The parable of the fig tree, then, has this meaning. We do not control the turning of the seasons of the year, any more than we control God's providential plan for our salvation and the end of the world. Both the seasons and God's plan are things that we cannot change or manipulate. But God is faithful. Once he has put the seasons in order, they are dependable.
Summer follows spring because of a divine plan for our welfare.
So, too, does the end of the world follow a divine plan for our salvation. The entire plan that Jesus Christ outlines, including wars and commotions, the fall of Jerusalem, the spread of the Gospel and the persecution of the Church, the fall of nations, and the end of this world is already in operation. All we have to do is to look at history and to look at the world around us to see this is so. These are the signs, and they are as sure as the budding forth of the fruit trees in the spring means that summer will come. And this parable has an immediate, practical application.