Lately, it seems like I have had more than I can do; and something that I spent much time on was an invitation to teach on the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24).

Because I am so covered up, I decided to pass on some of my notes from that presentation.

Jesus sat down on the Mount of Olives and started talking about a period of time before the end of the age that will experience deception, many false Christs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, pestilences and earthquakes (Matt. 24:4-8).

He called that period of time the “beginnings of sorrows,” but why? (Note: KJV says beginnings of sorrows; RSV says beginning of the birth pangs; ML says early pains of childbirth; etc.)

The first mention of sorrows in the Bible was when Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:1-6).

God put curses on Satan, Adam and Eve.

His curse on Eve reads, “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children” (Gen. 3:16).

The word that is translated “sorrow” means birth pangs, labor pains, travail.

Because of sin, a woman will have birth pangs when she bears a child.

One of the names of the Tribulation Period is the “birth pangs.”

It will be destruction like a “woman in travail” (I Thess. 5:3).

Other names include the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble,” the “Seventieth Week of Daniel,” the “Great and Terrible Day of the Lord” and more.

So, the period of deception, many false Christs, wars, famines, etc. that come before the end of the age are the “beginnings of sorrows” (the beginnings of the birth pangs).

And the period after that is the Tribulation Period or the actual birth pangs.

Jesus called that period of time the “beginnings of sorrows” (KJV), but Christians call it the Church Age, the Age of Grace, etc.

In the Old Testament, God was talking about Israel’s enemies on earth, and He said, “Before she (the earth) travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things” (Isa. 66:7-8a)?

It is normal for a woman to have birth pains before her baby is born, but this verse reads, “Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered.”

For clarity’s sake, God was saying the nation of Israel will be born before the birth pains (the nation of Israel will come into being before the Tribulation Period).

“Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered.”

God asked, “Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things?”

Today, it might not be unusual for a woman to have a baby before she has birth pains, but in Old Testament times, women had birth pains before they had a baby.

People never heard of a woman having a baby before she had birth pains.

If that happened, it would be unusual; a miracle; an act of God.

So, God asked two questions: “Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once” (Isa. 66:8b)?

Should God cause the earth to bring forth a nation in one day (should God cause Israel to come forth at once)?

The implied answer is that it would take a miracle or an act of God for a nation to come into being in one day.

Guess what? Israel came into being as a nation in one day on May 14, 1948.

Israel’s birth was a miracle because so many nations opposed it; but for some unexplained reason, several nations changed their vote at the last minute.

This is the point: God revealed that Israel would become a nation in one day before the birth pangs (before the Tribulation Period), and that has literally happened.

Here are two reasons why Israel came into being before the Tribulation Period.

One, Israel came into being before the Tribulation Period because Israel has to go through the Tribulation Period (through the seventieth week of Daniel; Dan. 9:24).

Two, Israel came into being before the Tribulation Period because there are other prophecies that require the existence of Israel (Israel will sign a peace treaty that begins the Tribulation Period).

Don’t underestimate the significance of Israel becoming a nation.

It signifies that other things are coming (Tribulation Period; covenant, etc.).

One, birth pains are a reminder that God judged Eve for sin.

Two, birth pains are a reminder that God has appointed a time to judge the nations for sin (Zeph. 3:8).

Three, the things that we are seeing today are indications (reminders, forerunners, signs) that the real birth pains or the real agony is coming (false Christs: reminder Antichrist is coming; wars: reminder Battle of Armageddon is coming; earthquakes: reminder that greatest earthquake ever is yet to come, etc.).

Why did Jesus caution people about false Christs, wars, famine, pestilence, earthquakes and deception?

We have these things in the “beginnings of sorrows” (Church Age) today, but the ultimate false Christ will be the Antichrist; the ultimate war will be the Battle of Armageddon;  the ultimate famine will be the third horseman of the Apocalypse;  the ultimate pestilence will be the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse; the greatest deceivers will be the Antichrist and False Prophet, etc.

The “beginnings of sorrows” (Church Age) is almost over (the Rapture is near), and the most important thing that any of us can do is to be ready and to try to help others be ready.

God willing, I will share more of the talk in another article.

Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc.
Daymond & Rachel Duck
duck_daymond@yahoo.com

 

First, most of those that follow Bible prophecy are aware of the connections between Prime Min. Netanyahu, Pres. Trump and the numbers 7 and 70.

For example, Mr. Netanyahu had been in office 7 years, 7 months and 7 days on the day that Pres. Trump was elected.

Pres. Trump was elected by a margin of 77 electoral votes and he was 70 years, 7 months and 7 days old on the day that he was inaugurated.

Pres. Trump was born 700 days before Israel became a nation, so there were 700 days between Pres. Trump’s seventieth birthday and Israel’s seventieth birthday.

Anyway, it was recently reported that Pres. Trump’s Sec. of State, Mike Pompeo, is the 70^th person to hold that job, and he got in the 70^th year of Israel’s existence.

These numerical facts seem to be too much to be coincidence, and I don’t want to go overboard; but it is possible that God is trying to tell us something (perhaps that He is in control and acting, or perhaps that something has changed or started).

Second, a reader recently sent me a link to a video of Gary Stearman interviewing Tom Horn on Prophecy Watchers (The Rabbis and Donald Trump, May 6, 2019).

These well-known prophecy teachers discussed a visit to the White House several months ago by a group of Orthodox Jewish rabbis.

The Jewish rabbis (at least one is probably a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin) wanted Pres. Trump’s upcoming “Deal of the Century” to give Israel permission to rebuild the Temple.

Resistance and trouble, perhaps war, are to be expected, but the thought of a peace plan with permission to rebuild the Temple on the table in a few weeks is exciting.

Third, on May 9, 2019, it was reported that Nancy Pelosi said she believes “the establishment of the State of Israel is one of the greatest accomplishments of the 20th century; it was a political, official establishment of a country.”

According to the Bible, it is a miracle greater than Israel’s exodus from Egypt in the days of Moses, greater than the Ten Plagues, parting of the Red Sea, etc.

Fourth, Pope Francis is still at it (a speech at the Vatican on May 2, 2019).

• He referred to world government as the “common good.”
• He denounced nations for making excessive demands for sovereignty.
• He called for the establishment of entities with power greater than nations.
• He said the kind of things the False Prophet will probably say when he supports the rise of the Antichrist.

Fifth, here is some good news for a change:

On May 6, 2019, Amir Tsarfati, a well-known Bible prophecy teacher, traveled to Washington, DC to attend a breakfast and to speak to about 30 members of Congress about the Biblical significance of supporting Israel.

All of Congress should have been there, but I thank God for alerting these leaders on the Biblical significance of supporting Israel.

He will bless those that bless Israel and curse those that curse Israel.

Sixth, the Middle East is about to explode over Pres. Trump’s sanctions on Iran.

Iran’s retaliation is putting the global oil market at risk.

One misstep could trigger the fulfillment of several prophecies.

Seventh, the third horseman of the Apocalypse is hyper-inflation and an economic collapse.

America’s controversy with China is putting the global economy at risk.

Jesus said watch and pray.

Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc.
Daymond & Rachel Duck
duck_daymond@yahoo.com