In Matthew 24 , on the Mount of Olives, the disciples ask Jesus what the signs of the end times would be. Jesus first warns them not to be deceived by man. He then tells them " Nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom and there shall be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in divers places,all these are birth pangs. Then they shall deliver you up to be afflicted and shall kill you and you shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake." (Matt 24:3-9)
In one short paragraph, the King of Kings looks down through the corridors of time and gives a sweeping lesson on what the future holds for mankind. Only God can speak like this and when He does we should be hanging on every word.
What is birth pangs? If Jesus uses this example, it is definitely worth looking at and studying. Birth pangs is labor pains. In another translation the phrase " the beginning of sorrows ," is used. When a woman goes into labor, there are three stages.
1. Early or latent phase.
2. Active phase.
3. Transition phase.
The duration of the early phase is the longest, averaging around eight hours. The pain can be simple backache. You can still walk around, in fact that is sometimes more comfortable than sitting. Most woman spend these hours at home, or they can be checked into the hospital and sent home until labor becomes more active. Feeling of eagerness and excitement are not unusual. It is important at this stage that energy is conserved for the work of labor.
Then comes the active phase. This is marked by regular contractions that become longer and stronger and closer together. When you are in active labor you will be concentrating on the task at hand and will not feel like doing anything else. Pain mediation is often given at this time.
After active labor comes the transition phase. This is the most difficult time of labor, and fortunately, this is the shortest period of time lasting from 30 minutes to two hours on average.
In the first ten years of the new millennium we have seen unprecedented occurrences. "Once in a lifetime events,' have occurred with startling frequency, so many in fact that it is hard to keep them all in mind despite the horrific nature of them. 9/11 was the first major event of the new millennium. This single event change the psyche of the American people. Fear invaded the land. And since that event we have seen Katrina which caused devastating damage throughout the south. The tsunami that hit Asia and killed 250,000 people. The earthquake in Haiti that destroyed a city and killed over 200,000 people. We have seen earthquake in Chile and Christchurch. One can easily argue that earthquakes have always been with us yet two of the earthquakes in the last decade have moved the earth of its axis, so literally " shaking the whole world." In light of what Jesus says in Matthew 24, can we so easily just shake of these events as " normal" occurrences? Germany and Russia have both seen record droughts and record droughts also plague many parts of the US. Twice in the last five years the Amazon region has seen " once in 300 year," floods.
This year alone we have had record snows in the winter, record floods in the spring, a devastating record April where tornadoes have ripped through the country with great with total devastation. And this year we have also seen the horrific earthquake and tsunami in Japan followed by a nuclear disaster. Now we are facing a record breaking summer with temperatures in parts of the country never seen before. As you can imagine, there are a hundred other things I could have mentioned which I did not. Brothers and sisters, are we in the birth pangs that Jesus spoke of? Is this indeed the beginning of sorrows? If we are indeed in the birth pangs, then what stage of the birth pangs are we in?
One last thing, Jesus says in Matthew 24:9 that after these things that Christians will be delivered up, they will be afflicted and killed and hated by all nations, and for what? "For my name's sake." Can I suggest brothers and sisters that the war on the name of Jesus Christ has already begun. Its for His name that we will be delivered up after the birth pangs. As the days darken and we see these things come to pass, let us lift up the name of Jesus Christ all the more. For it is when He is lifted up that men are drawn to Him. There is no other name under heaven by which a man can be saved. There is power in the name of Jesus Christ when the bearers of that name walk in the beauty of Holiness and in the power of the Holy Spirit. This is why the enemy will wage a savage war against the saints in the last days. He will attempt to blot out that name which is above every name because he knows the time is coming when every knee will bow, whether in heaven, on the earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.............brother Frank