Matthew 24:32–34

Scripture points to the fig tree in two outstanding places. One is historical, Matthew 21:17-22; the other is prophetic, Matthew 24:32-33. The fig tree stands for Israel, the land of God's choice. It is the earthly centre from which God's plans of blessing flow out to a sinful world.

It is clear that the Lord treats this tree as symbolic of the Jews. He had done so a short time before. Both times the picture was so vivid that no believer need miss the meaning… The fruitless Jews were responsible under the first covenant. They have lost their religious position, and they are no longer a power. They lie scattered, swallowed up in the sea of peoples.

In Matthew 21 we see in the withered fig tree a picture of Israel's spiritual and national death. But that withered tree will live again. The fig tree will bud once more. However, the fig tree has this feature: fruit and leaves are there together. As soon as the branch becomes tender, the fruit is there. It is a rapid development. This is the lesson here.

The Jews will be objects of grace once more, and will come under the new covenant in that day. So here the fig tree falls under no curse. This time it does not wither from the roots. Israel trusted its own righteousness and knew nothing from it but misery and ruin. Now Israel casts itself on the Messiah in repentance and faith, and mercy flows on like a river.

The reference to the fig tree here is a parable. So we must expect to find in it a meaning deeper than that of a simile or an illustration… The "summer" represents the age of millennial blessedness for the earth. When real national revival sets in for Israel, then the appearing of Christ and the millennial age is very near.

This tree is an emblem of Israel, and the leaves coming out may well point to a national revival of that people. When the second beast, Israel's false king, arises, this will be plain to all. But before that, while the branch is still tender, the leaves come out, and this is a sign to the remnant. The movement called "Zionism" has already started among the Jews. Feeble, undefined and hesitant as it is, it may be the beginning of what will become the fig tree putting out its leaves, after the church is gone.

The fig tree putting out its tender leaves assures us that summer is near. So the appearing of the godly remnant in the middle of the apostate nation of Israel will signal that the time of blessing for the nation is close.

The Jewish remnant are given signs. They are told of certain things that must come before "the days of the Son of man." But they do not know the day or the hour of that appearing. See Matthew 24:32-36. By contrast, the saints now gathering to the hope of the "Son from heaven" get no such signs. They hear of no events that must happen first.

These are early days. We hear of nothing more than the branch becoming tender and putting out leaves. The time of fruit will come, but as yet they only know that summer is near… Grace will not fail to work its proper effects.

The fig tree is the well-known symbol of the Jewish nation. In Matthew 21 we saw it bearing nothing but leaves. That generation was given up to the curse of never bearing fruit, whatever grace may do for the generation that follows. In Luke 21 the word is, "Behold the fig tree and all the trees," because the Holy Spirit brings in the Gentiles all through that Gospel, and especially in that chapter… Here it is the tree, with renewed signs of life — the Jewish nation revived. "When you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors." That is, the end of this age is near, and the start of the next age under Messiah and the new covenant.

Since those early days of glory the unfaithful nation has passed through a long dark night of sorrow. But summer is approaching, for "HE is near, even at the doors" (Matt. 24:33).

The signs named in this chapter clearly point chosen Jewish disciples to His appearing. So they do not disturb the position of the church, which waits always for the Lord from heaven. They are signs for a remnant closely tied to Judea, who will be waiting for the coming of the Son of Man. No signs of this or any other kind were ever set before the church for judging how near Christ is to come and take her to Himself… For the Bride the one heavenly sign is the presence of the Bridegroom Himself.

So here the fig tree falls under no curse. It does not wither from the roots. Israel knew nothing but misery and ruin while it trusted its own righteousness. Now Israel is cast on the Messiah in repentance and faith, and mercy flows on like a river.

The mark of the fig tree is that fruit and leaves come together. As soon as the branch becomes tender, the fruit is already there. The development is rapid. This is the lesson here. Israel's blessing, new life, fruit and glory will come quickly in those end days. When all these things happen in the last seven years, and above all in the last 1,260 days, they will know that everything promised to Israel is at hand.

Are there any signs that the fig tree is putting out leaves? In other words, are there signs of fresh life in the Jewish nation? We answer, there are certainly many and obvious signs. Within living memory the fig tree has been putting on leaves. After nearly two thousand years of wandering among the nations, a hunger for Palestine has arisen in the hearts of God's ancient people. Hundreds of thousands of Jews have entered that land again. This fulfils prophecies scattered across the Old Testament (see Ezekiel 11:17; 28:25; Amos 9:14-15). Fifty years ago, anyone predicting a sovereign state in Palestine would have been written off as predicting the impossible. The impossible of fifty years ago is a fact today.

When does the phrase "this generation" come in? After the Son of Man has already come in power and glory — not when they saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies. That is an important point in deciding its true meaning. If "this generation" really meant a man's lifetime, such a place in the prophecy would be out of keeping. The common notion might have been reasonable if the phrase came in right at the surrounding of Jerusalem with armies. But it makes no sense once the times of the Gentiles are finished. What then is its true force? It means what it often means in Scripture — this Christ-rejecting race of Israel, and not a mere period of time.

Many have taken this to mean that the prophecy was to be fulfilled in the lifetime of persons then present in the world. This mistaken idea has produced two further errors. Rationalists have used it to claim that the prophecy has broken down. Others have forced a strained meaning on the words to reconcile the apparent contradiction. It has been said, by way of explanation, that the coming of the Son of Man in the chapter was nothing more than death — an idea that will not stand examination... But even if that were true, the difficulty would remain. Before that generation passes, the Son of Man must come, and "all" the things foretold in the prophecy must happen too.

The meaning here is moral, not a matter of dates. Take Psalm 12:7: "You, O LORD, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever." The word "forever" proves that the term has a long reach. The passage means that Jehovah will preserve the godly from their lawless oppressors, "from this generation forever." That clearly and conclusively refutes those who would limit the phrase to the short span of a man's lifetime. Deuteronomy 32:5, 20 uses "generation" the same way — not to mark a period of time, but to express the moral character of Israel.

Notice the phrase "all these things." It runs from the first troubles down to the last, and takes in the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Clearly "this generation" here cannot mean a mere period of thirty years, or a man's life... So the same generation that crucified the Lord of glory is going on still, and will, until He comes again in the clouds of heaven.

Verse 34 has a much wider sense, and one that fits it better. Unbelieving Jews would exist, as such, until all was accomplished. Compare Deuteronomy 32:5, 20, where this judgment on Israel is especially in view. God hides His face from them until He sees what their end will be, for they are a very stubborn generation, children with no faith. This has happened. They are a distinct people to this day. That generation exists in the same condition — a monument to the lasting certainty of God's dealings and of the Lord's words.

That race shall not pass away till all shall be fulfilled... Israel remains still distinct, not reckoned among the nations.

It is not correct to make this phrase mean "this race." The race of Israel is not to pass away when all these things are fulfilled. On the contrary, Israel will then reach its full blessing and glory as a people here below. The true force is "this Christ-rejecting, unbelieving generation of Israel." It does not mean only the people alive then. It means all who bear the same moral fruit as those who refused the Messiah. So they have continued, and will, until after the last deceptions and the judgment of the antichrist... and grace has converted a new generation — "the generation to come."