“24 But in those days, after that tribulation:

‘The sun will be darkened,

and the moon will not shed its light;

25 the stars will be falling from the sky,

and the celestial powers will be shaken.’

26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 He will send out the angels and gather His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth to the end of the sky.

28 Learn this parable from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 In the same way, when you see these things happening, know that He is near — at the door! 30 I assure you:

This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.”

Mark 13:24-31

— 

In Jesus’ promises for the future, there are two distinctly different timelines running. The first links in with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, which many of His disciples would be alive to witness. The second is the eventual end of all things, which they obviously would not be alive to witness. There is a temptation to meld the two together, but that simply does not work. 

To say ‘This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.’ and have in mind the apostles as part of the generation is to ignore the actual phrasing of what Jesus says. The events that Jesus is speaking of in verse 14 are directed toward the 70AD timeline, but by this point, we are solidly pointing toward the end of all things. 

Here’s the fun part though, the fig tree as indicator works for both timelines. Jesus was issuing a warning, two in fact, about how things would wrap up. Both would come with their own signs that the generation alive at the time would not be able to avoid seeing. Just like the fig tree indicates the oncoming summer, so these signs indicate the oncoming of destruction and the end of all things. 

As Christians, we shouldn’t be so wrapped up in the world that we are blinded and that we miss sight of what God is doing. Our focus is supposed to be on eternity and the world yet to come. How much of our efforts are spent on the here and now, gathering for ourselves and building up temporary things rather than seeking out the will of God and working toward the end of all things? Our great commission and commandment  to GoLove people in Jesus Name is imperative number one, priority above all else. 

As Christians, we are working toward/for/in purpose for the end of the world. This is our goal, that all nations would be given the gospel and that we would stand firm to usher in the end of all things and the returnof Christ. Because honestly, would we want to say that we spent our lives and efforts on temporary things, building up false comfort for ourselves, or that we spent our days devoted to the things that sat closest to the heart of God?  That is our choice, and no matter what we do, that fig tree is going to come to bear fruit & leaves. We must decide.