In his sermon on the Parable of the Fig Tree, Robert Bosley presents the parable as a testament to the unwavering faithfulness of Jesus' promises. The sermon is set within the context of the Olivet Discourse, where Jesus prophesies the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem, events fulfilled in 70 AD. Bosley argues that this prophecy was relevant to the first-century audience and not a far-off future event. The sermon emphasizes the use of prophetic language, likening it to Old Testament judgments, and interprets the gathering of the elect as the Great Commission. Bosley underscores the reliability of Jesus' words, drawing parallels with God's covenant with Abraham, and encourages believers to trust in God's promises, highlighting that the trials and tribulations faced are part of God's redemptive plan.

All right, good afternoon church Great joy to be before you again If you would take out your Bibles open up to the gospel according to Matthew chapter 24 Gospel according to Matthew chapter 24 we're going to be continuing our series on the parables taught by our Lord Jesus. And we're gonna look at what is known as the parable of the fig tree. A short, easy to overlook parable, but one that I hope will be a blessing to us today. So Matthew chapter 24, I'm going to read verses 32 through 35. The Lord speaking here, now learn this parable from the fig tree.

When its branch has already become tender and put forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for this time that we can be in your word again. We pray Lord that you would open up wonderful things to us from your law. Help us to see the truth that you would have us to understand from this. May it encourage us and build us up in our most holy faith. We thank you for this time in Jesus' name, amen.

This parable, again, as I said, easily overlooked, it's tucked away at the beginning of this section of scripture, which is often called the Olivet Discourse. And I hope that this is an encouragement to you today. That term, the Olivet Discourse, may be unfamiliar to you, but that's simply the title given to this section of scripture beginning in chapter 24 going through 25 and also the parallel passages in Mark 13 and Luke 21. And in these passages the Lord Jesus is, He has retreated from the temple complex, so to speak. He's been essentially driven by the opposition.

He's left Jerusalem. He's on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city and the temple complex. And he pronounces and prophesies the coming destruction of the city and the temple and the whole old covenant system. Now this section has been interpreted a number of ways throughout history, to the point where Calvin commenting on this passage says, quote, this passage has been through ignorance tortured in various ways. And he's not wrong.

That's a fair assessment if you read the commentators. It'd be very easy to get bogged down in the details and I don't want to do that today. I do want to present my perspective on the context and the message of the Alva discourse because that's essential I think to understand the first century context of this parable. But I want us to get through that and drive toward what I believe is the the timeless message of this parable. Fundamentally, this parable is a promise about the unshakable faithfulness of our God.

It is saying that just as you know summer is near when you see the trees starting to bud, you can look at it, you can see the signs, summer is coming. In the same way, the audience would know this prophecy was coming to place when they see the signs. And why could they have such confidence? It's because the words of Jesus will never, ever fail. That is ultimately what this parable is about, because Jesus's words will never fail.

It's easier for the world to be undone than for Jesus's words to fail to come to pass. That is what I want us to glean from this, that our Savior is utterly trustworthy because he cannot fail to accomplish his will. Now, I do want to spend the first maybe 10 minutes or so looking at the background and context and explaining my take on this passage. The Lord has finished pronouncing the woes against the Jewish leaders in Matthew 23, culminating in his lament over Jerusalem because of their hard-heartedness at the end of chapter 23. And in the beginning of chapter 24 in response he leaves the temple And the disciples are still awestruck by the beauty of the city and the temple complex.

Do you see these great stones? Jesus almost dismissively comments that as impressive as they may be, they won't last. They won't last because destruction of an unimaginable scale is coming to this city. So much so that the temple complex, great stones and all beautiful edifice that it is will be torn apart brick by brick. And as they go further up to the Mount of Olives, the disciples come to him aside and ask him for more clarity.

When will this happen? When is this going to be? When are your words going to take place? And Jesus explains His prophecy. And I want us to understand that this is a prophecy given by our Lord.

That's important for as we understand this. Remember Jesus has a three-fold office. He is our King, he is our great high priest, but he is also the prophet of God, the one who was like Moses that was going to come, to which the people of God must give heed to. He is that great final prophet. And so they get to the Mount of Olives, the disciples, they're very disturbed by his words, and they come to him asking for clarity, and he tells them.

He tells them about coming false Christs, wars, famine, natural disasters, persecution, and apostasy. It's going to seem like the world is falling apart. And then he says that these things are actually only the beginning. That's not the end. That's just the start of it.

In verses 15 through 31, the Lord tells them about this time that he calls a period of great tribulation. The word tribulation simply means trouble or affliction. It's a time of great upheaval and difficulty that is going to be marked by what is called the abomination, which brings desolation, or most versions just the abomination of desolation, according to Matthew and Mark's accounts. And upon seeing this abomination, the residents of Judea are to flee into the mountains. And all this strikes us as being very obscure and cryptic and unclear.

What is he talking about? Well, Luke, thankfully, this is one reason why God gave us four gospels is because we need a variety of presentations and interpretations of the Lord's words. And Luke, a Gentile writing to Gentiles writing even to us Gentiles today Interprets much of this for us Luke 21 verse 20 he doesn't say when you see the abomination which brings desolation. He says, interpreting that phrase for us, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, you will know that her desolation is near and so flee to the mountains. Now the most common interpretation of this passage among evangelicals today is that this applies to a far-off yet future event where there's going to be a rebuilt temple and that temple will be destroyed before the end of the world when Jesus returns to judge the nations.

I question this theory, this interpretation. I don't think this is describing the state of the whole world before the end of the age because of a few particular reasons. Note first the geographical markers. This is in his prophecy limited to Jerusalem and Judea. It doesn't seem that this is a worldwide tribulation, but it's one that apparently can be escaped because it's limited to the land of Canaan.

Though the people that see it happening are able to flee to the mountains and be saved. If it's global, what good would flee into the mountains do? The clear impression is that this is a regional calamity, a regional distress that can be escaped. And that's what Jesus tells his followers to do. When you see this, head for the hills.

Now, what about the astronomical signs? We can look a little bit earlier. Verse 29, immediately after the tribulation of these days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heavens will be shaken. What does this mean? Surely, I mean the sun darkened, the moon turned to blood, the stars flying from the skies, the Son of Man coming on the clouds.

Clearly this is the end of the world. Well I don't actually think so. Remember Jesus is speaking as a prophet. This is the language of the prophets. The prophets often in the Old Testament when speaking about God's coming judgment on nations or even particular individuals use language very similar to this to describe his coming judgments.

This language of almost a cosmic disintegration, God unmaking the world, that's the language that's used to refer in the Old Testament to judgments on particular people or even a city or sometimes a country. I just want to look at two there we can multiply examples but I want to look at two of them real quick. Isaiah 13 10 regarding a coming judgment against Babylon. Isaiah says this for the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The sun will be darkened and it's going forth and the moon will not cause its light to shine." And then again Ezekiel 32, 7, and 8, God describing his wrath against Pharaoh in particular says, when I put out your light I will cover the heavens and make its stars dark.

I will cover the sun with a cloud the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of the heavens I will make dark over you and bring darkness on your land says the Lord God. So this language of astronomical signs and a great shaking in the heavens is often applied to regional local particular judgments not just the end of the world. What about the Son of Man coming on the clouds? We see a parallel to this as well in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 19 verse 1, the burden against Egypt, behold the Lord rides on a swift cloud and will come to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will totter in his presence and the heart of Egypt will melt in its myths." This is the language of a prophet pronouncing judgment. We go on and multiply the examples. They're throughout the prophetic books but hopefully the points made and you see what I mean. This language of cosmic disintegration, unmaking the world, is used to describe particular local judgments.

It's not the end of the world, it's the end of their world, their system, their society, their nation or country or city is being brought to its end. And that seems to be what Jesus is intending here in the Olivet Discourse. This isn't the final judgment on all the world when these things I do believe will literally come to pass, but rather a pronouncement of divine judgment on the apostate rulers and people of first century Jerusalem. What about the angels? Verse 31, he will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will gather together his elect from the four winds from one end of heaven to the other.

Surely this is the end of the age and what some people call the rapture. I don't think so. I'm short on time so we can't get too far into it, but suffice to say the word angels, Greek ongalos we just transliterate over into English, it simply means messenger. And context determines what kind of messenger it is. Sometimes it's a human messenger, such as in the case of John the Baptist, he is the messenger in the wilderness, or even Jesus' disciples in Luke 9.52.

It can also, of course, mean supernatural, divine messengers, what we typically think of as angels. And so I take this verse 31 to be really a reference not to supernatural angels sent out to gather the people of God at the end of the age. I rather take this as the Great Commission. God has sent out his messengers with the sound of the trumpet of the gospel to gather his elect from all under heaven, gathering his people into his church. Finally note the time markers present in the text.

Jesus is referring to these things in verse 1, referring to the temple standing before Him, not a future temple, 2000 plus years in the future. The pronouns are directed at you, the disciples before him. And in the parable that we're looking at here, verse 34, Jesus says, this generation will not pass away before these things take place. Now many theories and interpretations have been given to understand this generation, which I'll be perfectly blunt, I don't see how most of these interpretations aren't simply ways of trying to get around what it plainly says. If Jesus had meant that generation, a future generation which was going to see something, he has a very different word to use in Greek.

He used what's called the near demonstrative pronoun, this, not that, the far demonstrative pronoun. If he had meant this race, the race of the Jews, which is also a common interpretation, the word generation was not the word that he would have used if he meant that. The phrase this generation is used multiple times throughout the Gospels and every time everyone agrees it refers to the people Jesus is speaking to in his ministry. So contrary to the predominant perspective given today, I want to argue that this discourse is not a prophecy about our far-off future, but it was the future of the apostles, the first generation of Christians, and it's our past. The words of Jesus were powerfully fulfilled in the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and the city at the hand of the Romans in 70 AD.

But the Christians survived because they had these words. They heard what Jesus said, when you see this happen, flee to the mountains. And the Christians did that, and they escaped the judgment of God. They were spared the burning of the city. Now, if that's so, and I understand, you don't have to agree with me on this.

This is obviously a debatable passage. If that's so, and really regardless of how we take this parable, whether it's our future or our past, what does this parable mean for us? Is it something that was only relevant to the disciples? Well, no, I don't think so. As I said earlier, this parable is a great testament to the faithfulness of God to keep all his promises.

The words of Christ, the incarnate God-man, cannot fail, because God cannot fail. That is what we are to take away from this. Jesus says, heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. His words will never fail. Now yes this does particularly apply to this prophecy to his disciples.

It could not fail to come to pass no matter how you interpret it. But does this then mean that the other words of Christ could fail? Is this one special so that it can't fail but we don't know about the rest of what he says? Are we left in the dark about whether or not Jesus' will will be accomplished in other times? Well, no, of course not.

That's not what this means. If the scriptures written by mere men inspired by the Spirit of God, carried along by the Spirit to write as God determined them to write. If those scriptures are infallible, how much more are the very words of the God-man who was indwelt by the Spirit without measure? How much more are his words infallible? Incapable of failing.

And that's what I want us to take home from this parable today. Our God is totally trustworthy. Has He made a promise? He will not fail to keep it. Has He given His Word to you?

That Word will not fail. He will accomplish all He promises. And this should be a great comfort to each one of us who are the children of God. You have a Father who perfectly keeps His Word. And this we see as a constant refrain throughout the scriptures.

I want to read a few verses here, maybe jot the references down to reflect on later, but consider these things and just meditate on what God says to us throughout the pages of scripture. Numbers 23, 19. God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should repent. Has he said, and will he not do, or has he spoken, and will he not make it good? Psalm 33 11, the counsel of the Lord stands forever.

The plans of his heart to all generations. Psalm 119 89, forever O Lord your word is settled in heaven Isaiah 40 verse 8 the grass withers the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever Isaiah 55 11 so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth it shall not return to me void but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it I want us to look at real quickly an example of God keeping his promises. Open up to Genesis 12. Genesis 12, God speaks to a man named Abram and gives him a remarkable promise. Now the Lord said to Abram, get out of your country from your family and from your father's house to a land that I will show you and I will make you a great nation I will bless you and make your name great and you should be a blessing I will bless those who bless you and I will curse him who curses you and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him.

And Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran. God comes to Abram, 75 years old. His wife is 65 years old. And he says, I will make you a great nation. He doesn't have any children.

God has made a great promise to Abram. That from him will come a great nation and from that nation will come a great blessing on all the families of the earth when he has no children. When he has no children. Time goes on and flip over to Genesis 17. God reconfirms this covenant when Abram is 99 years old.

Twenty-four years have passed. God comes to him. The Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am Almighty God. Walk before me and be blameless and I will make my covenant between me and you and will multiply you exceedingly. Verse 6, I will make you exceedingly fruitful and I will make nations of you and kings shall come from you." 24 years have passed And the midst of that, about 11 years after the promise was first made, Abram and his wife got impatient and they took matters into their own hands and were foolish.

And Abram had a son through the servant, a woman. But that was not the Son of Promise. There is still another promised Son coming, even though it's taken years and years and years. But God had made a promise, and he will not fail to keep his promises. And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had spoken, God keeps his promises.

For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age at the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him whom Sarah bore to him Isaac And Abraham Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old as God had commanded him now Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac is his Excuse me when his son Isaac was born to him. And Sarah said, God has made me laugh and all who hear will laugh with me." A hundred years old. Twenty-five years. A quarter of a century after he first heard the promise.

Years and years of waiting and praying and seeming to get no response. But God brought it to pass as He promised. It may seem like God's promises take a long time to come to fruition, But He will bring them to pass. God keeps His Word on His timetable, not yours. So I want to take the last few minutes here and just consider all the marvelous promises that God has made to us.

All the marvelous promises that God has made to us. All the marvelous promises that God has made to you as His people. God has made His covenant promise to be your God and to take you as His people. He has promised to forgive your sins. He has promised that not only will He forgive them, but He will forget them and never even call them to mind again.

Forgotten. He has made you who were dead in your sins to be alive in Christ and in some sense has already raised you to sit enthroned with Christ in heavenly places but he has also promised that what you see only in part by faith now will one day be complete and you will see your Savior face to face. In a new and glorified body He has promised to give you that is free from all sickness, all sorrow, and your sin. And as we wait for that final day, He has promised to be with you. He has given you free and full access to His throne of grace to find mercy and help in your time of need.

He has given you the privilege as a child to come to a father at any time so that you can be anxious for nothing, but by prayer bring your needs to your father. He has promised to give you grace upon grace, to give you help in following Him. And He has sent His Spirit, the Spirit of promise, to seal you to Himself and to be the guarantee of your inheritance. The Lord Jesus promised that He would not leave you as an orphan. He promised that He would come to aid you and He has in the person of His Spirit that lives within you if you are in Christ.

And the same Spirit is at work in you to conform you to the image of Christ. He has promised to guide you and give you grace and light so that you may know and understand and discern the will of God. The Lord Jesus promised that the Spirit when He comes would convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment and that includes you. And when He convicts you, He has promised that he will lead you back to Christ to find grace and forgiveness. He has promised to give you instruction.

And so this same spirit that lives in you was the one who moved the prophets, the apostles, and the saints of old and carried them along so that they spoke from God. And this spirit inspired the writings of the scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through Christ. God has promised to preserve His Word for you, to give you the instruction, correction, and teaching you need. And He has preserved it for thousands of years. And He's gone even more for us here, particularly, Because he's not only preserved his word, but given us an abundance of faithful good translations that we can read it in our own language.

And this word that he promised to you is the living and active word of God, sharper than any sword, and it's given to you to be your light and your wisdom, your help to know your God and to do His will. He has not promised you an easy life with no pain or suffering. But He has promised that in the midst of pain and suffering, He will give you grace sufficient to make it through. He has promised that all of these light and momentary afflictions by which we suffer are working in us an eternal weight of glory, such that these present sufferings cannot even be compared to that glory that we will see. And he has promised that through these trials God is treating you as a son, disciplining you, that you may grow in righteousness and peace.

He has not promised you material prosperity or great riches, but he has promised you that you will have what you need. He's not promised you perfect families or relationships with no strain or heartache, but he has promised that no one will lose father or mother, sister or brother or son or daughter without finding a far greater family in his church. God has been immeasurably good to you and given you exceedingly great and precious promises in his Son. And so when Christ says, heaven and earth will pass away but my words will by no means pass away. Take comfort.

All of these promises, all of Christ's Word will come to pass. Not one good thing that God has promised you will fail. Let's pray. Oh Father, we thank you that you have spoken so clearly and that you have promised us so much. You have been far better to us than our sins deserve.

We thank you for your love and your mercy. And we pray Lord that it would continue and that you would help us. Help us to be faithful, to live as your faithful servants, and as your obedient children, until the day we see you face to face Amen We are dismissed Thank you.