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Jeremiah Chapter 24
Jeremiah chapter 24 is another chapter in the Old Testament that, though it is written in the context of ancient Israel, is primarily directed at us today.
Verse 1
"The LORD shewed me, and, behold, two baskets of figs were set before the temple of the LORD, after that Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon had carried away captive Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, and the princes of Judah, with the carpenters and smiths, from Jerusalem, and had brought them to Babylon."
In Matthew chapter 13 we find the parable of the wheat and tares. We read that an enemy planted tares in the field of wheat. The servants asked the householder if they should go out and remove the tares. The householder instructed them that, because the tares look just like the wheat, they must let the two grow together; if they tried to remove the tares they might also pluck up some of the wheat. Then at the time of the harvest the wheat and tares would be separated. The wheat would be placed in the barn and the bundles of tares would be burned.
When we study that parable we learn that the wheat represents the true believers and the tares represent those who call themselves Christians but aren’t actually saved. Throughout the Early Rain, the two co-existed in the churches. The churches could not possibly tell the difference between a true believer and someone who appeared to be saved because he came to church every Sunday, read the Bible, and lived a moral life. However, now the Early Rain has past and we are living in the season of the Latter Rain. It is the final period of harvest and it is now time for the wheat and tares to be separated. God accomplishes this by commanding the true believers to come out of the churches. Once this has been completed, the tares will be left in bundles (congregations) to be destroyed. For a more detailed study on this parable please see the Study on The Wheat and Tares.
Here in Jeremiah chapter 24 we read about two baskets of figs. We will learn that together they represent all of those who claim to be saved. One basket, like the wheat, represents the true believers and the second basket, like the tares, represents those in the churches who believe they are saved but actually are not.
Verse 2
"One basket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad."
The good figs are the true believers that come out of the churches in our day. The naughty, or evil, figs are the people who remain in the churches. When we read this in light of the rest of Scripture we know that there are far more evil figs than good figs. In fact, we’ve learned that about 2.2 billion people on this planet call themselves Christians, but less than 200 million are actually saved (see Study on The 200 Million). Therefore, over 90% of those call themselves Christians are not actually saved, and they are the ones who will remain in the churches until the day of the Rapture.
Notice the clear distinction God makes between the two baskets. When we think of a true believer and compare him or her to a decent, moral individual who is unsaved, we don’t normally see a wide difference between those two individuals. They both live moral lives, are kind to others, are a pleasure to be around, and are the kinds of people we would like to have as friends. However, that’s not how God sees things. In the above verses we find that God sees two extremes when He looks at one of these individuals versus the other.
Verse 3
"Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil."
Verse 4
"Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,"
Verse 5
"Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel; Like these good figs, so will I acknowledge them that are carried away captive of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans for their good."
God commanded the people of Judah to abandon Judah and allow themselves to be taken captive. God sent them warnings through prophets, but the vast majority of them refused to obey this command. God warned them that if they remained in the city, then they would be destroyed:
"Thus saith the LORD, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live." (Jeremiah 38:2)
Most of the people of Judah did not heed these warnings. After all, God had always taken care of them so they were certain that God would continue to do so. However, God eventually allowed the enemy king of Babylon to infiltrate and destroy Judah, the earthly representation of His kingdom. The only people of Judah who had any hope for a promising future were the ones that obeyed God’s command and left the city.
These events are placed in the Bible because they are historic parables that contain information for us today. God is commanding the believers today to leave the earthly representation of His kingdom, the churches. He has allowed the enemy to infiltrate the church organization and destroy it. Those who continue to think all is well in the churches and refuse to leave will be destroyed along with it. As stated here in Jeremiah 24:5, those who leave are the good figs. They are the wheat. We will see in a later verse that God specifically states that those who remain in the churches are the evil figs.
Verse 6
"For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up."
When God says He will bring the good figs, the true believers who left the churches, again to this land, He is not indicating that the church organization will return to being faithful again at some point in the future. There is nothing in the Bible that harmonizes with that idea. Instead, He is speaking of a time when they will be brought into the eternal kingdom of God. The churches represented God’s kingdom on earth throughout the Early Rain. No other organization became a God-ordained institution representing His kingdom after the Early Rain. When the believers leave their churches they have to wait for the Rapture so that they can once again live in a land that can be called God’s kingdom, only this time it will be eternal in nature.
Verse 7
"And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall return unto me with their whole heart."
This verse serves as a wonderful confirmation that all of our salvation is a gift from God. We have not contributed to it in any way. The only reason we fully turn to God is because He has given us a heart to know Him. We did not muster this up on our own and then choose to be His children. We are living in a day when God is saving a great multitude. The action described in this verse is occurring today at a rate like never before.
Verse 8
"And as the evil figs, which cannot be eaten, they are so evil; surely thus saith the LORD, So will I give Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his princes, and the residue of Jerusalem, that remain in this land, and them that dwell in the land of Egypt"
Here God tells us that the evil figs represent those who choose to remain in the land that is called by His name. They represent those who refuse to leave their churches.
The reference to “the land of Egypt” in this verse is an additional confirmation that this is primarily addressing the situation of our day. In Revelation chapter 11 we read about the killing of the two witnesses. When studied carefully, we know that the two witnesses represent the true believers as their work of spreading the Gospel brings salvation. We read that they prophesied for 1,260 days, which is a figurative span of time that represents the entire Early Rain period from 33 AD to 1988. In 1988, the period of silence began and continued for 2,300 days. During this time very few people around the world became saved. This period of silence is typified in Revelation chapter 11 by the 3.5 days that the two witnesses are dead and their bodies lie in the great city that is spiritually called Egypt:
"And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified." (Revelation 11:8)
For a more detailed study on Revelation chapter 11 see Study on The Two Witnesses.
The great city in view is once again the church organization.
Verse 9
"And I will deliver them to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth for their hurt, to be a reproach and a proverb, a taunt and a curse, in all places whither I shall drive them."
It is no small matter when God indicates that those who remain in the churches will become cursed. Deuteronomy chapter 28 gives us an idea of how horrible it is to disobey God and be cursed as a result:
"But it shall come to pass, if thou wilt not hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command thee this day; that all these curses shall come upon thee, and overtake thee: Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store. Cursed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy land, the increase of thy kine, and the flocks of thy sheep. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out." (Deuteronomy 28:15-19)
These curses in Deuteronomy chapter 28 go on for another 49 verses.
Verse10
"And I will send the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, among them, till they be consumed from off the land that I gave unto them and to their fathers."
As we read through the Bible we find a great many passages that speak of the Great Tribulation as a time when a sore famine is brought upon the land, that land being the church organization, and we are commanded to leave that land so that we don’t become a part of its destruction:
"He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth out, and falleth to the Chaldeans that besiege you, he shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey." (Jeremiah 21:9)
The famine in view is that of hearing the Word of God:
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD" (Amos 8:11)
This is not indicating that the Word of God will literally not be heard. It still continues to be quoted every week in churches around the world. However, the Holy Spirit was removed from the churches at the beginning of the Great Tribulation (see Study on The Antichrist), and without the Holy Spirit there to apply the Word to people's hearts salvation cannot occur.
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