I had the privilege of being with my amazing wife 3 times when she gave birth to our three daughters. Each time it started with contractions (Braxton Hicks...I even remember the name of those early contractions), the water breaking, the mad rush to the hospital and having her admitted to the maternity ward. There I was sterilized and gowned up and then allowed to meet my wife in a small room where she would suffer for hours in growing contraction pain; I was supposed to comfort and coach her on breathing and to be honest I wasn’t much help! Her lower back ached terribly, the increase and frequency of her contractions almost became unbearable. I prayed often and hoped her pain would soon be over!
This is the metaphor Jesus uses “Birth Pangs” to describe a future period of time before He would come for His Bride the Church (Rapture/Resurrection) and His ultimate Second Coming to Judge the wicked Nations of the earth that have joined the Antichrist. Jesus give us numerous SIGNS to alert us that He would soon return and they are recorded in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. The key points regarding “Birth Pang Signs” are this: FREQUENCY and INTENSIFCATION.
The FIRST SIGN: Jesus alerts us to “FALSE MESSIAH’s and LEADING PEOPLE ASTRAY”. Remember for these SIGNS to be a valid warning they have to increase in frequency and intensification. Jesus exhortation to the Believers is this, “See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying I am He! Mark 13:3-5. DO NOT be intrigued by anyone claiming to be Christ…RUN the other direction…they are FALSE!
In the 18th Century there were two people who claimed there were the Christ. One from Russia Kondratiy Selivanov (1730’s to 1822) and the second a Brit named Ann Lee the founder of the “Shakers” (1736 to 1784). In the 19th Century there were six people claiming to be the Messiah. In the 20th Century there was a huge jump in numbers of people claiming they were Jesus; a stunning 21 people falsely claiming godhood all over the world and misleading people in their deceptive cults…some are still alive and we have 5 new entries already in the 21st Century!
The SECOND SIGN: WARS and RUMORS of WARS. The proliferation of wars and the fearful rumors of a massively destructive war will be another major sign. It appears we maybe just in such a period with the constant discussion of WW3! The scientific “Dooms Day Clock” monitors the likelihood of a catastrophic event and in 2016 it was set to 3 minutes before 12 or midnight (12 means massive destruction to humanity); well it ain’t getting any better Martha…in 2017 it was set to 2.5 minutes before midnight!
If you study historic warfare it is very clear, for millennia mankind has been a murderous lot with our lust for power, land, resources and enslaving another race! The 20th Century was no different except for the horrific increase in numbers of deaths caused by a war. In WW1 37 million people died, and in WW2 somewhere between 50 to 80 million people were slaughtered between civilians and soldiers. The intensification of killing is in direct portion to mankind’s warfare technology advancements (if you can call it that!) and one cannot fully fathom the nightmare of the outcome of WW3…possibly 100’s on millions of people dying in the next GREAT WAR! Currently there are 15 wars going on in at least 4 continents.
Tensions are rising in Asia with the North Korea conflict, the Middle East is full of hate and constant conflict and the Super Powers continue to flex the military muscles with constant war drills. Jesus declared, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet”. Mark 13:7
The THIRD SIGN: NATION WILL RISE AGAINST NATION AND KINGDOM AGAINST KINGDOM. To understand Jesus words here we need to go to the original Bible language, as Jesus is describing two types of conflict. The first is “nation against nation”, referring to two different ethnic groups in dispute or war…such as the USA against Russia...ethos against ethos.
The second, “kingdom against kingdom” is very different; it means a conflict within one peoples group such as we just witnessed in Spain…the Province of Catalonia wanting to separate from the mother nation of Spain. This is only one of 20 other pro-independence movements in Europe alone. In my own country of Canada there has been several attempts by the Province of Quebec to declare independence…to this point it has been unsuccessful. This is a global problem and few Nations are exempt.
Clearly Jesus was on to something, and there would be a serious conflicts between nations and peoples globally in the last days before He returns. The daily news reminds us of growing unrest and this fits in nicely with the New World Order/Globalist agenda to conqueror and divide and then come up with a peace plan with few borders or nationality distinctions. Multiculturalism and the melting pot theory sounds wonderful; however without common values and embracing positive cultural distinctions you eventually create chaos...just ask our EU neighbors! Then He said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom”. Luke 21:10
Next week we will continue in this mini-series called the “The Birth Pang Signs”. Part Three; and continue to learn just how relevant Jesus warnings were and the strong possibility we are seeing them fulfilled right before our eyes.
From a friend, Bill W…if you have found these studies encouraging pass them on to a friend!