The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #4431

Matthew 21:18  Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered.
19  And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
20  And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
My Hi-lite: Matthew 21:21  Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
 

Matthew 21:18 Now in the morning as He returned into the city, He hungered.
Where does one go when one is hungry (spiritually speaking). To the Tree of Life, to a tree which bears good fruit, right? Are you well grounded enough in the Word of God to be able to discern a tree by the fruit it bears, or the lack thereof?  Remember the lessons we learned back in Matthew chapter 7?

Nevertheless, Jesus Christ was returning to the city when He saw a fig tree "in the way"!

[19] And when He saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
Again, see this fig tree "in the way" of one who is seeking food! But alas! When Christ came to it there was NO FRUIT on it, only leaves! This should immediately remind us of the Parable of the Fig Tree Christ spoke about in Mark 13, Mat. 24, and Luke 21, that the knowledge of, once we learned it as per His instructions, would identify the final generation. We will discuss this at length when we get to chapter 24.
Matthew 24:32
Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: [33] So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. [34]Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. .
So Jesus Christ, the Word of God, said to the fig tree (we are talking "bad fig tree" here) "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth for ever"! You "see", the Word of God does speak to the bad fig tree and identifies it as one who claims to be a good fig tree! In other words, the bad figs are those who claim to be God's chosen people, descendants of Judah from Abraham. They claim to be Jews (of Judah), but they NOT! They are liars and are of the synagogue of Satan (Rev. 2:9 & 3:9). (If you are not familiar with what is being talked about, then be patient until we discuss it in detail in chapter 24 or go to Fig Tree and read the "The Parable of the Fig Tree".

Remember again that what we are picturing in our mind is a visual aid to help us "see" the spiritual (invisible) things Christ is teaching.Now notice that when He spoke, the fig tree presently, meaning instantly, withered away, as in dried up "right before the eyes of the disciples"! And it would not grow any fruit from this point on! What does that mean? Let's read the next verse and then see what Christ has to say regarding this drying up.

Matthew 21:20
And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away!
Christ did this so that the disciples would SEE that old fig tree dry right up and wither away right before their eyes! What an image! It kind of reminds me of the Wicked Old Witch of the East melting away in the Wizard of Oz (Well it made an impression on me when I was a kid)! Nevertheless, the next verse will document that this was done as an ensample of what THEY WOULD DO to the bad fig tree in the mind's eye of those they teach!
[21] Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
When you show a brother or sister what the Word of God says concerning the bad "fig tree", you shrivel up and wither away the image that they once had of that tree being good, i.e. as being God's chosen people. Therefore, that tree will never again be able to grow fruit for them! But you see, one must have faith in order to do that. In other words, one must have a firm enough foundation in the Word of God to be able to know with certitude who the good and the bad figs are! Faith is not some emotional state or determination that something is true. It is "substance" which is the knowledge and wisdom your faith stands on.

To study the Bible is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.
We pray that with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, you accomplish both.

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