THE FIG TREE RAPTURE



Behold the fig free, AND ALL the trees; when THEY now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer is now NIGH AT HAND. So likewise ye, when ye see THESE THINGS come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is NIGH AT HAND. Verily I say unto you, THIS generation [the generation that sees these things] shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. --Luke 21:29-32



Baptists, in general, have their emotions in check and for the most part, do not trust their feelings and intuition in matters of doctrine. Normally, they do not go around saying, "The Lord told me thus and so," or "The Lord told me that thus and such, and it is going to happen." However, bring up the subject of the rapture and you will hear some startling revelations. These revelations, of course are clothed in language of, "I feel," "I'm impressed," and a multitude of "I believe's." We dare not be too impressed with what these prophets believe or feel only with what they know.



Imminent Return?



Whatever can be said about rapture speculation, one thing is for certain, those involved in it do not believe in an imminent return of Jesus Christ. To be imminent, the return of Christ must be on the verge of happening at any moment. When 1981 or any other year is foisted on us for being the year of the rapture, the fact that Jesus Christ could come at any moment (even before 1981) is minimized. The early Christians were supposed to look for and to wait for the imminent return of their Saviour according to such Scriptures as: 1 Cor. 1:7; Phil. 3:20; Co1. 3:4; 1 Thess. 1:10; 1 Tim. 6:14; Titus 2:13; and Rev. 22:20.These Scriptures prove that the rapture could have occurred soon after the New Testament had been written. James tells the brethren, living then, in James 5:8."Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord DRAWETH NIGH. "Dwight Pentecost, in his book, Things to Come, proves that Christians throughout our history were expecting the imminent return of Christ by quoting Calvin, Clement, Luther, and so forth.



1981 and Why?



Now, what are some of the reasons for foisting the year "1981" on the brethren as the year of the rapture. Well, a generation (according to the speculators) is supposed to be 40 years; Israel became a nation in 1948; Israel is the fig tree (so they say), even though Israel is the OLIVE TREE in Romans, and this generation shall not pass until ALL things be fulfilled (the things­all of Matthew 24:32-34). The mathematics (of our prophetic experts) involved are quite simple:



1948 plus 40 minus 7 years for the tribulation equals 1981. Moreover, we are told that Christians will not be overtaken

as a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:4), because they will have a premonition that Christ is going to return soon.



The Generation



Unfortunately, we are never told how the forty year generation is compiled. Still, Matthew 1:17, would be a good place to test this imminent return theory in that from Abraham to David, and from David to the captivity, and from the captivity until Christ are 14 generations apiece. By using Usher's notes generously and dividing by 14, Abraham to David might calculate anywhere from 57 years to 78 years; David to the captivity might calculate to 36 years or less; the captivity to Christ, using Daniel's 69 weeks of years and seventy years for the captivity, might calculate to 37 years in solar years (even less for prophetic years of 360 days each). All this provides no valid reason for assigning 40 years or any other specific amount figure to a generation. The older commentators, for whatever it is worth, viewed the generation as a race or group of people living in a particular time element, rather than as an exclusive or specific amount of years.



The Fig Tree



We are sure that we could get the most fanciful speculator to agree that Israel is not to be found in every passage that contains the word "fig tree," otherwise, we would have Israelite paratroopers falling out of heaven in Revelation 6:13, where the"fig tree casts her untimely figs to the earth. Speculators should not only consult what Matthew 24:32 has to say, concerning the FIG TREE but also Luke 21:29 before they carelessly assign a "HIM" to Israel (note: "HIS" and not a "HER" branch in Matt. 24:32). "Behold the fig tree, and ALL the trees; when THEY shoot forth . . ." What were ALL the trees doing in 1948, if they are nations also? The silence is deafening.



Consider the Figs



Immediately AFTER the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the MOON shall not give her light, and the STARS shall FALL from heaven . . . And Then shall appear the SIGN of the Son of man IN HEAVEN . . . COMING in the clouds of heaven with POWER and GREAT GLORY . . . Now, learn a parable of the fig tree; when his branch is yet tender . . . ye know that SUMMER is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see ALL THESE THINGS, know that it is NEAR . . . -- Matt. 24:29-33



What about Jesus' comments as found in Matthew 24:29, 30, 32, 33? To explain these comments, we must first consider the initial question that they asked Jesus in Matthew 24:3, "What shall be the SIGN OF THY COMING, and of the END OF THE WORLD?" What is going to happen, when the FIG TREE'S branches shoot forth, and what about the figs? When ye see ALL what things? When ye see the sun end the moon darkened; when you see the stars fall from heaven; when you see the sign IN HEAVEN! When are you going to see these things? After the tribulation of those days! What does "it is near" mean? "It is near" means the Millennial kingdom of Christ is near and the coming of Christ in power and glory of which they inquired. This cannot be the rapture, which has already taken place before the tribulation. Note that in Matthew 24:30 that Christ's coming in glory is mentioned directly after the "sign in heaven." No church age rapture here.



Consider the Figs Falling



. . . SUMMER is now NIGH at hand. So likewise ye, when ye see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. --Luke 21:30, 31



And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the SUN became black . . . and the MOON became as blood; And the STARS of heaven FELL unto the earth, even as a FIG TREE [there it is] casteth her untimely figs.--Rev. 6:12, 13



What is the significance of "summer?" Summer is the time when the figs fall. What are the figs? The figs are the stars! You don't believe it? See Revelation 6, which is an overlay of Matthew 24. Revelation 6:12, 13 especially overlays Matthew 24:29, 30; Summer means that the stars are going to fall and Jesus will come shortly thereafter, in power and glory, to make war on the earth and to set up His kingdom. Men will try to hide from the wrath of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16) for the great day of his wrath will then have come (verse 17). We sometimes forget that the Bible is not only for us pretribulation saints but that it is also for those saints who will go through the tribulation. Pretribulation saints will not see the antichrist of Matthew 24:15, so what have they to do with the fleeing to the mountains in verse 16. That is for the Jewish saints in Judea during the great tribulation.



What About the Thief in the Night?



For yourselves KNOW perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night . . . But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. -- 1 Thess. 5:2-4



Gospel age saints (the ones that knew perfectly) AND pretribulation saints are not be taken by the day of the Lord (not the rapture) as a thief in the night, simply because they are not in darkness and simply because they are dead or raptured before the day of the Lord takes place (not because they figured out some mathematical formula for the date). We must not get the rapture confused with the second coming of Christ in power and glory, and we must be sure of who the "ye" is referring to in Matthew 24.



Are We in the Last Days?



. . . this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel . . . And it shall come to pass in the . . . LAST DAYS, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit . . . -- Acts 2:16, 17



God . . . hath in THESE LAST DAYS spoken unto us by his Son . . . -- Heb. 1:1, 2



. . . whereby we know that it is the LAST TIME. -- 1 John 2:18.



Yes, we are in the last days, but we have been in the last days, since the New Testament was written according to Paul, Peter, and John. Nothing needs to happen before the Lord raptures His saints. No sign is needed or required for us.



Will the Saints Know the Time? Day? Hour? Season? When?



. . . watch and pray: for ye KNOW NOT when the TIME is. -- Mk. 13:33



. . . But of that day and hour KNOWETH NO MAN . . . --Mk. 24:36



. . . Watch therefore: for ye KNOW NOT what HOUR your Lord doth come. -- Matt. 24:42



. . . It is not for you to KNOW the TIMES or the SEASONS . . . -- Acts 1:7



. . . Be ye also ready: for in such an HOUR as ye THINK NOT the Son of man cometh. --Matt. 24:44



. . . But of that DAY and that HOUR KNOWETH no man, no, not the angels . . . Watch ye therefore for ye KNOW NOT WHEN the master of the house cometh. --Mk. 13:32, 35



We cannot see how speculators, who entertain 1988 as the year of His Second coming and 1981 the year of the rapture in power and glory (minus seven for the rapture), can ignore the clear, unmistakable, message of these scriptures.



Conclusion



It has not been too long since a Baptist by the name of Miller had his followers out on the mountain waiting for the coming of the Lord. Christ didn't come, and he had everyone out on the mountain the next year because of a supposed one year error in his calculations. Jesus didn't come then either. Even more recently, a supposed converted witch was telling us to arm ourselves, hoard some food, and get out into the woods and caves. Sensational preaching, without a Scripture basis, often results in things like this.



Many of the brethren may not realize that some of these same type of date setter brethren were calling Hitler and Mussolini the antichrist during the forties. If the Lord does not come between now and 1982, some premillenial believers are going to have a lot of egg on their faces. The "Mid" and "Post" trib advocates will surely take advantage of their embarrassment to promote the these doctrines. We are not looking for the antichrist or the tribulation, but neither are we looking for a sign. We are looking for a Saviour from heaven. Even so, come Lord Jesus (Rev. 22:20). Will today's brethren make the same kind of mistake as they did in 1980?



-- by Herb Evans



The Florida Fundamentalist - January 1980, p. 4



Bible Believers' Bulletin - January 1981, p. 1