Parable of the Fig Tree

Matthew 24:32-35
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
KJV

Matthew 24:32-35 presents a parable that has created many interpretations among scholars. What does the fig tree symbolize?

The real issue with viewing the fig tree in this fashion is that prophecy becomes limited. Depending upon one's view of the length of a "generation" (20 years, 100 years, etc.), the outside date of the end time events has now been knowingly fixed. About the longest date possible is to adopt the position that the 1967 War is the actually formation date for the nation rather than 1948. As such, sometime between 2048 and 2067 the end times will be concluded. This provides for little or no imminence for the Second Coming, especially as the days pass by. It also ignores Christ's statement that the "signs" are merely the "beginning of sorrows."

This argument also appears to rule out the idea of using a fixed time-period as the measure or meaning of "generation." Those adopting the view that generation means 30 or 40 years can, at best, stretch the end times date to 2007. While this may be the date, the concept of applying this type of meaning becomes difficult. It appears that a generation is usually view as something measured between 30 and 40 years in the Bible. The generation of the "spies" of the Exodus appears to measure out at 38 years maximum, the time the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. Psalm 90:10 tells us that man's life is seventy years, occasionally stretching to the eighty-year mark. Thus, a Biblical generation appears to be no longer than 80 years at the outside, and should most likely be considered less than 70 years.

In the Old Testament, the concept of a generation appears to be either a more or less specific time span (Gen 15:16) or an indefinite concept applying to a group of people. An example of the first is found in comparing Genesis 15:13 with Exodus 12:40 where one may imply that a generation is one hundred years. At the same time Deuteronomy 1:35 and 2:14 appear to indicate that a generation is thirty-eight years (see also Job 42:16). Daniel 4:3, 34 appears to make two generations 70 years, or 35 years per generation.

The indefinite application maybe found in verses such as Isaiah 51:9 where a group is view as a past generation, Exodus 3:15 where the group is future or Exodus 1:6 where it is applied to the men of the present life (contemporaries). The indefinite sense is also found in classes of men such as in "crooked generations" (Deut 32:5) or "generation of the righteous" (Ps 14:5).

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