THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY

BIRTH PANGS Part II

JESUS’ OLIVET DISCOURSE

Christ quotes Jeremiah 30 in His Olivet Discourse when describing the coming Tribulation. He tells His disciples that the day is coming when nation will rise against nations, with famines and earthquakes taking place in various locations ( Matthew 24:7 ), and He then adds, “All these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs” ( 24:8 ). Jesus also says, “The one who endures to the end, he will be saved” ( 24:13 ). This is similar to what Jeremiah wrote in 30:7, as is Jesus’ comment that “there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will” ( Matthew 24:21 ). Many dispensationalists apply the expression “great tribulation” ( Greek, megale thlipsis ) to the second half of this awful period, but when Jeremiah says in 30:7 “that day is great” ( Hebrew, ga’dol ) and that it is “Jacob’s distress” ( Hebrew, Za’rah, tribulation ), he seems to be describing the entire seven years of world terror.

PAUL AND THE THESSALONIANS

After Paul delivers his strong and detailed teaching on the rapture of the church ( I Thessalonians 1:9-10; 4:13-18 ), he assures the Thessalonians that they will not experience the “destruction that will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child” ( 5:3 ). “Upon them” could refer specifically to trials of the Jewish people, or it may also refer to the terrible days that will fall upon the entire world. The broader interpretation seems to be correct because Jesus says “that day… will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth” ( Luke 21:34-35 ). Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5:3 that People will be saying, “peace and safety!” just before the birth pangs begin. He calls this “the day of the Lord” ( 5:2 ). This is very similar to Jeremiah’s statement that these things “shall come about on that day” ( Jeremiah 30:8 ). Paul calls the birth pangs “wrath” but assures his readers,”God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through Our Lord Jesus Christ” ( I Thessalonians 5:9 ). This is good news for those of us living in this dispensation ( the “Church age” or the “age of grace” ). The apostle exhorts his readers to “encourage one another with this message of hope and build up one another; just as you also are doing” (5:11).

What does Paul means by “obtaining salvation” ? salvation ( Greek, Soteria ) has threeaspects: First, the believer is saved from the guilt of sin by death of Christ. Second, the believer is enabled to overcome sin by the indwelling HolySpirit. Third, here in I Thessalonians 5:9, the believer is delivered from wrath, the birth pangs, that will fall on the unbelieving world.

FOR UNBELIEVERS

To summarize, it seems that the “birth pangs” includes the entire period of the Tribulation. Jesus and Paul refer to this time as “the wrath.” It is also the day of the Lord. It will fall on unbelieving Jews and Gentiles, and it will take plce as the Jews return to the promise land, the Land of Israel. The Church will be rapture away from the horrors of this entire period. The promise of deliverance from the birth pangs “is given under certain conditions: God, according to His own good will and pleasure, has decree that we will escape the Outpouring of the wrath. Only those who have been sanctify by the Holy and set apart unto Holiness will be taken in the rapture. Those with out sanctification will not be taken. ( admidation and correction made by the man of the Holy Spirit Joseph M. Pupo ) —- MAL COUCH

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Couch, Mal. The Hope of Christ’s Return. Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 2001.

Feinberg, Charles L. “Jeremiah”. In Expositor’s Bible Communitary. Frank E. Gaebelein, gen. ed. Grahd Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.

Glasscock, Ed. Matthew. Chicago: Moody Press, 1997.

Hollady, William L. A Concise Hebrew And Aramaic Lexicon Of the Old Testament, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974

Thompson, J. A. The Book Of Jeremiah, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981.

Toussaint, Stanley D. Behold the king sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 1981.

Walvoord, John F. The Prophecy Knowledge HandBook. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1990.