The Sign of the Fig Tree: "The people of Israel live!"

Not long before the crucifixion of Christ, the disciples came to Jesus on the Mount of Olives and asked, “What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus said to them,
“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.”

In the Old Testament the Fig Tree is associated with the nation of Israel

The prophet Ezekiel foretold repeatedly that the dispersed people of Israel would be regathered to their original homeland.
“I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.” (Ezekiel 36:24)

For nineteen hundred years the nation of Israel has been denationalised, dispossessed and dispersed around the world.
Beginning in the late 19th century, the scattered Jewish people began resettling in the land of Palestine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu summarised the miraculous preservation of the Jewish people in a powerful speech to the UN on October 1, 2015:
“In every generation, there were those who rose up to destroy our people. In antiquity we faced destruction from the empires of Babylon and Rome. In the Middle Ages we faced inquisition and expulsion. And in modern times we faced pogroms and the holocaust. Yet the Jewish people persevered…”

The Fig Tree revived on May 14, 1948. Ben Gurion declared the independence of the state of Israel. (soundbite)

Isaiah 66:8 says, “Who has ever heard of such things? Who has ever seen things like this? Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?”

But there was no time for celebration. Not recognising their statehood and vowing their extermination, the Palestinians and the surrounding Islamic states: Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, formed a confederacy. They threw the full force of their military power against the new nation.
The Psalmist wrote, “Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold your peace, and do not be still, O God! For behold, your enemies make a tumult; and those who hate you have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against your people and consulted together against your sheltered ones. They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel be remembered no more. For they have consulted together with one consent: they form a confederacy against you….” Psalm 83:1-8
There is no way that the army of this new nation could have defeated this coalition of states. But God could and God did.
Since that time these opposing nations have been defeated over and over whenever they went up against Israel - The Suez Crisis (1956), The Six-day War (1967), the War of Attrition (1967-70), the Yom-Kippur War (1973), and the Lebanon Wars (1982; 2006).

Today the Fig Tree, Israel, is not merely budding - it has put forth new leaves. Prophecies in the Old Testament are being fulfilled before our very eyes.
The deserts have been irrigated and the land has become productive (Isaiah 35:1).
Israel is one of the world leaders in producing and exporting fruit to other countries (Isaiah 27:6).
The Israelis have planted millions of trees, (Ezekiel 36:8), and built new roadways, airstrips and ports. Industries of all kinds have been established.
Professor Amnon Rubinstein said, “Minute in size, not much bigger than a slither of Mediterranean coastline, it has withstood continuing Arab onslaughts, wars, boycotts and terrorism; it has turned itself from a poor rural country to an industrial and post-industrial powerhouse… some of its achievements are unprecedented.”

The land of Israel flourishes despite being surrounded by many hostile countries. Not only are Arab nations calling for the complete obliteration of Israel, but there is a growing anti-semitism throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Israel has been described as “the powder keg fuse for the final world conflict.”

“and now another regime has arisen, swearing to destroy Israel. That regime would be wise to consider this: I stand here today representing Israel, a country 67 years young, but the nation-state of a people 4000 years old. Yet the empire of Babylon and Rome are not represented in this hall of nations. Neither is the thousand year reich. Those seemingly invincible empires are long gone. But Israel lives. The people of Israel live!”

The existence of the nation of Israel today is the most prominent sign that we are living in the last days before the return of Jesus Christ.

“When you see all these things, know that He is near - at the doors!”
(Matthew 24:32)