This particular parable is somewhat different to many of the others, it is not part of a sequence about the Kingdom of God, nor is it part of the moral teaching of Jesus. Rather is it composed of two parts, the first being an 'acted parable' and the second a spoken parable, two parts but one message.

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a young donkey at the beginning of his last week's ministry, he stayed each night at the home of his friends in Bethany. On one of his journeys into Jerusalem, Matthew records;

"He was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the road, he came to it and found nothing on it but leaves, and said to it; 'Let no fruit grow on you ever again.' (Matthew 21:19)

On the surface, this seems a strange thing for Jesus to say, however if we see the incident as an acted parable with a second part occurring the next day there is a hidden meaning for us;

"Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from its roots. And Peter remembering, said, 'Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away." (Mark11: 20 - 21)

The action of Jesus has been the subject of some criticism, but that is not our problem at this moment. More particularly what does the incident mean? The fig tree by the wayside was a symbol of the nation of Israel - Jesus had come to His people 'expecting fruit or least the signs of fruit for the harvest'. In reality this means that he was looking for people awaiting his coming, people who demonstrated good characters; God fearing, honest, humble folk. Instead there was arrogance, pride and a preoccupation with making money in the Temple courts rather than worshipping God. The tree of Israel was already 'dried-up from the roots' and ready to pass away. This was of course what Jesus predicted in the subsequent Mount Olivet Prophecy when he declared;

"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near... For there shall be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem shall be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." (Luke 21:20,21 -24)

These predictions were fulfilled less than thirty years afterwards when the Roman soldiers attacked the city and the dispersion of the Jews began.

The spoken parable was given towards the end of the Master's predictions about the destruction of Jerusalem and his own Second Coming.

"Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory ... Then he spoke to them a parable: 'Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they are already budding, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near So you also, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near." (Luke 21:27,29-31)

We can therefore be reasonably confident that whatever the growth of the fig tree represents - it is a sign of the imminent Second Coming of Christ. As we have seen, the Fig Tree is a symbol of the nation of Israel. When therefore the nation of Israel revives from death, when its development is strong and this is accompanied by many other nation states proclaiming their independence, we can be assured that the Second Coming of Jesus is near.

The events of this century have answered this description. The Jewish people have steadily returned to their land after nearly 2000 years of the Jewish Diaspora. In 1948 the State of Israel was declared. Since then, the nation has steadily grown until it is now amongst world leaders in science and technology. The 'fig tree' of Israel has certainly undergone a revival during the last century The budding branches are the sign that 'the tree' will yet flourish and 'the summer' of God's Kingdom soon be established.

Yet the newly established State of Israel may yet have to suffer a final destruction before the actual appearance of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. The language of many of the Bible prophets demand that when Israel is restored to their land, sudden destruction will come.

It will be a black day for Israel, with their cities captured and their population destroyed, but the outcome is clear When this awesome invasion takes place, Jesus Christ will return from heaven to earth. He brings not only salvation from their enemies but also forgiveness for their sins. The sequence of events is reasonably easy to analyse;

a) Israel is restored after a long period of dispersion
b) Israel becomes a significant, powerful nation, proud of their achievements
c) An invasion by a hostile power
d) Destruction of almost all Israel
e) Repentance by the remnant who are left of the people of Israel
f) A large earthquake in the land of Israel, destroying the invading army
g) The return of Jesus Christ

It is the last item which we now need to consider because everything else is a prelude to this fantastic event which will change the world. When the power of God is seen in the earthquake then believers are told by Jesus to look up because their redemption is near They are to look up because they will see Jesus coming from heaven to earth. The Master himself promised that this would happen in his own words as follow;

"And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity the sea and the waves roaring, men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory." (Luke 21:25-27)

This event is described in many passages of Scripture, the clearest are as follows;

"Behold he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him..." (Revelation 1:7)

"...when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God .." (2 Thessalonians 1:7&8)

"For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also will the Son of Man be in His day." (Luke 17:24)

The Coming of Jesus is an event which will change the world. It will introduce the reign of Christ as king. Beginning in Jerusalem, his Kingdom will stretch throughout all nations bringing peace and goodness. There will be physical changes as well: the dessert will be cultivated and streams of water will allow a new agricultural economy to be established. In addition: famine, poverty and all the associated problems will be abolished.

The fig tree as we have learnt, is one of the national emblems of Israel and we have seen in the last fifty years the resurrection of the state of Israel in their land. The fig tree of the parable has come to life, it is shooting forth with leaves and life. We therefore know that the pruning of the tree to 'bring forth fruits of repentance' is also imminent.

In the meantime, we need to prepare ourselves so that we are ready for when the Master returns from heaven to earth. Following his detailed comments about his Second Coming, he was most insistent that his hearers and readers should watch, lest 'His Coming ' should find people as1eep. He said;

"Watch therefore and pray always, that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that which will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man." (Luke 21:36)