Fig tree

Fig tree

 

Mark 11:12-14『And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if happily he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eateth the fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.』

The fig tree is a symbol of Israel. Sometimes it represents glory, and sometimes it represents curse or judgment. If Israel obeyed God, it was expressed as a fig tree of blessing, and if Israel disobeyed God and served idols, it was expressed as a fig tree of judgment. When referring to rest and glory, in 1 Kings 4:25, “And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.” It means being under the fig tree. is an expression meaning to find rest. When referring to judgment, Psalm 105:33 says, “He smote their vines also and their fig trees; There is an expression, “and brake the trees of their coasts.”

In John 1:48-49, “Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said to him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Nathanael answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.』

It is said that at that time, Jews mainly studied the Torah in synagogues, but in places where there were no synagogues, they mainly studied under fig trees. The purpose of studying the law would have been to study it with a desire for the Messiah who would save them from bondage. In particular, their escape from sin and worldly power will be the main focus of their study of the law. So Nathaniel also read and meditated on the law diligently under the fig tree. What Jesus said to Nathaniel refers to this very situation. However, when Jesus told Nathaniel what he had been like under the fig tree, he realized that this was the Son of God. Of course, he had heard about Jesus through Philip, but these words came out in connection with his own situation.

Jews believed that the fig tree served as a ladder connecting the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world. So Israel plays that role. In John 1:50-51, Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man.』Here, the Son of Man plays the role of a ladder.

In Genesis 28:12-13, “And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it.” And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed;

This means that messengers (angels) ascend and descend on the ladder (the Son of Man). The expression Son of Man emphasizes that although he has the power of God, he is still a man. Regarding the angels ascending and descending on Jesus, who has the power of God, church people may generally think that the angels are Jesus' guardian angels.

This means that the angels who sinned were born into the world in a physical body called the first man, Adam, and returned to the kingdom of God in a spiritual body called the last Adam. Here, the physical body symbolizes the body that must die on the cross, and the spiritual body symbolizes the glorified body that was resurrected. In Matthew 22:32, “I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living..” The word living refers to resurrection, meaning eternal life.

Ultimately, what Jesus says to Nathaniel is, “I am the Messiah, and you are the spirit of an angel who sinned in the kingdom of God and was trapped in the dust and became a human in the world. You, who are physical, must die, but you die with me through my sacrifice, so you can redeem yourself.” “Pay the penalty for your sins, and you, spiritually, will be resurrected with me, clothed in the clothes of Christ, and return with me to the kingdom of God.” Nathaniel was earnestly looking for the Messiah, so he heard Jesus' words and immediately became his disciple.

The whole core of the Bible is the death and resurrection of the cross. If it is not this, it is not the Bible. Talking only about the death of the cross or only the resurrection becomes a half-gospel. The two must always be together to become the true gospel. If we accept this death and resurrection on the cross as the past or the distant future, we are also like those who do not enter the gates of heaven. Saints must realize that the kingdom of God is not in the past or future, but in the present. Jesus' death on the cross is like sowing seeds, and Jesus' resurrection is like bearing fruit. The resurrection of Jesus is said to be the firstfruits. In 1 Corinthians 15:20, “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.”

The first man Adam and the last man Adam are not different beings but the same being (Christ), so the Bible expresses them as people. They are the same beings, just playing different roles. The first man, Adam, took on the sins of the angels who sinned and was imprisoned in the dust, with the role of passing on the body of sin to the next person.

The last Adam is Christ, who came to the world to save fallen angels from their sins and give them resurrection bodies. Those who believe that the body that received resurrection from their parents will come back to life is like believing that dirt changes into a body of eternal life. The earth returns to the earth, and resurrection is the creation of a new creation with a body of eternal life.

In 1 Corinthians 15:21-25, “For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.” For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.』

Since the translator translates Parousian as Advent, it seems as if the translation was done with the second coming of Jesus in the distant future in mind. Parousian is the presence of God. It means that Jesus returns and enters the hearts of resurrected believers. After that, he will appear as the second coming of judgment to all who do not believe in it. So, when Christ enters the hearts of believers and establishes a thousand-year kingdom, he reigns as king.

The fact that the fig tree does not bear fruit means that Israel is like that, and those who believe in God do not bear the fruit of present-day resurrection. No matter how much they evangelize and spread the word of God, if there is no present resurrection, which is the core, they cannot bear fruit for others.