Jim Bramlett - Powered by InJesus
Subscribe Unsubscribe Change E-mail View Archive The symbolic little fig tree
Jim Bramlett
Sep 15, 2004
Dear friends:
Sometimes when the Lord sends me a sign I fail to recognize it right away and I am "slow on the uptake," as some might say. I am not sure but this may be one of those times.
Several weeks ago I had to have some work done on my house. As I usually do, I looked in the Christian Yellow Pages for a Christian business (I hope they have that in your area). I called this company, appropriately named Alpha and Omega, and the nice owner, a brother in Christ, arranged for one of his men to come out.
When he arrived, he said he had a gift for me from the owner. It was a small plant, only about 18" high. I asked what kind of plant. He said it was a fig tree. Come to find out, the business owner does organic farming on the side, and he sent this tree from his farm. Especially since the fig tree is a biblical tree, I thought that it was very nice gift. After a few days I planted this little fig tree in my back yard. I see it every day from my back window.
Yesterday, several weeks later, it suddenly dawned on my thick skull that this fig tee may have been a sign. Why? Because, even though a senior citizen, I have never even seen a fig tree before in my whole life . Now here we are in 2004 and just out of nowhere, someone, a fellow Christian I have never met, suddenly gives me a fig tree. Strange. After all these years, I now own a fig tree! In 2004! This is extremely improbable.
Yesterday, I remembered the words of Jesus, "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door (Matthew 24:32-33).
"Hmmmm," I thought yesterday. "Learn this lesson from the fig tree... summer is near." The leaves on the little tree had only recently "come out." Double hmmmm.
I was led to check the date I received the fig tree. I checked my checkbook and discovered it was on June 17, 2004. Then I wondered, "If summer was near on June 17, when did summer actually began?" I checked that out and discovered the first day of summer was three days later, on June 20. It was certainly near for sure.
So, on June 17 when I saw the fig tree leaves, summer was near. Now summer has come. Jesus said that when this happens, "You know that it is near, right at the door."
I thought, "What is near? What is at the door? What is the context of the fig tree verse? What came just before it?" The answer is in verse 31: "And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."
I know that the rapture and the second coming are mysteriously intertwined in Matthew 24, such as in verses 37-41, but verse 31 sounds to me like the rapture.
Yes, the fig tree in Matthew 24 represents Israel, and is a sign to the world. But now I also have my own fig tree, that may be a personal sign to me.
Jim
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
Visit My InJesus to manage your subscriptions, change your profile, or check out thousands of other great ministry groups. If you do not have access to the web, you can use these addresses to unsubscribe or subscribe:
Unsubscribe: insights-unsubscribe@MyInJesus.com
Subscribe: insights-subscribe@MyInJesus.com