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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



Recently, someone wrote to me concerning some of Jesus' words found in Matthew chapter twenty-four, which, as some of you will already know, deals in large part with the Signs of the Endtime and the events which will lead up to Christ's Return, and the end of the current world governmental systems. To be more specific, this person's questions revolved around the following verses:

"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."


Concerning the previous verses, this person stated:

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I have a 2 part question about the fulfillment of the fig tree parable:

1) Jesus mentioned the word "generation" in Matthew 24:36. He stated that a specific generation would live to see His return. He said that the 'generation' that lives to see Israel become a nation would not pass from the earth.

So, what is a biblical 'generation'?

One person said it was 52 years and gave the following reasons . . .

Luke 3:23-38, you have 77 generations from Adam to Jesus Christ. That's a period of 4,000 years. Divided by 77 it comes out to 51.9. 52 years.

Matthew 1:17, there were 42 generations between Abraham and Jesus Christ. This covers a period of 2,160 years. Divide the 2,160 by 42 and it comes to 51.4 years.

Is he right?

2)If so, then if we use the biblical definition of a generation as 52 years. Then should we be looking at the Lord's return as 52 years from 1948 (Israel becoming a nation) OR the more recent date of 1967 after the reunification of Jerusalem and the 6 Day War?

I ask simply because 1948 plus 52 years was the year 2000 which is obviously behind us . . .

And, 1967 plus 52 gives us 2019 . . .

I just wanted some clarification. Which date are we using as our fulfillment of the fig tree parable? And why?

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Before answering this person's questions, allow me to point out that in the King James Version of the Bible, which, as some of you will know, is my Bible of preference, the word "generation" is actually used in verse thirty-four, and not in verse thirty-six as stated above. It's possible that this person simply made a typographical error, or else they could be using a different version of the Bible. This is a clear example of why I have long believed that there should only be one standard Christian Bible. As I've said before, how in the world can we Christians ever hope to achieve any degree of Christian unity, while we are all reading from different Bibles, which have different words, or the same words but in different places, or where some verses are entirely omitted, or placed in footnotes? Given this lamentable situation, we will never be able to fulfill the desire that the Apostle Paul expressed when he stated:

"Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment."


That issue aside, as I pondered this person's message, it occurred to me that perhaps they need to approach this issue from a different perspective, because their current approach is obviously causing them some difficulty, and presenting challenges which they cannot seem to resolve. So to answer their questions, I will offer the following for their, and your, consideration:

While it is commonly assumed by some Bible scholars, popular radio and television preachers and lay Christians that the Parable of the Fig Tree is a reference to Israel becoming a nation in 1948, there's absolutely nothing in the Scriptures found in Matthew chapter twenty-four, which clearly states that this is so. Nowhere in those verses does Jesus outright say that the fig tree represents Israel becoming a nation in 1948. As far as I am concerned, this is simply one possible interpretation; it is nothing more than speculation; it is a theory; it is an assumption which has long been promoted by certain pro-Israel Christians, and perhaps even by the Jews themselves, even though the latter for the most part reject Christ as being the Messiah. Perhaps the fig tree truly does represent Israel; I honestly don't know; but Jesus does not directly say this in His Olivet dissertation in Matthew 24.

Are you surprised by my pronouncement? You really shouldn't be; unless you have allowed your understanding of the Bible to be molded by some of these modern, popular, fast-talking preachers, instead of reading God's Word for yourself, as you are supposed to do, and allow God's Spirit to speak to your heart concerning its meaning. That is precisely what the Holy Spirit, and diligent, personal Scriptural research is for. As I explain in other articles, the Holy Spirit is our Guide, Teacher and Comforter. Jesus Himself stated on one occasion:

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."


Most of us have access to God's Word, either in print, or via the Internet, or through a computer program, or by some other way. So why have so many of you become so spiritually lethargic, that you allow yourselves to be spoon-fed by some fancy preacher who loves to bathe in his popularity, as he stands before his huge congregation, (where most people do not even know each other on a personal level), in a million dollar church building?

I have stated a number of times before that the Bible will in large part interpret itself, if we invest the time, and read enough of it. It is like a great Divine Jigsaw Puzzle. The more time we dedicate to reading the Holy Scriptures, the more the pieces slowly begin to fall into their proper place, and our understanding of God's Word begins to open. The problem is that many Christians just aren't willing to take the time to read it. As I point out in "Study, Work, And Don't Be Ashamed!", it is our Christian duty to study God's Word. The Apostle Paul wrote to his dear son in the Lord, Timothy, the following admonition:

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."


Another related article which emphasizes the importance of reading God's Word, as well as properly understanding it, is "Rightly Dividing The Word Of Truth"; and there are others as well. I encourage you to search our site to find them. So my point is, because some Christians rely so heavily on some popular evangelist to tell them what God's Word means, they open themselves up to possibly accepting erroneous beliefs, which, in the end, may not be Scripturally sound at all.

To reiterate the point I made earlier, personally, I am not convinced that Jesus was saying that the budding fig tree represents Israel. Other Christians, such as the person who wrote to me, embrace a different view. In his message to me, he very specifically stated, and I quote, "He said that the 'generation' that lives to see Israel become a nation would not pass from the earth.". I'm sorry, but Jesus didn't say that in Matthew, or in any of the other three Gospels. That is simply how this person has chosen to interpret the verse, or else he is accepting someone else's interpretation of the verse.

But the end result is that because they've become convinced that Jesus was cryptically suggesting in His Parable that the fig tree represents Israel becoming a nation in 1948, they are now faced with the challenge, and the dilemma, of figuring out exactly how long a Biblical generation is, as well as when this "last generation" began, and when it will end. The idea seems to be that if they can correctly figure out the math, they will know exactly what year the Lord will be returning. But is this really the case?

Now, before you are quick to answer in the affirmative, and tell me that Jesus was dropping us a hint by inferring that the fig tree represents Israel becoming a nation in 1948, so that we can do our number crunching, and thus know the exact year when He'll be returning, allow me to remind you of what else He said in the aforementioned verses. Verse thirty-six plainly states:

"But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only."


Please stop and think for a moment. Does it make any sense to you that the Lord would supposedly drop a hint regarding 1948, (via the Parable of the Fig Tree), so that, according to some Christians, we could begin counting the exact number of years until His Arrival, only to turn around and state in the same breath that nobody will know the day of His Advent? If we accept these Christians' interpretation of the Lord's words, then if we read those five verses together, (v32-36), it is as if Jesus is saying, "Here is a huge hint. This fig tree sprouting leaves represents Israel becoming a nation. When that event occurs, when Israel becomes a nation, start counting the years; because the generation that witnesses that historical event will not pass until I return. Oops, sorry, forget it. My Father says that you aren't supposed to know when I'll be returning to the Earth."

Are you beginning to see the light yet? There is something clearly wrong with that picture, isn't there? Jesus would not behave in that manner, would He? He wouldn't tantalize us with a clue supposedly concealed in the Parable of the Fig Tree, and then turn around and say that we really have no business knowing when He will return, would He?

So, in my opinion, here is the lowdown: There is absolutely nothing wrong with Jesus' words. I'm becoming convinced that the real source of the problem is that these Christians have been led to believe that Israel being declared a nation in 1948 is represented by the fig tree in the Lord's Parable; and because they have adopted that view, they are trying to force Jesus's words to fit their particular understanding. They are making the mistake of trying to assign a specific number of years to Jesus' words, when perhaps that isn't what the Lord meant at all; and I will attempt to prove my point in just a moment.

As I have mentioned before, trying to force Bible prophecy, particularly time-based prophecies, to fit into our personal understanding is dangerous business. Not only that, but it can be quite embarrassing when we are proven to be wrong. In the case of some of these high-profile preachers, it can be disastrous; because making such a specific time prediction, such as the precise year when Jesus will return, can totally discredit them, and cause people to lose faith in them, and in their ministry, when their prediction fails to come to pass. In my own writings, I have always been very careful to never make this mistake. I have lived long enough to watch a number of these popular radio and TV evangelists fall from their pedestals in disgrace, because of this very thing.

But what truly amazes me, is that in spite of the fact that some of these men have been clearly proven to be frauds and false prophets, a lot of Christians are so blind and foolish, and so mesmerized by these fast-talking preachers, that they continue believing in them, attending their "mega-churches", and giving them their hard-earned money. Just like a lot of modern politicians, they implement damage control, and their blind followers just keep on following them. The attitude seems to be "to forgive and to forget".

False prophets are really nothing new. As I point out in the series "The Office of Prophets and Teachers", they have been around since the time of Moses, and probably earlier than that. If you want to know what the Bible instructs us to do once we have become aware of such a false prophet, then I encourage you to read that article. You may also want to read the related article, "Modern False Prophets and Worldly Ecumenism".

In his message to me, this person also briefly mentioned the year 2000 fiasco. As some of my readers may already know, I am referring to the fact that at that time, there was a lot of excitement within the Christian world; that is, at least within American Christendom. Many American Christians were apparently in a heightened state of euphoria, because some of their learned so-called spiritual leaders had convinced them that 2000 was it; it was THE year; and Jesus was about to appear in the clouds of Heaven to gather together His beloved children.

The Y2K date problem was fuel for the fire, and only served to further strengthen some Christians' belief that the world was about to fall apart, so Jesus must surely be returning at any moment. The fact that we would soon be leaving behind one millennium, and entering another one, also made the year 2000 seem to some Christians like the appropriate time for Jesus to make His Appearance. The common view amongst these Christians was that there was no better time for Christ to usher in the long-anticipated Golden Age of the Millennium, when He would initiate His Reign upon the Earth, as we find described in the Book of Revelation, than at the beginning of the Seventh Millennium, according to the Biblical record. For more information regarding these events, allow me to refer you to my article "From Armageddon to the New Earth".

As some of you may know, the number seven is regarded as a very holy number in the Bible. Not only is this number very prominent in the actual printed text of the Bible, such as in the mention of seven Angels, seven trumpets, seven vials of wrath, seven plagues, seven days of Creation, etc., but it's also been revealed in recent years that the Scriptures exhibit a very intelligent, intricate, mathematical design; and in the original Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek languages, the number seven is heavily interwoven throughout the text.

To add to this mystery surrounding the number seven, based upon the seventeenth century work of James Ussher, who was the Anglican Archbishop of Armagh, (the smallest of the six counties which today form Northern Ireland), some Christians are of the opinion that the planet Earth, and the Universe, were created about six thousand years ago. After conducting considerable research, Ussher arrived at the date of October 23, 4004 BC as being the first day of Creation. Some of his contemporaries arrived at similar dates, give or take a few decades. Thus, leaving room for error, this would explain why some Christians believed that the year 2000 marked the end of the Sixth Millennium and the beginning of the Seventh Millennium, when Christ would return, and begin ruling upon the Earth.

In other words, if we add the 4,000 years which had passed prior to the birth of Christ, to the additional 2,000 years which had passed up until 2,000 AD, we arrive at a total of about 6,000 years . . . six full millennia.

Of course, in order to convince their followers that what they were saying was indeed true, that is, that the Lord's Return was imminent, these American false prophets had to provide Biblical proof to back up their claims. I remember that one of the arguments which was used by some of these men, was to tell their flocks that the Oslo Accords was the fulfillment of the prophecies regarding the seven-year Holy Covenant, which is discussed in various books of the Bible, including Daniel, Revelation, 2 Thessalonians 2, as well as the Gospels.

As some of my readers will recall, the Oslo Accords, which were also referred to as the Declaration Of Principles, were signed in Washington, D.C. on September 13, 1993 by Mahmoud Abbas, who represented the Palestinians, (and who is now the Palestinian president), and by Shimon Peres, who represented the Israelis. Also present were PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat, Israeli P.M. Yitzhak Rabin, U.S. President Bill Clinton, and other dignitaries.

For those of you who aren't familiar with the seven-year Holy Covenant, some Christians, myself included, believe that the aforementioned books of the Bible predict that Jesus Christ will return to the Earth following a series of political and religious events which will span a period of seven years. The seven-year period may commence with the signing of this Holy Covenant, or peace treaty, which, among other stipulations, will allow the Orthodox Jews to rebuild their temple on the Temple Mount that's located in East Jerusalem. For centuries, this controversial site has hosted the Muslim al-Aksa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. This treaty will be abrogated at midpoint, (or after three and a half years), by a political leader who is commonly referred to in Christian circles as the Beast, or the Antichrist. For more information regarding these events, please consider reading articles such as "The Kings of the North and the South".

At any rate, being as the Oslo Accords were signed in 1993, these American shepherds did the simple math and concluded that Jesus would return seven years later in the year 2000, and that is what they told their flocks. What a terrible mistake it was!

This deception was compounded by the fact that, as we saw a moment ago, based upon their interpretation of Jesus' words, as found in Matthew chapter twenty-four, regarding the fig tree, these same spiritual leaders convinced themselves, and erroneously taught their flocks, that Endtime prophecy finds its anchor point in the year 1948, when Israel was declared a nation on May 14th by the World Jewish Congress, under its then-president, Stephen S. Wise. It may interest you to know that literally within minutes, the government of the United States of America officially recognized the State of Israel. This is an obvious reflection of how much Zionist power had already influenced America's policy makers. Imagine how much worse it is today. It comes as no surprise then, that on one occasion, Ariel Sharon, the former Prime Minister of Israel, boasted on Israeli radio, that there was no need to worry about American policy makers, because the Jews have America in their pocket.

However, given today's political climate in the Middle East, what may surprise you, is the fact that the second nation to officially recognize the State of Israel was Iran. You see, sixty years ago, Iran was ruled by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was the second monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty, as well as the last Shah of the Iranian monarchy. The dynasty was begun by his father, Reza Shah Pahlavi, who, among other things, made the controversial declaration on March 21, 1935, that Persia, as it was then known, should be renamed Iran. In actuality, in the past, the country had been previously known as Iran, which means the "land of the Aryans"; however it was changed to Persia due to Western influences, such as the Greeks and the Romans.

The Iranian monarchy had ruled continuously for 2,500 years, since the founding of the Persian Empire by Cyrus the Great. As I explain in other articles, Cyrus, or Koresh, as he was known in Persian, is clearly mentioned in the Bible, and was responsible for giving the Jews permission to return to the land of Israel, following their Seventy Years of Captivity under Babylonian rule. It is interesting then, that almost 2,500 years later, another Persian/Iranian leader would be the second world leader to recognize the State of Israel.

Pahlavi was well known for his pomp and ceremony. In fact, the title "Shah" is a shortened version of the Iranian word "shahanshah", which is interpreted as "king of kings". But what is important for our discussion is that Pahlavi was an American ally, and you might say, puppet; which explains in part why he may have been so quick to recognize the State of Israel in 1948.

It was precisely because of the fact that the Shah supported Israel, and allowed Western influences to penetrate Islamic society in Iran, in both a political and moral sense, as well as the fact that his government was known for its corruption, and the oppressive tactics it employed, via the secret police known as SAVAK, to control Iranian society, that the Iranian clergy turned against him. Pahlavi was overthrown during the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which had been orchestrated by the exiled Shia, (or Shi'ite), cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who became Iran's so-called "Supreme Leader".

As I have noted before, the Supreme Leader is the true ruler of Iran, and has even more power than the Iranian president. This system has continued with Khomeini's successor, Grand Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, an Islamic conservative who is adamantly opposed to the existence of the State of Israel, as is the rather vociferous Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the current president of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

As a matter of historical record, the Soviet Union did not acknowledge Israel as a nation state until three days after the May 14th declaration had been made. Other nations slowly followed suit; however, even to this day, due in large part to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Jerusalem is still not officially recognized as the capital of Israel by the international community; which is why most nations have their embassies in Tel Aviv. In fact, as you will probably already know, some Arab/Muslim nations, such as Iran, don't recognize Israel's legitimacy whatsoever. As I explain in other articles, it is this anti-Israel attitude amongst the Arab nations which may in fact lead to the pivotal war that many Christians know as the Battle of Armageddon. Consider these verses:

"And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon."


This place, Armageddon, or Har Megiddo/Har Megiddon, meaning "a place of crowds" according to the Hebrew lexicon, can be found on the southern rim of the famous Plain of Esdraelon, about six miles from Mount Carmel, and eleven miles from the town of Nazareth, in northern Israel. This plain has been the site of a number of historic battles, and it will be the site of another great battle sometime in the future; the long-prophesied Battle of Armageddon.

The main reason why I am sharing these historical facts with you, is so that you can better understand how these American shepherds arrived at their erroneous conclusions regarding the Second Coming of our Lord. As the person who wrote to me mentioned, these spiritual leaders arrived at the consensus that a Biblical generation must represent about fifty-two years. Because of their misinterpretation of the Scriptures in Matthew chapter twenty-four, they added 52 to 1948; thus arriving at the wonderful year of 2,000 as the time when the Lord would arrive. As we have already seen, based upon the work of Bishop Ussher, this event, (if it were true), would occur just as the world would enter its Seventh Millennium, which made this false doctrine seem all the more believable; at least to certain gullible Christians.

As I explained earlier, convinced of this year 2000 doctrine, it must not have been very difficult for them to then factor in the "Declaration of Principles" of 1993 as the prophesied seven-year Holy Covenant, in order to further strengthen the claim that 2,000 would be the year when Jesus would return. Tragically, these misguided shepherds shared this "evidence" with their congregations, who excitedly believed every word of it.

Well, they may have been excited by this news, but I most certainly wasn't. I was absolutely convinced that they were wrong, dead wrong. I had no anticipation whatsoever of Jesus arriving in 2,000. At the time, I was more concerned about the potential negative effects of the Y2K glitch; and I wrote several articles in which I advised my readers how to prepare themselves spiritually, and physically, just in case Y2K did result in a serious disruption of government operations and local services. Thankfully, the fear which had been created proved to be greater than what actually occurred as millions of computer clocks around the world struck the new year. Of course, some technical flukes were reported here and there, but it was nothing like what the profiteering mass media had described. I don't doubt that the freeze-dried food industry and other businesses which cater to survivalist needs, must have made themselves quite a profit during the time leading up to the year 2,000.

As I partially pointed out earlier, the reason why I was not excited by the possibility that Jesus might return in 2,000 was because, in a word, based upon my personal understanding of the Scriptures, particularly those verses which deal with eschatology, or Endtime events, I was absolutely convinced that there was no such possibility. As I explain in a number of my articles, according to the Scriptures, there are some key Endtime events which must transpire, (such as the seven year Holy Covenant that we discussed earlier), before Jesus Christ will return. In 2,000, none of these events had yet occurred; and to this day, (January, 2008), to my knowledge, they still haven't happened. Thus, until these major events do begin to occur, I remain convinced that we have at least seven years to go before the Lord will return. In short, I am not, and have never been, one of these "at any moment" folks. In my view, Christians who have embraced this false doctrine simply do not know their Bible as they should.

Being as I amply discuss these events in other articles, I will not be rehashing them here. If you are hungry for the truth, and are a persevering student of God's Word, then I encourage you to delve into the many articles which can be found in the "Endtime Prophecies" section of our website. Trust me; you will find a lot of interesting/challenging material to chew on and ponder. You may not agree with all of it, but it will get you thinking, and will motivate you to more closely examine your own beliefs, and perhaps even cause you to question why you believe some of the things that you do. But this is a good thing; because we shouldn't believe certain things just because, or because we've been spoon-fed by someone else. Our foundation of faith should be firmly based upon our understanding of God's Word, and not upon the opinions of other men, not even my opinion, if those opinions are not fully in agreement with God's Word.

One thing which I can tell you with full assurance, is that God has a very precise timetable for the world which He is following. He is very methodical in all of His doings. He is also very patient; and nothing that we say, or do, is going to alter His plans, or hasten the fulfillment of Biblical Endtime prophecies; not even our erroneous interpretations of His Word. I am reminded of the following verses found in the Book of Isaiah:

"Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:"


Contrary to the previous verse, it seems that there are some wayward individuals, (who even claim to be Christians), who have deceived themselves into believing that they can hurry God along. Now and then I will read news reports regarding certain extremists who, according to the reports, have plans to destroy the Muslim "Dome of the Rock", which we discussed earlier. Some Jews, and Christians, believe that the Temple Mount was the site of the former temple, which was destroyed two times in the past; first by King Nebuchadnezzar's forces at the beginning of the Seventy Years of Captivity, around 587 B.C., and a second time, as prophesied by Jesus Himself, in 70 A.D., by Roman general, Titus, who was the oldest son of Emperor Vespasian. Titus later became emperor himself.

From what I understand, these radicals seem to believe that if they destroy the Muslim mosque, they will precipitate an inevitable war between the Israelis and the Arab and Muslim nations, which will ultimately result in the foretold Battle of Armageddon, and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. I find the idea of trying to force God to move faster than He wants to absolutely ludicrous. Who do these people think they are? How dare they place themselves above God, or think that they know better than He does!

Please go to part two for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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