In the Old Testament, fruitfulness is symbolized by the fig tree. You will find that, when God’s chosen people sit, each under his vine and fig tree, you know there is the blessing of the Lord.
In the days of Solomon, in 1 Kings 4, you will find everybody was able to sit under the fig tree. And in Zechariah 3, you will find the day will come when the Lord shall return to the nation of Israel; then they will sit under the fig tree. So the fig tree represents the nation of Israel.
Our Lord Jesus, in Luke 13, tells us a parable. A man planted a fig tree in a vineyard, and for three years he came trying to find fruit, and there was none. So finally he told the vinedresser, “Cut it down, because it is just a waste of the ground.”
And the vinedresser said, “Wait for another year. Let me dig and fertilize it, and if it does not bear fruit, then we will cut it down.”
Then you will find in Matthew 21, when our Lord Jesus, during His last week before His crucifixion, was coming out of Bethany toward Jerusalem one morning, He was hungry. He saw a fig tree there full of leaves, and you remember the Lord Jesus went there trying to find some figs to satisfy His hunger, and there was none.
So the Lord cursed that fig tree. That was the only time the Lord cursed a fig tree. He cursed it and said, “From now on, no one will eat fruit from you.” It withered from the root.
Only two days later, in Matthew 24, our Lord Jesus said, “Learn from the parable of the fig tree.” Now, the Lord is not that forgetful. Two days ago, He cursed the fig tree, and now He said, “Learn from the fig tree.” It shows that the Lord is telling us something.
Now, it is true: for three and a half years, the Lord worked among the Jewish people at that time, trying to bring forth some fruit for God. But alas, He could not find any. So temporarily, the nation of Israel was set aside, withered as it were.
But the Lord said, when you see the fig tree begin to bring forth tender branches and begin to have leaves, you know that the summer is near.
We are told that a fig tree is one of the last trees in Palestine to begin to branch out with leaves after winter. So the Lord said, when you see the fig trees beginning to have tender branches and leaves, you know the spring is over; the summer is here.
If spring speaks of the dispensation of grace, we are living in the springtime. But summer speaks of dryness, of heat. In other words, the church—oh, today, is it still in the springtime, or are we already entering into the dry season?
And the Lord said, when you see all these things happen, you know it is near, at the doors. It is near.
And the word it in the original means, “He is near.” Who can He be but our Lord Jesus?
Mark 13 says the same thing. Luke 21 says, when you see these things happening, you know the kingdom of God is near.
Brothers and sisters, it is a miracle. It is God’s doing. It is beyond the understanding of statesmen and politicians and everybody in this world that a nation that has been destroyed, a people scattered all over the world without a government and without a territory, not assimilated, annihilated, persecuted, not destroyed, and eventually reborn—you never see that in history.
In 1948, on May 14, the nation of Israel was established.
Brothers and sisters, it is near. The kingdom of God is near. He is near. The Lord is near, at the doors.
In the original, it is not “door”; it is “doors,” in the plural number. People in the Western world may not be able to understand this, because if you come to the door of your house, when you open the door, you are in the house. But in the Orient, it is not so.
In the Orient, you have to pass through a number of doors before you come to the living quarters of the family. You will have a door, and that door may be for the courtyard. When you get in the door, you get into the courtyard. If you are a wealthy family, you have to go through several courtyards, several doors, until you find the door of the household.
And the Lord said, when you see these things happening, you know I am at the doors—maybe at the front door, the outermost door. But even so, He is very, very near. It will not take too long for Him to come and claim His love.
At the doors. I think this is a very definite sign. Brothers and sisters, 1948 has passed; we are already in 1989. I wonder which door He is now at.
Another thing: look at Luke 21:24. The Lord was telling about what was happening during the Roman siege and the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70:
And they shall fall by the edge of the sword,
and shall be led captive into all the nations:
and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles,
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Brothers and sisters, in A.D. 135, you will find that once again the Jewish people were scattered to all the nations. That was the second time they were scattered to all the nations. And Jerusalem has been trodden down under the Gentiles ever since.
We are told that only for a few months in A.D. 135 was Jerusalem under the rule of the Jewish people—just a few months. But within these approximately two thousand years, Jerusalem has been under the control of the nations, the Gentiles.
I remember the first time I visited Israel—visited Palestine. At that time Jerusalem was still divided. Jordan had the old city, and Israel had the new city, and we had to cross the no man’s land in order to visit both sides.
But, brothers and sisters, during the Six-Day War, in 1967, on June 7, for the first time in two thousand years, Jerusalem came under the complete rule of Israel. And they made it their eternal, indivisible capital of Israel and of the Jewish people.
Now, of course, I know this is a contention, because we know that the Palestinians also proclaim that Jerusalem will be their capital. We are not in politics. But what I am trying to say is only this: if Jerusalem will remain in the hands of Israel, that tells us something. The times of the Gentiles have been fulfilled.
The times of the Gentiles began with Nebuchadnezzar. Because of the disobedience of the chosen people of God, the sovereignty of this world passed from their hands into the hands of the nations: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome, and on and on.
And the times of the Gentiles will be fulfilled. When the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled, then you will find all the following things will come. And the Lord says, “Look up.”
Brothers and sisters, 1967 has passed. We are in 1989. Is it not time for us to look up, lift up our heads, for our redemption draws near?
One more thing. In Daniel 2, we find that human image. It is the image of a man that represents the kingdoms of this world.
And you find the golden head, silver breast and shoulders, brass belly, iron legs and feet; and at the very end of that image, you have ten toes, a mixture of clay and iron.
During that time, you find a stone that is not cut with hands will strike against those ten toes. The whole image will collapse, completely destroyed, and the stone will grow into a big mountain and fill the earth. That stone represents the kingdom of God.
And you find again in Revelation 17 a beast having seven heads and ten horns. These ten horns are ten kings. They will come into being as kings at the same time, and then another horn will destroy three of them and become the leader of that confederation. We know that little horn is the Antichrist.
If my interpretation is correct, I am open for correction and for discussion.
You have heard of the Common Market, the European Economic Community. In 1968, the idea of a European Economic Community was formed under the leadership of Paul-Henri Spaak, Foreign Minister of Belgium.
The idea was to unite the wealth of the European nations into one common market.
And actually, in 1985, they planned to erase all these trade barriers and make Europe just one market.
In the beginning, people felt that it was impossible, because these nations were really struggling against each other. But today, it has become inevitable.
In 1992, these twelve nations of Europe will wipe away all trade barriers. People can move from one to another. They are preparing one passport, one flag. They already have a parliament. They would choose a president.
And even though it is an economic thing, you find that Europe, with three hundred and twenty million people, with all their resources put together, will become a superpower. It will affect the whole world.
And you know, according to the founder of this concept, he was thinking more toward a political United States of Europe—not just economic. Eventually, it will be a political unit.
Now we wonder whether this will be what some prophetic teachers call the revived Roman Empire, the confederation of the West. Now, of course, there are combinations now, but who knows? The Bible says it will be ten toes. If this is true, then we can see how close we are.
I remember a number of years ago—forgive me to mention our dear brother Watchman, because I received so much help from him—I remember many years ago, once he told us, he said, according to the Word of God as he understood it, when we come to the end there will be three great confederations.
There will be the confederation of the West, the so-called revived Roman Empire, headed by the Antichrist. There will be the confederation of the North, headed by Russia, as we find in Ezekiel 38–39. And there will be the kings of the East.
And these will all come to the Middle East for some reason. We do not know now. And then will come the end, Armageddon.
Now, brothers and sisters, I wonder if we are already seeing these things being fulfilled. No, I do not say the Lord will not come back until after 1992. I hope He will come back tonight—and He can.
But at least, these are the signs of the end time. And brothers and sisters, we need to discern these times in order to know how we should behave. Then we may do the right thing, that we may watch and pray.
Shall we pray?
Dear Heavenly Father, our hearts do rejoice, knowing that it will not be long. The cry of the church through the centuries is, “How long?” But we know Thou hast heard. Thou wilt not tarry. Thou art coming.
Oh, we pray that we may be those who are ready for Thee. We may be those who will welcome Thee. We may be those who will bring Thee. Have mercy upon us. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.