THE LESSON OF THE FIG TREE
28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. Mark 13:28-31
Awareness is a key thought throughout Scripture. Being aware enables a person to be alert and discerning in this war zone we live in. The enemy is relentless in his desire to deceive and the only protection we have is awareness of truth which the Holy Spirit constantly brings to our attention as the antidote to the devil’s lies.
Jesus called His disciples’ attention to the fig tree as an illustration of awareness. Just as the tiny green shoots on a fig tree are the sign of summer’s return, so there are signs of the nearness of Jesus’ return. Since He was responding to their two-layered question, i.e., the destruction of the temple – to which He had referred – and the end of time, His reply would take in both situations even though they would be separated by many centuries. As with many prophecies, there would be two-layered fulfillment, the latter being a mirror of the former.
Just as Jerusalem and the temple would be razed to the ground, so everything that does not belong to the truth will be destroyed at His coming. Jesus came to His own people, but they rejected Him and judgment finally fell on them and the city as a result. His message went out to the world but the world also refused Him and, consequently, judgement will fall on the world as well.
There is nothing one can do about natural disasters and wars between nations. One may be caught up in them; one may be able, to a certain extent, to escape them, but one can do nothing to stop them. However, there is something we can do about deception. If we fall for the lies, it is because we have not known the truth. We have the responsibility of soaking our minds in God’s Word which Jesus said is not perishable like the world around us. Knowing the truth is the only protection we have against deception because the truth in us is the Holy Spirit’s fuel that lights the way.
In this situation, I,e, the certainty of coming judgment, the truth we need to cling to is the promise of eternal life for those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead.
24 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life John 5:24