"Matt 24:3. And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?
4. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you."
In vs.3, the disciples ask Jesus TWO QUESTIONS. The first one was "when shall these things be?" - the things Jesus had talked about in vs.2 - and then ANOTHER QUESTION - "what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" - which Jesus had not talked about.
The two questions are NOT RELATED.
Jesus uses the rest of the chapter to describe what conditions will be "the sign of thy coming".
The majority of Bible scholars have designated the "fig tree" to represent Israel; and the "blooming of fig tree" as Israel becoming a state in 1948.
I agree about Israel being the fig tree.