Days of Noah

“A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. 22So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.“

[John 16:20-21]

The most prominent and powerful illustration used in Scripture to describe the events leading up to the end of this present age is the analogy of labor pains. The Lord Jesus tells us that we will be able to identify general signs that will materialize and progress like birth pains. These signs include mass spiritual deception and counterfeit Christianity, ethnic division and conflict, revolutions, international wars and reports of wars, famines, and earthquakes.

The initial challenge in identifying current events as sure fulfillments of these “birth pains” comes with the obvious fact that these types of general signs have been present on some scale throughout all of human history. The enemy has always been sowing seeds of deception within organized religion. Historically, we are no strangers to racial tensions and international wars and revolutions. Famines and earthquakes are nothing new to the human experience.

We must be careful of using the modern news cycle as the primary source supporting our prophetic predictions. It is tempting to correlate every single war or major earthquake with a sure sign of the end times. So how are we to determine the difference between the commonplace and the prophetic birth pains associated with the last days?

In my opinion, it is imperative to let the illustration of labor pains speak for itself. The only way we will ever know if we are witnessing the beginning of birth pains will be if the signs themselves follow the natural progression of a pregnancy. When the time finally comes for a mother to give birth, we can be certain that a baby is coming soon, but she must first endure the birth pains.

Once labor begins, we can be sure of the following.

Using the natural process of labor as a guide, we should be able to quantify the visible intensification and frequency of these signs leading up to very end of the age and the return of Christ. So we can expect the birth pains to grow stronger and more intense the closer to the end we are.

Counterfeit Christianity

“Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, 2influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.”

1 Timothy 4:1-2

I have always been interested to understand what Jesus meant when He warned against spiritual deception. He says, “For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many” [Matthew 24:5]. One possible interpretation is that many will come claiming to be the Christ and deceiving the masses with astonishing signs and wonders. Of course this spiritual deception will culminate with the revealing of the man of lawlessness — the counterfeit Christ — and the false prophet.

Another possible way to read Jesus’ words is to expect many so-called Christian leaders to come in the name of Christ and claim that Jesus is the Christ, yet at the same time teach a perverted version of Christ so as to deceive the church with false doctrine.

Like so many prophetic mysteries, it is likely to be a both-and scenario. Either way, we should expect a massive defection of the true gospel that once and for all was delivered to the saints (Jude 1:4). Even as I right this, we are witnessing nearly every mainstream denomination adopt the doctrines of demons and endorse heretical teaching contrary to the Word of God. The likes of Southern Baptists and Catholics and Methodists and everything in between continue to compromise to satisfy the desires of a wicked and perverse generation.

It is only a matter of time before the entire world “will not tolerate sound doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to suit their own desires and so turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths” [2 Timothy 4:3-4]

Wars and Revolutions

We are not waiting for random wars and conflicts. Near the very end, we will begin to hear international reports (rumors) of wars dominating the news cycles. Next we can expect to see a series of revolutions, insurrections, and regional wars that exponentially will intensify into another world war scenario. Eventually everything will culminate with the war that ends all wars — Armageddon.

Right now the two major conflicts of interest are the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas War, both of which likely could erupt into regional or world war scenarios. We must wait and see before we can confidently make a call.

Famines, Earthquakes, and Pestilences

“We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.”

[Romans 8:22]

In the years and months leading up to the end of the age, we can expect an exponential increase in famines and drought, pestilences and contagious disease, and tectonic activity, including earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. For these signs to qualify as birth pains, they must be more than random droughts, infrequent earthquakes, or even Covid-19 scenarios.

Scripture is clear that over the last 42 months, or 3 1/2 years, of human history there will be unparalleled famines and drought, apocalyptic plagues, and a series of major earthquakes culminating in the greatest shaking of the earth the world has ever seen [see Isaiah 24:17-23, Revelation 6:12-17 and Revelation 16:17-21].

It Gets Worse before It Gets Better

“Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near; it will come as destruction from the Almighty. 7Therefore all hands will fall limp, and every man’s heart will melt. 8Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.“

[Isaiah 13:8]

The general signs of birth pains teach us one important lesson. Things must first get worse (i.e. great tribulation) before it will ever get better (i.e. the return of Christ).

My feeling is that when the world finally is in full-blown labor, we won’t have to guess. The beginning of birth pains may start somewhat slow, but there will be no way to mistake the intensity and frequency of prophetic signs that characterize the end of the age.

The good news is that once Christ returns, our sorrows will turn to joy and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.