Tuesday Nov 29, 2022

Birth Pangs

Matthew 24:1-1

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 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. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (ESV

The nations at war and the earth’s turmoil, revealed in increased earthquakes and famines, would also not signal the end. Instead, this will be but the beginning of birth pains; in other words, these will be preliminary sufferings. Jesus’ words indicated to the eager disciples that there would be a span of time before the end of the age and the coming kingdom—it would not come that week, or immediately upon Jesus’ resurrection, or even right after the destruction of Jerusalem. First, much suffering would occur as a part of life on earth, while history would move toward a single, final, God-planned goal—the creation of a new earth and a new kingdom (Revelation 21:1–3). The description of sufferings as “birth pains” is a typical biblical metaphor for the beginning of prekingdom travail and suffering (see Isaiah 13:6–8; 26:16–18; Jeremiah 4:31; 22:20–23; Hosea 13:9–13).