End Days - Matthew 24:28 Vultures & Eagles

By Odon Bulamba


We are going to open our Bibles to the book of Mathew 24 and today we are going to talk about verse 28.  Its good to see we are moving forward with Mathew 24 which covers the signs that Jesus left the church to remember His coming back.  The assignment he gave to us is that we must observe those signs and the more we see them, start to prepare ourselves so that we will not have any justification to say that we didn’t know Jesus is coming back soon.


Some to observe will just open their eyes and look at something and stop themselves at that level.  A better observation is to also stop and think about it and then pull out all that is positive and all that is negative and ask yourselves, what do I need from what I have observed and how is it going to help me and my people.  We need to observe because what we are facing soon is the return of Jesus.  It will be only once.  You will either make it or miss it and it will be for eternity, there will not be a second chance.  You can’t try again.  You will either take it or miss it.


One time I was thinning, our God is full of mercy and loves us so much so why did He decide on the last day that forgiveness will be removed from that day forward.  Jesus will take away love and forgiveness on that day.  You won’t have time to say, “Remember God how much you are full of mercy, please forgive me”, because He will tell you, forgiveness is gone.


Some versions of verse 28 say, “Wherever there is a carcass the vultures will gather,
 or “Wherever the corpse is, the vultures will gather”.  Other versions say, “Wherever the carcass is, the eagles will gather together”. 


Why do we have different versions?  One talks about vultures and the other about eagles.  One is talking about the body and the other the corpse.  This is one of the toughest verses in the Bible where many try to understand its meaning.  What does it mean?

First, when we talk about the vulture, it is a bird that is different from the eagle, but both are big birds.  Translations from the Greek word, the vulture and eagle are the same word.  That is why there are two different words used in different versions.


Luke 17:37, some versions say, “Where there is dead body, there the vultures will gather,” while other versions say, “Wherever the body is, the eagles will gather together”.

We see in some places it says vultures and in other places it says eagles. The differences are not the problem but the major problem is the spiritual warning that Jesus is telling us.  If we think about the vulture, this bird will only eat dead bodies.  That is their way.  It’s different from an eagle that hunts for live animals and eat it as a fresh animal after killing it.  You will not normally see an eagle eat a body that is already dead.


Spiritually you can see (1) dead bodies and (2) live bodies.


We know that in our spiritual lives we have things that are dead on one side and things that are alive.  Dead things in the Bible are everywhere, from the book of Genesis you can read about dead deeds and dead behaviour.  Our life is either full of life or death.  God created us as human being and when we talk about death, it means something that doesn’t have life.  It’s not easy to tell.


You might see your dog lying down and you think, “My animal is dead,” and you must come closer to check if they are alive.  You can be in the city and find someone lying on the ground and think they are dead and must come closer to touch or check their pulse to know if they are alive.  You can’t easily tell who is alive and who isn’t without coming closer and performing some kind of test to tell if they are alive or not.


The difference between death and sleeping is only one thing, it is the breath.  When someone is breathing then you know they are alive and when they are not breathing anymore, you may think they are just sleeping.


Jesus went to house of Jairus where the daughter was proclaimed dead and Jesus said, “Girl wake up”.  For those who have rest, they may somehow meet with Jesus and He can bring them back to life.  We shouldn’t rely on that.  When tribulation comes, those who remain will have to fight for their own soul.  Without grace to win that battle, they will not enter the Kingdom of God.


Jesus calls Himself life, “Whoever wants to live for eternity must come to me”.  Christ is life and the antichrist is death.  Love is life and hatred is death.  Praying is life, not praying is death.  There is a positive side that means life and the opposite side means death.


Death doesn’t only mean to leave this world and be separated from your family but also to be separated from God.  It is a shame when God chooses you and you are saved but at the last minute you decide not to follow him.  Spiritual death is our decision while the natural death is the decision of God.  Spiritual life is up to you and me to decide what path to walk through.  I need to live, then I must hold God’s hand and follow Him wherever He goes.  If I want to spiritually die, I don’t want to read Bible or pray anymore, or belong to God, this is my decision, then I will get lost.


A clear example is Luke 15, the prodigal son.  It was his decision and he decided to go from his father.  He was a child of the house but because of all the blessings given to him, he decided not to stay with his father anymore.  Maybe the father advised him not to go but he wanted to enjoy the world and discover what was outside of his glory because life in the Kingdom of God is boring, staying next to Jesus is boring, I want to go somewhere I can drink my beer, dance, and do whatever sin I want and we think that is the best life.


One time I was in a country and I asked an old lady, what do you enjoy in your life the most?  She answered, “I am a party girl, whenever there is a party, I am in heaven, music, dancing, drinking and I feel like I’m in heaven and everything is perfect”.  I was shocked because she was around my age group, “Really?”  “Yes, because I will not get this opportunity anymore so let me enjoy”.  But after enjoying, God will ask you, I gave you the chance to follow me and the strength to party.  There are many who entertained in this world and sacrificed their eternal life and where are they now?


Anna will you be happy to live for 500 years?  What if you live to 200?  You will be weak and maybe people will have to feed you.  Our lives are short on this earth.  Fight for something that is important, fight for eternal life where you will not lose your beauty or strength.  Do I need to fight for 20 years on earth and sacrifice for the whole of eternity or should I sacrifice now and invest in eternity.


Mathew 24:15-28, is talking about the antichrist (false prophets, false teachers).  Whatever the antichrist brings is death.  Even if it appears like life and enjoyable and entertaining, when you walk closer to it, death is here.


We are lucky to have Ange here (a registered nurse).  When life is taken away from a patient in hospital, how do you feel Ange?  Ange feels upset but it is normal, the life of this person reaches the end.  You remove the body and a new patient takes the bed.  You write down what you observed, that is it.  If someone is healed and discharged, again the nurse says, yes, they are ok now.


God is sad when you are dead, you must go somewhere else and you will live now in the cemetery with dead people.  For those who have the grace, they may have time to prepare their lives before to die and to pray but for those who are not, it will be too late to repent.

Satan is death (the corpse) who tries to bring vultures around him.  People are vultures, birds that have chosen dead bodies rather than the living bodies.  If you are not a vulture, you are an eagle.  There is nothing in the middle.  Vultures will see a dead body.  A dead body is lying down, easy life, you can touch them and do what you want.  Many people want the easy life.  I will find my joy in killing, stealing, lying, in prostitution because it is easy for the body to do.


Eagles will look from the distance and see a moving rabbit and the eagle must challenge itself to see if its capacity is good enough to catch the rabbit.  They will fly extremely fast to pick up the rabbit and of course the rabbit runs.  The eagle must fix its eyes and its legs have to know where to touch.  The eyes are not on its feet but the feet knows how to do its action.


What do you see in front of you? What are you fighting for?


I have a friend who will tell you every Thursday that Friday is coming!  They feel good because Friday is coming!  Is Jesus coming back on Friday?  No, I must get ready from Thursday what I will wear to go out on Friday.  In Ghana when I worked at the UN, Friday was a half day and my colleague would leave immediately to go to the night club.  


One day he invited me to the best one in Ghana.  We went to this night club with a big hall with lights everywhere but you can’t see because its dark and you can’t recognise faces of people.  The music was vibrating the floor and ceiling.  I asked him, “Paul, is this the type of life you enjoy?”  “Yes”.


You could see women walking around.  He took one with him.  In the morning I will repent.  We even start to plan our repentance.  I will do something wrong now and then I will repent later.  That is a wrong choice.  The next morning when the sun appeared, he looked at that lady who stayed with him, she was among the ugliest women on the planet, he was shocked. He became angry.  He said to me, I am stupid, I will never follow the colours of the world because the world will mislead you.


He rushed to the hospital because he wasn’t feeling well, he had the HIV test and it was positive.  I said, “Hallelujah”.  He asked, “Where is love?”  I said, “God gave you everything in your life but you didn’t look after it, so where is your love for God?”  He blamed others instead of blaming himself.


We as spiritual people, we must know what the Bible asks us to do and depend on God’s love and ask ourselves, will this please God or not?  God chose us first, “I want to live with you forever”.  Our answers matter.  When we tell God, I don’t want to live with you forever it is like any other husband who wants a divorce.  When someone tells you that they don’t want to live with you anymore, it is hard, it hurts.


God can wait for you like the prodigal son.  Lucky the boy decided to push himself out from where he was to come home.  The father did not leave his house to find him.  Meaning that you shouldn’t expect Jesus to look for you.  We don’t know for how long we will be alive.  We don’t know what will happen on our way.  Why leave the father’s house to start with?  We shouldn’t.  


For those that are eagles, whenever they see the dead body, they will not land there so that it is hard for satan to deceive you, “come here to enjoy sin,” while you know that sin is death.  We all know that the wages of sin is death but we go for it, we want to taste death and sin.


In my country, I see hundreds of pictures and videos of people being killed.  People are killed day are after for no reason.  All of that has made me think that life is cheap.  It only takes one second to kill someone and you can’t stop death even if you are a multimillionaire.  You can’t tell death, “I’m beautiful, wait,” death will tell you, “No”.


Many among us choose to go for death, to sin, because we believe that is where joy exists.  That is why we must go either for the corpse or what is alive.  Mathew 7:13, enter the straight gate because the broad way leads to destruction and many go that way.


There is a broad way and many are happy to go through that way rather than the narrow one that leads to life.  We follow the broad way because our friends are there, my boyfriend is there, so lets join them.  When pagans are organising parties, they never miss alcohol.  It must be there and then secondly music and then people come to enjoy.


After drinking a lot, someone becomes drunk.  We used to have a neighbour who would drink on Fridays and the more they drank the more the music increased and their voices grew louder and then they would end up arguing and then fighting each other.  When you reach that stage of becoming drunk, you lose your personability.  They will vomit, they will urinate, look messy and disgusting but for them, they enjoy it.  They may hurt themselves and then wonder in the morning where the pain comes from, they don’t remember the night before.


Some will find themselves in a police cell and don’t know how they got there.  Your reputation will go down and you will lose your place in the Kingdom of God but you prefer to do that and you believe you are enjoying life.


Romans 12:3, don’t think of yourself higher but just be normal.  Many Christian’s today think that they can’t miss out because without them it won’t be as entertaining because the family said or friend said, they can’t be absent.  They forget that they should think about others.  The first person to think about in your life is your God.  If I put myself here, where is God in this?  If I want to take all the glory, we should remember all glory should return to God.

We need to seek all that is alive.  Things that are alive are those that we don’t see.  Colossians 3:1-2, our mind must be set on things in heaven, not on things on this earth.  Whatever we do, we must remember not to seek things that are here.


2 Corinthians 4:18, what is unseen is eternal and that is what we should fix our minds and eyes on.  Sometimes we look at things and our mind tells us not to look twice and reject with your entire body.  Sometimes I see images from Congo and I will send those videos to people and some will say, don’t send anymore, there is a reaction in the entire body and mind and we feel that it is not good for us.  When you look at the scene around you, how do you feel?  Does your body, mind, spirit enjoy?


Jesus is telling us to look at the unseen things.  The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, kindness, joy, etc, focus on that. Once you start to focus on those things you are preparing your way to be a good eagle and a good eagle doesn’t fear the altitude.  A good eagle doesn’t fear to leave a great height and drop at a fast speed to reach life.  When God gives you life in a word, you must rush fast and leave everything for that verse and feed yourself.  The remaining part, take to your family and friends.


Eagles are selfish.  The first thing they do is to take the fish/rabbit away from where they caught it to eat.  When you get the Word of God, take it with you, go to your room and go through it again.  By taking a rabbit and going somewhere safe, the rabbit can’t escape and that is where the eagle will kill the rabbit and eat it one small portion after another.  When you get the Word of God, try to go in details and think about it.  Try if possible to make a great picture for your life: Bible study.  


It is not a matter of reading one verse and that will do, think about that verse.  That is your daily bread.  When you eat your favourite food, you want to eat it until you are satisfied.  When you read your Bible, you must make sure that satisfaction is reached and then make sure that others notice you have read the Word of God through your actions.  Today you see Christian’s using the Word of God to defend their sins, dead animals

End Days - Matthew 24:27 - Lightning

By Odon Bulamba



Today we are going to go to our Bible in Mathew 24:27. This is a simple verse that anyone can understand.  It talks about the return of Jesus.  Here Jesus is not talking about signs anymore but insisting on the fact that He will come back and no one will realise that Jesus is here.  It will be extremely fast to the point that people will not have time to repent or to ask for forgiveness.


Sometimes when I read this verse, it pushes me to think about the lightning.  Lightning is something mysterious which appears in the sky.  It doesn’t appear every day and no one can predict it.  Sometimes meteorologist will tell you that there will be rain and lightning but we can’t predict it.  Some people are scared when they see the lightning and by the time we scream, it is gone.  You can’t say Jesus.  By the time you open your mouth, it is gone.


When Jesus comes, you will see the light wherever you are.  Why did Jesus take this example?  Because lightning is not a product of human being and is a mystery, you can’t control it, you can’t stop it, you can’t prevent it.  I’m not talking about the thunder with all the noise, I’m talking about lightning.  


My mother asked me to draw lightning.  I drew a root of a tree.  Sometimes it takes different shapes from the last one.  It can hit different places from yesterday.  You can’t predict how God will appear when He comes back, you can’t draw it and tell others how He will come down.  We only know that it will be extremely fast.


Lightning makes you feel something is coming.  Some think of the rain coming.  The rain may be heavy.  When the world is saying, let the spirit rain and come down, we want to see God controlling everything.  That time will be late, the Son of Man will already be there.  God is telling the church, “You won’t have enough time to repent.  Are you ready to go with Me, when I come back?


The Bible says that it will be so quick that the church will be gone at the same speed as blinking your eyes.  Will you be ready when Jesus comes back?  It’s not written in the calendar.  The date is not there.  


Very often when we see the sun raising up, we see the signs of the sun coming and then light will appear.  Whenever we see the morning star we can tell where it comes from and where it is going.  Jesus is the morning star, the Sun but when He comes back, be ready.  To be ready is not a matter of kneeling down and praying and crying but to tell God, “Make me ready”.


We are God’s children and He cares for us.  He knows the right time when He will come back.  For Christian’s who have the revelation will tell God, “Please prepare me for when you come back so I can be ready.  Please I don’t want to miss that opportunity”.  Like any parent who prepares their children to go somewhere, they know that at a certain time they will leave for the party, “Children, get ready, put on those shoes, it’s time to go now”.


Those who love Jesus, should tell Him, “Prepare me so that you can take me with you, I want to go with you, I don’t know how to prepare myself”.  Most of the time we sin without knowing.  Many times we sin by just thinking and we don’t even realise it.  Because God knows very well what is inside us and understands us better than anyone else, run to him and ask him to prepare you.  “I’m your slave, your child, your loved one, prepare me”.  If not, you won’t go with Jesus.


Jesus said, whenever a child asks for a bread, the parent won’t give a stone.  If you ask for a stone it will be given to you but if you know exactly what to ask your Lord, then that should be given to you.  God doesn’t give everything we want but all that we need.  What is your first need in life?


Many will say to buy a house, to have money, be joyful.  I have a sister who was extremely beautiful in our area.  Now that she is getting older, she looks at her old photos, I don’t believe this is me anymore.  Her body has been changing every day.  It is the same for our mind, soul and hearts, there is change.  


That is why, when someone is born again, he looks spiritually fresh with spiritually good skin colour spiritually.  They love Jesus and read Bible every second but as they grow up spiritually they feel tired, I don’t need to know more from the Bible, I’ve been going to church for years, I need a break.  Those weaknesses will grow in us but it is our responsibility to tell God, “I need your support.  Through my experience, many can learn”.  In Revelations, Jesus tells us to remember our first love.  


My mum says that when a child is born, no one will teach a child how to swallow the milk.  They know how to feed themselves.  Our spiritual life should be the same, we should find a way to live naturally in God, to be a part of His family.  You can feel something touching you and your arm will move and touch where you felt it and automatically you will look.  Any part of your body will intervene to remove it.


I’ve seen many people, especially women, touching their hair instinctively.  We need to be like this in the Lord.  If something strange touches us spiritually, we should notice.  We should feel the glory of God but today people don’t feel the power of God in their lives because the church is sleeping.  Only those who have eyes to see will see the light when Jesus comes.  All will see the light but only those with eyes will really see it.


When you look at the Word of God, do you see what God sees?  If a mother is walking with a child and sees a danger, they will intervene.  E.g. a snake was in our house and I wanted to touch it.  My mum screamed and rushed to pick me up.  Her first step was to take me away from the danger.  She called men to kill the snake.


In Africa, we kill the snake but in Australia, they release it but we don’t because it might attack again.  Sometimes we walk in God and don’t see danger and think it is fair and normal but if you walk near to God, He can quickly tell you, “Don’t walk there,” and take you from danger.  Imagine if that snake was there but my mum was too far away.  I could touch it and after being bitten, I would not be able to tell my mother what is wrong which would produce death.


It’s time to tell Jesus, “Walk by my side, let me not be far from you, wherever you go Jesus, let me know with you.  Don’t give me time to walk far from you”.  


Jesus gave a good example that we all know.  Whenever two things are put together, no man should separate (talking about marriage).  Jesus is our husband, are we faithful and committed to Jesus?  Have we decided to follow Jesus for the rest of our lives?  Does Jesus continue to hold your life in his hands or have you asked for your life back?  Maybe you regret because you married Jesus, this is not what you were expecting.  


Many Christians will tell God, “Since I became a Christian my life has changed in a bad way, I don’t have freedom, I used to steal but now I don’t have money, I used to drink beer but now I can’t, I am restricted”.  In any responsible family, rules exist.  Children will tell you, in our house, we can’t do that. 


I know what things that my father would not accept in his house but whenever God gives us rules, we believe that He is mean.  We sometimes think He is far from us so we do what we want to do.  As Jesus is coming back, we are the light of this world in the same way that Jesus is the lightning appears, we should also be like lightning and quickly appear when Jesus asks us to.


Paul said, imitate me like Jesus.  Why can’t we be quick to repent when we do something wrong.  Whenever we do something wrong, we say, “I was angry,” and then we decide not to talk to that person.  Whenever we do a mistake, instead of repenting immediately, we think that somehow, I am right.  If that person hadn’t done this, then I couldn’t do this.


When I did something wrong as a child, I learnt to tell my mum quickly before she found out.  That was good.  My mum would say, bring yourself to justice.  When you feel in your heart to share the gospel, just bring it out.


I went to a shop in Hamilton where an Arab man was there from Iran.  I told him to give his life to Jesus because He loves you, repent and give your life to Jesus.  I walked away.  People looked at me.  It sounded rude but I felt in me that I should say it.  The next time I went into the shop, he asked “Why did you say that?”  I said because there is no time, we need to repent.


I once went to an interview with 3 people.  I asked them before we start to read John 21:20, John said to Jesus, who will be the apostle who will betray you.  I told these 3 people, who will betray Jesus in our world today.  One said, we are here for this job interview.  I said yes, this is also part of my job because if I know it’s me, I should repent.  One said, I betrayed my wife two days ago.  Another said, I betrayed my parents.  I think I should repent.  I got the job.


Sometimes God will use you.  You appear like lightning, pass on the message, be the light, then go.  Don’t worry about what they will think or say about you, pass on the message and move away.


God loves you so much, that is why He has been giving us warnings.  That is why He is telling you, “I will come like lightning”.  If you want to be in His kingdom ask God so that you and your family and friends do not miss that day and minute.

End Times - Matthew 24:24 - False Christs and False Prophets

By Odon Bulamba

End Times - Mathew 24:9 - Hatred & Persecution

This is a common verse for many people and I’m sure you have heard about it several times.  The Bible says that people will determine to kill you and hate you for my name.  Because of the name of Jesus, people will hate you and you will get into trouble and you can even be killed because of the name of Jesus.  Today I want to talk to you, are you ready to die for the name of Jesus?

Are you ready for people to hate you because of the name of Jesus? Have you decided in your life to go through troubles because of the name of Jesus?  This is the one of the most powerful and challenging verses in the Bible.  This verse is like what Jesus did for us.  He left heaven and decided to leave everything to die for us.  He accepted to come down and He knew that others will hate Him because of you and I and He accepted to go through trauma so we can be saved.

Now it’s our turn to sacrifice our lives for Him.  This is where many Christians fail.  We are ready to receive salvation, love and blessings but we are not ready to give up on something to glorify Jesus.  Who is going to kill you?  Who will hate you?  Who will put you in trouble?  The first nation that will attack you is your own body.  The desire of your body is the first one to accuse you and put you in trouble for the love of Jesus.

When you want to pray, your body will tell you that you are not able to pray, your body will attack your spirit and your desire to pray and you think, maybe I will pray tomorrow.  You want to do something good for God but your body turns you down but if you remember, I am doing this not only for me but the name of Jesus, then you will stand up and do it and you will be a winner.  If you are only doing it because of your salvation or because you are Christian, then you won’t do it today.  Whenever you do something, do it in the name of Jesus.

“For your glory Jesus, I will do this, for Your Name I will do this,” and your body will turn you down.  I’ve seen Christians give up because of the influence of others.  They will put aside their faith because people say something.  In order to please others, we do what they are asking us to do.  Our mind will push us, you shouldn’t do this now for God, you would be better to do this for yourself.  Most of the time we do things for ourselves rather than God.

Blessed are those that know that they are doing things for God because they will be winners.  Better for us to die for Christ than to die for the glory of the world or your country.  Many people will prefer to sacrifice everything to become somebody.  During the elections, I have seen on tv politians will put aside their family and they will fight because they want to lead the county, they want their political party to rule the country. Men will give up their jobs to campaign, not because they love the people of the country but because they want to be someone of the country.

They tell you they will fight for your needs but once they become leaders, you cannot see them without an appointment.  Once they occupy the post, they no longer campaign but they work.  What type of campaign do you do for Jesus?  How many messages do you send your friends?  How often are you on Facebook?  How many people love you because you are campaigning for Jesus?  How many people will hate you for promoting Jesus? 

Jesus wants us to campaign for Him but very often we don’t have that courage, we often think twice, how will they take this?  How will they judge me?  Better to send a joke or a song of Rihanna than a song from church.  God our Lord is looking at you, “remember Mathew 24:9, you have to accept to be killed for My Name”.

If they attack you and want to kill you, if they hate you, it’s normal.  We should try to bring up the name of the Lord Jesus.  During the campaign, the nationals will talk about national.  What name do you promote in your social media and your day to day life?  Some promote only their jobs, their knowledge but do you promote Jesus in your life and if yes, how do you do that campaign?

This morning I was thinking about advertisements and how they pop up in your computer and you don’t want it but it pops up.  You can turn it off but another will pop up later.  People work so hard to promote what is good for them.  The only thing we must promote is Jesus.  Do we send pop up messages to people?  They will hate us but do we send them?

People will hate you, kill you and put you in trouble because of my name.  I’ve sent messages to people and they blocked me.  Some have even told me to stop sending messages.  Pressure can come but don’t give up.  Your body can fear losing friends but the best friend you can have is Jesus.  Knowing and having Jesus is a privilege.  Your parents can die and your friends can leave you but Jesus will always be by your side.

You are a strong person and God loves you so much.  Love is not a one way street but it has to have reciprocity, it needs a return.  Jesus doesn’t ask a lot like He did with Abraham who had to give up his son, no He just asks you to sacrifice everything for His Name, promote His Name; by doing so you will be a winner.

Mathew 24 is for the church not for the street but today the church has been letting Jesus down because we are shy to talk about him.  Imagine you meet with your friends while you are with your parents and you feel shy to introduce your mother because you believe your friends will judge you.  People prefer to hide Jesus because we are not comfortable that our faith is in Jesus.  Jesus is so good, He has warned us that those who are shy to talk about Jesus, then He will also feel shy about them.

Imagine if Jesus tells you, you were too shy to introduce me to people, I am also shy, I cannot tell My Father about you.  Don’t feel shy anymore.  Put shyness aside, tell it, “you are not part of my life”.  Let people hate you rather than putting your shyness to talk about Jesus first.  Together we must make a small step and then the rest will follow.  Make one step, decide in your life, how am I going to promote Jesus in my life, how will I introduce Jesus to others?

I don’t have to be happy because I am a friend of the prime minister but that I am a friend of Jesus.

End Times - Mathew 24:4 - Don't be deceived part 2

End Times - Mathew 24:4 - Don't be deceived Part 1

End Times - Mathew 24:3 - Sign of the Times

Sign of Times (Part XXVIII - 28)

By Moonings

ISRAEL GOD’S PROPHETIC CLOCK

The Future of Jewish Religion

Some popular writers on prophecy have said that the founding of Israel in 1948 was the sign Jesus intended when He called us to watch for the rebudding of the fig tree. But as we have said before, the parable does not refer to reinvigoration of the Jewish state. Scripture also represents Israel as a vine and an olive tree. Each symbol seems to have distinct meaning, the olive tree standing for the true Israel of God—that is, the spiritual seed of Abraham (Rom. 11:16-25)—and the vine, not the fig tree, referring to Israel as a political entity (Isa. 5:1-7; Jer. 2:21; Ezek. 17:1-10; Mark 12:1-11).

On the Monday after the Triumphal Entry, Jesus cursed a fig tree as He made His way to the Temple, where, on the previous day, the religious leaders had scorned His claims to be the Messiah. He cursed the tree because, although it was green, it bore no fruit. In other words, it was flourishing but fruitless, just like the religion of Moses. The state of Israel was not flourishing. It chafed under the authority of Rome. Spiritual Israel was not flourishing in any sense. Thus, the fig tree was a fitting symbol only of the Jewish religious system.

When Jesus predicts that the fig tree will someday revive and put forth buds, He means, therefore, that the Mosaic religion, with all its laws and sacrifices based on the Torah, will reappear after being extinct for millennia. Many prophecies assume that the Jews will indeed return to the religious practices of their fathers. The Book of Daniel informs us that during the last week of the seventy that God has set aside for future dealings with Israel, the prince elsewhere called the Antichrist will

. . . cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Daniel 9:27

Parallel accounts of the same incident occur in Matthew 24:15 and 2 Thessalonians 2:4. These reveal that when the closing three and a half years of the present age begin, the Jews will have a Temple in Jerusalem, and they will be offering sacrifices according to the Mosaic rites.
A clue as to when the Jews will resume observance of the law appears in the last Scriptural reference to the fig tree, in Revelation 6. The record of the period subsequent to the opening of the Sixth Seal appears designed to suggest that the fig tree is on the verge of putting forth new buds. That record begins with an obscure image.

And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
Revelation 6:13

Although this prediction will likely have a literal fulfillment, each term employed here is elsewhere defined as a symbol. The fig tree stands for Israel, of course. In Daniel 8:10, Revelation 1:20, Revelation 9:1, and no doubt also in Revelation 12:4, a star of heaven represents an angel—specifically, an angel of God. In Revelation 9:1, an angel coming to the earth on a divine mission is described as a star falling from heaven. (The statement in Revelation 10:1, "And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven," explains the imagery in Revelation 9:1). And the four winds of Revelation 7:2 (a text just a few verses beyond the text we are discussing) represent demonic agencies, as they do also in Daniel 7.

It is evident that at the time of Revelation 6:13, evil forces will press mightily against Israel, but angels of God will come to her rescue. The only harm done to the fig tree will be the loss of some untimely figs. The meaning is that some Jews will be killed for their faith in Christ. These Jews will be the first of the martyrs prophesied two verses earlier.

And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
Revelation 6:11

The word translated "untimely figs" refers to late-ripening figs that hang on the tree until spring. We may regard the untimely figs mentioned here as figs found on the tree just before it enters a new season of growth. The image therefore implies that the fig tree is on the verge of putting forth buds.

The further history of the fig tree is given in Revelation 7.
1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
Revelation 7:1-3

The four angels who hold the winds in check are likely the same ones who came to the rescue of the fig tree. Another angel commands these four to keep up their protection of the fig tree and all the other trees. This passage employs "trees" both in a literal sense, with reference to vegetation, and in a symbolic sense, with reference to all the nations that will produce spiritual fruit. The symbolic sense of the term is illustrated also in Luke's gospel.

29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree and all the trees;30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.
Luke 21:29-32

After an angelic guard is posted about the fig tree, 144,000 in the twelve tribes of Israel are identified as "servants of our God" and set aside to receive God's seal.

2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel.5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand.6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand.8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.
Revelation 7:2-8

It is evident that the record of the period following the opening of the Sixth Seal emphasizes preparations for Israel's renewal. Untimely figs fall from the fig tree. The fig tree is surrounded by a protective watch. And angels set seals upon the 144,000. The record gives us the impression that these preparations continue throughout the whole period. The earliest we can reasonably date the budding of the fig tree is therefore at the opening of the Seventh Seal.

Times of the Gentiles

We must now determine whether Scriptural teaching concerning the rebirth of Israel supports the view that we are living in the Last Days. Many Bible students are unwilling to concede that the Jewish migration to Israel in modern times fulfills the Old Testament prophecies of a future return. Yet Isaiah (in Isa. 11:11) gives the first eschatological return of Israel a number—he counts it as the second. Thus, he prohibits any idea that there could be a temporary return of Israel within the Church Age, to be followed by another dispersion and another regathering at the very end. Such a regathering would be the third.

We conclude, then, that the modern regathering of Jews in Palestine and the formation of the Israeli state in 1948 are fulfillments of prophecy. The church has therefore been correct in viewing these events as signs that the day of Christ is approaching. But do these events also signify that we are living in the Last Days? It is conceivable, at least, that the Jews could assemble in their homeland and form a government long before the Last Days actually arrived.
The strongest argument that an emergent Jewish nation is a sign of the end times derives from Christ's most detailed warning of the holocaust in A.D. 70.

20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Luke 21:20-24

Here, Jesus states that the Jews will not repossess Jerusalem until "the times of the Gentiles" have been fulfilled. This expression, which occurs nowhere else in Scripture, denotes the historical era since Pentecost, the era when the church has been carrying out Christ's commission to offer the gospel of salvation to the whole world, to gentiles as well as Jews. The times of the gentiles thus correspond with the Church Age.

Jesus' deliberately imprecise wording does not require an exact concurrence between the end of the Church Age and the end of gentile domination over the Holy City. The latter might be a gradual process anticipating the former. Yet, His wording does seem to confine the whole process to a time when completion of the Church Age is near at hand. The end of the Church Age is the same period that Scripture designates the Last Days. Thus, Jesus' teaching that Jerusalem would be a gentile city until the end of the Church Age implies that the church should view any purging of gentile power from the city as a sign that the Last Days have arrived.

Gentile control of the city has been waning now for almost two centuries. Jewish reoccupation of Jerusalem began with an influx of Jewish settlers in the nineteenth century. The Jewish population grew steadily until Israel attained statehood in 1948. Then, the fledgeling nation absorbed the western sector of the city into its territory. During the 1967 war, the Israelis added the eastern sector, establishing authority over the whole city except the Moslem holy site on Temple Mount.

Today, the Jews are in control of virtually all Jerusalem. No longer can Jerusalem be considered a gentile city. Nor can it be said that the city is trodden down by gentiles. The city is teeming with Jews and flourishing as never before. Yet Jesus said that Jerusalem would not escape gentile domination until the times of the gentiles had been fulfilled. On what grounds can we ignore or reject the obvious implication that we have now come to the end of the gentile era, to the Last Days?

Sign of Times (Part XXVII - 27)

JEWISH RESTORATION TO PALESTINE DURING THE END TIMES

The Second Return to the Land

For long ages after A.D. 70, the Jews lived as a despised people wandering in exile far from their homeland. But has the fig tree come alive again? The Zionist movement, which promoted Jewish reoccupation of Palestine, originated about a hundred years ago. With the support of powerful sympathizers, Zionist agitation soon opened the way for many people of Jewish descent to migrate to Palestine. By the time World War I began, almost 80,000 Jews lived there (1). At the outbreak of World War II, the Jewish population of the land had swollen to 450,000 (2). Then in 1948, when the number of Jewish settlers had reached nearly a million, the nation of Israel was reborn as a political entity (3).

Yet neither the regathering of Jews in the land nor the refounding of the Jewish state was the budding of the fig tree, although the renewal foreseen by Christ presupposes both of these developments. That is, the fig tree cannot put out new growth until the Jews have returned to Palestine and established their own government.

Prophecy offers glimmerings of both a reoccupied land and a reorganized state. Ezekiel foresaw that God would someday pour out His Spirit on Israel and establish them permanently in the land after He has gathered the people from a far-flung dispersion.

25 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Now will I bring again the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy upon the whole house of Israel, and will be jealous for my holy name;26 After that they have borne their shame, and all their trespasses whereby they have trespassed against me, when they dwelt safely in their land, and none made them afraid.27 When I have brought them again from the people, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations;28 Then shall they know that I am the LORD their God, which caused them to be led into captivity among the heathen: but I have gathered them unto their own land, and have left none of them any more there.29 Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD. Ezekiel 39:25-29

Several other prophets in many separate prophecies also speak of the same future restoration of Israel.

14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem.15 The LORD hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the LORD, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more.16 In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.17 The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.18 I will gather them that are sorrowful for the solemn assembly, who are of thee, to whom the reproach of it was a burden.19 Behold, at that time I will undo all that afflict thee: and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out; and I will get them praise and fame in every land where they have been put to shame.20 At that time will I bring you again, even in the time that I gather you: for I will make you a name and a praise among all people of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes, saith the LORD.
Zephaniah 3:14-20

6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the LORD their God, and will hear them.7 And they of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through wine: yea, their children shall see it, and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.8 I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.9 And I will sow them among the people: and they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their children, and turn again.10 I will bring them again also out of the land of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall not be found for them.11 And he shall pass through the sea with affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre of Egypt shall depart away.12 And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the LORD.
Zechariah 10:6-12

See also Isaiah 1:25-28; 27:12-13; 33:20; 49:22-23; 60:1-12; Jeremiah 23:3-6; Ezekiel 20:40-44; 36:8-15; Zechariah 14:11; and Malachi 3:1-4. Of particular interest is an oracle of Isaiah.

10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isaiah 11:10-12

The "root of Jesse" is Christ. The prediction that the gentiles will seek Christ (v. 10) implies a period of worldwide evangelism after His coming. This oracle is therefore one of the few Old Testament texts that speak of the Church Age. In the next verse (v. 11), the prophet foresees a day when the Lord will accomplish a "second" deliverance for His people. Most commentators suppose that Isaiah is treating Israel's deliverance from Egypt as the first. But the Israelites who escaped from Egypt were not a remnant. They were the whole nation in its infancy, when population was surging to new heights. Nor did they come from any nation but Egypt. Thus, as a few commentators recognize, the first deliverance by Isaiah's reckoning must be the return from Babylonian captivity (4). The placement of verse 11 after verse 10 suggests that the "second" will occur only after Christ has come and His gospel has been preached to the gentiles.

In fact, Isaiah envisions two regatherings at the end of history. The first (v. 11) will be partial, mainly from the nations listed. The second (v. 12) will be complete, from the four corners of the earth. The first will come about through the secret, Providential working of the Lord's hand. The second will happen in response to a public summons from the person of Christ Himself, the "ensign" in verse 12 as in verse 10. The following text describes the second regathering:

19 And I will set a sign among them, and I will send those that escape of them unto the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, that draw the bow, to Tubal, and Javan, to the isles afar off, that have not heard my fame, neither have seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles.20 And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD.21 And I will also take of them for priests and for Levites, saith the LORD.22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
Isaiah 66:19-22

Once enthroned, Christ will sift the whole world for any remaining descendants of the twelve tribes and bring them to their appointed homeland. Yet it does not follow that there will be no previous regathering. Prophecy teaches clearly that there will be. Notice particularly what Jeremiah says.

3 For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.4 And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.5 For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:9 But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.
Jeremiah 30:3-9

The prophet affirms that there will be a general regathering before the time of Jacob's trouble, which students of prophecy equate with the Tribulation. This regathering is the one which Isaiah designates as the second.

Yet the second regathering of the Jews is not in itself the sign that, according to the Olivet Discourse, would announce the end of the world. It is not the rebudding of the fig tree.

Rebirth of the Jewish State

One result of the second regathering will be the formation of a Jewish state. In the dream of Nebuchadnezzar which the Lord enabled Daniel to interpret, the king saw a succession of five gentile kingdoms (Dan. 2:41-43). The first four represented kingdoms with authority over an existing state of Israel. The fifth, which is still future, must therefore also refer to a gentile kingdom ascendant over a nation of Jews.

Zechariah is more explicit. He says that when the gentile world mounts its final assault on the land of Judah (an assault preliminary to the great battle known as the Battle of Armageddon), Jews will be living there under the rule of their own governors.

3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.6 In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
Zechariah 12:3-6

But, just as the second regathering of the Jews in Palestine is not the rebudding of the fig tree, neither is the new Jewish state that they establish. Neither development is the sign that Jesus said would anticipate His coming.

Sign of Times (Part XXVI - 26)

By Moonings

PLACE OF ISRAEL IN CHRISTIAN HOPE

There has long been a close connection between the aspirations of Jews and Christians, the one yearning for nationhood, the other for the second coming of Christ. The idea of establishing a Jewish state in Palestine did not surface among Jews until Leon Pinsker, a Russian Jew, proposed it in 1882, and the first congress of the World Zionist Organization did not meet until 1897 (1). But long before then, many Jews had turned their faces toward what they regarded as their homeland. Throughout the nineteenth century a small stream of Jewish emigrants from Europe had been flowing to Palestine. A major impetus to migration came in 1840, when the British expelled the Egyptians from Syria and enlarged their own influence in the region (2). The Earl of Shaftesbury (then Lord Ashley), whom we have discussed in an earlier study, saw the resolution of the Syrian question as an opportunity to restore many more Jews to the Holy Land.

According to his biographer,
He had long cherished the belief, founded upon an earnest and diligent study of the prophecies contained in Holy Scripture, that the Jews were to return to their inheritance in the Holy Land, and it appeared to him that the time was ripe for the accomplishment of these prophecies (3).
In meetings and in correspondence with Lord Palmerston, the Secretary of State, who was also the second husband of Lord Ashley's mother-in-law, Lord Ashley strongly urged the government to take measures that would encourage Jewish migration. One offshoot of this effort was that the British advised the Turkish authorities in Syria to grant the Jews greater protection and privileges (4). Lord Ashley's biographer reports that at this time there was
everywhere a revival of zeal on behalf of "God's ancient people;" . . . certain promises and prophecies of the Scriptures were regarded as about to be fulfilled (5).

Throughout the remainder of the century, the church remained alert to the continuing Jewish migration to Palestine. And when that migration intensified as a result of the great events of the twentieth century, the church saw it as a definite sign that the present age was drawing to a close. The founding of the state of Israel in 1948 greatly strengthened the conviction of Bible-believing Christians that these are the Last Days.

But has the church correctly understood prophecy? Has prophecy been fulfilled through the return of Jews to Palestine and the rebirth of a Jewish nation? Has God planted these events in history to serve as signs that the Church Age is winding down? To see whether the modern history of the Jews has prophetic significance, we must start with what Jesus Himself taught about the future of His people.

The Olivet Discourse
Jesus saved His fullest discussion of things to come until shortly before He died. This discussion, known as the Olivet Discourse, took place on the Tuesday evening between Palm Sunday and the day of the Crucifixion. Matthew's record of Jesus' words on this occasion requires two long chapters. Rather than reprinting the discourse in full, we will ask the reader to peruse it in his own Bible. The discourse arose out of a discussion earlier in the day, between Jesus and His disciples.

1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
Matthew 24:1-3

The disciples had offered to show Jesus the magnificent buildings of the Temple (v. 1). Jesus had replied that not one stone would be left upon another (v. 2). Sometime later, as He sat on the Mount of Olives, perhaps gazing across the valley at the beautiful scene of the city spread out before Him, certain disciples—Mark informs us that it was Peter, James, John, and Andrew (Mark 13:3)—came to Him privately and sought further information (v. 3). They asked, when will these things (the destruction of the Temple) be, and what will be the sign of His coming and the end of the world (v. 3). They evidently thought that all these developments would be concurrent.

Jesus' answer is an ingenious mixture of fact and symbol. In the first section of the discourse (Matt. 24:4-31), He gives a straightforward, literal account of events during the time of the end. In the middle section (Matt. 24:37 to 25:30) He presents a series of parables dealing with events attending the transport of believers from earth to heaven during this period, and in the last section (Matt. 25:31-46) He returns to a narrative style, describing an event just after the close of the age: the judgment of the sheep and the goats. In response to the disciples' original questions, He inserts a direct answer between the first and middle sections.

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 I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
Matthew 24:32-36

Here, He says four things.

An event will be signaled as imminent by the budding of the fig tree (v. 32-33).

A generation shall not pass before all these things are fulfilled (v. 34).

We can be sure that Jesus will return, as He promised (v. 35).

But no one can know exactly when Jesus will return (v. 36).

To make sense of these answers, we must understand that the disciples had, no doubt unwittingly, presented Christ with two distinct questions. The first question was, "When shall these things be?" The disciples meant, "When will the Temple be destroyed?" Their second question was, "What shall be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the world?" "Coming" corresponds to the Greek word parousia ("presence"), a technical term referring to the glorious presence that Jesus will manifest at His coming. In Matthew 24:27, Jesus uses the term with reference to His coming at the end of the Tribulation. In Greek, "end of the world" is sunteleias tou aionos, which means simply "completion of the age." The disciples wanted to know when Jesus would come and set up His kingdom. The answers to both questions lie hidden in Jesus' riddling oracle, "This generation shall not pass until all these things be fulfilled."

With reference to the first question, the expression "these things" (v. 34) refers to the destruction of the Temple, an event that the disciples also called "these things" (v. 3), and the fig tree is the actual fig tree that Jesus found and cursed on Monday of Passion Week. The disciples saw this tree putting forth leaves in A.D. 33, and the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, less than a generation later. Jesus' prediction that the Temple would be destroyed less than a generation after the disciples saw the budding of the fig tree was therefore fulfilled.

With reference to the second question of the disciples, "these things" (v. 34) are the events He has enumerated in the preceding verses (in vv. 4-31), and the fig tree must be understood figuratively.

The Fig Tree

The question of great moment, therefore, is what the fig tree represents. Many commentators throughout church history have agreed that it represents the nation of Israel. In this symbolism Jesus is alluding to a vision of Jeremiah.

1 The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.
Jeremiah 24:1-10

The prophet saw the people of Israel as two groups of figs, one good, the other bad. The Lord told him that the good figs, representing the godly portion of the nation, would someday be planted like a fig tree, never to be rooted up.

The same imagery occurs more than once during Jesus' ministry. For example, He uttered the following parable about a year before His death.

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.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?8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.
Luke 13:6-9

The standard interpretation is that the owner is the Father, the keeper is Christ, and tree is Israel. If this interpretation is correct, the meaning of the parable is transparent. Jesus' ministry has gone on for three years without any fruit and the Father is ready to set Israel aside, but the Son pleads for the nation, asking that it be cultivated another year and given another chance.
But notice Jesus' view of the fig tree a year later, after the year of prolonged opportunity had passed by.

11 And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.12 And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:13 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.14 And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.19 And when even was come, he went out of the city.20 And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots.21 And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away.
Mark 11:11-21

Why did Jesus curse the fig tree—a mere tree whose only fault was that it had not yet borne fruit? The incident is obviously symbolic. The day before the cursing of the tree was Palm Sunday, the day of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, when He presented Himself to the people and their leaders as the Messiah, in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9. The response of the nation was divided. Although some individuals accepted Him, the nation as a whole rejected Him.

In particular, the elders of the people rejected and severely opposed Him (Matt. 21:15). Therefore, in His justice and holiness, God rejected the Jewish nation. Subsequently, less than forty years later, in A.D. 70, God judged the Jews by destroying their city and scattering them throughout the civilized world.

Now it should be perfectly clear why Jesus cursed the fig tree on the morning after His triumphal entry. The two incidents are linked together. The cursing of the tree was a picture of the judgment that would soon fall on Israel because Israel had rejected their Messiah.

Now it should also be perfectly clear what the parable of the fig tree in the Olivet Discourse means. As the disciples were walking into the city on Tuesday morning after Palm Sunday, they noticed that the tree which Jesus had cursed the day before had withered and dried up. Later, on Tuesday evening, when the memory of the withered fig tree was still fresh in their minds, Jesus spoke the parable in question. He said that when the church sees the fig tree leafing out again, it will know that "it is . . . at the doors." The Greek for "it is" can also be translated "he is."

In prophecy, "door" is often a symbol for the passageway between heaven and earth (Rev. 4:1). What the parable means, therefore, is that when the nation of Israel revives after its coming disintegration and death in A.D. 70, the return of Christ will be imminent.

Sign of the Times (Part XXV - 25)

By Moonings

EMERGENCY OF A GLOBAL SOCIETY

At the end of his interpretation of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, Daniel in a few words sketched out the main features of the time right before Christ returns—the time corresponding to the toes of the colossal image that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his frightening dream (Dan. 2:43). But his words are a riddle hard to fathom. To explain it, we will start with a clearer translation. Daniel said, literally, "And as you saw the iron mixed with clay of the clay, they shall mix themselves in the seed of men." That is, iron and clay would mingle in the seed of men.

As Daniel's gaze penetrated the remote future and beheld the period of the toes, he saw that the barriers dividing mankind into distinct nations and tribes would then begin to crumble away. His words are cryptic in part because they have two meanings, each describing a crucial development leading to a global society.

The Sign of Mixed Marriages
The first meaning is that European and non-European cultures would be mixed together in human offspring. In other words, there would be a huge increase in the number of children issuing from interracial or interethnic marriages. Scripture is not, by the way, passing judgment on such marriages. We are all cousins, descended from common ancestors just a few thousand years ago.

Now that we have entered the period of the toes, we can see Daniel's prophecy being fulfilled. The number of children with mixed parentage is exploding. One statistic revealing this trend is the percentage of marriages in America considered to be interracial. The minor changes in the criteria for defining interracial marriage cannot explain away the tenfold increase within the last generation. The percentage has risen from .7% in 1970 to 7% in 2005 (1).

The Sign of Multiculturalism
The second meaning of Daniel's obscure description of our time is that men in general, here called the seed of men, would drift away from traditional cultures and adopt instead a culture blended of European (iron) and non-European (clay) elements. The separate streams of world culture would converge in a vast synthesis.

Today, the prophecy is coming true. The great hope giving energy and direction to the educated classes who control politics, education, and the media is to create a single world culture. The first point on their agenda is to promote the migration of third-world peoples to developed nations, creating ethnically mixed communities. The second point is to promote the ethic known as multiculturalism, which requires people from different traditions to live side-by-side in mutual respect, with an openness to learning from each other.

The effect of multiculturalism is not to support and honor traditional cultures, as it claims, but to destroy them, putting a homogeneous global culture in their place. Today, the world looks more and more the same wherever you go. You find the same entertainment, the same consumer products, the same food and clothes, even the same thinking. English is gradually displacing other languages.

As we look about us in America, we can see that the first point in the globalist agenda—large-scale immigration—has been achieved. In our heritage we are an iron (European) society. But a non-European component becomes stronger and plainer every day. To show that the proportion of clay in American society is rapidly increasing, we will look at how the religious composition of our country changed just between 1990 and 2000 (2).

In that ten-year period, the number of Muslims more than doubled, from 527,000 to 1,104,000 (counting only adults). For Buddhists, the factor of increase was even greater. It was 2.7, with numbers rising from 401,000 to 1,082,000. Still greater was the factor of increase for Hindus. It was 3.4, although in absolute numbers they still ranked lower than Muslims or Buddhists. In 2000, there were 766,000 Hindus, whereas in 1990 there were only 227,000. A number of minor religions also exploded. The factor of increase for those adhering to the Baha'i faith was 3.0, their number reaching 84,000. In 2000, about 103,000 belonged to native American religion, more than a twofold increase since 1990. One of the fastest growing religions was Sikhism, a traditional Indian religion. In 2000, after a fourfold increase since 1990, the total came to 57,000. Large-scale immigration from Asia was responsible for the surges in most of these non-European religions.

How is Christianity doing? Between 1990 and 2000 there was a 5% increase in the number of people who called themselves Christian. The number in 2000 was 159,030,000, about 75% of the total American population. But we must put this total in perspective. It includes such cults as Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormonism. Also, population growth in the same decade was 13.2%. In other words, growth in Christianity lagged well behind population growth.

As Christians, we should view these statistics as both a judgment and a challenge—as a judgment because they show the consequences of letting our pure apostolic faith be corrupted by worldliness and unbelief. The result is that Christianity in a once Christian nation is rapidly losing ground to other religions. We are taking the path already trod by the nations of Europe. Yet we should also view these statistics as a challenge. God has brought the mission field to our door. We now have living in our communities people of all tribes, tongues, religions, and nations. And their number grows daily. Immigration contributes one million people to our population each year.

The Sign of Ethnic Conflict
As he finished his overview of our time, Daniel stated quite clearly that the campaign to make all men citizens of the world would fail miserably. "But they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay" (Dan. 2:43). Iron and clay just do not stick together. Despite the march to globalization, there would be continual eruptions of interethnic and interreligious violence, especially between Europeans and non-Europeans.

Again, history is confirming prophecy. Hardly a day goes by when we do not see a fresh outbreak of violence between groups loyal to different cultures. What is the main dynamic behind the conflicts dominating current news? It is tension between the Muslim world and the Western world. In the belief that vigorous promotion of multiculturalism would keep friction under control, Europe and America have in the last few decades welcomed large-scale immigration from Muslim countries. Has this led to Muslims and non-Muslims living together in harmony, with appreciation for each other? Nonsense. As Daniel predicted, the result has been suspicion and fear and mutual contempt, erupting sometimes in violence.

Let us now turn to current events and survey some facts proving that the iron and clay in today's world are not mixing very well. It will be obvious that most of the discord that comes to our attention through the news media is initiated by Muslims. Lest I leave a false impression, I must caution the reader not to brand all Muslims as vicious and violent. Many who live among us in America are gentle, law-abiding citizens.

In early 2005, Germans were shocked when the media reported that within Germany's Muslim community, which numbers over two million, forty-five so-called honor killings had been committed in the past eight years. In murders of this kind, the victim is a woman killed by her family because they feel she has disgraced them. A typical case was a woman forced to marry her cousin when she was fifteen, but after coming to Germany, she left him and tried to assimilate into German society. She was gunned down by her three brothers.

A few years ago, Dutch filmmaker Theo Van Gogh made a movie mocking the Muslim religion. It was a wretchedly obscene movie, such that no one could blame Muslims for being offended by it. But what was the Muslim response? On the morning of November 2, 2004, a man approached Van Gogh outside a public building in Amsterdam and shot him eight times. Not content with killing his victim, the murderer then slit his throat and planted two knives in his body. Attached to one was a five-page note threatening the West and Israel. When the murderer, Mohammed Bouyeri, was apprehended, the Dutch people were shocked to discover that he was a Dutch citizen born in Amsterdam. Moreover he was educated in the West and apparently well integrated into Western Society. Yet he was apparently a member of a terrorist organization.

On July 7, 2005, London was struck by a series of suicide bombings. During the morning rush hour, three bombs exploded within 50 seconds of each other on different London Underground trains. Almost an hour later, a fourth bomb exploded on a bus in London. Casualties numbered fifty-six dead, including the four bombers, and 700 injured. Three of the suspected bombers were Muslims of Pakistani descent who were born and educated in Britain.

A second series of four explosions hit London two weeks later. Fortunately, what exploded were the detonators, not the bombs, which failed to go off. Nobody was hurt. The men that the police charged with responsibility were all Muslims.

In late 2005 gangs of youths rioted for twenty days in France. Most were Muslim immigrants from North Africa, yet nearly all of these immigrants held French citizenship. The main target was property. Altogether, 8973 vehicles were torched and many public buildings were burned. In the fighting that ensued between rioters and police, nearly 3000 were arrested and over a hundred police were injured.

Another clash between the iron of Europe and the clay of the Muslim world was the so-called cartoon riots in 2006. Cartoons depicting Mohammed were published in a Danish newspaper. In one of these his turban was shaped like a bomb, suggesting that the Muslim religion breeds terrorism. Evidently, many Muslims believe that the best way to debunk this charge is to engage in mob violence. For nearly a month, Muslims carried their protests into the streets of Muslim nations around the world, resulting in many dozen fatalities. The riots in Nigeria touched off fighting between the Muslim and Christian communities, and more than 120 died.

On June 30, 2007, two cars loaded with crude bombs were discovered in London before the bombs went off. The next day, two men crashed a Jeep carrying bombs into the main terminal of Glasgow airport and then set the Jeep on fire. One of the attackers was a Lebanese doctor, the other an Iraqi doctor, both employed by the British health service at a Glasgow hospital. Police determined that there was a linkage between the two incidents and arrested several more suspects. All were of Middle Eastern or Indian origin, and several were doctors, medical personnel, or medical students who had been in Britain pursuing their careers.

Almost every day, the media report another wave of violence generated by Muslims seething with hatred of Jews and Christians, and sometimes even with hatred of other Muslims of a slightly different stripe. People ask, why are Muslims so hard to live with, so quick to fight and kill? There is a cultural reason and a religious reason. We find both by examining Islam in the light of the Bible.

The Muslim religion is rooted in Arab culture. Its founder was an Arab—that is, a descendant of Abraham's son Ishmael—and according to the Bible, God said of Ishmael before he was born, "And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren" (Gen. 16:12). In other words, the family and culture that would spring from Ishmael would always be noted for two things: violence and clannishness. Indeed, Arab history is a saga of bitter conflict with all who are seen as enemies. Also, clan loyalty runs extremely high among Arabs. Group thinking may seize the mind and group honor may capture the heart. Then, a fanaticism conditioned by tribalism overrides a proper attention to what is good for self or for people outside the group. In the age-old character of Arab culture, we again see that the Bible is the key to understanding the news.
Yet in any group there are many who diverge from the average. It is never wise to assume that individuals have the characteristics of their group. I myself have known Arabs who were not in the least violent or clannish. Yet groups do possess pronounced traits that are reliably expressed in group behavior.

The religious reason for Muslim violence stems from Mohammed's teaching. His ethical system is gravely deficient. It has a huge hole right in the middle. That hole is the absence of any recognition that the wellspring of all righteousness is love. Unlike Jesus, Mohammed never said, and never imagined it right to say, "Love your enemies." Nor did he offer anything comparable to the precept, "Blessed are the peacemakers." If the young Muslim militant raging against the West understood that he has an obligation to love his enemies, he would never seek to blow them up.

It does not follow that we should hate Arabs or Muslims. No, every man is made in the image of God, and his soul is precious. In pointing out certain problems endemic in Islam, my purpose has not been to stir up hatred against Muslims, but rather to stir up compassion for the multitudes who are in bondage to a false religion. We must labor to give every Muslim the gospel that will liberate him from a religion that leaves him largely ignorant of His Creator's love. Through the power of God's Spirit, every Muslim, like every other living man and woman, can become a beautiful, immortal being.

Evangelizing Muslims not only rescues individuals from a futile religious faith, but also fosters real peace between the antagonistic worlds of Christian and Muslim. The only way to heal the breach between these two worlds is to convert Muslims to Christianity, the only traditional religion that upholds peace and love as the preeminent goals of human society.