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29 He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. 30 When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. 31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ~ Luke 21:29-33
In the context of telling the disciples the signs of His Second Coming, the Lord Jesus uses a parable designed to help His disciples understand. Here, the Lord Jesus uses a fig tree and other trees to help His disciples. When the fig tree puts forth its leaves, the tree then swells with sap in the trunk and the branches in the Spring, and it begins to push out its leaves. That is when we know that it is Springtime.
In v.31 we are given the point of this parable: the Kingdom of God is near. When the people on the earth see these things happen, they will know that the coming of the Kingdom is near, just like when we see the leaves we know that Summer is near.
"These things" are those happening during the Tribulation. The signs in the sun, the moon, the stars, on the earth, the roaring of the sea and the waves, the powers of the heavens shaken, people in dismay, perplexed, dying from fear and expectation of what is coming. When you see those things, you then jump all the way to those people who are believers in Christ, who belong to Christ, who are Christ’s people living in the time when those signs will take place.
Now, in v.32 we read, “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.” This generation is referring to the generation that will be on the earth when these things happen. When Jerusalem is next surrounded, and there are devastating changes in the universe, the Lord Jesus is soon to return.
Now, the Rapture of the Church is described in 1 Corinthians 15, John 14, and 1 Thessalonians 4. And in each case it is the Church taken out of the world, and taken to heaven. There is no mention of judgment in these passages. Christ does not come to earth, He comes in the clouds and then He takes us to heaven. This is not descriptive of the Second Coming mentioned.
If we are to be raptured at the end of the tribulation, then the scene would include: the coming of Christ, He destroys all the wicked; they’re all dead; none of them are alive on the earth. All of them are destroyed; the day of the Lord, no one survives. And if all believers are raptured, what does that mean? You receive a glorified body and you’re transformed. Then we have a big problem. Who populates the earthly Kingdom during the Millennium? We’ve got no unbelievers and we've got no living believers. Who populates the Kingdom? Who has babies? Where do the sinners come from that Christ rules with a rod of iron? Where do the sinners come from who rebel at the end of the Millennium? Godly people have to survive the Tribulation. That's the point, and the Church will not be there.
In Revelation 3:10 we read, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth.” There is an hour of testing coming, an hour of tribulation. Yes, all Christians have trials, but there is an hour that is a specific time from which we will be kept. This is a promise of deliverance that is consistent with 1 Corinthians 15, John 14, 1 Thessalonians 4.
In v.33 we read, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." We were saved by the living and abiding word. Whatever God says is absolutely the way it is. The message of the Bible is summed up three phrases: God’s demand: “be perfect.” God’s diagnosis: “no one is perfect.” God’s deliverance: “Jesus was perfect for you.” And, of course, the opposite is true.
