For many years, prophecy teachers commonly stated that there was an excellent possibility that Jesus would return before 1988, based on the Lord’s words in Matthew 24:32–34:
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.
The logic was simple: The fig tree represented Israel, the fig tree beginning to blossom referred to the rebirth of the State of Israel in 1948, and “this generation” referred to the generation that would see these things happen. Since it was understood that a biblical generation represented forty years, it is obvious to see why many prophecy teachers expected the Lord to return before 1988.
Needless to say, this interpretation was wrong, since we are now in the 21st century and Jesus still has not returned. But this was not just a matter of bad prophetic timing; it was also a matter of bad prophetic interpretation. Specifically, we must ask: Does the fig tree really represent Israel? Is that what is taught by the Scriptures?
I am fully aware, of course, that this seems like an odd question. After all, doesn’t everyone know that the fig tree serves as a prophetic type of Israel? Isn’t this a “given” in prophetic interpretation? Actually, this is one of those concepts that is constantly taught and repeated and taught again, but very few people take the time to examine the biblical witness. If the fig tree represents Israel, shouldn’t the Bible tell us so?
In the Scriptures, Israel is often likened to a vine, as in Jeremiah 2:21 (“I had planted you like a choice vine”); Psalm 80:8 (“You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it”); and Isaiah 5:1 (“My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside”), which is why Jesus referred to Himself as the true Vine in John 15:1. And in Romans 11:17–24, Israel is likened to an olive tree. But is the fig tree also an image of Israel in the Word of God?
The term fig tree occurs about thirty times in the Scriptures, almost equally divided between the Old Testament and the New Testament. In some contexts, the image of sitting under one’s fig tree refers to dwelling in safety and prosperity, as in 1 Kings 4:25 (see also 2 Kings 18:31; Isaiah 36:16; Micah 4:4; Zechariah 3:10). In other contexts, the fig tree is listed among other plants and trees, often because its fruit (or the loss of its fruit) was especially conspicuous (see Isaiah 34:4; Hosea 9:10; Joel 1:12; 2:22; Habakkuk 3:17; Haggai 2:19; see also Song of Solomon 2:13; for the fig tree in a parable, but not representing Israel, see Judges 9:10–11; for a general teaching about tending one’s fig tree, see Proverbs 27:18).
At this point you might be wondering, Okay. You’ve listed all the verses in the Old Testament where the fig tree does not specifically refer to Israel. What about the verses where it does?
Well, I just listed all the verses in the Hebrew Bible where the term is found. That’s it! On what basis, then, can we state that, when Jesus made reference to the fig tree in Matthew 24, He was clearly referring to Israel? How do we know that?
Actually, the notion that the fig tree is Israel has caused some interpreters to claim that God is through with Israel, based on the Lord’s cursing of the fig tree in Matthew 21:19 (see also Mark 11:20–21), when He pronounced the words, “May you never bear fruit again!” So, if the fig tree represented national Israel, was Jesus cursing His people forever? Perish the thought! This wrong interpretation has also been adduced by some teachers based on Luke 13:6–9, the parable of the fig tree that did not bear fruit and was about to be cut down. Of course, this parable clearly applied to the impending judgment on Israel, but not because the fig tree had special significance. Instead, it was simply used to illustrate a point, just as, in other parables, other plants, trees or objects of nature are used.
How then should we interpret Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 24 (found also in Mark 13:28)? The parallel passage in Luke 21:29–30 holds the key: “He told them this parable: ‘Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near.” In other words, the fig tree is simply one of a number of trees, but, just as in the Old Testament, it is used because of the conspicuous nature of its leaves and fruit.
As explained by Walter W. Wessel in his commentary on Mark, “In [Israel] most trees are evergreen, but the fig tree is an exception. In the fall it loses its leaves; and when in the spring the sap rises in its branches and the tree begins to leaf out, summer cannot be far off.”[154] So, Jesus is simply saying, “Here is a lesson for you: When you see the fig tree sprouting its leaves, you know that summer is near. In the same way, when you see these prophetic signs come to pass, you know My coming is near.” That’s it!
As paraphrased in The Message, “He told them a story. ‘Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter. When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner. The same here—when you see these things happen, you know God’s kingdom is about here’ ” (Luke 21:29–31). Or, as explained by New Testament scholar Craig Keener, “The signs Jesus lists show that the end is imminent, just as a fig tree’s leaves show what season it is. (In winter the fig tree appeared more bare than other trees.)”[155]
What, then, is the meaning of the oft-discussed phrase “This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened”? At the risk of bursting some bubbles, the most plausible interpretation is this: The generation that sees these specific signs unfold, as outlined in Matthew 24 (beginning especially in verse 15), is the generation that will see the Lord return.
Of course, there are many prophetic strands to unravel in Matthew 24 (and its parallels in Mark 13 and Luke 21), and there is absolutely no question that the reestablishment of Israel in 1948 is of tremendous prophetic and biblical significance, not to mention the importance of Jerusalem coming back into Jewish control in 1967. And there is no question that, as we get closer to the end of the age, we must keep our attention focused on Israel and the Jewish people. But it is high time to abandon the dogmatic, unquestioning interpretation that the fig tree is Israel, lest we continue to get our times and seasons wrong.