Birth pangs or something else?

When Jesus walked his last week on earth, his disciples asked him when the sign of his coming would be and what would signify the end of the age.

In part, Matthew records Jesus as saying, “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”

Luke adds, ““Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.” 

War. Famine. Earthquakes. Pestilences. Terrors. Great signs from heaven.

Hmm…

Sound familiar? A hundred years ago if such things came upon the world, people would have recognized God’s hand of judgment and repented. Of course, some cultures would have tried to appease their gods. Now we don’t see God in any of this. We appease the new god of “science” or in some cases pseudo science. And instead of crying out to God for help or to fix/heal our land, we try to do it ourselves. We enact more laws, restrictions, and do anything we can think of to stop or control what is happening.

But we can’t control the elements or creation. We can’t control disease or death. We can’t control the hatred and power-hungry greed that leads to war. We’ve tried. History proves we can’t.

The other day I was reading through the miracles Jesus did as recorded in the gospel of John. Jesus showed His power over the following:

1. He changed the molecular structure of water to make wine. No one can do that, by the way. They are completely different elements.
2. Healed a royal official’s son long distance. Jesus has power over sickness and doesn’t even have to be present. His word is powerful enough.
3. Healed the paralytic at the Bethesda Pool. Jesus wasn’t stopped by the pagan influence of this pool. His power over disease or injury or illness is absolute.
4. Fed 5000 plus people. Probably triple that number or more because of the women and children also there but not counted. Jesus has a multiplication table that steps outside of his own mathematical laws. Five (loaves of bread) plus two (fish) do not equal 5000+. Impossible math except for Jesus.
5. Walks on water. Jesus again proved His power over the elements and creation. The storm ceased at his command and where we would sink, He can walk with ease. We can duplicate this on film with camera tricks, but we can’t do it in real life.
6. Healed a man born blind. So even birth defects or other problems that a person has had all of their lives are not outside the scope of God’s power to heal.
7. Raised Lazarus from the dead. Jesus proved his power over the grave. No one has ever done this either except Him. Not to mention His own resurrection not long afterward.
8. Then there was a miraculous catch of fish, again proving His power over creation.

I wonder…did Jesus say that war, famine, earthquakes, pestilence, and more would happen simply as a sign of His soon coming? Or did He warn us that our hearts would see these things but not recognize them as signs of the end because we would grow hardened to Him. We would instead embrace a culture that says humans can fix their own problems.

I recently listened to some podcasts about herbal healing, and in those videos, the same refrain persisted. If we just work together, we can fix anything. We just need to listen to or partner with the earth and each other. The trouble is? We’ve been there, done that in ages past. And yet, we still face the same problems. No one in history has ever solved these dilemmas. God said they would happen, but we have a great knack for ignoring what He said.

But what if He spoke the truth?

If you read Scripture, you can already see the many prophesies Jesus fulfilled in His first visit to earth. What makes us think that He won’t fulfill those that are still coming? If God is true, why would He fulfill one set of prophecies and ignore the rest? Or could it be that there are still some to come but the time is not yet?

Don’t look for human solutions to spiritual problems. We need to remember the only One with the power to save/heal/forgive/redeem.

The way I see it, birth pangs are already here. It’s time to awake from our sleep and look up. Redemption draws near. Will you see it when it gets here?

~Selah