In this continuing study I take a look at the Rapture Doctrine. Is this a Pre-Trib, as taught in most mainstream Churches are do Christians go through the Tribulation Period? I compare Thessalonians to Matthew 24 along with Revelation. I venture into Paul’s writings to explore what he has to say, along with what Yahweh says in Ezekiel. I also ask the listeners to grab a pencil and paper as we create charts for comparison as we get deeper into this study.
In this Part 49 I continue our study in this Matthew 24 verse 32. I begin with a recap of what we have discovered up to this point in our Rapture study.
This morning Yahshua Messiah will be teaching us The Parable of the Fig Tree
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree = Take a likeness, or comparison from the fig tree, which was a tree well known in Judea; and the putting forth of its branches, leaves, and fruit, fell under the observation of everyone.
So what did Yahshua Messiah say? Learn! Not maybe! Other words, ‘from the fig tree learns its parable’.
when its branch is yet tender = through the influence of the sun, and the motion of the sap, which was bound up, and solid in the winter season:
and putteth forth leaves = from the tender branches, which swell, and open, and put forth buds, leaves, and fruit:
ye know the summer is nigh = spring being already come: the fig tree putting forth her green figs, is a sign that the winter is past, the spring is come, and summer is at hand; see Son. 2:11.
Summer = the seed is planted in the spring (May 14, 1948) harvested in the fall, “Feast of Tabernacles’. Now do you understand, why Yahshua Messiah tells us, “But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter” verse 20?
The Fig Tree is the Sign of His Coming
Yahshua Messiah gives us an important sign to look for concerning his coming: the fig tree. The sign of his coming and the end of the age is the fig tree:
The Fig Tree Is Israel
There are two obvious questions concerning this parable: who or what is the fig tree and how long is a generation? The answer to the first question is unmistakably Israel.
Hosea 9:10; I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstfruits on the fig tree in its first season.
Joel 1:6-7; For a nation has come up against My land, strong, and without number; His teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he has the fangs of a fierce lion. He has laid waste My vine, And ruined My fig tree; He has stripped it bare and thrown it away; Its branches are made white.
Jeremiah 24:2, 3, 5, 8
One basket had very good figs, like the figs that are first ripe; and the other basket had very bad figs which could not be eaten, they were so bad. Then Yahweh said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad, very bad, which cannot be eaten, they are so bad. Thus says Yahweh, the Elohim of Israel: Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge those who are carried away captive from Judah, whom I have sent out of this place for their own good, into the land of the Chaldeans. And as the bad figs which cannot be eaten, they are so bad surely thus says Yahweh so will I give up Zedekiah the king of Judah, his princes, the residue of Jerusalem who remain in this land, and those who dwell in the land of Egypt.
Yahshua Messiah continues the connection of Israel with a fig tree during the final stage of His ministry. Keep in mind that Yahshua Messiah had been ministering in Israel for about three years when He gave this parable.
Have any questions? Feel free to email me at keitner@netzero.net
