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Men, Matthew chapter number 20, if you would, flip over in your Bibles, we'll come back to Luke chapter 13, but Matthew chapter 20, the title of my sermon this morning is parables about Israel, parables about Israel. In Matthew chapter 20, we start a series of several parables that are about Israel. And it's amazing to me how some people, they read these parables and this aspect of these parables just completely goes over their head, but this is actually the primary meaning of these parables. You could apply these parables in a lot of other ways because obviously parables have multiple valid interpretations, but what I'm going to show you here today is the primary point that Jesus is trying to get across in these parables from chapter 20 and through chapter 22, in context, he's saying the same thing over and over again about the nation of Israel. Now if you would, look down at your Bible there in Matthew chapter 20 verse 1, for the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard and he went out about the third hour and saw others standing in the marketplace, idle, and said unto them, go ye also into the vineyard and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. And he goes out and basically finds people at the ninth hour. He finds people at the eleventh hour. And just throughout the day, he's hiring additional day laborers, sort of like you go to Home Depot and there are those guys that are kind of hanging out in the parking lot that are just looking to get hired for the day. He's going out. He's grabbing a few illegals and, you know, putting them to work in his vineyard, amen? And so he gets to the eleventh hour and there are still some guys out there and he said, you know, why are you guys here all day? Why are you idle? And they say, well, you know, nobody has hired us. And it says in verse seven, they say unto him, because no man hath hired us, he saith unto them, go ye also into the vineyard and whatsoever is right that shall ye receive. So when even was come the Lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, call the laborers and give them their hire beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. Now, previously, he agreed with the people that started at the very beginning of the day, the people who worked a full twelve-hour day, he agreed that they were going to receive a penny for their work that day, okay? Obviously not the same as the pennies that we use, okay? This would be like a hundred bucks or something, right? So he agrees with them, okay, you're going to work all day, this is what you're going to receive. But then when people start to get paid, the people who just started an hour ago, the newcomers, they actually get paid first. They're actually first in line, which seems a little bit backward, right, because it seems like, you know, the people who got there first, first come, first serve, they've worked twelve hours, pay them first. But actually, he does the opposite. He decides to pay the newcomers first. And then other people are watching and they get paid a penny, which is what the agreement was for the twelve-hour day. So the guys who've worked the twelve-hour day, they're thinking to themselves, oh, well, if these guys are getting a penny who just got here an hour ago, we're going to get more. But then they're last in line and when they get to the end, they receive the penny. And so they're angry, they're complaining, and look what they say. It says in verse 12, these last have wrought but one hour and now it's made them equal unto us. I want you to pay special attention to that phrase, equal unto us. You've made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong. Didst not thou agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is and go thy way. I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good? So the last shall be first and the first shall be last for many be called but few chosen. Now what does this parable mean? Obviously there are a lot of wonderful teachings that we could give from this parable that would be consistent with the teachings of the Bible that are valid interpretations. But let me tell you the one that actually fits the context of what's coming in the next several chapters is that the people who came at the 11th hour represent the Gentiles. And the people who've been working since 6 a.m. represent the Jews, okay? So these are the people who throughout history have been God's people and they've been serving God for centuries and centuries and then all of a sudden in the latter days, all of a sudden at the last minute, all of a sudden in the end of time, the Gentiles show up and they start serving God and then what happens? The Jews are indignant because they want to be better than. They want to be greater than and they actually want to get more than what's coming to them. Because they look at God being gracious to the Gentiles, giving salvation to the Gentiles, blessing the Gentiles, making them his people and they're thinking to themselves, well then what bonuses do we get? And God basically tells them, well no, you're all the same now. There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek. Jews and Gentiles are both one in Christ Jesus. Christianity does not give any kind of preferential treatment or special blessing or special bonus to the Jews represented by the ones who started early. They are the same as the Greeks or the Gentiles. And so they're saying, well you made them equal to us. Yes he did. Yes God made the Gentiles equal to the Jews. And they're mad about it. Are they right to be mad about it? No and you know what God says here? He says, is thine eye evil, at the end of verse 15, because I'm good? You know God is good, God is generous and he has every right to extend mercy to whoever he wants to extend mercy and it isn't right for the Jews to be bitter about that or think that they should have some kind of a preferential treatment. Now look, this is not an isolated scripture. We're going to look at Matthew 21 in just a moment and we're going to start in verse 28 if you want to flip over to Matthew 21, 28. It's not an isolated scripture because remember in the book of Acts when they're listening to Paul preach, as soon as he gets to the part where he says that he's being sent to reach the Gentiles with the Gospel, the Jews become angry and say that he should be killed. Remember Jonah, the prophet, when he's told to preach to Nineveh. When Nineveh actually repents and gets right with God, he's mad about it and wants God to destroy Nineveh anyway. And so there's a lot of evidence in scripture of the Jews being moved with envy when they see the Gentiles coming to Christ and being bitter and angry and having a bad attitude about it. Now if you would look at Matthew 21 verse 28, but what think ye? A certain man had two sons and he came to the first and said, son, go work today in my vineyard. Now notice these words that keep coming up over and over again in these parables, first and last. Do you remember that from the last parable? People who start at the beginning of the day were the first. People who came at the 11th hour were the last. And then at the end when they get paid, he said the last shall be first and the first shall be last. Do you remember that? Okay. Notice the same language here when he says to the first son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not, but afterward he repented and went and he came to the second and likewise and he answered and said, I go sir, and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father. They say unto him, the first. Jesus saith unto them, verily I say unto you that the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness and you believed him not, but the publicans and the harlots believed him and ye when ye had seen it, repented not afterward that ye might believe him. So what is he saying here? He's saying, look, you guys basically have talked a big talk about serving God. You've said you're going to go into the vineyard and work, but in the end you actually don't do the work of God. That's what he's saying. These religious Jews, Pharisees, Sadducees, the rabbis, you say that you're going to do the work of God, but you don't actually end up doing it. Okay. In the end. And that's why he said this people draws nigh to me with their mouth, but their heart is far from me. But then you have these people, the publicans and the harlots, again, very similar to the other parable, where in the beginning they're living a life that's completely contrary to the will of God. But then in the end, when John the Baptist shows up preaching, they end up actually repenting and believing John the Baptist. And so they actually in the end become more righteous than the Pharisees. Ironically, publicans and harlots end up becoming more righteous in the eyes of God. But again, this is a parable. That's the literal. But the parable here is again about the Jews and the Gentiles. The publicans and the harlots represent the Gentiles, right? Historically, they've not been the people of God. The Pharisees represent the Jews, who historically have been the people of God and talked the big talk. But who in the end ends up doing the will of God? It's the Gentiles who end up actually doing the will of God. And it's the Jews who for the most part end up rejecting the Lord Jesus Christ and going against the will of God. Now let's roll directly into the next verse, verse 33. Here another parable. There was a certain householder which planted a vineyard and hedged it round about and digged a winepress in it and built a tower and let it out to husbandmen and went into a far country. And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen that they might receive the fruits of it. When the husbandmen took his servants and beat one and killed another and stoned another, again he sent other servants, more than the first. They did unto them likewise. But last of all, he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him and cast him out of the vineyard and slew him. When the Lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. So again, here's the parable. You've got this guy. He plants a vineyard. He puts a wall around it, builds a tower. He builds everything that's necessary. He goes into a far country and he leaves behind servants to work the vineyard and make him a profit. Well, from the other country, he sends people to collect the revenue, and his servants that are sent, looking for it to bear fruit and produce revenue, they get beaten, they get killed, they get stoned, they get mistreated. So then finally, he sends the son, right, and he says, They'll reverence my son. He sends his own son. Now, can anybody figure out where this parable is going? Right? The vineyard is Israel. And by the way, he explicitly says that in Isaiah, he talks about the house of Israel being his vineyard. He talks about this exact same thing back in the book of Isaiah. So Israel is the vineyard. The servants are the Jews. He sends his prophets unto them, rising up early and sending them to rebuke them and correct them and cause them to bear fruit. They kill the prophets. They stone the prophets. They reject the prophets. They mock the prophets. Finally, he sends his own son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and they kill the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, They'll reverence my son. But what do they say in verse 38? The husbandmen saw the son. Who's the son? Jesus. They said among themselves, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and let us seize on his inheritance. They're basically saying, Let us be our own Messiah. We don't want the Messiah. We're going to be our own Messiah. In fact, if you talk to Jews today, some of them are looking for an actual Messiah to show up, an actual guy. But many Jews who don't expect the Messiah, if you ask them what they think about this concept of a Messiah, they will say that we believe that the Jewish people will collectively be their own Messiah. Now is that not identical to what this Bible verse says? We're going to seize on the inheritance. We're going to be our own Messiah. The Jewish people all together are the Messiah. So everybody understands this parable, I mean, you'd have to be blind to not see that this parable is about Israel and Jesus and so forth. Look what it says in verse 41. He asked them, What do you think the owner of the vineyard is going to do? They said to him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men. Who are we talking about? Christ rejecting Israel. He's going to miserably destroy them and he will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen which shall render him the fruits and their seasons. That is the Gentiles. The Gentiles are the other husbandmen, the new workers coming in. Jesus saith unto them, verse 42, did you never read in the Scriptures, that the stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing and is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. Now how can you misunderstand this verse in light of the parable that we just heard? And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken, but on whomsoever it shall fall it will grind him to powder. Jesus of course being that cornerstone that's being referred to. And in verse 45, the Pharisees are actually more intelligent than evangelical Christianity today because they actually understood that he's talking about them. See the Bible says the Pharisees, the chief priests and the Pharisees that are in this parable, they perceive that he spake of them. They're looking at these parables and they understand this is about us. But yet today we have independent Baptists and evangelical Christians that don't understand that these parables are about them. And they don't understand the fact that the kingdom of God has been taken from the nation of Israel and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. You know what that sounds like? It sounds like they've been replaced. And you know what's conspicuously absent from this parable is the part where the murderers get reinstated after a while. Where he says to the new people who've actually been producing the fruit, all right, you guys are done now. We're going to go back to those miserable murderers. Where's that in the story? It isn't there. It says he will miserably destroy those wicked men. They're done. They get destroyed and then he moves on to the Gentiles. It doesn't talk about them coming back, does it? Not there. Okay, let's keep going. Let's roll into chapter 22 because look, I'm showing you this is a series of parables. And this is the importance of reading the Bible in context. Read chapter 20 with chapter 21. With chapter 22, these three chapters are like a trilogy here that's driving in this point. We're hitting the highlights. We're looking at these parables. Look at chapter 22 verse 1. And Jesus answered and spake unto them again by parables and said, The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king which made a marriage for his son. I mean, you can already tell where this is going. Right? The son is Jesus. The certain king is God, the father. It says in verse 3, he sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the wedding and they would not come. Who are these people that he's inviting to the wedding and they don't want to come? It's the Jews. Again he sent forth other servants saying, Tell them which are bidden. Behold, I've prepared my dinner. My oxen and my fatlings are killed and all things are ready. Come unto the marriage. But they made light of it and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise. And the remnant took his servants and entreated them spitefully and slew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth, watch this, don't miss it. And he sent forth his armies and destroyed those murderers and burned up their city. What are we talking about here? Let me tell you something. This is prophetic of the fact that when they reject the Lord Jesus Christ, they're invited to the wedding with the Son of God, Jesus Christ. They reject the Lord Jesus Christ. The punishment is that God sends forth his armies, referring to who? The Romans. He sends the Roman armies, okay, in 70 AD, they burned Jerusalem. So what did he do? He sent forth his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. That is exactly what happened in these people's lifetime in 70 AD. It was called the Jewish-Roman War, lasted for seven years. In the middle of that seven years, Jerusalem was destroyed, the temple was destroyed, etc. And of course, this is Daniel's 70th week. Now I am not a preterist. I think preterism is a ridiculous doctrine. It's absurd to not believe that these things are also going to happen in the future. Dual fulfillment in Bible prophecy is Bible prophecy 101. And I've done sermons on dual fulfillment. You can check those out if you don't understand what I'm talking about. But I'm telling you that obviously we can't ignore the fact that there was a great fulfillment of prophecy with the Jewish-Roman War when the temple was destroyed in 70 AD and when Jerusalem was burned. And let me tell you something, Jesus is prophesying that in Matthew 22 verse 7. That's what he's prophesying. Verse 8, Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bid and were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage. This represents the Gentiles. Going into the highways, traveling to other parts of the world, going to places like Greece and Macedonia and Italy and Asia Minor, all the places that the Apostle Paul and the other apostles would ultimately go and preach the Gospel. They're going out and they're just bidding as many as they can find to the marriage. So those servants went into the highways and gathered all as many as they found, both good and bad, and the wedding was furnished with guests. This is the Gospel going to the Gentiles and the Gentiles receiving it. Very clear, very easy to understand as we go through these different parables. Now let's back up. We skipped one on purpose. Let's back up and look at one that is in Matthew chapter 21 verse 18. Look at Matthew chapter 21 verse 18. It's not exactly a parable, but it is also symbolic of what we're talking about here. Says in Matthew chapter 21 verse 18, Now in the morning, as he returned into the city, he hungered, and when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it and found nothing there on but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee, henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away, and when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away? Now let me stop at this point and explain to you that people who buy into this false doctrine of Zionism and believe that Israel are still God's chosen people in the New Testament, the Jews are special, the Jews are God's chosen people, they've not, you know, we have not been made equal unto them, and even if they're unsaved, they're still blessed, even if they hate the Lord Jesus Christ, they're still God's chosen people, it's absurd. It's wrong. It's a false doctrine. You're not God's people unless you're saved. I mean that should be obvious that you have to believe in Jesus Christ to be the chosen people. You've got to be saved and that the kingdom of God was taken from them and given to a nation bringing forth the fruit thereof. But these people with their pre-Trib rapture and Zionist doctrine and all this dispensationalism and whatever, here's what they'll claim. They'll say, Israel is the fig tree. And they make a big deal about Israel is the fig tree, you know, and you know, the fig tree blossomed in 1948, and they have this big story about that. Who's ever heard this, you know, fig tree blossoming in 1948? It's a big thing for them. There's a big deal out of this, okay. Well, you know what? They're completely wrong about that and I'm going to prove them wrong in a moment. But I'll tell you one thing that they are right about is that sometimes the fig tree does represent Israel and this is one of those places where the fig tree is a perfect representative of Israel. Because Jesus, in the parables that we just read, we just read the parables, folks. We're in context here, Matthew 20 through 22, we're in context, am I right? Do you remember the parable where he goes to Israel looking for fruit and doesn't find it? And then he ends up destroying them and getting new husbandmen that will produce fruit, right? Okay, well, look what he does with this fig tree. He comes to the fig tree, he expects to find fruit on it, but he found nothing thereon but leaves only. You know what the leaves represent? A big show of, hey, look, we're doing stuff. But then you show up and there's no fruit. There's nothing of value. A lot of outward pomp and outward show, a lot of talk and a big talk. That's all the leaves, but when they show up, though, there's no fruit, there's no meat on the bone, there's nothing there, okay? And so Jesus Christ, he comes to the fig tree, Israel, expecting to find fruit on it, and he doesn't find it and he curses the fig tree saying, let no fruit grow on thee until later when you get reinstated. When I'm done with the Gentiles in the 20th century, in the 21st century, no, he says let no fruit grow on thee, henceforth forever. And presently, 70 AD, the fig tree withered away. Now let's go to Luke 13. Let's cross-reference this. We've done a lot in Matthew 20, 21, 22, and we see the same idea as being hammered over and over again in these three chapters. Well, now let's compare it with some things that we can read about in Luke, okay? Let's look at Luke chapter 13. And in Luke chapter 13, we find a parable about a fig tree. And we know that the evangelicals today, they love to talk about Israel as the fig tree, right? Well, hey, amen, Israel is the fig tree. Let's talk about that fig tree, shall we? Verse 6, he spake also this parable, a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, or in verse 6 of Luke 13, and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none. Does this sound a little familiar? This is the third time we see this idea of going where you're expecting the fruit, you show up, it isn't there, right? Same thing. And he came and sought fruit thereon and found none, then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down, why come breath at the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it and dung it, and if it bear fruit, well, and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down. Now stop and think about this. How long was Jesus Christ's ministry on this earth? His earthly ministry lasted for about three and a half years, okay? So think about this. Jesus Christ's ministry lasted about three and a half years, so basically three years in, in this parable, he says, look, I have been seeking fruit on this fig tree for three years. Isn't that exactly what Jesus had been doing? He's been seeking fruit on the fig tree for the last three years, and basically the intercession is made, hey, let's give it one last year. We're going to dig around it, we're going to dung it, one last year, and then if it still doesn't bring forth fruit, it shall be cut down. And that's the agreement that's made. Stop and think about it. You know, you've got a three and a half year ministry of Jesus Christ, so you've got the three years seeking fruit, not finding it, totally consistent with the other two parables that we've already looked at, several parables that we looked at. Then we have that final year, right, the fourth year where they're basically given the final chance. So the, what is Jesus trying to get across here? He's trying to get across, look, this is your last chance. And what's the context? Look at verses one through five. See we read the Bible in context here, these things make perfect sense. There were some, there were present at that season, some that told him of the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans because they suffered such things? I tell you nay, but except you repent, ye shall all likewise perish. For those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwell in Jerusalem? I tell you nay, but except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish. Verse five is saying, look, don't think that you're better than these people who just had a tower fall on their head or just got slain by the sword. Hey, everybody else in Jerusalem is in the same boat where except they repent they shall all likewise perish. So he's threatening in verses one through five, he is threatening the, you know, those at Jerusalem and in Galilee and in those areas that if they don't repent, they shall all likewise perish. Okay, now let me tell you about a parable of a tree that doesn't bear fruit and gets cut down. We're still talking to the same group of people, still making the same point, it's context my friend. And so what the Bible is teaching here is that Jesus Christ is expressing to them this is your last chance because very soon he's going to be crucified, he is going to be rejected, they're going to scream out his blood be on us and on our children, okay, he's going to be condemned by the high priests and the leaders of the people, the Jews are going to be stirred up against Christ, he's going to be buried, he's going to rise again, and then they're going to get even another chance at the day of Pentecost when Peter and the rest of them are all preaching the Gospel at Pentecost in Jerusalem, so it's like they're getting another chance, another chance, but then after that though, eventually it's like you're out of chances. And they end up getting destroyed, the Gospel goes to the Gentiles, and that's what happened. I mean that's what happens in the book of Acts, that's what history tells us happens, that's what was prophesied in the Bible to happen. And so we see that this is a last chance being given to the fig tree, to Israel, to produce fruit or die. And that's why he says at the end of the chapter, if you jump to the end of the chapter, getting more context in Luke 13, it says in verse 33, Nevertheless, I must walk today and tomorrow in the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee. Which again, completely parallels those parables, that's what the people in the vineyard did to the servants. How often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen did gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. Verily I say to you, ye shall not see me until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Folks, this is so consistent, it's in Matthew, it's in Luke, it's everywhere, okay. Now let's look at what they want to talk about the fig tree. Matthew 24, let's go there, this is what they want to talk about with the fig tree. And I mean, you know, I've put out some videos on YouTube recently about this subject, I've preached sermons about this recently, and I've had a bunch of people be like, well yeah, but what about the fig tree? I mean, the fig tree blossomed in 1948, I mean what about where Matthew 24 says that you know, Israel coming back in 1948 is the blossoming of the fig tree. It's like they just have these mythical Bible verses because they heard a sermon that told them that Israel becoming a nation in 1948 is the blossoming of the fig tree. Now that's just become fact unto them. Well Israel's the time of Jacob's tribulation, it's time for Jacob's trouble. It's just like they're just repeating things that have zero basis in Scripture. You can't prove any of these things because they're not there. Let's actually look at the Bible and see what the Bible says about this in Matthew 24, verse 32. Now learn a parable of the fig tree. They're saying that this is 1948, let's see if that's what the Bible actually says. 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 see Israel become a nation in 1948, know that it is near even at the doors. Now that's what they want the Bible to say, but that's not what the Bible says. Here's what the Bible actually says. So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, all these things, know that it is near even at the doors. Now let me ask you something. What are these things? Isn't it the stuff that you just told us about in Matthew 24 for the last 30 some odd verses? So in 30 some verses, Jesus describes events, and he says, just as when a fig tree putteth forth its leaves or green figs, you know that the summer is at hand, so likewise ye, when you see these things come to pass, you'll know that it's near even at the doors. Where in Matthew 24 is any reference made whatsoever to the Jews returning to Israel in 1948, or anything even close to that, there's nothing. It describes, you know, famine, pestilence, warfare, persecution of Christians, Christ coming in the clouds, it describes all these things. No mention whatsoever of Israel becoming a nation. They're just saying, what's the boss because the fig tree represents Israel. Well here's the thing, if the fig tree represents Israel, it got cut down a long time ago, and if the fig tree represents Israel, Jesus cursed it that it would never bring forth fruit ever again. So which, well, it's not the fig tree in those verses. So Israel's not the fig tree in Matthew 21, and Israel's not the fig tree in Luke 13. Israel is only the fig tree in Matthew 24 where it says nothing about Israel, where there's no reference made to Israel as being the fig tree, it's just a made up doctrine is what it is. I mean if they wanted to make some case, well Israel's always the fig tree, well that's going to blow up in their face real fast with that cursing of the fig tree. But if they make the case of, well context tells you whether Israel's the fig tree, well then you know what that means, this verse has nothing to do with Israel because this verse doesn't say anything about Israel becoming a nation, what it actually says is all the things we read about in Matthew 24, which is famine, pestilence, warfare, the abomination of desolation, etc. That's what we're watching for. Now here's the elephant in the room about their ridiculous interpretation of Matthew 24 and why this doctrine will die very soon. It has to die. This doctrine can't last, you can't keep saying this and let me tell you why. This doctrine has an expiration date on it. This Israel fig tree doctrine and it's pretty much expired at this point. Let me prove it to you. The Bible says, so likewise ye, learn the parable of the fig tree, verse 33, so likewise ye when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near even at the doors. Now how do we interpret that? The stuff he actually said in Matthew 24, the abomination of desolation, all the events of the tribulation. When we see those things we know it's near even at the door. What do they say that the fig tree is? You know, oh it's when you see Israel become a nation in 1948. Okay, here's the problem, look at the next verse. I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. So if you're going to insert Israel becoming a nation in 1948 into this verse erroneously, then you know what you'd have to say? That everything concerning the second coming of Christ would have to be fulfilled before the generation of 1948 passes away. And by the way, that's why historically the pre-tribbers and the Zionists have used this passage to falsely predict the second coming of Christ repeatedly. That's why there were 88 reasons Christ is returning in 1988. You can get that book for real cheap nowadays. And I'll tell you why, because this is what they said. They said, well, you know, generation's 40 years. You know, this was one of the 88 reasons or 87 other misguided reasons. But think about it. They said, well, you know, if the fifth tree blossomed in 1948, it's got to happen by 1988. But then they're like, well, 70 years, you know, because a guy can live 70 years. But yeah, is the generation 70 years though? Because I mean, let's see what, you know, we got our generation's years in here. We got our millennials, we got generation X, we got the baby boomers, right? How long is the generation? You know what I mean? 70 years. Okay, I see you're 70 years. What's 1948 plus 70, 2018? Did everything happen yet? Did it even start happening? Nothing has started. So here we are, 73 years after the supposed blossoming of the fig tree, and literally jack squat has happened. So how long can you keep preaching this tired old doctrine? Because what's going to happen is pretty soon we're going to get to a point where it's literally 2033 or 2050, and it's like, oh, blossoming of the fig tree. It's like, dude, it's over. That generation is dead and gone. I mean, look, the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness 40 years until that all that generation was gone, you know, of the warriors. How long is a generation, friend? Is a generation 70 years? You're already stretching it at 70 years. That already happened three years ago in 2018. Do you see why I'm saying this doctrine can't last forever? This is a flash in the pan, misguided, wrong doctrine. And you say, well, maybe it's just going to happen today, Pastor Anderson. You just don't know if it's just going to happen today. It's not going to happen today. I can promise you that it's not going to happen today because of the fact that there are all these events that still have to lead up to it. And they haven't even started. And we're 73 years later after Israel becoming a nation. So that doctrine is wrong. Now, now let's plug in our interpretation and see if this verse makes it, because it makes zero sense with their interpretation, which is why people are abandoning this doctrine left and right, because it makes no sense and it doesn't fit what we see with the reality that we're in. But if we plug in our interpretation, that when you see these things come to pass, meaning the abomination of desolation and the events of the tribulation that haven't even started yet, verily I say unto you, this generation should not pass till all these things be fulfilled. Hey, that's fine. Because what the Bible is saying here is that the events of the end times all take place in one generation. What he's trying to show is that this isn't some dragged out process over hundreds of years or thousands of years. He's saying once it starts, it's over in one generation. Once it starts, it all happens in a relatively short period of time. Because some people will take the 1,260 days in Revelation, and you know what they'll say it is? 1,260 years. And then they'll be like, oh, you know, Islam started. And then if you add 1,260 years to Islam, you know, it's 2,000 whatever, you know, it's just all these false predictions of the return of Christ. They're false. No man knows the day or the hour. We do not know when Christ will return. For all we know, the one thing we know is that it's not within the next couple of years because things haven't even started yet, and Jesus comes after the tribulation. But here's the thing. For all we know, the second coming of Christ could be five years from now, 20 years from now, 100 years from now. It could be 200 years from now. Now a lot of people get kind of quiet at that, like, wait, what are you talking about? But it's like, hold on a second. In the 1970s it was about to happen. In the 1980s it was about to happen. In the 1990s it was about to happen. Y2K it was about to happen. 2012 it was about to happen. Now look, obviously it's going to happen, but the Bible talks about the fact that in the end times people will start to say, where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. And that's where God tells us that to God a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day. So it's going to be thousands of years, it's going to take a long time. We don't know. And so you know what we need to do? We need to stop trying to figure out when it is because that's not what God has called us to do. What we need to do is just watch and stay awake and work hard and serve God and be ready for the end times, but we can't just bank on like, you know, I literally heard an independent fundamental Baptist preacher say, you know, just rack up the credit cards and let the devil pay for them. We're going out in the rapture. So don't worry about it. Rack up the cards. Let the devil pay for them, you know, because, you know, let the unsaved people deal with them. You're going to be gone. You think he's the only person who said something like that? All throughout history, people sell everything and say, hey, we don't need any of this stuff because the rapture is about to happen, it's 1988, let's sell all our stuff. We're going to move to Jerusalem or whatever. So you know, just so we can get a front row seat to what's going on. Folks know that that's not what God has called us to do. We're supposed to just be busy working, serving God and not worrying about it. If it happens, great. Even so, come Lord Jesus. And yeah, you say we can see the signs of the times. Amen. I do believe we see the signs of the time. And I think it's very likely for Christ to return in our lifetime. I think it's very likely that it will happen, you know, for some of us anyway, depending on how old you are. But anyway, it's very likely that it will happen in our lifetime, but it's not guaranteed to happen in our lifetime. And anybody who tells you it is, is teaching false doctrine. It's that simple. We don't know when it's going to be. So go ahead and buy those green bananas, okay, because you're going to get a chance to eat them. And don't worry about it. Now, this gets better. Flip over to Mark 13. So we saw it in Matthew 24, that specifically the things to watch for, the blossoming of the fig tree to watch for is, quote, all these things. Not just insert whatever you want here, but it's the stuff Jesus actually talked about in Matthew 24. Look at the same scripture in Mark 13, verse 28. Now learn a parable of the fig tree when her branch is yet tender and putteth for the leaves. You know that summer is near. So ye in like manner when ye shall see these things come to pass. Know that it is nigh even at the doors. Verily I say to you that this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. Okay, got it. Same thing. But go to Luke 21. It's worded a little differently in Luke 21. I love this. Go to Luke 21, because remember the big deal about the fig tree is Israel. The fig tree is Israel. It's about the fig tree. The fig tree blossomed. What do you have to say to that, Pastor Anderson? What about that fig tree? Huh? Checkmate, Pastor Anderson. Okay, but look at Luke 21. I love this. Verse 29, and he spake to them a parable, behold the fig tree and all the trees. So is this even a parable specifically about the fig tree? Or is it just about trees in general and he's just using a fig tree as an example? So how does this fit with their 1948? I guess all the trees is like, you know, I guess the partition of India in 1948 somehow is part of this, you know? Pakistan? Is that one of the trees? I doubt it. I doubt that's relevant. But see, this isn't even about the fig tree. They've created this whole big fiction about this fig tree. Turns out the fact that it's a fig tree doesn't even matter, because he's saying, you know, you could look at the fig tree or you could actually just look at whatever tree you want. And he says, he's speaking to the parable, behold the fig tree and all the trees. When they now shoot forth, you 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 shall not pass away till all be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Nothing could be clearer than the fact that he's saying, look, when you see changes in trees in general, including a fig tree, you see stuff and it tells you, okay, it's getting summer. Great. Summer's almost here. I mean, we in Arizona, we, you know, we look forward to that, you know? But then he says, okay, let me interpret that parable for you. When you see all these things that I just described come to pass, then you'll know that it's near even at the doors. Now how, was it near in 1948? Was it, I mean, was it just even at the doors in 1948? I mean, Christ is about to return in 1948. If it was just right at the door, just like, oh man, it's just right there, I could taste it in 1948. Seventy-three years later, we're like, think about that. It makes no sense, and that's why this doctrine is dying, because it never made sense. It was never based on what the Word of God actually said. It was always a made-up, fake doctrine, and they put this expiration date on it. And it's always amazing to people why people will continue following a false teacher who makes predictions about the second coming of Christ, and they fall through and they just keep listening to him. That will never cease to amaze me. Wouldn't you think they would just lose every follower the next day? And they tell people that when they put up billboards saying Jesus is going to return on this date, the Bible guarantees it. That was a billboard in California about ten years ago. Jesus Christ is going to return on such a date, the Bible, and it made me so angry because I thought, people are going to look at this and think the Bible lied. They're going to think the Bible lied, when in reality, Harold Camping was the one who lied. But yet, even after it came and went, people just keep following Harold Camping. They kept following the Seventh-day Adventists. They kept following the Jehovah's Witnesses after all of their false date-setting of the rapture. And tons of Baptist pastors have put their foot in their mouth on this as well. Because they foolishly thought that they were smarter than Jesus, because Mark chapter 13 even says that the Son doesn't even know. He said, only the Father knows, neither the Son. But Jesus, walking on this earth, and they might make the argument, well Jesus knows now. But when Jesus was walking on this earth, he said that he didn't know. At least back then, right? Let me ask you this, did Jesus have access to the Bible? Did he have access to the book of Daniel? Did he have access to Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel? Did Jesus have access to an Old Testament? Okay, did Jesus have access to, you know, astronomy charts? Yeah, I mean, could Jesus walk outside and look up and look at the stars and did he have a zodiac laying around or whatever? But no, you're smarter than Jesus, right? The Son of God, God in the flesh, right, who's got the Word of God, because he is the Word of God, okay? And you think that you've read Daniel and read Jeremiah, looked at astronomy, and figured it out. So you're smarter than the Son of God, who said, I don't know. And by the way, you're also smarter than all the angels, because he said the angels don't know. So you've got literally hundreds of millions of angels. I mean, I'm sure they've got some astronomy experience, you know, in all their travels to Mesopotamia and Egypt and Greece and, you know, I'm sure they probably knew more astronomy than say, I don't know, some Baptist pastor in the 21st century who's got it all put together and figured it out with all their bogus, and you know, when people set a date on the rapture, they get millions of views on YouTube. Well that's one way to sell your soul and get a bunch of views on YouTube, teaching lies and garbage, teaching false doctrine and lies for what? For what? For the vanity of having a popular YouTube channel? It's not worth it, my friend. It's better to speak the truth and not have the millions of views, you know, or you know, you can speak the truth and get the millions of views by actually saying something that's worth listening to, not a gimmick of, you know, September 21st of 2019, question mark, a million views, you know, or you could actually teach the Bible and actually tell the truth and you know what, maybe people will want to hear it and maybe they won't, but at least you have integrity. Anybody who date sets the rapture should be automatically marked as a false teacher, as a false prophet, immediately, and they should never be listened to again. They're fraud. Anybody who date sets and says, Jesus is returning on this and that date, they're a liar, and you know what they're showing? They're showing that they're just willing to say anything to get a following and to be popular, because that's what people want to hear. We're living in a world filled with bozos who want people to just tell them, just shut up and believe this, it's September of this year, because they want to rack up their credit cards anyway and let the devil pay for them so that, you know, that they're receptive to that teaching. So let me just stop the sermon there with the parables and let me just give a few final closing thoughts that are a little bit more practical to our lives, because you know, we're learning these important things about prophecy and obviously understanding Israel is going to help us as we study our Bibles and the Bible is going to make sense to us if we know these things, but here's just a few practical truths that we could get from these parables about Israel besides the meaning of the fact that they were replaced by the Gentiles as the servants of God. You know, one of the practical things we could learn from this is that we don't want to be like the Jews in the sense that if people who lived a really bad life earlier in life, then later turn around and start serving God, we don't want to be bitter against people like that. Can we always be happy when anyone comes to Christ? If anyone gets saved, we should be happy about them getting saved or let's say someone who's saved gets away from the Lord and goes out and just lives a really rotten life, but then maybe when they get to be in their 30s or 40s, they realize how stupid of a life that is and how they're wasting their life and then they come back to church in their 30s or back to church in their 40s or maybe even their 50s come back to church. You know, we should be ready to receive them with open arms. And not only that, they should be equal to us. You know, we shouldn't sit there and be like, oh, well, you know, you went out and sowed your wild oats, young man, and you did all the partying. Now all of a sudden you're serving God, huh? You know what, that's a wicked attitude. We should have an attitude that says, hey, I'm just glad you're serving him now. Hey, forget the past, you're serving God now, you're one of us, you're equal unto us, it's not a second class, like, well, I grew up in church, I served God the whole time. Where have you been, buddy? You know what, we should treat everybody who's serving God right now, it should be a level playing field, right? And we're all brothers and sisters in Christ and we shouldn't look down upon people who have a wicked past. And by the way, the people who have a wicked past, they're going to be dealing with repercussions from that anyway. We don't need to pile on more insults, right? They got their own problems, we should be nothing but nice to them and even think nicely of them in our hearts because of the fact that they are equal unto us in God's sight, the last shall be first, the first shall be last. And this is also encouraging, maybe you are one of those people who was wayward for a long time, maybe you're just now coming back to the Lord or thinking about serving God once again. Let it encourage you that if you show up at the 11th hour, the Lord's ready to put you to work and use you and you're going to get paid and you could even get great rewards. You could even get rewards that could be equivalent to what people who've worked all along did if you do great works at the end of your life. So it's never too late for a child of God to come back. And again, we didn't even go into the story about the prodigal son, but that's about the Jews and the Gentiles too. The elder brother represents the Jews. The Gentiles represent the prodigal son who comes home. And what's the elder brother's reaction? He's bitter about it. Don't get bitter when people come back to the fold. Praise the Lord. We ought to rejoice when people come back to the fold and be happy about it. We need to have the right attitude in that regard and not fall into this trap of somehow thinking that people's past should continue to haunt them. You know what? People's past is going to continue to haunt them, but it's not our job to haunt them with it. We need to forgive and forget and move on. And you know what's funny too is that, you know, a lot of times people have this attitude that that like envies those people, like, like, oh, they got to have the best of both worlds. They got to have their cake and eat it too. You know, they sold the wild oats. Now all of a sudden they're living the Christian life in the family. Let me tell you something. There's nothing out there worth having. Okay. That's not the best. You want to know what the best of both worlds is? Growing up in a Christian home, staying with the Lord and serving God and, and, and just doing it right the whole time. That's the best life because these people that go out and they enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, they'll tell you in the end it's not worth it. There's more junk there. There's more pain. There's more sorrow. If you take the fun, because obviously sin can be fun, the pleasures of sin for a season, but if you take the suffering, not worth it. You're much happier. Stand with the Lord. Plus, you know, you go out there and, and live that sinful life. You develop a taste for those things that some Christian kids hopefully will never even develop a taste for those things and they don't even know what they're missing. Thank God. You know, I don't, you know, I've never snorted cocaine and I don't even know what I'm missing. Oh man, cocaine is so great. You know, I never wake up and just be like, man, I could use some cocaine right now. Why? Because I don't even know what that is. I don't even know what that, I don't even know what I'm missing. You know, it's just like what I wouldn't give to shoot up some heroin right now. You know, that thought never enters my mind. But I promise you there are people that are Christians that are living for God in church that every once in a while they think, man, I'd like to snort some cocaine right now. I promise you that. I promise you that. But guess what? Don't even open the door to those things. You know, I guarantee you there are people who quit smoking 10 years ago who are craving a cigarette right now. People even in this auditorium that are like, why'd you bring that up, Pastor Anderson? But guess what? I never crave cigarettes. You know what I mean? It's like, if you never get addicted to these things in the first place, you know, so it's not like, oh, it's the best of both worlds, you know, you party and then you get right with God later. Cause first of all, number one, a lot of people, they go out and party and then they just die. They just die before they even have a chance to even come back and get right with God. Or they go out and party and do all that stuff. But then there are consequences that they have to deal with for the rest of their life. Consequences on their physical body, consequences on relationships, consequences on a criminal record, consequences on their finances. And look, I don't believe that it should be hung over their head. I don't believe that a criminal record should even exist. I don't think anyone should have a criminal record. I think criminal records are unbiblical and unjust. But they're still there, aren't they? And I don't run things. So you will have a criminal record follow you around and haunt you for the rest of your life. And you can't just say, well, you know, your employer says, hey, we did a background check and you're like, didn't you hear what Pastor Anderson said? You know, your employer is going to be like, well, who's Pastor Anderson? And you're gonna be like, well, the Bible says here that once I'm punished, I'm supposed to be forgiven. They're going to be like, so? So I'm not going to hang it over your head. I don't care if you, you know, smoked pot 20 years ago or something. But your job might. You know, I don't care if you stole something 15 years ago, but your employer might. So the bottom line is, those things are going to haunt those people anyway. It's not our job as God's people to also add on to that by treating them like a second class is. Look, if somebody's covered in tattoos, they should be treated the same way as the person who's not covered in tattoos. If a person has kids out of wedlock, they should be treated the same way as the one who doesn't have kids out of wedlock. You know, as far as we should love them, they should be welcome in the church, take them out soul winning, fellowship, we shouldn't look down on people and say, oh, well, you've been divorced and remarried, so you're second class at our church. No, that's not true. Now obviously that's wrong. Obviously we don't condone any of those things. We don't condone children out of wedlock. We don't condone divorce and remarriage. We don't condone tattoos and drunkenness and drug use and stealing and murder and these things. But let me tell you something, if you've done those things in the past, you know what? I don't care. I want to know if you're serving God right now. And you know what? You're equal to us. Say, well, I had an abortion. You know what? Hey, that's all forgiven and forgotten. If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you're saved, then your sins are forgiven and if you're living for God now, then that's all we care about. Now if you're, you know, if you're living in fornication right now, the Bible says that for you to be thrown out of the church. But the point is your past doesn't matter. You know, if you're addicted to heroin right now, we have an issue. But if you were addicted to heroin 10 years ago, that's meaningless to me because of the fact that it's forgiven and forgotten. And so we need to have that forgiving attitude, not be like the Jews who are like, well, look what the Gentiles have been into for hundreds of years. Now all of a sudden, they're God's chosen people? Yes. How can they be God's chosen people? We've been with you since Mount Sinai. They're God's chosen people. The Gentiles. They're just like you. Ah, we don't like that. It's true though. Let's bow our heads in that word of prayer. Father, we thank you so much for your word, Lord, and thank you so much that we as Gentiles are not second class. Thank you, Lord, that we can be first class. And Lord, please just open people's eyes about this issue, that we need to stop worshipping and exalting and lifting up Christ-rejecting Israel and giving them all of our promises, Lord, when those promises actually belong to us, Lord. It's so encouraging to know that you love us and that not only do you love us, but that you've chosen us and that we are first class and that we are the chosen people. We're the elect. Lord, what a blessing. Thank you so much for your unspeakable gift, and it's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.