CAN YOU BELIEVE JESUS?

The words of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew 24, are of crucial importance for us today. He prophesied of events to come in both the near and distant futures at the time He gave them. The first prophecy recorded here has to do with the fate of the Temple in Jerusalem. He said; “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” (Mat 24:2) That prophecy came to pass in 70AD, some 38 years or so after His crucifixion and resurrection. The Roman legions came and destroyed Jerusalem. The Temple which was layered in gold was burned and the stones thrown down so the soldiers could collect the melted gold. Not one stone was left standing upon another. He had much to say in this chapter about what the end times would be like but there is a passage we can look at that is of special interest to us. It of special interest because it speaks of the very last days before the “Great Tribulation” written of in the Book of Revelation and elsewhere. Just as a reminder, the Great Tribulation is that 7 year period of time that the earth is under the domination of the Anti-christ, the false prophet and Satan. It is a time when the people of the earth decide to worship the Anti-christ as god. God then pours out His vengeance upon an unbelieving people. But in this 24th chapter of Matthew, Jesus is describing what those days immediately preceding the Great Tribulation will look like.

Jesus gives the parable of the ‘Fig Tree.” Throughout the Old Testament the fig tree is used as a symbol of Israel just as the Eagle is used as a symbol of the United States or the Bear as a symbol of Russia. The use of symbols in no way diminishes the importance of this prophecy. In fact to attempt to force any other interpretation of this fig tree leads the passage to make no sense. So what did Jesus say? “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. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Mat 24:32-35) Jesus is telling His listeners and we who are reading His words to learn an important lesson. When we see the fig tree with tender twigs and budding leaves we know that something important is about to happen. It is important to know that Israel had not been a nation since the early years of 500 BC. Babylon had conquered it, placed their puppet government in Jerusalem and then in 587/86 returned and completely obliterated the city, the Temple and took many of the inhabitants away to Babylon. By the time Jesus came Israel had been ruled by the Medes and Persians, Greeks and later Rome. Let’s fast-forward to May 1948. Suddenly, in a single day, Israel is proclaimed by the United Nations to be a nation among the family of nations. This has never happened before in the history of the world that a nation, after military, economic and political defeat, ever became a nation again. Since the time of Israel’s rebirth interest in prophecy has increased. When Israel captured Jerusalem in the 1967 war interest became even more pronounced. Israel, the Fig Tree, is showing tender sprouts and budding leaves. Jesus said that the generation to see these things would not pass away before His return. I was born in 1946. If the generation He spoke of is the 70 or 80 years that most people could expect to live, these are the last days. Look up for your redemption draws near!