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by God, from the Nile to the river Euphrates (Gen. 15: 18). See Isa. 11: 11, 12; 43: 5-7;
Jer. 24: 6, 7; 31: 10; Eze. 20: 41, 42; 28: 25, 26; Amos 9: 13-15; Micah 4: 1-8;
Zeph. 3: 19, 20 (see The Kingdom of God in Heaven and on Earth by the author).
All this takes place at the great sound of a trumpet in heaven, and it is significant that,
at the last trumpet, the seventh, in Revelation, we read:
"And the seventh angel sounded; and there was great voices in heaven, saying, The
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He
shall reign for ever and ever" (Rev. 11: 15, A.V.).
Continuing to answer the disciples' query as to the time of His Second Coming, the
Lord gives the parable of the fig tree:
"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 (or `he' -- footnote) 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" (24: 32-35, N.I.V.).
The vine, the olive and the fig tree were frequent Biblical symbols of the nation of
Israel (for the fig see Jer. 34:; Joel 1: 6, 7; Hosea 9: 10). Christ had used the
illustration of a fig tree before in Luke 13: 6, 7. The owner of the vineyard (a picture of
Himself) had expected fruit for three years and found none. He told the man in charge to
cut it down as it was occupying soil to no advantage, but the man pleaded with the owner
to spare it and he would give it special treatment, and if this did not result in figs then he
would remove it.
The teaching is obvious. The three years represented the earthly ministry of the
Saviour to Israel. On the whole it was fruitless, but Israel was not cut off at the end but
given another opportunity of responding. This is represented by the ministry of the Acts
which followed, when the nation was commanded once again to repent and turn to the
Lord, in which case their sins would be forgiven, Christ would return to them, and the
"times of refreshing" of the Messianic kingdom would then set in. This time of "sparing"
covered some 35 years, and Israel did not repent. The tree was cut down at Acts 28:
and the nation entered its long condition of spiritual blindness and hardness of heart
which has lasted till the present time. But this will not be for ever, as Rom. 11: 15-29
clearly teaches. It is ended by the glorious Second Coming which our context in
Matthew deals with (and note Rom. 11: 26, 27).
In Luke's account, he includes "all the trees", as well as the fig, producing leaves of
spring and summer after the winter. Thus the nations as a whole are included showing
nationalistic life demanding recognition. This has been one of the characteristics of the
end of this century all over the world, but specially so in Israel. This is a sure sign, the
Lord taught, that His coming was near.