Spirit Jesus

The Beginning of Birth Pangs

Christ referred to “the beginning of sorrows” (lit., “the beginning of birth pangs,” Mt. 24:8). The fact that He called those “the beginning of birth pangs” indicates that more birth pangs would follow them. It seems apparent that by this expression He had in mind the earlier, less severe birth pangs that precede the later, most severe birth pangs of hard labor. Concerning the deceptive false messiahs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in many places that Christ said will make up the beginning of birth pangs, George Bertram said they “are the woes with which the end-time is ushered in, or the beginning of sorrows which will be followed by others that are even more severe.”

Two things indicate that the beginning of birth pangs will occur during the first half of the 70th week (Dan. 9:27). First, it is obvious that Jesus was drawing an analogy with a woman’s birth-pang experience. Just as a woman’s beginning, less severe birth pangs precede her later, most severe pangs of hard labor, so the beginning, less severe pangs of the world’s future time of trouble must precede its later, most severe pangs of hard labor. Since those later hard labor pangs will occur during the second half of the 70th week, the beginning of birth pangs must take place during the first half of those seven years.

Second, Christ introduced and discussed the beginning of birth pangs (Mt. 24:4-8) before He introduced the abomination of desolation and the Great Tributation (Mt. 24:15-21), and it appears that He introduced and discussed events in chronological order in this section of Matthew 24. This implies that the beginning of birth pangs will precede the abomination of desolation (of the middle of the 70th week) and the Great Tributlation (of the second half of the 70th week) and therefore will occur during the first half of that seven-year period.

The Beginning of Birth Pangs and the First Four Seals

A comparison of Christ’s description of the beginning of birth pangs in Matthew 24:5-7 with the first four seals of Revelation 6:1-8 indicates that the beginning of birth pangs and the first four seals are the same thing.

In addition, immediately after His description of the beginning of birth pangs, Christ referred to the killing those associated with Him (Mt. 24:9). Parallel to this, the fifth seal refers to people killed because of their testimony (Rev. 6:9-11).

Christian Classics Collection
http://www.3rdpartynet-christian-classics.com/