Parable of The Fig Tree
One of the commands instructed by Jesus to His disciples was to learn the parable of the fig tree ( Mark 13:28 ). We who are followers of Jesus should know and understand the meaning of the parable and why we were instructed to learn it.
Matt. 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves”. Vs. 16, “ you shall know them by their fruit. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles”?
Nature teaches us that grapes can only grow on a vine and figs are grown on a fig tree.
Verse. 17, “ Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. The tree is known by it’s fruit”.
God doesn’t mix things up. Everything in God’s creation is natural. What work would be done that would be called evil fruit?
Mark 13:1, And as He went out of the Temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, “ Master see what manner of stones and what buildings are here”! Vs. 2, And Jesus answering said unto him, “Seeth thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down”. Vs. 3, “And as He sat upon the mount of olives over against the Temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked Him privately, Vs. 4, “Tell us when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign when all these things be fulfilled”?
Jesus beginning with verse 5, taught His disciple’s the seals that would bring about a cursing on his people because of the false teachers who would come in his name. This sealing is a warning always expressed by Christ to his disciples. Many are not aware that the fake Christ comes at the sixth trump (the biblical number for man) and the true Christ doesn’t return until the seventh (when we add one, the number for God to man’s number six, we get the number seven) trump. One should compare these seals with the seals found in the sixth chapter of the book of Revelation. Notice in verse 24 of Mark 13, “but in those days, after that tribulation etc”.This is Satan’s tribulation brought about by false teaching. After that tribulation, God will teach His people, and they will be sealed with His truth if they continue in his word.
Two Baskets Of Figs
Jeremiah. 24:1 Reads how Father shows Jeremiah two baskets of figs set before the Temple.
Verse 2, “One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad”. Vs. 3, “Then the Lord said to me, what seest thou Jeremiah”? Figs; the good figs very good; and the evil, very evil, that they could not be eaten they are so evil“.
Do we know the difference between the good figs and the evil figs?
Mark 11:11, ‘And Jesus entered Jerusalem, and into the temple: and when he had looked around about all things, and now the evening tide had come, He went out unto Bethany with the twelve. Vs. 12, “And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, He was hungry: Vs. 13, “ and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, He came, if haply He might find anything thereon ;( and when He had come to it, He found nothing but leaves ) for the time for figs was not yet”. Vs. 14, “And Jesus answered and said unto it, no man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever”. And His disciples heard it.
Jesus knew, upon entering the Temple in verse 11, who was doing the teaching. The bad figs, represented by false teachers were in charge with buying and selling right in the Temple.
Mark 11:17 “ Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations, a house of prayer? But you have made it a den of thieves”.
And in vs. 18, we are told how the scribes and chief priest wanted to destroy Him.
The Two Trees
Gen. 2:9, “ And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the mist of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil”. Vs. 16, “ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “ of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat”: Vs. 17, “ But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shall not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shall surely die”.
Sounds similar to the bad fig tree doesn’t it? Who was it that tempted the woman in the garden? Of course it was Satan, the one who always tries to play the role as “ in place of Christ”.
Gen 3:6, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her and he did eat”. Vs. 7, “And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were both naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
Jesus, four thousand years later would be giving His disciples the same warning. What happened to the man and woman in the garden could also happen to us today.
2nd Corinthians 11:3, “ But I fear , lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his sublity, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ”.
What happened in the garden? Did Eve eat an apple? Did she put fig leaves on to cover her mouth? Scripture says that they covered their loins with fig leaves. Fig leaf as defined in a dictionary: something meant to hide something else, something shameful and wrong. The key to understanding what had happened lies in the word beguile. The word beguiled as used in Gen. 3 is number 5377 and means to lead astray or seduce. The Greek word as found in 2nd Cor. is number 1818 and means to wholly seduce. That teaching might be foreign to some but what happened in the garden would give the Biblical explanation as to why Cain’s genealogy is not found in the generations of Adam.
Fig Tree of Isaiah and the Book of Revelation
It’s amazing when one examines God’s word and how the prophets all say the same thing on a given subject. In this case the subject is the fig tree. Jeremiah, Jesus, the disciple John in the Book of Revelation, and Isaiah all give the warning of the bad figs that are not fit to eat.
Isa. 34:1, “Come near ye nations, and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that there is therein; the world and all things that come forth of it”. Verse 4, “and all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fall down, as a leaf falleth off from the vine and as a falling fig from a fig tree”.
Rev. 6:13, “ 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”.
2nd Peter 1:20, “Knowing this first, that no prophesy of the scripture is of any interpretation”. Verse 21, “ for the prophesy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit”.
The Number of The Beast
Revelation, 13:18, “ Here is wisdom, let him that have understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is 666.
The word count in the Greek dictionary is number 5585 and 5586 and means to count by numeration, (by mens handling) over a long period of time. Of course these pebbles of Rev. 13:18 are worn smooth by the handling and deception of men. This is the beast system that gives rise to false teachers.
Satan seduced Eve in the garden and Jesus warned His disciples not to follow Eve’s example and have men lead us away from understanding God’s Word by following the teachings and traditions of men. All Godly wisdom comes from above and gives us understanding. The number six is the number for man. When the numbers 666 are added together they add up to 18 which in Biblical numeric’s is the number for bondage. Many do not realize that Satan comes as the first savior in our lives at the sixth trump, seals us with his false teachings, and we reap the consequences of the false teachings with his vials. Jesus does not return until the seventh trump, seals us with His truth and the consequences of his truth are blessings and rewards.
The word beast is interchangeable with the number of man. But what man and when did this false teaching start? Remember the discourse in Genesis the 4th chapter between God and Cain, especially after Cain slew his brother? Breaking into the middle of verse 4: 15, “ And the Lord set a mark on Cain, less any find him shall kill him. In many ways human nature has not changed. Cain would not listen to God then and ever since that time some men have placed themselves between God and men. Because of the lack of understanding of the scriptures, they have passed on the teachings and traditions of men. That is why Jesus told His disciples to learn the parable of the fig tree. He does not want us to follow the first christ or impersonator that comes along. Jesus disciples need to be grounded in the word of God. The Apostle Paul says it best:
2nd Tim. 2:15, ” Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needed not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
The Scribes and Pharisees of Jesus day were making merchandise right in the Temple of God by selling offerings to the general public. Today, as then, we need to realize that we can only offer to God our growth in the scriptures and applying that growth through knowledge in our life. Isn’t that what the word workman refers to in 2nd Tim. 2:15? The parable of the fig tree separates those that are Christians from those that are only playing church.