Church of God Knowledge Encyclopedia

Timing of Jesus’ Second Coming

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The timing of Jesus’ second coming is a pressing matter in Christianity. Two thousand years ago, Jesus’ disciples, too, wondered when He would come again. Jesus said He would come again when Judgment Day is near just before the saints enter the kingdom of heaven.[1][2] He prophesied the timing of His second coming through the Parable of the Fig Tree. Although He did not specify a date, the Parable of the Fig Tree is a decisive sign that shows when Jesus comes again.

A fig tree

There are two parables of the fig tree spoken by Jesus in the New Testament. The first is when Jesus cursed a fig tree, written in the Gospel of Matthew and Mark. The second is the Parable of a Barren Fig Tree, recorded in the Gospel of Luke. The parables of the fig tree recorded in the Gospels lead to the prophecies of destruction and restoration of Israel, and indicate the timing of Jesus’ second coming.

Timing of Jesus’ Second Coming and the Parable of the Fig Tree

Learn the Lesson From the Fig Tree

The disciples asked Jesus about the timing and signs of His second coming.[3] Jesus explained the signs of His second coming, saying, “Learn the lesson from the fig tree.”


“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 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. 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 24:30–33


When Jesus comes again, He will come on the clouds and gather His people. Coming on the clouds means coming in the form of a man, identical to how He appeared at His first coming. The Parable of the Fig Tree is a prophecy about the timing of Jesus’ second coming. Therefore, when the twigs get tender and its leaves come out, it is time for the Son of Man, the Christ, to come again.

Cursing the Fig Tree

 
The Accursed Fig by James Tissot

In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, there is a story about a fig tree that was cursed because it had no fruit. When Jesus was hungry, He found a fig tree and looked around it to see if there was any fruit. However, the fig tree had only leaves but no fruit. Jesus said that the fig tree would never bear fruit again.


Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

Matthew 21:18–19


In the book of Mark, it is written that it was not the season for figs. Despite that, Jesus cursed the fig tree that had no fruit, and it withered from the roots.


The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” . . . In the morning, as they went along, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter remembered and said to Jesus, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree you cursed has withered!”

Mark 11:12–21


The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree

 
The Vine Dresser and the Fig Tree by James Tissot

Jesus told another parable of the fig tree that bore no fruit in the Gospel of Luke.


Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ ‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’ ”

Luke 13:6–9


A man planted a fig tree and waited for it to bear fruit. However, the fig tree did not produce any fruit for three years. So he said to the vineyard-keeper to cut down the fig tree. Then the keeper asked the man to leave the fig tree so he could dig around and fertilizer it. He added that if it would not bear fruit the next year, the master could cut it down.

Jesus’ Work and the Interpretation of the Parable

Fig Tree

The fig tree is commonly known in Israel as the representative tree of the country. Jesus was born in Israel, where He lived for over thirty years, so He must have known the season for figs. Despite that, He cursed the fig tree for not having any fruit. This was a prophecy. In the Bible, the fig tree represents Israel.[4] The fruit Jesus looked for on the fig tree refers to those who have true faith in Jesus and the gospel in Israel.

A Man Who Looked for Fruit

In the Parable of the Fig Tree in the Gospel of Luke, the man who looked for fruit on the fig tree for three years but did not find any refers to Jesus. Jesus preached the gospel in Israel for three years. After the ascension of Jesus, the saints of the early Church preached the gospel of Jesus Christ, but the Jews still refused to accept it.

The Fruitless Fig Tree

Israel, who did not accept the gospel, is compared to the fig tree that bore no fruit. Just as the fruitless fig tree withered from the roots and was cut down, Israel, who rejected Jesus, was destroyed by Rome.

Fall of Israel and Its Restoration

Prophecy

Luke 21 records in detail the prophecy about the destruction of Israel.


“When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. . . . How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”

Luke 21:20–24


As prophesied, Jerusalem, the capital of Israel, was besieged and destroyed by the Roman armies in A.D. 70. This prophecy also hints at the restoration of Israel. In Luke 21:24 of the NLT Bible, it reads, “Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end.”[5] The land of Israel was actually ruled by Rome, Byzantium, Islam, crusaders, the Mamluks and the Ottoman Turks.[6] However, when the period of the Gentiles is over, the land of Israel is to be restored to the Jews.

Fall of Israel[7]

 
The Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans Under the Command of Titus, A.D. 70 by David Roberts, 1850

Roman Emperor Nero sent Commander Vespasian to Israel to quell the riots that spread throughout Israel. Vespasian troops captured the major fortresses of Israel and marched toward Jerusalem in A.D. 68. Just before the attack on Jerusalem, the news of Nero’s suicide came from Rome. Vespasian, who was crowned as new emperor, returned to Rome. In A.D. 69, his son Titus resumed the invasion of Jerusalem. Titus made a strategy to block all the exits of the city by building siege walls around Jerusalem and made the Jews starve to death in the city. The isolated people in Jerusalem died of starvation. In the fourth month of the siege, the Roman troops charged into Jerusalem and killed Jews of all ages.[8][9] The city and the temple were burned down, and the temple collapsed, leaving no stone on it.[10]
In A.D. 70, Israel was destroyed with the fall of Jerusalem. Approximately 1.1 million Jews died during the siege of Jerusalem, and 97,000 Jews were taken captive. All this happened as prophesied, "They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations.”

Restoration of Israel

 
David Ben-Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, declared the independence of Israel on May 14, 1948.

After the fall of Jerusalem, the Jews were expelled from their land and wandered in Europe and many other countries around the world. Among them, the Jews who believed in the prophecy of the restoration of Israel[11][12]did not forget their home Jerusalem, waiting for the fulfillment of the prophecy.[13] At the end of the 19th century, the Jews scattered all over the world participated in Zionism to establish a state in the land of their ancestors. Some Jews, dreaming of establishing a state, even migrated to Palestine.[14]
During this period, one of the biggest genocides occurred to the Jews in Europe. It was the Holocaust, the massacre of Jews by Nazi Germany, which began in 1933 and ended in 1945. For twelve years, six million Jews, including 1.5 million children, were killed in fifteen European countries, including Poland, Russia, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Yugoslavia, and Greece. They died of forced labor, starvation, and diseases, or they were shot, hanged on the gallows, and massacred in the gas chambers.[15]
When Germany was defeated in World War II (1939–1945), the genocide of Jews stopped. The Jews returned to Palestine, the land of their ancestors, believing that a state must exist in order for them to live, and declared the independence of Israel on May 14, 1948.[16][17]

Second Coming of Jesus

In winter, trees lose their leaves and their twigs seem to have withered. However, in spring and summer, twigs get tender and give out leaves. It is the same with the State of Israel, which is represented by the fig tree. Israel had perished for about 1,900 years after its fall in A.D. 70, but restored its sovereignty and rebuilt a state in 1948. It is the resurrection of a nation that had disappeared in ancient times.[18] This is an unprecedented case in history that a collapsed nation restored its state in 2,000 years. This is a sign of the second coming of Christ.


“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 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. 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 24:30–33


Second Coming Christ was prophesied to begin the gospel ministry to gather His elect in 1948 when Israel, represented by the fig tree, became independent. That’s why the prophet Micah said that when God came in the last days, He would teach us His ways of truth and gather us into Zion. Zion is the place where God’s feasts are celebrated, which is the true church.[19]


In the last days the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and peoples will stream to it. Many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

Micah 4:1–2


It is Christ Ahnsahnghong who restored the truth of the Bible and taught the way of salvation when Israel was rebuilt. Christ Ahnsahnghong was born in 1918 and baptized in 1948 at thirty years old, when He began to preach the gospel. He restored the gospel of the early Church such as the seven feasts in three times, including the Passover and the Sabbath, which had not been kept after the Apostolic Age. Ahnsahnghong is the Second Coming Christ who began to preach the truth of life in 1948 as the withered fig tree, Israel, miraculously revived after 1,900 years.

Related videos

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  • When Will He Appear


  • Sermon: The Parable of the Fig Tree & Christ Ahnsahnghong

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Luke 21:27–28".
  2. ↑ "2 Peter 3:12–13".
  3. ↑ "Matthew 24:3".
  4. ↑ "Jeremiah 24:5".
  5. ↑ "Luke 21:24".
  6. ↑ "Roman rule", Britannica
  7. ↑ Antiquities of the Jews, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, December 13, 2013, Flavius Josephus
  8. ↑ Jerusalem: The Biography, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, September 18, 2012, Simon Sebag Montefiore
  9. ↑ "The Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE". World History Encyclopedia. May 2, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Matthew 24:1–2".
  11. ↑ "Jeremiah 30:3".
  12. ↑ "Jeremiah 50:4–5".
  13. ↑ Simon Sebag Montefiore (September 18, 2012), Jerusalem: The Biography
  14. ↑ "Zionism", Britannica
  15. ↑ "Holocaust". Britannica.
  16. ↑ "Declaration of Israel's Independence, 1948". PBS.org.
  17. ↑ "The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel". Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. May 14, 1948.
  18. ↑ "The Five Miracles of Israel", Jewish Journal
  19. ↑ "Isaiah 33:20–21".
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