“Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matt 24:32–35).

While the prophetic implications of this passage could be discussed, the pertinent lesson is the unchanging predictable nature of God and His Word. He is perfectly reliable, unchanging, and His Word will never be deleted, misstated, lost, or stolen.

Jesus appealed to the logical minds of the disciples to teach the character of His absolute immutable reliability—the parable of the fig tree putting forth leaves, the natural process of the heat, and light of another summer. The statement that summer is nigh is a testimony to the unchanging reliability of God and to the predictability of His Word. The seasons are entirely predictable; fig trees put forth leaves in summer. Behind the phenomenon of the fig tree is God’s divine decree. “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease” (Gen 8:22).

The perplexing world and society in which we live is unpredictable and fickle. People are easily swayed by the latest of almost everything from fads and the latest political views to morality. Views of right and wrong seemingly are relative as society is embracing the abnormal lifestyles. The desire of the searching heart of man is absolute truth, which is evident in Jesus words “ye can know that summer is nigh.”

Science is the study of and observation of physical processes that are consistent, predictable, and repeat able. If something can be repeated in experiments, it is a science. Behind the regularity of true science is the absolute decree of an unchanging God. “Forever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations: thou hast estab lished the earth, and it abideth. They continue this day according to thine ordinances: for all are thy servants” (Psa 119:89, 91).

We can know that God is faithful; one of the evidences is the arrival of summertime. We do well to make other deductions about the eternal Word of God. His promises are entirely reliable, His actions are predictable, and His provisions and providence are evident.

Here are some conclusions that we can make about God’s Word. God’s Word is reliable when it decrees that marriage is for man and woman, and not between man and man, or woman and woman, or multiple partners. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them” (Gen 1:27).

The Word is reliable when it promises to bless the sowing of the word even when responses seem few. “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Is 55:11). The church will triumph even though the very foundation is shaking from Satan’s attacks. “Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Heb 12:28).

The fig tree is springing forth, summer is nigh, and once again God is faithful. His Word is predictable, reliable and unchanging. Let us trust our future to the immutable God. “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us” (Heb 6:18).

There have been nearly six thousand summers and nearly six thousand blooms of the fig tree. This is an amazing reliability that proves divine law is in place yet today. The end result of failing to observe and believe in our summer-making God is the plaintive cry of Jeremiah, “The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved” (Jer 8:20).
Columbiana OH
June 2012