Good Figs / Bad Figs

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Which are we?

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The fig tree in scripture represents Israel, but there are lessons to be learned from it.

A good tree bears good fruit.

And a bad tree bears, well, bad fruit.

What happens to the good figs, and the bad ones?

Do the good figs get away with no problems, or do they share experiences with the bad figs?

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Jer 24:2 One basket [had] very good figs, [even] like the figs [that are] first ripe: and the other basket [had] very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad.

Jer 24:3 Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil.

Jer 24:5 Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for [their] good.

Jer 24:6   For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull [them] down; and I will plant them, and not pluck [them] up.

Jer 24:8 And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus says the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt:

Jer 24:9   And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for [their] hurt, [to be] a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them.

Jer 24:10 And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers.

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Conclusions from the fig story:

The good figs are still taken away into captivity, but it will be for their own good. I do not understand how this captivity is good for them. They will be returned to the land.

The bad figs will be scattered and driven into all the kingdoms of the earth for their own harm. From what is written, they will all die off, and be removed from the land. So they will not return, like the good figs.

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Relevance for Israel today

If they are back in the land, they are the good figs.

Any bad figs still alive will either die off in a foreign land, or they will not be able to return to Israel.

The good figs will go through tribulation in the latter days, but YHVH God will be with them.

Deu 4:30   When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, [even] in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shall be obedient unto his voice;

Deu 4:31   (For the LORD thy God [is] a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he swore unto them.

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Relevance for Christians today

In the last days, which is now, if God is consistent with this example, the “good” believers will have to go through “captivity” to the enemy.

For some reason, it will be for their own good. But they get to end up in the Promised Land.

I do not see the most true believers escaping what is to come in the tribulation.

*** Note:  there are disagreements as to this point.

Much is based on the definition of the tribulation. I see it as the first 6 seals in Revelation 6.

Anything after that is the wrath of God, and by that time, the saints are gone.

Even Jesus said he would return after the tribulation, and that we should endure to the end.

Mat 24:29 ¶ Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

Mat 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.

Mat 24:13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shall suffer: behold, the devil shall cast [some] of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

I think the true believers will go “through the fire,” as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did, but Jesus will be with them in the fire, and they will come out of that fire in the end.

Dan 3:23   And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

Dan 3:25   He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.

Dan 3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, [and] spoke, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come [hither]. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

The “bad” believers, along with non-believers, will experience harm, and will die in their captivity, being scattered by the enemy.

Only God can make a judgment as to who will be tested and who will not.

So we should not point fingers, and make assumptions.

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Questions for all of us:

Are we good fruit, or bad fruit?

WE should not make assumptions, out of complacency or pride, that we are “ok” in the eyes of YHVH God.

Adhering to the 10 commandments is only a start.

We must examine our attitudes, and hearts.

Are we proud or vain?

Are we worldly, and spend little time with God?

Are we jealous, greedy, desiring to posses more than we need?

Are we lustful?

Do we have feelings of wrath, hatred or anger, revenge or denial, or take justice into our own hands?

Do we overindulge in food, drink, drugs or intoxicants?

Do we envy others because of their possessions or status?

Are we lazy or wasteful?

Are we inconsiderate of others? Do we use people for our own gain?

Do we gossip about others, or discredit them?

Do we look the other way when someone is in need?

Are we manipulative and selfish?

Do we lack the faith we need to have?

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The point

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My point is that we should not be arrogant, and make assumptions about how worthy we are to escape tribulation.

If we are doing the minimum in our spiritual life, we may be in trouble.

We should examine ourselves intensely, and see if we are good figs or bad ones.

In this examination, we should not use the church’s standards, or the world’s standards, but only God’s standards.

Just my thoughts.