Is Israel symbolized as a fig tree?

Matthew 21:18-22, Mark 11:12-14, Mark 11:20-25 are at the next to the last of a series of lessons on Israel as the fig tree.

First where is Israel symbolized as a fig tree?

Judges 9:8 One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’

9 “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’

10 “Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’

11 “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’

12 “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’

13 “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’

14 “Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

15 “The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

From here Israel would be mentioned in symbol as an olive tree, a fig tree and/or a grave vine. The key to the symbolism is fruitfulness or bareness depending on Israels response to the Mosaic covenant.

The first fig tree reference, though not stated, is implied:

Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Matthew 3:8 & 10

John the Immerse is saying the husbandman is coming to His orchard to see if His fig tree is producing fruit. If it is producing god fruit then the judgment symbolized by the ax will not hewn the tree. If the fig tree is producing bad fruit then it "will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

The next fig tree reference is Matthew 7:16-18, Luke 3:8 & 9

This takes place during His first year of ministry. This is after the first Passover of His ministry. see John 2.

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Jesus is the true prophet calling Israel to repentance to produce god fruit. The "false prophets" are teaching against Israel's covenant with God is discouraging repentance towards God and their doctrines are bad fruit..

The next fig tree reference is Matthew 12:32-34, Luke 6:43-45

Jesus is in Galilee when the second Passover of His ministry takes place, See John 6:4. This reference takes place during His second year of ministry.

Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

“Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Jesus here is condemning the Pharisees and scribes for speaking out against Him, and by extension the Holy Spirit, who is working through Him. Jesus said the fruit they are producing is bad and evil.

Before the third Passover of Jesus' ministry, He went to the Feast of Tabernacles. see John 7. Jesus returned to Galilee after the Feast of Tabernacles and did not attend the Passover. I know this because of Matthew 17:24

After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax?”

Jesus had not paid His Temple tax for two years since He did not attend these Feasts. The tax collectors were send to make sure He paid His tax.

Then the next reference to the fig tree is during Jesus' third year of ministry in Luke 16:6-8

6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it.

So Jesus was giving Israel a fourth year of grace to produce the fruit of repentance leading up to the fourth and last Passover of Jesus' ministry.

When we come to Matthew 21:18-22, Mark 11:12-14, Mark 11:20-25 the year of grace has past. The fig tree has not produced the good fruit that was expected and judgment fell. Jesus symbolical in His curse of the fig tree laid the ax of judgment to the root. Israel would be hewn down and cast into the fire.

But there is a problem. The Prophets foretold a second restoration of Israel in the future, but they did not foretell what would cause Israel to be scattered. Jesus to this point had depended on the Prophets to prophesy to Israel. But what about the future?

This comes to the last Parable of the fig tree....Matthew 24:31-36, Mark 13:28-32, 21:29-33

It is very, very important to add verse Matthew 24:36 and Mark 13:32 to this because they end this parable.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

What "day and hour"?

.....as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.

Three season for Israel are mentioned.

Winter - A.D. 70 - 1948

Spring -1948 - Present

Summer - Daniel 9:27

We now know what the Prophets, Jesus and the angels did not know. The day was May 14, 1948.....and the hour was midnight...that Israel was reborn as a nation.

On May 14, 1948, just ahead of the official end to the British Mandate in Palestine at midnight, David Ben-Gurion declared the establishment of a Jewish state, to be called Israel. The British army withdrew with the end of the mandate, and on the heels of Ben-Gurion's announcement, the armies of Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq invaded. Though Israel had just been declared a nation, its forces were able to gain the offensive during the fighting. When armistice lines were drawn, Israel was left with some of the territory that had originally been allotted to Palestinian Arabs under the 1947 United Nations resolution that partitioned Palestine between Arabs and Jews. https://www.newsweek.com/declaring-state-israel-may-14-1948-332152

This is why Summer is near.