Jesus gives us specifics about what will be happening with increasing frequency and intensity in the last days prior to His coming for the church.

Now 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 and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” —MATTHEW 24:3-8

Garden-variety Bible critics and preterists (those who believe that some or all of the Bibles prophecies about the end times have been fulfilled) often point out that false Christs, wars and rumors of wars, international and ethnic tensions, famines, pestilence (meaning plagues), and earthquakes have always been a part of life on earth. However, because the question the disciples asked was in relation to the last days and not just the course of human history, and because the disciples asked about signs relating to Christ’s return, we know that Jesus’ answer about these normal course-of-life events relates exclusively to the last days. I believe this is confirmed in Jesus’ use of the phrase “beginning of sorrows” (Matthew 24:8).

Note also what Paul wrote:

Concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. —THESSALONIANS 5:1-5

Paul indicates clearly that for the Christian, there is an awareness of the lateness of the hour even though the day and hour cannot be known. The word “pains” here is the same Greek word translated as “sorrows” in Matthew 24:8. The word “beginning” in Matthew 24:8 could also be translated “commencement.” With all that said, we can know that Jesus was telling His inquirers about the signs that indicate His return is near. There is coming a day when birth pangs will commence, and as we know, once labor pains begin in earnest, there is no reversing the process.

Excerpt from The Time of the Signs by Barry Stagner. Order Now.

Want the full chronology of earth’s final events, from the rebirth of Israel to the return of Christ? Read The Time of the Signs by Barry Stagner.

Want the full chronology of earth’s final events, from the rebirth of Israel to the return of Christ? Read The Time of the Signs by Barry Stagner.

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