Luke 21:29-31

[29] And he spake to them a parable; the fig tree, and all the trees; [30] When they now shoot forth, ye see and know of your own selves that summer now nigh at hand. [31] So likewise when come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God nigh at hand.

What is the context of Luke 21:29-31?

The Lesson from the Fig Tree (Luke 21:29-33 true)
The Lesson of the Fig Tree (Luke 21:29-33 true)
The Parable of the Fig Tree (Luke 21:29-33 true)
Parable of the Fig Tree (Luke 21:29-38 true)
The Return of Christ (Luke 21:25-38 true)
The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times .( D .) .( E .) (Luke 21:5-38 true)
Jesus Speaks about the Future (Luke 21:5-38 true)

What does Luke 21:29-31 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

This parable illustrates the truth that the kingdom"s appearing will follow the signs that Jesus just identified ( Luke 21:10-11; Luke 21:25-26). It will follow as certainly as summer follows the budding of trees in the spring. Jesus here connected the beginning of the kingdom with His return to the earth ( Luke 21:27).

"If the kingdom had already come, why did Jesus prophesy the future Tribulation in Luke 21:31 and say in connection with that series of events, "When you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near"? The implication is clear: This kingdom is not near now. It was near (in the sense that Jesus personally offered it to Israel), but then it ceased being near ^[1]. Then in the future Tribulation the millennial kingdom will again be near." ^[2]

Luke is the only recorder of this teaching who included the phrase "and all the trees." The fig tree was a symbol of Israel. The budding of the fig tree could therefore be a figurative reference to Israel"s revival (cf. Isaiah 27:12-13; Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27). Similarly the budding of all the trees may refer to the revival of other Gentile nations. Luke may have included this phrase to help his Gentile readers understand that Jesus" words deserved a literal as well as a symbolic interpretation here.