Birth Pangs
Addressing the question of the last days, Jesus referred to the horrendous lead-up to the final moments of human history as being similar to that of ‘birth pangs’ (Matt. 24:8). Paul uses a similar metaphor in 1 Thessalonians 5:3. Since the signs Jesus mentions pointing us towards the end are fairly common main-stays throughout the human drama (earthquakes, wars, rumors of wars, pestilences, deception, etc.) what He was referring to was not that they happen, but how they happen. He said they would increase in both frequency and intensity like birth pangs until reaching a crescendo point at the very end of time. One could conclusively argue that the 20th century certainly achieved that crescendo status as being the most violent and transformative century in history.
Here there is a paradoxical relationship of sorts, where on the one hand, Jesus refers to these as the ‘days of Noah’ and ‘Lot,’ speaking to the seeming normalcy bias which will be prevalent upon the earth. On the other hand, Paul referred to these same days as perilous times (2 Tim. 3), meaning wickedness would continue to escalate globally until it reached unprecedented and unbearable levels. So the evil and wickedness that would continue to fester would be so commonplace, is to be accepted as normal, or just “the way things are.” But even then, it would rise so noticeably toward the end, that it becomes unbearable to the righteous (similar to how Lot’s soul was vexed daily in 2 Peter 2:7).
The other writers of the New Testament make similar sentiments about the rising tide of evil in the last days (James 5:1-6, 2 Peter 3:3-7, 1 John 2:15-19, Jude 1:14-19). The truth is, we are at the tail-end of this two-thousand-year stretch since Christ first walked the earth. It should not surprise us that we are seeing the escalation in both wickedness and entropy as we draw near to the conclusion of the convergence of Bible prophecy.
Having briefly discussed both the geopolitical and spiritual conditions of the world upon reaching the last days, let us move on to events now that are moving us even faster into the final moments. Now, think about all of the recent 21st-century concepts that have been introduced into our modern lexicon of common knowledge through pop culture, academia, science, and even government sanctions. These are things that are redefining reality for many people and are expanding (IMHO) the venues upon which Satan will use to introduce delusion and confusion.
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