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Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And Yeshua answered
and said to them, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other
Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you REPENT you
will all likewise PERISH." Unless those of the LAODICEAN SPIRIT come to their
senses and WAKE UP AND REPENT, they will certainly be consumed by YEHOVAH's
wrath.
Now to the Parable of the Barren Fig Tree:
He also spoke this parable: "A certain man [YEHOVAH God] had a fig tree
planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. Then he
said to the keeper of his vineyard [Yeshua], 'Look, for three years I have come
seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why does it use up the
ground?' But he answered and said to him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I
dig around it and fertilize it. And if it bears fruit, well. But if not, after that you
can cut it down. -- Luke 13:6-9.
The SPECIAL WARNING conveyed by this parable is obvious from the context.
We have just seen the Messiah CORRECTING His church for not discerning the times,
and warning His people that unless they repent they will perish. This parable offers not
merely an exemplification of these predictions of the Messiah, but sets before us what
underlies it -- THE CHURCH IN ITS RELATIONSHIP TO YEHOVAH GOD; the need
of REPENTANCE; the church's DANGER; the nature of repentance and its URGENCY;
the relationship of Yeshua to His church; the Gospel; and the FINAL JUDGMENT on
those who refuse to repent.
As we read this parable we can see that the fig tree has been specially planted by
the owner in his vineyard, which occupies the choicest of the land. Alfred Edersheim
notes that this was not unusual:
Fig-trees, as well as palm and olive-trees, were regarded as SO VALUABLE [like
the people of God], that to cut them down if they YIELDED EVEN A SMALL
MEASURE OF FRUIT, was popularly deemed to deserve DEATH at the Hand of
God. Ancient Jewish writings supply interesting particulars of this tree and its
culture. According to Josephus, in favoured localities the ripe fruit hung on the
tree for ten months of the year, the two barren months being probably APRIL
AND MAY, before the first of the THREE CROPS which it bore had ripened.
The FIRST FIGS ripened towards the end of June, sometimes earlier. The
SECOND, which are those now dried and exported, ripened in August; the
THIRD, which were small and of comparatively little value, in September, and
often hung all winter on the trees. A species (the Benoth Shuach) is mentioned, of
which the fruit required THREE YEARS for ripening. The fig-tree was regarded
as the MOST FRUITFUL of all trees [as the Church of God should be]. On
account of its repeated crops, it was declared not subject to the ordinance which
enjoined that fruit should be left in the corners for the poor. Its artificial
inoculation was known. The practice mentioned in the Parable, of digging about