Matthew 24:32 From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
Yeshua (Jesus) didn’t merely offer a suggestion–He issued a command: “Learn the parable.” In Greek, the word manthano (μανθάνω) implies disciplined learning, not casual observation. In Hebraic thought, to “learn” a parable means to press into its hidden meaning until it transforms how you live. The fig tree is not just a poetic image–it’s a prophetic mandate. And Yeshua expected His disciples, including us, to understand it deeply.
The fig tree often symbolizes Israel throughout Scripture (Hosea 9:10; Jeremiah 24; Joel 1:7). When Yeshua told this parable just days before His crucifixion, He had already cursed a fig tree that bore no fruit (Matthew 21:19), symbolizing Israel’s spiritual barrenness at the time. But in this parable, the fig tree is coming back to life. Its tender branches and new leaves are signs of renewal and return.
What is the most visible sign that this fig tree is budding? The miraculous rebirth of the nation of Israel in 1948, after nearly 2,000 years of dispersion. This event marked the start of a prophetic countdown–Israel is now the major signpost in the convergence of end-time events. Just as a budding fig tree tells you summer is near, the rebirth of Israel tells you the end-time season has begun.
Yeshua said, “When you see all these things”–not just Israel’s rebirth, but deception, wars, lawlessness, global shaking, and the gospel going to all nations–“know that it is near, at the doors” (Matthew 24:33). Like a fig tree responding to the sun, soil, and rain all at once, the prophetic signs are responding to a divine convergence. Israel is the centerpiece, but not the only branch.
So Yeshua’s call to “learn the parable” is not just about agriculture–it’s about prophetic awakening. To learn is to perceive the time, understand the signs, and prepare our hearts for the return of the King. Israel’s restoration is not a coincidence — it’s a trumpet blast to the nations (Isaiah 11:11-12). The fig tree has budded. Now we must ask: are we watching, learning, and responding as we were commanded to?
The ancient promises are sprouting before your eyes. The Lord of the harvest calls you–not to slumber, but to learn the parable, discern the season, and awaken the sleeping. This is no time for apathy. It is the hour of prophetic clarity. You are commissioned to perceive the signs, hear the sound of convergence, and prepare the way of the Lord with boldness and truth. For the One who spoke of the fig tree is near–even at the door. “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning… for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” (Luke 12:35-40) Blessed is that servant whom the Master finds watching when He comes. Amen. So be it. Sound the trumpet.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]Throughout the United States today, everyone will be celebrating the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence — a document through which leaders of the colonies in the New World broke free from the King of England.
The Hebrew expression in this verse from Isaiah is rich with meaning. The root “nus” (from the expression “raise up a standard”) is related to or sounds like numerous words which mean “sign”, “miracle”, “to drive away”, “to flee”, “cause to disappear”, “a waving flag”. This abundance of meanings in Isaiah’s poetic style reveals the multiple dimensions of God’s revelation; in this case, the way he deals with evil. The assertion in this word is that the Spirit of YHVH will be powerfully activated when evil comes.
The word contrite in Hebrew is ‘dakah’ which means one that is crushed to pieces. Paul wrote of being a ‘living sacrifice’ holy and acceptable to God. Being a living sacrifice means we often can walk off the altar. To be a continual living sacrifice we need to renew our minds day to day!
Recently, I’ve been impressed by the Lord to address the anxieties many are feeling about the future– how to be strong in the face of the intense opposition we’ll be facing as believers. One of the founders of the modern state of Israel, David Ben-Gurion once said, “Courage is a special kind of knowledge, the knowledge of how to fear what ought to be feared and how not to fear what ought not to be feared. From this knowledge comes an inner strength that inspires us to push on in the face of great difficulty. What can seem impossible is often possible with courage.”
For a season, I worked in Washington, D.C., for one of America’s largest Christian political organizations. Sometimes I saw how politics could get ugly and, more often than not, how it changed people — not for the better…but usually for the worse!
Have you ever felt uneasy, unsettled or unstable? Or maybe a better question is — who hasn’t? How do we overcome these feelings?
Is that a trend or something? I don’t know what it is but I’ve heard that phrase said quite a bit. We were even walking down the Wal-Mart isle to pick up a few things and my wife showed me a T-shirt with “I have issues” written across the front! I guess the world is coming to the sad reality that we really do have some issues.