If you are saved, I pray God will work though you and keep you awake and doing His work during this pivotal time period.
See Making Sense of Jesus Cursing the Fig Tree via Gutenberg College and What is the fig tree prophecy? via Got Questions and The Symbolism of Figs in the Bible via One for Israel and History of Israel via Wikipedia and The Arab-Israeli War of 1948 via Office of the Historian and 1948 Was Key via One for Israel and Life Expectancy of the World Population via worldometers and Life expectancy via Wikipedia and World’s oldest living person celebrates 116th birthday via Good Morning America.