Matthew 24 Verses 31-35. The gathering together of the elect by the angels of God. An angel is simply a messenger of God. I’m a messenger of God. You should be a messenger of God. Does this make us angels? We are sent to gather God’s people. That’s what angels do.
Matthew 24 Verses 31-35
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Matthew 24 Verses 31-35
Tonight, we are in Matthew 24. We’re focusing on verses 31–35. In this study, I want us to look at the gathering together of the elect by the angels. Let me ask you a question: Are you one of the elect who has been gathered? And here’s another question—are you an angel? I say that because I believe I am an angel. You are an angel too, and tonight I’m going to show you why.
The word “angel” is aggelos. It means messenger. You are a messenger of God. You have a purpose. You are sent with a heavenly reason and a divine assignment. You carry something from the throne of God. So yes, you are an angel. How many want to be an angel? I’m an angel.
We will also look at the parable of the fig tree. Many people think it represents natural Israel, but Jesus may be speaking about all trees that bud. Then we will talk about the generation Jesus addressed. That generation did not win the Lord’s favor. If Jesus stood here today, what would He say to our generation? Would He tell us how wonderful we are and how great a job we’re doing in bringing His kingdom to earth? Or would He say, “You wicked and adulterous generation”? Which way do you think He would go?
Matthew 24:31
“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
The word “gather” in this passage is episunago. The basic word sunago means “to gather” or “to assemble.” We are in a sunago tonight because we are gathered together. But the word Jesus uses is not just sunago—it is episunago. The prefix epi means “over,” “upon,” or “superimposed.” It means something added on top. So episunago means a super-gathering. It is more than a standard assembly. It is a gathering with something greater placed upon it. We are in that kind of gathering tonight—a super gathering under God.
This word comes from two Greek roots listed in Strong’s Concordance, numbers 1909 and 4863. The word sunago means to lead together or collect. The word epi means something placed over or on top of something else. When you put them together, you get a picture of a gathering that is elevated, empowered, and superimposed with purpose. That is what Jesus is describing—a gathering with something heavenly added.
Now, with that in mind, look with me at Matthew 23:37. Jesus has been teaching in the synagogue and in the temple. As He walks out, He speaks to Jerusalem. This is where the idea of His desire to “super-gather” His people becomes very clear.
Matthew 23:37–39
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
When Jesus said, “How often would I have gathered you,” the word He used was epi-synago. It means He wanted to super-gather His people. They were already gathering in the synagogue and following the law of Moses. But Jesus wanted to bring them into something greater. He wanted to bring them under His covenant and His covering. He wanted to cover them the way a hen covers her chicks. But they would not allow it.
Because they refused this super-gathering, Jesus told them their house would become desolate. Their nation, their city, and their temple would fall. They rejected His covering, so judgment came. He also told them they would not see Him again until they could say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Their refusal to be gathered meant destruction, but it also showed the world who Jesus truly was—the One seated in heaven with power and glory. This whole passage ties the idea of epi-synagoge together.
When Jesus said He wanted to super-gather them, but they refused, He was warning them of what was coming. Their desolation would be the sign that He was who He claimed to be. It would show that He had come in the clouds of heaven in authority and judgment.
After the death, burial, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, everything shifted. Israel would not become the epi-synagogue; the church did. The church became the super-gathering. Christians gathered under Christ’s covenant and covering. The Jews continued to call themselves the synagogue, but believers became the epi-synagoge—the gathering with something greater placed upon it.
Hebrews chapter 10, verse 25. The author of Hebrews says,
Hebrews 10:25 — “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
The writer was writing about the coming destruction of Jerusalem. That was the “day” his readers would soon face. But we also know another day is coming. This age will end. Jesus will return. He will come with the sound of the trumpet and the voice of the archangel. The dead in Christ will rise first. Those who remain will be caught up to meet Him. That will happen. One age ends, and another begins. We see that pattern throughout Scripture. So we do not dismiss the words of Hebrews as only for the past. They apply to us as well.
Because of that, we must gather together. We need to epi-synagogue. We need to super-gather under Christ. Look at our nation. We cannot pretend everything is fine. We kill thousands of babies every day. Pornography is everywhere. Morality is collapsing. Our country is in trouble. We need to gather even more as we see the day approaching. We cannot afford to be casual about this.
Revelation 2 and 3 also show this contrast. Christians became the epi-synagoge, the super-gathering under Christ. But the Jews who rejected Christ became what Jesus called the “synagogue of Satan.” There was no epi in front of their gathering. There was nothing super about it. They drifted into darkness because they rejected the truth. Jesus even said they were of their father, the devil. The contrast could not be stronger.
So, looking in Revelation 2-9, John’s writing here to the Church at Smyrna, and in Revelation 2-9 it says,
Revelation 2:9 — “I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.”
No epi-prefix for “synagogue.” The Jews were looked at as devil worshipers. The Jews were looked at as going to a synagogue that was devised by Satan. And then in Revelation 3:9, weo see the same thing. Here he writes to the Church of Philadelphia, and he says,
Revelation 3:9 — “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”
You see, again, there’s an epi-synagogue that we as believers belong to, a super-gathering, but there’s a regular gathering. This synagogue has no epi in front of it. It’s no super-gathering. And there is the synagogue of Satan.
Now, let me bring this into our day. I worry about us. I see many gatherings. I see a lot of synagogues—people meeting, singing, praying, and assuming everything is fine. But I also see some true epi-synagogues. These are gatherings where people are actually under Christ’s covering and walking in His truth.
The Jews believed they were saved. They condemned the devil. They even accused Jesus of working by the power of Beelzebub. Yes, they rebuked evil. They stood against darkness. Yet many of them were not saved. And we see the same thing today. Churches and people who gather, rebuke the devil, and talk about spiritual things, but have never truly come under Christ.
What determines salvation? It is not attending church. It is not paying tithes or mowing the church lawn. Neither is it signing a membership card or being baptized in water. Salvation comes when you know in your heart that Jesus Christ is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10). This is real. When you believe that truth, fruit will follow. We will not just gather. We will live in a relationship with Christ.
The Jews would not epi-synagogue. They gathered, but they would not come under Jesus’ covering, covenant, and authority. They did not understand His body. A hen gathers her chicks with her body. Jesus wants to gather us under His body as well. We are that body. We cover one another.
If you stay under that covering, you are protected. The destroyer is coming. But under His wings, under His covenant, under the mercy seat, you are safe. That is epi-synagoge.
But many today play games with God. They synagogue, but they do not epi-synagogue. They look religious but refuse Christ’s covering. As John said, some become the synagogue of Satan. They rebuke the devil yet do not know Jesus or His truth. They have no covering. They run free, and the devourer takes them down. The hawk comes to take the chicks. Without the covenant, they are destroyed.
God has given us coverings, and those coverings are found in the epi-synagogue. We can gather all we want. We can go to church every week. But unless we understand the covering God provides, we miss the protection He intends for us. I don’t have to make foolish decisions. I may still make mistakes, but I don’t have to.
God gives me elders and deacons I can go to. I can say, “Brothers, what do you think about this?” It is their responsibility to seek the mind of the Lord for me. When they answer, the responsibility shifts back to me. Will I obey and receive God’s blessing, or will I rebel? And rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. If I rebel, I put myself back under the hawk and the eagle again—outside the covering.
So there are synagogues today, and there are epi-synagogues. One has covering. The other does not. Jesus said He would gather His elect from every direction. He said He would use His angels to do it. Now the word “angel” is aggelos. Say aggelos. It means messenger. It can even mean pastor. That changes how we see angels in Scripture.
In Revelation, John wrote letters to the “angel” of each church. It would not help anyone if he mailed a letter to a winged creature. But a letter to a pastor—now that makes sense. When you understand that aggelos means messenger and is often translated as pastor, suddenly many Scriptures open up. And yes, I say it boldly: I am an angel. I enjoy saying that. And you may look at me funny, but it is true. I am a messenger. You may not want to say it, but you are an angel as well.
Let’s look at some examples. In Matthew 11, Jesus speaks of John the Baptist. He calls him a messenger—an aggelos. John didn’t have wings or feathers. He wasn’t a “chicken angel.” But he was an angel in the biblical sense. He carried a message from heaven. That is what angels do. My goal is not for you to take my word for it. I want you to study the Scriptures for yourself. Take the notes home. Look up the passages. Examine the Word. I am convinced that as we study together, we will eventually come into agreement. The Word brings us together.
Matthew 11:10 — “For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.”
The word “messenger” in this passage is the Greek word aggelos. It is the same word used elsewhere for “angel.” Translators choose whether to use “messenger” or “angel,” but the Greek word is identical. So when Jesus said, “I send my messenger,” He was literally saying, “I send my aggelos.” John the Baptist was not an angel in the way we picture angels. He had no wings or feathers, as many imagine “angels” to have. But he was an angel in the biblical sense—a messenger sent from God with a heavenly message. That is what an aggelos is.
This is what every minister should be. We should carry a message from the throne of God. We should bring a word that gathers God’s people together. A valid message from God causes people to epi-synagogue—to super-gather under Christ. When the kingdom message is preached, it brings unity, purpose, and strength. And when that message works in us, more “angels”—more messengers—are raised up and sent into every direction to gather others.
Mark 1:2 and Luke 7:27 confirm the same truth. John the Baptist was an aggelos. And in Luke 7:24, we even see that John had his own messengers—his own aggeloi. They carried his message just as he carried God’s message. John did his job well. His messengers spread his word far and wide. All of this helps us understand that an angel is not always a winged being. Often, an angel is simply a messenger who carries a word from heaven.
Luke 7:24 — “And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John.”
John the Baptist raised up his own messengers. He trained them to carry a heavenly message about repentance and baptism. Their mission was to prepare the way for the One who would come after John. And they did their job well. We know this because people as far away as Ephesus were baptized with John’s baptism. His influence reached far beyond his immediate area.
So John was an aggelos, a messenger from God. But his disciples also became aggeloi. They carried the message he carried. They took it to places he never personally reached. This shows us again that an angel in Scripture is often a messenger with a divine assignment, not a winged creature. And God still raises up those kinds of messengers today.
Then, in Luke 9:52, Jesus sent his disciples ahead of him.
Luke 9:52 — “And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.”
In this passage, Jesus was preparing to minister in Samaria. This is the exact moment when James and John (disciples) wanted to call down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans. Jesus sent His messengers—His aggeloi—ahead of Him to arrange the meeting. These were His disciples. They went into the city to prepare the way, but the people would not receive them. They could not get anything started. Because of that rejection, James and John reacted in anger and asked Jesus if they should call down fire like Elijah.
Now let me ask you—did Jesus send winged creatures into Samaria? Or did He send His disciples? He sent His disciples, yet Scripture calls them angels, aggeloi. That is the point. They were His messengers. They carried His word. They were angels in the biblical sense.
Paul uses the same idea in 2 Corinthians 12:7 when he speaks about a “messenger of Satan.” The word there is also aggelos. Not a winged spirit, but a messenger. Over and over, Scripture shows us that an angel can be a messenger for God or a messenger for the enemy.
2 Corinthians 12:7 — “And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.”
Now, Paul did have an angel walking around with him? With wings? Probably not. But he definitely had an angel walking around with him. And I’ve had some of those angels. And they didn’t have wings. In fact, I felt like they had horns. But they’re messengers. And they’re sent from God.
And that’s what I want you to see, that an agalos does not necessarily have to be this being that we have pictured. That word is also used for the angels in heaven with God. But I’m an angel in heaven with God. Can you see that? You’re an angel in heaven with God, aren’t you? I am sitting where? Does the Bible tell me that I have been raised up and made to sit together in the heavenly places?
I know I’m getting a little deep here. But I’m not doing away with the real angels. Don’t misunderstand me. But at the same time, I’m adding to that thought and understanding that when I look into Scriptures, and I run word studies, and I study Scriptures as I’m supposed to study Scriptures, that I find out that those angels aren’t the only angels.
John the Baptist was an angel. John’s disciples were angels. Jesus had angels. His apostles became angels. So, tying all this together, an angel then becomes a messenger from Satan or a messenger from God. And an angel, an agalos, that we’re looking at here, is a messenger of Jesus Christ who comes to the epicenter of God, his people together.
Now, do you believe that spiritual real angels are sometimes used in your benefit to bring you together, to meet with God’s people, and minister to you? Hebrews 1 tells us that angels are ministering spirits sent to minister to those who shall be the heirs of salvation.
Hebrews 1:14 — “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?”
I see angels in two ways. I do believe in heavenly angels, the kind we picture in our minds. But I also know God has sent other types of angels into my life—people who ministered to me because I am an heir of salvation. Has God ever sent someone across your path to help you, comfort you, or speak a word from heaven to you? Those were angels in the biblical sense. This expands our understanding of what an angel really is.
You are an angel. Why? Because you are beginning to understand your purpose. You know that God created you for a reason and gave you a message. When you carry that message and speak what God has placed in your heart, you are acting as His aggelos—His messenger. That is what makes you an angel. Don, you’re an angel. Sheila, you’re an angel. All of you have a message from the throne of God.
When you share that message with someone—just like Linda did with the person next to her—you bring them from a simple gathering into an epi-synagogue. That means a deeper, Spirit-led gathering under Christ’s covering. That is what messengers do. They help people move from a basic meeting into a supernatural gathering.
There is a big difference between a gathering and a super gathering. And the super gathering happens when God’s angels—God’s messengers—get involved. Don’t you want to be surrounded by people like that? Don’t you want to be part of an epi-synagogue?
This is part of what Jesus was talking about. At the end of every age, God gathers His people. When Jerusalem fell, believers gathered in homes, hillsides, and caves. They came together as the body of Christ. They ministered to one another. They became angels to one another. Many of you have been angels to me. You have ministered to my needs and strengthened me. That is what we must continue to do. That is what it means to epi-synagogue—to super-gather under Christ and care for one another.
How many of you saw something new about angels in this study? I hope you did. So what is my point? The Lord will send His aggelos—His messengers—to gather His elect. They will epi-synagogue God’s people from the four corners of His domain. These messengers may be heavenly angels. They may also be human messengers who are sent with a heavenly assignment. That includes you and me. Scripture supports this.
After the sign Jesus spoke of—the destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of the temple—there would be no doubt about who truly sits in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Events on earth would testify to the fact that Christ is enthroned. His messengers would gather His people, and His authority would be revealed.
Matthew 24:30 — “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”
When these things happen, people everywhere—across God’s whole domain—will be gathered into the super-synagogue. That super-synagogue is the Church of Jesus Christ. It is the gathering under His rule, His covering, and His covenant. That is what the Lord intended.
There are many churches today, but not all are under His covenant. Some are built on man-made traditions. Some follow the teachings of the fathers instead of the Scriptures. What we work hard to do here is simple—we try to remain biblical. We study what praise really is. We study how the Bible describes worship. We look at what an angel really is. We do this because we want a genuine covenant relationship with Christ. We want to understand Him and walk under His covering.
Now, let me talk about a frightening parallel. The natural Jew believed they were saved. They thought they worshiped Jehovah. They condemned Satan. They offered sacrifices of lambs and bulls. They were not practicing human sacrifice. They were not bowing to the devil. Yet Jesus said many of them were of their father, the devil. He even called their gatherings the synagogue of Satan. That is frightening. They were religious, but deceived.
Do we see this today? Yes. Some people think they are saved. They attend church. They condemn Satan. They sing about God. Yet they are not under Christ’s covenant. This is spiritual deception. This is the danger of the synagogue without the epi—a gathering without Christ’s covering.
Now let’s talk about the fig tree. All my life, I heard that the fig tree represented Israel. That is what many commentaries teach. But when I studied every scripture about the fig tree, I found something surprising. Not one passage—listen, not one—ever connected the fig tree to natural Israel. Every reference spoke of prosperity or blessing in the land. The fig tree was simply part of the abundance of Israel’s land, just like wheat, barley, grapes, or honey. But Scripture never once said the fig tree symbolized Israel as a nation.
Let’s look at a couple of these, and then we’ll go on. Let’s look first at Deuteronomy 8:8.
Deuteronomy 8:8 — “A land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey;”
When we study Scripture, we use something called the law of first use. That means we look at the first time a word appears in the Bible. That first use helps set the tone for how that word is understood throughout Scripture. It plants the seed of meaning. The first time “fig” appears is in the story of Adam and Eve wearing fig leaves. But that is not what we are dealing with. We are looking at the fig tree. What does the fig tree represent?
To answer that, we look at the first time the fig tree appears. In Deuteronomy 8, Israel is getting ready to enter the Promised Land. God describes the land as full of blessings—brooks, fountains, wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, oil, and honey. The fig tree is listed as one more sign of abundance. It does not stand out as a symbol of Israel. Honey does not represent Israel. Wheat does not represent Israel. Barley does not represent Israel. So why would the fig tree suddenly represent Israel? It does not. It is just a part of the land’s prosperity.
God repeats many times that the land flows with milk and honey. Those words point to abundance, not national identity. No one reads “honey” and thinks “Israel.” The same is true for the fig tree. But because someone once said the fig tree in Matthew 24 must mean natural Israel, people grabbed onto it. But the Scriptures do not support that idea.
Now look at Judges 9. This chapter contains a parable told by Jotham. It speaks about trees—olive, fig, vine, and so on. Each tree represents prosperity or blessing in a story meant to teach a lesson. But again, no tree is said to represent Israel as a nation. The fig tree appears, but not as a symbol of Israel. It is simply part of a larger picture.
Judges 9:10–11 — “And the trees said to the fig tree, Come thou, and reign over us. But the fig tree said unto them, Should I forsake my sweetness, and my good fruit, and go to be promoted over the trees?”
In Judges 9, Jotham tells a parable about trees choosing a king. He speaks of the olive tree, the fig tree, the vine, and finally the bramble. Each tree is asked to rule, and each tree explains why it will not leave its purpose. Finally, the bramble accepts. This parable was a picture of the kind of king the people were about to receive.
Now here is the point: in this parable, the fig tree is not treated as anything special. It is not superior to the vine or the olive tree. It does not symbolize Israel. It is simply one tree among others. There is no hint here that the fig tree represents the nation of Israel. None at all.
We see the same thing in 1 Kings 4:25: a time of peace and prosperity during Solomon’s reign. It says that every man lived safely under his own vine and fig tree. Again, the fig tree symbolizes prosperity and blessing. It does not point to Israel as a nation. It is simply a picture of abundance.
I could list many more passages, but the point remains the same. The fig tree in Scripture does not represent natural Israel. It symbolizes prosperity in the land, not national identity.
1 Kings 4:25 — “And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.”
In Solomon’s day, Judah and Israel lived in safety. Scripture says every man sat under his own vine and his own fig tree. That was a picture of peace and prosperity. Each person enjoyed the land’s blessings. The fig tree represented personal abundance. The vine represented joy. Other passages even speak of each man having his own cistern. Yet when we hear “cistern,” “vine,” or “fig tree,” we do not think of natural Israel. These are simply symbols of prosperity.
Nothing in this verse suggests that the fig tree represents Israel as a nation. It is just part of the daily blessing of the people. And this pattern continues in other Scriptures. For example, in 2 Kings 18:31, the king of Assyria promises the people that if they surrender, they will eat from their own vine and their own fig tree. Again, the fig tree symbolizes prosperity, not national identity.
2 Kings 18:31 — “Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern.”
The king of Syria once told the people, “If you surrender, you will eat from your own vine and your own fig tree.” That promise was simply a picture of peace and prosperity. Over and over again, the fig tree symbolizes abundance. When the fig tree is producing, times are good. When the vine is full of grapes, there is joy. When there is water, there is no thirst. These images point to blessing, not national identity.
So as I studied every passage about the fig tree, I found a consistent theme. The fig tree never represents natural Israel. Not once. It always speaks of prosperity, blessing, or the loss of prosperity when judgment comes. And God often judged His people by touching their fig trees—by removing their abundance.
God sometimes works the same way with us. When He wants to get our attention, He may touch our “fig tree.” He may allow our prosperity to dry up for a moment. Sometimes my bank account has been the first thing to feel it. That is how He gets me to look up, listen, and make changes.
Joel 2:22 — “Be not afraid, ye beasts of the field: for the pastures of the wilderness do spring, for the tree beareth her fruit, the fig tree and the vine do yield their strength.”
Joel 2:22 is the last passage I want to show you about the fig tree. I challenge anyone to look through a concordance and find a place where the fig tree represents natural Israel. You will not find it. The fig tree always speaks of prosperity, or the loss of prosperity, or judgment. But it never symbolizes Israel as a nation. The olive tree does. Paul clearly teaches that we were grafted into the olive tree, not the fig tree. The fig tree is never used that way.
Joel 2:22 says the fig tree and the vine “yield their strength.” In other translations, that word “strength” is rendered as “wealth” or “riches.” The fig tree represents wealth, blessing, or fruitfulness. That is its biblical meaning. You can trace it from one end of Scripture to the other. But even this is not the main point Jesus is making in Matthew 24.
So let’s go back to Matthew 24. Open your Bibles there if you haven’t already. I want to bring this together now. I have shown you that Scripture does not use the fig tree to represent natural Israel. Jesus is dealing with something else entirely when He tells the parable of the fig tree in verse 32.
Matthew 24:32-35
“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 shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
This passage in Matthew 24 has often been interpreted as referring to a supposed great tribulation at the end of our age. But that is not what Jesus is talking about. He uses the fig tree simply as an example. When a fig tree blossoms, you know the season is changing. When its leaves appear, you know summer is near. Jesus is saying the same thing. When you see the events He listed in Matthew 24, you will know the time is near. That is the point of the illustration.
But many teachers have taken the fig tree and turned it into natural Israel. Why? Because Israel was destroyed in A.D. 70 and did not exist as a nation again until 1948. Some interpreters said that Israel’s becoming a nation in 1948 was the “blossoming of the fig tree.” Then they told the generation living in 1948 would not pass away until the great tribulation happened. They defined a generation as 40 years. So they added 40 years to 1948 and got 1988.
That is where the predictions came from—the rapture in 1981, or maybe 1988, or maybe mid-trib in 1984 or 1985. But guess what? We are still here. Every one of those dates came and went. And the reason is simple: the fig tree never represented natural Israel. The entire interpretation was built on a false foundation.
Jesus is not giving us a secret code about the year 1948. He is talking about seasons—about the end of one age and the beginning of another. And the whole discussion started in verse 3. The disciples asked Him privately, “When will these things be? What will be the sign of Your coming? What will signal the end of the age?” Jesus answered their question, not ours.
Matthew 24:3 — “Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?”
The disciples asked Jesus a clear question: “When shall these things be?” That was the first thing they wanted to know. Jesus is now answering that question. He tells them these things will happen when the fig tree buds—when the signs begin to appear. They also asked for the sign of His coming and the end of the age. Jesus is explaining when that time would come.
In the parable, Jesus says that when the branches become tender and the leaves come out, you know summer is near. In the same way, when they saw all the signs He listed in Matthew 24, they would know the end of that age was near. He ties those thoughts together with the word “likewise.”
He does not say a generation 2,000 years from now will see these things. He says you. “When you see all these things.” Then He adds, “This generation shall not pass.” He was speaking to His listeners. He was not speaking of people thousands of years later.
Most commentators start this verse by claiming the fig tree represents natural Israel. But that is not what Jesus emphasizes. Luke 21:29, the parallel passage, makes this even clearer. It simply says, “the fig tree, and all the trees,” not Israel. Jesus is giving them a seasonal sign, not a national prophecy. The point is that when the signs begin to appear, the end of that age is at the door.
We are almost ready to land this teaching now. Let’s look at Luke 21 and see the parallel Jesus gave to help us understand His meaning.
Luke 21:29–31 — “And he spake to them a parable; Behold the fig tree, 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.”
Jesus gave them a parable and said, “Look at the fig tree and all the trees.” That is important. He did not point only to the fig tree. He said all the trees. Any tree—olive, pomegranate, or whatever—shows the same thing when its branches bud. When the trees begin to shoot forth new leaves, everyone knows the season is changing.
That is Jesus’ point. The emphasis is not on natural Israel. It is not even on the fig tree itself. The emphasis is on recognizing the end of an age. The disciples asked Him, “When shall these things be?” Jesus answered, “When you see these signs, the time is here.” When the fig tree and all the trees begin to bud, you know the season has changed. In the same way, when they saw the signs He listed, they would know the end of that age was at hand.
Luke makes this very clear. He says, “the fig tree and all the trees.” The message is simple: just as you know summer is near when the trees start greening, you will see that the end of the age is near when these signs begin to appear. The disciples were asking for a sign. Jesus gave it to them. He said, “When you see these things, know it is at the door.”
Then Jesus adds, “This generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.” That is the key. He was speaking of the generation living at that time. They would see the end of the Mosaic age. They would see the destruction of the temple. They would see Jerusalem laid desolate. And they would see the beginning of a new age—the age of the church, the age of grace, the age of the new covenant.
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Everything He said would happen did happen. They saw it with their own eyes.
Jesus made two strong points. First, this generation would not pass away until everything He described was fulfilled.
Second, all those things—not a few of them, not symbolic ones—all would come to pass. He said “verily,” meaning “amen.” You can count on it. It is firm and certain. Then He described what He thought of that generation. They were rebellious. They were adulterous. They refused to come under His covering. He wanted to gather them like a hen gathers her chicks, but they would not come. Because of that refusal, they would be left desolate. Scripture records His warnings throughout that chapter.
I wanted to compare that generation with our own. I believe we are living in the most wicked generation in history. In many ways, we are worse than the people Jesus addressed. Our culture is sick. Our morals are collapsing. We have turned from God. What can we do? We must keep preaching the gospel of the kingdom. As Jesus said, we must straighten our lives and be leaven in the earth. We must be aggeloi—messengers—who gather people into the epi-synagogue. We need to spread the message of the kingdom, one person at a time. And this cannot start at the top with the government. It must begin with us—with the church, with the home, with everyday believers.
As we drove this week and talked with my aunts and uncles, I told them that God has not given me a political message. Sometimes I wish He had. Sometimes I wish I could talk about government and national issues. But that is not my calling. My message is the home. The family. Marriage. Raising children. Living by the Word of God. That is where my heart is. I have shaped my whole life around Scripture. I told Rene today—my life is in this Book. I preach what God gives me. I preach about the home because our nation cannot be healed until our homes are healed. That is where change begins. Not in Washington, but inside our families.
Our society is falling apart because our homes are falling apart. We allow things into our living rooms—through television and media—that Christians only ten or twenty years ago would have called pornography. We watch it. We let it shape our minds. We feed ourselves with the world’s poison, just like eating from Nebuchadnezzar’s table. Jesus called that generation wicked and adulterous. He never blessed them. And at the bottom of your notes, you can see the truth: they refused to repent. They would not change. And judgment came because they would not change.
Now let’s bring this home. How willing are we to change? Are we teachable? When we hear the Word of God—when an aggelos, a messenger, speaks God’s truth—what do we do with it? When the Word shows us the truth, do we resist it or do we let it transform us? Judgment always comes when change does not. God corrects me when I refuse to change. He doesn’t chasten me because He hasn’t told me what is right. I know what His Word says. He chastens me because I will not obey. And He does it out of love.
So let me close with this. Let’s stay teachable. Let’s stay tender. Let’s let the Word reshape us. A soft heart can receive the seed of the Word. And when we change, we can then help others change. Paul said in Corinthians that when we look into the mirror of the Word, we are changed from glory to glory. That is what God wants for us—step-by-step transformation as we align our lives with His truth.
2 Corinthians 3:18 — “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Let’s make a declaration tonight. Let’s say we are teachable and willing to change, so judgment does not have to come. At the end of this study, and maybe more next week, I want us to hold onto this truth: you are an aggelos. You are an angel. God has given you a message from His throne. Wherever you go—your workplace, your home, the people you meet—touch them with that message. Help them move from simply gathering to epi-gathering. Help them come under Christ’s covering.
Matthew 24-31-35 Audio
Matthew 24-31-35 Audio
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