THE VINE AND THE FIG TREE
by Tony Alamo
“In that day, saith the LORD of HOSTS, shall you call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree” (Zechariah 3:10). Before we are able to teach or preach the Gospel, the WORDS of LIFE, we must know the Bible. This is why GOD’S WORD warns novices, young Christians, NOT to teach. “(For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of GOD?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:5-6). I’m not a novice, so I teach.
When Zechariah by the SPIRIT of GOD says, “In that day,” he means the last days; those days are today! When he says, “you call every man his neighbour under the vine and under the fig tree,” the VINE he is referring to is JESUS! JESUS says, “I AM THE TRUE VINE” (John 15:1), so when we are calling everyone, including our neighbors, in these last days to be under the authority of the VINE, we are calling them to be under the authority of the TRUE VINE, JESUS, who also is GOD in the flesh (John 1:14).1 “Every branch in ME that beareth not fruit [that doesn’t lead souls to JESUS, the true VINE] HE [the FATHER, the SPIRIT] taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, HE [the FATHER] purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit [more souls unto ME]” (John 15:2). If you live in GOD, the WORD which is SPIRIT and ETERNAL LIFE, and JESUS, then the VINE, the SPIRIT, GOD’S WORD will abide in you. Why? Because you and I cannot bear fruit by ourselves. The branches (the Christians) cannot bear fruit, win souls to GOD, unless we live in the SPIRIT, in CHRIST, the WORD, the TRUE VINE (John 15:4).
“I am the VINE, ye are the branches: He that abideth in ME, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without ME ye can do NOTHING. If a man abide not in ME [continues not in ME], he is cast forth as a branch [taken out of ME], and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in ME [if you do what I do by MY SPIRIT], and MY WORDS abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and [then] it shall be done unto you. Herein is MY FATHER glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be MY disciples” (John 15:5-8).
Throughout the Bible, we see that the whole purpose of CHRIST dying on the cross is because HE (GOD) loved us so much that HE didn’t want to ever see any of us burning eternally in the Lake of Fire.2 This is HIS purpose—that after HIS death, resurrection, and ascension into Heaven, souls are saved (Luke 24:46-48).3 We are to love as GOD loved so we don’t ever see anyone burn eternally for rejecting GOD and HIS SON, CHRIST JESUS!4
“This is MY commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). What is love? Love is not sex! Love is the keeping of GOD’S commandments.5 “For this is the love of GOD, that we keep HIS commandments: and HIS commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3).
I have, in a small way, covered calling your neighbor under the “VINE,” the leadership of JESUS, the VINE. Now we shall discuss what it means to be called in these last days “under the fig tree.”
“WATCH” is HIS command to us (Mark 13:33-37, 1 Peter 4:7).6 JESUS taught that one of the commandments regarding the end of time was to “watch,” because if we know the signs of the times we can tell when the approximate time of the end will be.7 This is certainly not the time to follow the example of the empty, vain people who want to hide in all manner of sin. Why? Because the day of reckoning is at hand, and the WORD of GOD is not far away, but is near.8 It is as available for you to see as it is for me, so you have no excuse. Also, the SPIRIT of GOD in CHRIST, is CHRIST. HE will live in you if you ask HIM to, just as HE lives in me.9 This will give you the power to stand and win souls for HIM, the same gift HE gives me and has given so many others.10
“And then shall appear the sign of the SON of MAN in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn [‘O my GOD, NO! It is true, it’s the end, and I’m forever lost! O my GOD!’ But it will be too late!], and they shall see the SON of MAN coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And HE shall send HIS angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together HIS elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:30-31).
Now disciples are called under the fig tree. “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is still tender, and putteth forth leaves, you know that summer is near: So likewise you, when you shall see all these things [mentioned in Matthew 24], know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass [the generation which sees these signs, which is the generation we are living in], till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but MY WORDS shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:32-35).
So call I you under the power of the VINE to win souls to glorify the FATHER, and under the fig tree to observe all the end time signs, that you may remain in HIM and not fall away into perdition as an antichrist. The entire WORD of GOD is about winning souls so that the FATHER might be glorified (John 15:8). The last WORDS of JESUS were to guide us to this end (Mark 16:15-18)!
JESUS said, “All power is given unto ME in Heaven and in earth. Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the FATHER, and of the SON, and of the HOLY SPIRIT: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, [only then] lo, I AM with you alway [if you do these things], even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:18-20). Get under the VINE NOW, and under the fig tree NOW! Start by saying this prayer:
Prayer
My LORD and my GOD, have mercy upon my soul, a sinner. 1 I believe that JESUS CHRIST is the SON of the living GOD. 2 I believe that HE died on the cross and shed HIS precious blood for the forgiveness of all my former sins. 3 I believe that GOD raised JESUS from the dead by the power of the HOLY SPIRIT 4 and that HE sits on the right hand of GOD at this moment, hearing my confession of sin and this prayer. 5 I open up the door of my heart, and I invite YOU into my heart, LORD JESUS. 6 Wash all of my filthy sins away in the precious blood that YOU shed in my place on the cross at Calvary. 7 YOU will not turn me away, LORD JESUS; YOU will forgive my sins and save my soul. I know because YOUR WORD, the Bible, says so. 8 YOUR WORD says that YOU will turn no one away, and that includes me. 9 Therefore, I know that YOU have heard me, and I know that YOU have answered me, and I know that I am saved. 10 And I thank YOU, LORD JESUS, for saving my soul, and I will show my thankfulness by doing as YOU command and sin no more.11
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The Vine and the Fig Tree footnotes:
1. Isa. 9:6-7, John 1:1-4, 18, 3:31-36, 5:24, 6:40, 10:30, 37-38, 14:1, 6-11, 2 Cor. 5:17-21, Phlp. 2:5-11, Col. 1:15-20, 2:8-10, Heb. 1:1-8 return
2. Isa. 53:3-12, Ezek. 18:23, 30-32, 33:11, Matt. 20:28, 26:26-28, John 1:29, 3:13-17, 6:47-51, 10:7-18, 11:49-52, 14:19-21, 17:11, 14-21, Acts 5:30-31, 20:28, Rom. 3:21-26, 4:24-25, 5:6-11, 1 Cor. 15:3-4, Gal. 1:3-4, 2:20-21, 3:13-14, 22, 4:3-7, Eph. 1:3-14, 2:4-10, 5:2, Col. 1:12-23, 1 Thes. 1:10, 5:9-10, 1 Tim. 2:3-6, Titus 2:13-14, Heb. 2:9-10, 7:17-28, 9:11-15, 24-28, 10:1-22, 13:11-13, 1 Pet. 1:18-21, 2:24, 2 Pet. 3:9, 1 John 1:7, 2:2, 3:16, 4:9-11, Rev. 1:5-6, 3:19, 5:9-10 return
3. Isa. 53:10-11, John 15:8, 16:7-8, 2 Cor. 5:17-21 return
4. Ezek. 33:1-16, Dan. 12:3, Matt. 10:7-8, 28:18-20, Luke 24:46-48, John 12:23-26, Acts 1:8, Rom. 10:13-15, 1 Cor. 3:9, Col. 1:25-29, James 5:19-20, 1 John 3:14-16, 5:2-3 return
5. Deut. 7:9, John 14:15, 21, 15:10, 1 John 2:3-6, 5:2-3, 2 John 6 return
6. Matt. 24:42-44, 25:13, 26:41, Luke 12:37-40, 21:34-36, 1 Cor. 16:13, Col. 4:2, 1 Thes. 5:6, 2 Tim. 4:5, Rev. 3:2-3 return
7. Isa. 24:19-20, 51:6, Dan. 2:40-43, 7:7-8, 16-25, 8:1-25, 12:8-12, Joel 2:1-11, 28-31, Matt. 16:1-3, 24:3-44, Luke 21:7-36, Acts 2:16-21, 1 Thes. 5:1-8, 2 Thes. 2:3-12, 2 Pet. 3:10-13, Rev. 8:7-12, 9:1-11, 15-19, 11:19, 13:11-18, 16:2-14, 17-21 return
8. Deut. 30:11-14, Psa. 34:18, 145:18, Prov. 6:22-23, Jer. 23:23-24, Rom. 10:8-9, James 4:8, 2 Pet. 3:1-14 return
9. Ezek. 36:25-27, John 14:15-21, 23, 26, 15:3-11, 17:21-23, 26, Rom. 8:10-11, 1 Cor. 3:9, 16-17, 2 Cor. 6:16-18, Gal. 2:20, Eph. 3:16-21, Phlp. 2:13, Col. 1:27-29, 2 Tim. 1:14, 1 John 3:24 return
10. Joel 2:28-29, Matt. 9:8, 10:1, 28:18-20, Mark 6:7, 16:15-20, Luke 10:17-20, 24:49, John 14:12-14, Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 38-39, 2 Cor. 13:4, Eph. 1:18-23, chap. 2, 3:20-21, 1 John 4:4, Rev. 2:25-27 return
Prayer footnotes:
1. Psa. 51:5, Rom. 3:10-12, 23 return
2. Matt. 26:63-64, 27:54, Luke 1:30-33, John 9:35-37, Rom. 1:3-4 return
3. Acts 4:12, 20:28, Rom. 3:25, I John 1:7, Rev. 5:9 return
4. Psa. 16:9-10, Matt. 28:5-7, Mark 16:9, 12, 14, John 2:19, 21, 10:17-18, 11:25, Acts 2:24, 3:15, Rom. 8:11, I Cor. 15:3-7 return
5. Luke 22:69, Acts 2:25-36, Heb. 10:12-13 return
6. I Cor. 3:16, Rev. 3:20 return
7. Eph. 2:13-22, Heb. 9:22, 13:12, 20-21, I John 1:7, Rev. 1:5, 7:14 return
8. Matt. 26:28, Acts 2:21, 4:12, Eph. 1:7, Col. 1:14 return
9. Matt. 21:22, John 6:35, 37-40, Rom. 10:13 return
10. Heb. 11:6 return
11. John 5:14, 8:11, Rom. 6:4, I Cor. 15:10, Rev. 7:14, 22:14 return