Beginning of Labor: Matthew 24:7-8
“7) For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8) But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” Matthew‬ ‭24‬:‭7‬-‭8‬
I look at famines and earthquakes as an increase in natural disasters. Many times, biblical prophesies of the end times includes plagues or pestilence with war, famine and earthquakes. (See Revelation 6:1-8)
These have seen a noted increase in the past generation. In the past 15 years, we have seen many thousands of people killed in earthquakes such as in Haiti and Turkey. These have stolen the headlines but smaller earthquakes have also taken many lives. They are now so frequent that smaller ones no longer make the headlines.
Famine is also on the rise in many countries. The prediction of a world wide food shortage in 2023 and 2024 is beginning to be takes seriously. The international food reserve is at the lowest level it’s been at for decades. Starvation is a real in many countries as I write this post.
It is hard to calculate the total loss of lives from plagues and pestilence in recent years, but the aids virus and Covid 19 have been responsible for the death of more than 45 million people world wide. Some estimates put the numbers much higher. For political reasons, it is nearly impossible to get an accurate count.
I do not want to dwell on these, except to point out what Jesus said in Matthew 24:8; “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.” Jesus pictured the end times as a woman going through labor. He said it would be painful.
But lest we slip into gloom, let me ask an important question, “According to the full context of Matthew 24, what is birthed through the labor pains?” The answer is found in verse 30; “and then the sign of the Son of man will appear in the sky…” Did you see that? As difficult as the labor pains will be, they will give birth to the return of Jesus to set up His Millennial Kingdom. The book of Revelation points to this same conclusion. (See Revelation 20)
My wife has gone through labor pains eight time and endured one emergency c-section. All of them were difficult, but the resulting baby was worth it all. The labor was soon forgotten because of the new life it brought forth.
I believe the end time labor pangs have started. There is no turning back the clock. History is rushing toward a new epoch. God is in control. The return of Jesus is drawing near. We are most likely in the beginning of birth pangs.
So how long before Jesus returns? I don’t know. Some labors go fast and some drag on a long time. God is in control of the length of the labor, but it seems self evident that contractions have started!
Terry Baxter Cofounder of GoServ Global