Luke 21:29-36  And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, and all the trees;  (30)  When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand. (31) So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand.  (32)  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled.  (33)  Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.  (34)  And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.  (35)  For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. (36) Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape ALL these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

While many see the chaos of our modern world as a sign of decay, Luke 21:29-36 points us toward the ‘budding fig tree’ of Israel as a sign of hope and prophetic reliability. The re-establishment of Israel in 1948 stands as the most important ‘sign of the times,’ marking the moment this biblical symbol began to come back to life. This passage reminds us that God has not finished with His people, and as we watch the fig tree grow, we are encouraged to keep our spiritual lives in order. It is a call to live with the urgency of a generation that has seen the first signs of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

As well, we see that the fig tree refers to Israel in Hosea 9:10 and Joel 1:7:

Hosea 9:10  I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

Joel 1:7  He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.

Israel, the fig tree, habitually left God to serve other gods and it no longer bared fruit for the one true living God. Later, in the New Testament, we see it mentioned in Mark 11:13-14:

Mark 11:13-14  And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet.  (14)  And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it.

Jesus points out that the fig tree would not produce fruit and man would not eat of it for ever. What fruit will mankind eat from then? It is the fruit of the Lord Jesus Christ, the fruit of His Spirit!

When Israel became a nation on May 14, 1948, the world entered the ‘season of the fig tree,’ alerting us that the end of the age is truly at hand. Jesus told us that the generation alive to see these leaves sprout would not pass away until every prophecy was accomplished. Because the final hour will come as a sudden snare to the world, we are called to a life of watchfulness and being missionaries in our allotted “land.” Let us strive to be spiritually ready, that we might be accounted worthy to escape the coming tribulations and stand before our King.

Escape what? The answer is the “snare.” The Greek word for snare is “pagis” and is defined in Strong’s Concordance as:

pagis
pag-ece’
From G4078; a trap (as fastened by a noose or notch); figuratively a trick or stratagem (temptation): – snare

To escape the deceptions and stratagems the Antichrist will use to trap the world during the Tribulation, one must be a true member of the Church of Jesus Christ. This requires more than a label; it requires being authentically born again. When we become a “new creature” as described in 2 Corinthians 5:17, our old sinful desires are replaced by a pursuit of God’s will, identifying us as the Body of Christ. It is this authentic Church that Jesus promises to rescue prior to the Tribulation through the Rapture, allowing us to be accounted worthy to escape the horrors to come and stand before the Son of Man.

So how do we secure our escape from the Antichrist’s coming snare? By the grace of God, we will be counted worthy to take part in the Rapture of the Church (1 Corinthians 15:50-52, 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18). Far from being merely an “easy way out,” as some critics of the Pre-Tribulation view suggest, this escape is a divine promise given to the Body of Christ (Ephesians 1:14-23). As the literal Body of Christ, the Church is shielded from the Great Tribulation, a period specifically designated for the outpouring of God’s wrath. Because we are in Him, we are eternally secure; as Romans 8:1 explicitly declares, those who belong to Christ Jesus are not under condemnation.

The Greek word for “condemnation” used in Romans 8:1 is katakrima (κατάκριμα):

An adverse sentence or judicial punishment. It refers to the final penalty or “doom” that follows a guilty verdict.

Because the Tribulation is a time of divine judicial punishment upon a Christ-rejecting world, the Church is legally and spiritually exempt from that awful sentence.

The Church is no longer under an adverse sentence of death with a destination of Hell. No indeed! We have been bought with the price of Christ’s shed blood.

1 Corinthians 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

1 Corinthians 7:23  Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

Once we grasp this truth, it becomes clear that the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is the only viewpoint that aligns with God’s character and promises. Regardless of your viewpoint, the fundamental requirement remains the same: you must be born again to participate. Friend, if you have not yet experienced your sins being entirely forgiven by Christ, it is no coincidence that you are reading this right now; God has brought you to this moment so that you might be saved before it is too late. Don’t you want to be counted among the Church when she is caught up into the clouds to meet Jesus? (1 Thessalonians 4:17) Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!