Birth Pains: The Process Again

As already mentioned, the sequelae from both earthquakes and war remain the same. Soon after warfare or a large quake, its only a matter of days before famine and pestilence begins and ultimately causes as many problems as the quake (or warfare) itself. One only has to look at Haiti to see this sequence of events play out.

It is also interesting that Jesus bundled these signs together as signs (earthquakes, warfare, famine and pestilence) that would not only serve as the beginning of the generation ("All these are the beginnings of birth pains"), but like birth pains, would increase in frequency and severity throughout the generation. Arnold Fruchtenbaum points out in "Footsteps of the Messiah", that WWI was the first time in human history where these signs all exploded, thus serving as the beginning mark of this last generation.

We are already seeing the beginning of this process in Japan:

Japanese survivors worry about dwindling supplies, food after devastating earthquake, tsunami; PM calls it biggest crisis since WWII

Along hundreds of miles of Japan's northeast coastline, entire towns are swamped and concern is increasing among survivors and aid workers about dwindling supplies.

the hardest-hit areas still don't have enough of what they need, according to those in shelters. There's not enough food, not enough water and no heat. And there are not enough resources to quickly reach - or even contact - the tens of thousands who remain missing.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan called the disaster the country's biggest crisis since World War II. Kan said that along coastal areas workers are having a "hard time" distributing food. The government was exploring the possibility of delivering food by sea or air, given the problems with roads en route to the north.

In other words: Famine.

One Red Cross official said that at the Pacific coast town of Ishinomaki, the local hospital feared it was about to run out of food and milk for babies

Updated Google Earth images showed aerial-view photos of towns, where a mosaic of colorful rooftops had been churned into mush. In the coastal town of Rikuzentakata, in hard-hit Iwate Prefecture, only 5,900 of the town's 23,000 residents have taken shelter, according to the Kyodo news service. Youka Ishi, who works at a town office two miles from the Miyagi Prefecture coast, said that roughly 2,700 buildings closer to the water "have been swallowed by the wave and there is nothing left."

Along the arteries that connect Tokyo with towns that are most in need of supplies and assistance, travelers encountered mudslides and fuel shortages, even less than 100 miles north of Tokyo.

The shelves of the Family Mart convenience store - like those in most stores - were otherwise wiped clean

Inside the store, there was no running water; a sign on the bathroom doors read, "no use." Not far away, more than 250 people lined up outside a grocery store, barred from entering by uniformed guards.

This is just the beginning - pestilence will begin within a matter of days, as conditions of sewage, untreated injuries and poor living conditions begin to take a toll.

This is the sequence of events seen every time, and as precisely predicted by Jesus.

The signs are all around us - and increasing. The earth is groaning and the birth pains are increasing rapidly.

We need to be ready for what is to come - and that includes the coming of Christ Jesus for His bride.

Its time to get on our knees and pray; not only for the people of Japan, but for the world.

We're on the brink of seeing the last stages of God's overall plan occurring and this is the single most important factor in everything that we are seeing today.

Not only is Jesus coming for the Church, but God will reveal Himself to the people of the earth - many times.

His presence will be made unequivocal - we see this throughout Ezekiel 38-39 (which may happen before the Tribulation), and we see this throughout the Tribulation period as described in Revelation 6-18.

We are rapidly approaching a time in human history in which people cannot deny that God is alive and very present. That is a significant development that we are approaching.

And during this period - when God reveals Himself - people will accept or deny Him - but there will be no nonsense of the idea that "God doesn't exist". That option will no longer exist.

And with that knowledge - many many people will still refuse God and actively turn against Him:

"The rest of mankind that were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the work of their hands; they did not stop worshiping demons, and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood-idols that cannot see and hear or walk. Nor did they repent of their murders, their magic arts, their sexual immorality or their thefts." (Revelation 9:20-21).

"...they refused to repent of what they had done." (Revelation 16:11)

"And they cursed God..." (Revelation 16:21)

Fortunately, with God's revealing Himself, many will open their eyes find their way to Christ. We see this in the book of Revelation, and through Ezekiel's prophecies involving the aftermath of the Gog-Magog battle.

Its time to decide whether to accept God and His promises of salvation through Christ Jesus, or its time to reject God and His promises.

The time of attempting to deny the existence of God is drawing to a close.