Summer Is Near | The Institute for Creation Research

Summer Is Near

“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near” (Mark 13:28).

When summer finally comes each year, most people think of vacation time, when all the leaves are green and “the livin’ is easy.” But the only time the word “summer” ever appears in the New Testament is in our text as spoken by the Lord Himself. (See also Matthew 24:32 and Luke 21:30 for the parallel passages.)

Here, the theme is not vacation, but tribulation! “For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be” (Mark 13:19). These verses are all in the midst of Christ’s great Olivet Discourse, given in answer to the disciples’ urgent question: “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” (Matthew 24:3).

He is coming again, and He has, indeed, given many signs to alert us as to when it is near. In the next sentence after the words of our text, He said: “So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors” (Mark 13:29).

The command is to know when His coming is near! Just as when the fig tree begins to produce leaves, we can know that summer is near, so now that His signs are being fulfilled (not only here in the Olivet Discourse but throughout His word), we can know He is coming soon. We must never try to set dates (in verse 32 He warns: “of that day and that hour knoweth no man”), but we need to “watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is” (Mark 13:33). There is a strong conviction everywhere in the Christian world today that summer is near and the Lord is at hand! “Watch ye therefore. . . . Lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping” (Mark 13:35,36). HMM

The Latest
NEWS
''73-Million-Year-Old'' Alaskan Salmon
Fish evolution remains an enigma. Evolutionists can only say fish first “appeared” over a half-billion years ago.1 Creationists...

NEWS
God's Memorial Day
“And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of...

NEWS
How Did Earth Get Its Water?
Earth’s oceans contain 321 million cubic miles (1.335 billion cubic kilometers) of water. The moon causes ebb and flow of tides twice in a 24-hour...

NEWS
The Origin of Eukaryotes
Eukaryotes are multicellular organisms that contain diverse differentiated cell types. Within almost every cell there are subcellular compartments called...

CREATION PODCAST
Water vs. Wind: The Controversial Coconino | The Creation Podcast:...
Welcome to the sixth episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old...

NEWS
Fossil Fish Finally Filmed
The bizarre lobe-finned coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) “that flourished some 350 million years ago”1 continues to be a thorn...

NEWS
The Mosasaur: A Giant Sea Dragon
Mosasaurs (order Squamata) were massive marine lizards that were common in the pre-Flood oceans. Therefore, it is not surprising that their fossils...

DAYS OF PRAISE DEVOTIONALS
Summer 2025
...

NEWS
Was Life Detected on a Distant Planet?
There was celebration, albeit briefly, for the discovery of potential life on a planet called K2-18b, which is 124 lightyears away from Earth. The...

NEWS
Ichthyosaur Graveyard Explained by the Flood
Ichthyosaurs are marine reptiles that occur globally in the same rock layers as dinosaurs. Specimens with babies support the idea that they gave live...