Learn a lesson from the fig tree.
When its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves,
you know that summer is near.
In the same way, when you see these things happening,
know that he is near, at the gates.
Amen, I say to you,
this generation will not pass away
until all these things have taken place.
Heaven and earth will pass away,
but my words will not pass away.
–Mark 13:24-32
There will be days of trial and tribulation:
The sun will hide; the moon will shine no more.
The princes and the pow'rs will all be shaken,
and they will see the coming of the Lord.
Come, learn to read the wonders of the heavens,
the times and seasons ticking through the year.
For those with eyes to see, they are a message:
The days roll on, and Christ is drawing near.
Oh, let it be the lesson of the fig tree,
that summer comes and all the earth turns ripe,
the bud and blossom growing out of myst'ry,
the slow beginning of the fruit of life.
We wait the rising of the sun of justice;
the bride keeps vigil 'til she sees her groom.
With hope and fear we wait the coming judgment
to see the deserts bursting into bloom.
O, give us courage, Lord, to stand before you,
and strengthen us to make a level way
where all may journey safely to adore you,
and give us patience while we wait for day.
Trew, C.J., Plantae selectae quarum imagines ad exemplaria naturalia Londini, in hortis curiosorum nutrit, vol. 8: t. 73 (1771) [G.D. Ehret] – http://plantillustrations.org/illustration.php?id_illustration=58571&language=English, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22318968
Kate Bluett 