The Beginning of Birth Pangs
As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled? And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. Many will come in My name, saying, “‘I am He!’ and will mislead many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of the birth pangs. (Mark 13.3-8, NASB)
As I read through the End Times books, I am dumbfounded about how little attention is given to “the beginning of the birth pangs.” It seems as if many of the preachers are scrambling to see who’s first to correctly identify the “Beast,” instead of discerning the signs of the times.
For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation. (Luke 19.43-44)
For the last several years, much of the Body of Christ (or should I say, a very vocal element of the Body of Christ) has been caught up in political arguments about planetary change and the environment. Some have sided with elements of the Republican party in saying that global change is just part of some Democrat conspiracy theory. Others have gone completely the other direction and have adopted the preservation of the earth as part of their missional mandate. A short reading of their newly minted mission statements gives one the impression that Jesus is to come back to the smell of freshly mowed lawns with iced tea on the porches.
In the New York Times today, it is reported that 240,000 houses in China have collapsed due to the aftershocks of the earthquake. This earthquake comes after the 2008 cyclone in Myanmar where many of the survivors are starving to death, the 2007 California wildfires, the 2006 European heatwave, the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan where over 73,000 perished, the 2005 Hurricane Katrina, and the 2004 tsunami where over 280,000 were drowned at sea (largest earthquake on record where the entire planet vibrated at least 1/2 an inch). The death toll from the earthquake in China has surpassed 80,000 people and it is said that the international community (read: the world) probably doesn’t even have enough tents to house the Chinese homeless.
In Matthew, Jesus spoke of “earthquakes” and “famines” and characterized them as the beginning of the birth pangs. If one knows anything about birth pangs, he knows that they become more intense and more frequent. Despite whatever one things about global warming, Jesus, himself, told us that the earth would begin reeling from the effects of pressure before the end of the end would come.
Christian leaders, instead of currying favor with Republican incumbents or giving us the message of good environmentalism, should be handing out talking points that say, “Look up! For your redemption draws near!”
Good advice - “Look-Up”; thanks for the reminder of the “beginning” of birth pangs. Our redemption is truly closer than we think. May our lamps be filld with oil and may our ears be sensitive to the call - “the bridegroom cometh”!
Hang on a minute! Jesus wasn’t only giving the “signs” of His coming - He was also answering a question about the destruction of the Temple, which occurred circa AD70. So the “signs” need to be understood in that context!
Jesus said the earthquakes, famines, wars and false Christs were only the lead-up to the next big event - which was to be the siege of Jerusalem. This event would mean it was time to flee the City! It came to pass that not one stone was left standing on top of another, just as Jesus predicted. The Jews were deported all over the world and Jerusalem has been “trodden underfoot by Gentiles” ever since. Jesus said this will continue “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled”. Meanwhile this Gospel of the Kingdom has been and will continue to be preached among all nations - and then the end will come.
It isn’t statistically/historically accurate to say earthquakes, famines, wars and apostasy are getting worse in our generation. Jesus said, “after this happens [after the fall of Jerusalem] life up your eyes for your redemption draweth nigh.” Ever since the fall of Jerusalem approximately 1,938 years ago, each successive generation of the Church could look up, knowing her redemption draweth nigh. According to Peter, John and the prophet Joel, the entire Church age is the “last days”, “the last time”, the “last hour”.