The Third Day

[Good Cheer]

This morning we were talking about this stuff and it kind of sneaked up on me, that I had realized something new to be thankful for at Thanksgiving, that God doesn't just tell us what's going to happen but that He demonstrates with foreshadowing that He's actively managing this reality.

[Good Cheer]

With family in town for Thanksgiving I had the opportunity to discuss several things with a brother in law (pretrib theory, the third day, prophets and prophecy, current events) who has recently been recruited as a deacon in their congregation. I suspect he was guided by the spirit during part of our conversation. He is a man of insight, intellect and organizational abilities. They're fortunate to have him. I look forward to seeing how he grows and to our future conversations. Makes me feel good to see more scripture studying believers in this world.

[Bowdrie]

In the Bible the "Fig Tree" represents the nation of Israel.
The branches represent the tribes and the additional branches that grew out of hundreds of years of intermarriage between the Jews and the Gentiles.
The "Leaves" are the people.
The "Fruit" represents those who would uphold God, they were the ones who would give the tree its value to the "owner" of the tree, which is God.
In Matthew 21:19, Jesus is essentially saying that the tree, (Israel.) is of no value, it has lots of leaves, (people,) but as was stated in Heb. 11:37, Israel had killed all the prophets, and except for one or two kings had been a useless nation since king Soloman had died, by not following God they bore no "fruit".
Israel was supposed to bear "fruit" that would proclaim God's glory and bring other nations/Gentiles to Him, and they had abandoned all that.
When Jesus said, "Let no fruit grow on thee henceforth forever", He was saying the "Kingdom of Israel" would not ever again have fruit.
It didn't, and it won't, the nation basically ended in 70AD.
There will be another kingdom "for" Israel, but that will be after the tribulation when Jesus sits on the throne.
Now, there is an "interim" time about Israel that Jesus speaks of, it's in Luke 13:6>9.
In the Luke passage it is God the Father who is the "Keeper of the Vinyard", the "owner" as it were, and Jesus, (speaking in the third person,) is the "man".
Jesus is telling the Father, "I've been preaching to the people of Israel for three years and still they bear no "fruit" of value for you, (the Father,) so let me cut it down".
But in verse 8, the Father says to Jesus, "No, I'll add some dung, (fertilizer,) and we'll give it another year to produce fruit".
The "Fertilizer" was the Apostles that Jesus sent out to Israel, but while they had some success in bringing people, (leaves,) to the Lord, (the Little Flock that Paul speaks of,) they were fiercely rebuffed, threatened, and the final act of an Israel that wished no acceptance of Jesus or His message was the stoning of Stephan.
Stephan was stoned one year after Jesus was crucified, that year of "fertilization" by the Father, was now over, Israel had had it's last chance and God "cut it down", the "cutting down" finished in 70AD with Titus destroying Israel as a nation and scattering its people.
Now, when we get to Matthew 24:32, that is the re-born "Nation" of Israel in 1948, it's been "putting forth leaves", (lots of people/population increase,) and on Jan. 1st. 1950, Israel adopted its Constitution, and that started the "Fig tree generation".
Edit, you'll notice in Matt. 21:19 that the tree "withered" or "withered away", but it was later that it was "cut down".
"Withered" and "Withered away" was Israel of "no value", but still a "physical entity", but when God "cut it down" in 70AD it was no longer "there".