Dear
Doves,
I’d like
to thank Elliot Hong in his last post for reminding me
of the January 17/18, 2022 minor Jewish Holiday called
Tu B’Shevat. I took a closer look at it to see if
there are any prophetic implications for the
holiday. This is what I found.
Tu
B’Shevat is the New Year for Trees. It is a minor
rabbinical holiday that grew out of a prohibition from
eating the fruit of trees within the first three years
of planting.
(“And when ye shall come into
the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees
for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as
uncircumcised:
three years shall it be as uncircumcised
unto you: it shall not be eaten of. And when ye shall
come into the land, and shall have planted all manner
of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit
thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as
uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten
of. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof
shall be holy to praise the LORD
withal.
And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit
thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase
thereof: I
am
the LORD your God.” Leviticus 19: 23-25.)
According to tradition, the age of a fruit tree is
supposed to be calculated each Tu B’Shevat which falls
on the 15th day of the month of Shevat.
We
are trees
So, is
there a prophetic connection to us? Well, people
are compared to trees in the Bible.
(“Blessed is
the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor
sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his
delight
is
in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he
meditate day and night. And
he shall be like a tree planted by the
rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his
season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever
he doeth shall prosper.” Psalm 1:1-3.)
And the nation of Israel is also compared to a fig
tree. (“I found Israel
like grapes in the wilderness;
I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig
tree at her first time: but
they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto
that
shame; and
their
abominations were according as they loved.”
Hosea 9:10.) So, the holiday could have
prophetic implications for godly people and the nation
of Israel.
A
Time of Judgement?
I have a
book about Jewish Holidays that also calls Tu B’ Shevat
the Judgment of the Trees because the fruit of a tree is
inspected at that time. This reminded me of the time
when Jesus looked for fruit on a fig tree: “And when he saw a fig tree in the
way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but
leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on
thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree
withered away. Matthew 21: 19.
Do you
remember the parable where a fig tree is judged for its
lack of fruit?:
“He spake also this parable; A
certain man
had a
fig tree planted in his
vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and
found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his
vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking
fruit on this
fig tree, and find none: cut it
down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he
answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year
also, till I shall dig about it, and dung
it:
And if it bear fruit,
well:
and if not,
then
after that thou shalt cut it down.” Luke 13:
6-9.
There
will come a time when God judges the fruit of our lives
and that of the nations. Believers who have been
grafted into Christ (the Branch) are expected to bear
fruit. Jesus said:
“I am the true vine, and my
Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me
that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every
branch
that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring
forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the
word which I have spoken unto you.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot
bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine;
no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 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,
he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men
gather them, and cast them
into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide
in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is
my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall
ye be my disciples.” John 15:1-8.
I personally expect there to be judgment seat
review for all believers immediatelt after the Rapture
– some will receive eternal rewards for what they
have done in this life.
“Every man's work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it
shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try
every man's work of what sort it is. If any
man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he
shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be
burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be
saved; yet so as by fire.” 1 Corinthians
3:13-15.
God will conduct a fruit inspection of our
lives.
“Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit;
but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. Even so
every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a
corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither
can
a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every
tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down,
and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
Matthew 7:17- 20.
Judgment may not be a positive thing to think about in
connection to the Rapture but since it is something that
happens to everyone after death, I figure that it will
also happen to us after the Rapture.
(“Just as people are
destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was
sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he
will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring
salvation to those who are waiting for him.” Hebrews
9:27-28.)
So
if Tu B’ Shevat
represents a time of judgment for trees it may be a
fitting time for the Rapture.
Three
Years
The
duration of three years is biblically significant for
fruit trees. If people are trees, then Jesus was
also tree (which is not that farfetched since the
Messiah is called the Branch and Root). It is
widely thought that the ministry of Christ lasted for
three years. Clearly His ministry bore great fruit after
three years, the age for judging fruit trees.) If
Christ is a tree— then Jesus is our Tree of Life and we
can eat/benefit from the fruit of His three-year
ministry, the sacrifice of His body for the forgiveness
of our sins. Significantly, death on a Cross is seen as
death on a tree. (Galatians 3:13:
“Christ hath redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a
curse for us: for it is
written, Cursed is every
one that hangeth on a tree.” Jesus
was the fruit of that tree:
“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and
blessed it,
and brake
it,
and gave it
to the disciples, and said,
Take, eat; this is my
body.” Matthew 26:26.
Is
Tu B’Shevat Prophetic?
I am
reluctant to say that
Tu B’Shevat, a non-biblical holiday, is prophetic.
But God can choose to speak through human traditions or
beliefs if He desires. (Remember that some of the 10
plagues ironically were of things that the Egyptians
actually worshipped as gods.)
There
may be a few passages in Revelation that could point to
Tu B’Shevat. The Sixth Seal Judgment of Revelation
6:12-13 talks about the shaking of a fig tree:
“And I beheld when he had opened
the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake;
and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and
the moon became as blood; And the stars of
heaven fell unto the earth, even
as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when
she is shaken of a mighty wind.”
So we see the stars fall like figs from a fig
tree (could this be a picture of the judgment of the
trees?) The stars are compared to unripe figs – so is it
a (figurative?) fig tree (a people or nation?) being
judged and found wanting?
Also in
the beginning of Revelation we see Jesus walking among
that Lampstands. Significantly, the design of the
Temple Lampstand incorporates almond blossoms.
Exodus 37:20:
“And on the lampstand were four
cups shaped like almond flowers with
buds and blossoms.” So symbolically, Jesus is
pictured walking among almond trees and blossoms.
Perhaps it is a clue to timing?
Almond
blossoms and a Spring rapture?
According
to the internet, Tu B’Shevat is a celebration of the
upcoming Spring season. It is celebrated when
almond trees blossom in Israel. Apparently, almond
trees are the first of the Spring bloomers.
There is
an interesting verse in
Ecclesiastes 12:5: “… when
people are afraid of heights and of dangers in the
streets;
when the almond tree blossoms and the
grasshopper drags itself along and desire no longer is
stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home and
mourners go about the streets.”
It sure would be nice if we went to our eternal home
when the almond trees blossom this year!
Grafted
in the Tree
There is
a passage in Romans 11, where Paul tells Gentiles not to
get too arrogant about the blessings they have received
over the Jews due to their unbelief. There will be
a time when Israel will be reconciled to God, and
grafted back into the Tree: “I
say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall?
God forbid: but
rather
through their fall salvation
is
come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke
them to jealousy …. And if some of the branches be
broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert
graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the
root and fatness of the olive tree; Boast not against
the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the
root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The
branches were broken off, that I might be graffed
in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken
off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded,
but fear: Well; because of unbelief they were broken
off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded,
but fear: For if God spared not the natural
branches,
take
heed lest he also spare not
thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity
of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee,
goodness, if thou continue in
his
goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief,
shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in
again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive
tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed
contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much
more shall these, which be the natural
branches,
be graffed into their own olive tree? For I
would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of
this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own
conceits; that blindness in part is happened to
Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come
in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as
it is written, There shall come out of Sion the
Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:
For this
is
my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their
sins. Romans 11:11-27. God has not
forsaken the Jews. Their unbelief is a temporary
state, “until the fulness of the Gentiles be come
in.” There is teaching that holds that there is a
specific number of Gentiles that must be saved before
the Rapture can take place – i.e. the “fulness of the
Gentiles.” Then the eyes of the Jews will be opened to
receive Christ. So will Israel be grafted into the Tree
during a holiday that celebrates trees?
Well, I
think that I have speculated enough. I am really
into biblical models and patterns and tend to see them
everywhere. However, I think it would be worth it
if we consider what Jesus would say to us if He examined
the fruit of our lives from the past year. If we
make any New Year’s resolutions this year, let us
resolve that He will say “Well done” to us by the next
Tu B’Shevat.
I wish
all of the Doves a blessed New Year and am so thankful
that there is a site like this where I can fellowship
with other prophetically-minded people.
Maranatha.
“In the midst of the street of it, and on either side
of the river, was
there the tree of life, which bare
twelve
manner
of fruits,
and
yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the
tree
were
for the healing of the nations.” Revelation
22:2. “He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that
overcometh will I give to eat
of the tree
of life, which
is in the midst
of the paradise of
God.” Revelation 2:7.
–
Lisa Taylor