The Fig Tree

The Fig Tree

Luk 13:6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.

Luk 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?

Luk 13:8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:

Luk 13:9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

Mat 21:18 Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.

Mat 21:19 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.

Mat 21:20 And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!

Mat 21:21 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.

Mat 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.

Luk 21:29 And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;

Luk 21:30 When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand.

Luk 21:31 So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.

Luk 21:32 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.

Luk 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

In the Old Testament the fig tree represented the nation of Israel and also symbolized wellbeing, wealth and prosperity

Jer 8:13 I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them.

Hos 9:10 I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

Joe 2:21 Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice: for the LORD will do great things.

Joe 2:22 Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.

Joe 2:23 Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month.

Joe 2:24 And the floors shall be full of wheat, and the fats shall overflow with wine and oil.

Joe 2:25 And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.

Cursing the fig tree was Jesus' way of saying that the whole nation had become spiritually barren before the Lord. They had the form of religion but not reality in other words, they had a head knowledge and not a heart knowledge. They knew the right words to say, but their hearts were far from God. Just as salvation is for us since the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.

Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?

Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.

So just like in Jesu' time we can use these scriptures in modern times to represent the condition of a lot of our present day churches just like in the book of Revelation that we are studying on Sunday nights. Remember the condition of the Laodicean Church in Chapter 3:14 to the end of the chapter. Spiritually our churches are in that same condition LUKE WARM!!!!

Unless we humble our selves and repent of our wicked ways (2Ch 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.), we are going to in the same spiritual condition.

But in these parables, He was refering to the Pharisees, the sellers in the temple, etc. but again we can apply these to us individually as well.

Just like the nation of Israel there are good Israelites that did not betray God with their whoredom but then their were the bad or evil ones that God disliked. We see this in Jeremiah Chapter 24

Jer 24:1 The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon.

Jer 24:2 One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

Jer 24:3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

Jer 24:4 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Jer 24:5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good.

Jer 24:6 For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.

Jer 24:7 And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart.

Jer 24:8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

Jer 24:9 And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

Jer 24:10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.