Almost 200 years after Israel was scattered by the Assyrians (722/721 BC), Daniel stood in a faraway land and cried out unto the LORD. Confessing the sins of his people, he pleaded with the LORD for His mercy and lovingkindness. Remembering how his people, from both the house of Judah and the house of Israel were scattered throughout the nations, he supplicated (Dan 9:7):
"O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day;to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee."
It was in response to Daniel's intercession that the arch-angel Gabriel responded thus: "seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city..." (Dan 9:24). i.e. God is promising Daniel that there is an end to the scattering of his people, and He will bring Israel back into Jerusalem -- however, this would be at His appointed time -- "the time of the end".
Therefore when we see the Jews re-gathered in Israel, we are to know the parable of the fig tree - and the fig tree has been symbolic of the nation of Israel. Jesus says when you see the fig tree putting forth leaves, you should know that summer is nigh, that "this generation [genea] shall not pass away until all these things are fulfilled".
Many interpret Jesus to mean "this age shall not pass away". But in Matthew 28:20, Jesus says, "Lo I am with you alway, even unto the end of the age/world [aeon]" - therefore, seeing the difference between genea and aeon, we know that Jesus literally refers to the [physical, human] generation witnessing the fig tree putting leaves. i.e. the generation which witnesses the re-birth of Israel and the Jews re-gathered in Jerusalem is "this generation" which will not pass away until all the signs in Matt 24 are fulfilled.
In Romans 11, Paul states that the "blindness [of the Jews] in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Rom 11:25). i.e. when the fulness of the Gentiles is come, the blindness of the Jews wil be lifted, and they will finally understand Jesus is the Messiah.
Standing by the Sea of Galilee, Jesus invited the disciples to drop their nets and join Him to become "fishers of men". However, a fishing ban has been imposed in Galilee since March 2010 because of the rapid depletion of fish. The quantity of fish has fallen below replacement level, and this has never happened before.
Perhaps, this is God's way of hinting that the "fulness of the Gentiles" is drawing near -- and along with that, we shall expect to see the remainder of the signs in Matthew 24 to be played out in full - for verily, the Lord has said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away".
Psalm 90:10 says "the days of our years are threescore years and ten" - if a generation is 70 years, then we are 7 years away from the 70th anniversary of Israel's rebirth. The days of Grace are at its end. Let us join the psalmist also, saying "Who knows the power of your anger? even according to your fear, so is your wrath. So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." (90:11-12)
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