Scripture: Matthew 21 v 18 - 22: "Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.
19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
21 Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
Everything Jesus did had a lesson, a purpose, a revelation and/or a miracle result. He was known as the miracle worker for the many people that saw blind eyes open as well as lame people walking and leaping.
In the setting of Israel, which Jesus called "His own", even after prophecies had been heralding His coming, He was not welcomed.
John 1 v 11 - 13: "He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
Israel is symbolised by the Fig Tree in this scenario. Just as Adam and Eve rejected the commandment of God in Eden, so throughout the Old Testament did Israel cause God to be grieved with them. They made idols, worshipped false gods, intermarried with other nations, ignored warnings. They rejected His love and care over them by demanding a king.
Jesus came to Israel hungry for them in a spiritual way. He wanted to make known to them the joys that awaited them if they believed in His teachings and followed them faithfully. He had hoped for much more than He eventually got. He laid down His life for her and she was only too happy to see the back of Him.
No wonder He cursed that fig tree. His mission was to win the heart of the Apple of His Eye, but even now there are only a small percentage of Jews that believe in Him. He might have been disappointed or frustrated when He said nobody will eat fruit from you forever.
Thankfully the Cross brought forgiveness to Israel plus the change of Covenant, the end of the religious laws for those who are born again. The punishments for breaking those laws would also be done away with. It did mean the remnant were scattered after AD70 and no longer citizens of Eretz Israel, the land of Israel, until 1948.
There has been very little time of peace since then as the Arab nations, especially the Palestinians led by Arafat, declared perpetual war against them. Without the allegiance to Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, nobody has perfect peace. Right now a new war has started with Iran. The Ayatollah has been making serious threats recently about the soon readiness of their nuclear weapons of mass destruction.
They want Israel wiped off the map from the river to the sea. They want to attack on all fronts simultaneously. From Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen. Israel cannot afford to defend against that kind of bombardment so in the early hours of this morning took out some strategic targets and personnel to prevent it.
After Jesus' encounter with it, in a very short time the cursed fig tree withered from the roots up. Jesus had found no fruit on this tree. At the age of twelve He was teaching the learned men in the Temple, busy being about His Father's business. Very few seemed to have learned those lessons being Pharisees who rather wanted to keep the peace with Caesar and Pontius Pilate, the Governor. Having this Messiah show up was very inconvenient.
That was unfortunate as in AD 70, the Romans under General Titus, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in the great siege. No stone was left upon another as Jesus had prophesied in Matthew 24. The few surviving Jews made a stand at the fortress of Masada, but eventually they scattered. No fruit in Israel for 2000 years. There were a few Jews who stayed and lived among the nomads very peacefully.
John 2 v 19 - 21: "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body."
Everything Jesus said and did was with a purpose and largely prophetic. We are His Body, and the whole Body built properly is His Temple. After His death He was resurrected within three days. This equates to what Peter wrote.....One day is equal to a thousand years. So Jesus set the parameters for raising His Body within 3000 years. We are already in the third millennium.
He even said the days would be shortened or no one would be saved. So we have no idea how much shorter the time will be but those who think the Rapture is still hundreds of years away are in for a surprise.
Matthew 24 v 21 - 22: "For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." Words of Jesus.
These are the years of the Church, the Body of Christ, was being built up in the power of the Holy Spirit. This was while the Jews were scattered but still keeping their religious traditions and multiplying in the lands they lived in. Then came the Second World War and the great persecution of Jews.
The Vatican supported Germany in WW2, and so were party to the Holocaust. This boomeranged in 1948 when the Jews were given back their homeland as had been prophesied by Jeremiah. The land of Israel blossomed again through the kibbutzes, the farms and towns that were built around amazing irrigation inventions.
So the Fig Tree has another chance to bear fruit during the middle of the Tribulation period. That is when the Antichrist steps into the Holy of Holies of the newly rebuilt Temple declaring himself to be God. That is the moment that Israel knows that this imposter is not their Messiah. They flee to Jordan as the Antichrist turns against them. Our God will never forsake Israel. This is the moment He has longed to see.
They are believers in Jesus now. Their deceived hearts are open as the Holy Spirit unlocks the truth and Israel is ready to say "Come Lord Jesus" at last.
Revelation 7 v 2 - 4: "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."
The Word is a clear rebuke to those Gentiles who believe that God has forsaken Israel and they are her replacement. These 144,000 Jewish boys were given a unique song to sing that only true Jews could respond to. They were sent throughout the world to gather in those who were the true Bride of Christ, the remnant of Israel.
Any Gentiles who are now living under the Law of Moses, keeping Sabbath and all the Feasts has been bewitched as Paul writes in Galatians. They have lost their way. Revelation 21 v 9 - 12 clearly states that the Bride of Christ is Israel. Jesus is the Bridegroom. He is the Head of the Church which is His Body. (Look out for a full revelation of this on Sunday.)
So after 3 days shortened to prevent nuclear destruction of the whole planet, which has loomed up in the here and now, Israel is about to see the Fig Tree blossom again and welcome her Messiah and Bridegroom on the very last page of our Bible.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, its been a long hard road for Israel over 2000 years but You never stopped loving her, and the day is approaching when Jesus will shout for joy when Israel recognizes Him and proclaims Him as their own. We pray for Israel to survive the onslaught, make peace with her enemies and be ready for the great reunion. They will be a very fruitful tree! In Jesus' name. Amen.