Birth
Pangs
Matthew 24 is a sobering chapter in Scripture. Upon
being asked about the end of the world, Jesus proceeded to describe a time on
earth of unbelievable pain and suffering, so great that if time were not shortened
by the Lord Himself, no flesh would be spared. Although it sounds both traumatic
and dire, our world has always been in the throes of turmoil and suffering. The
first world before the flood only lasted some 1650 years or so. Within 500
years of the flood, man was back to building the Tower of Babel and God was
raining fire and brimstone down on Sodom and Gomorrah. Since the flood, over
the past 3,400 plus years, humanity has been at peace for only a fraction of
them, actually only about 8 percent of recorded history. It is a grave
miscalculation to think that our world is getting worse, for it has always been
as we see it today. The first murder was in the first family and man’s heart is
the same today as it was then. Jesus spoke of the birth pangs of planet earth.
These were pains the earth would feel due to the wickedness of man and a world
slowly unraveling. As it was before the flood, so it is today. The world is not
getting more evil, there are just more and more evil people living in it. As
good is diminished, evil abounds more and more. As society slowly removes those
instruments of good and righteousness from its midst, an ever increasing number
of lawless, godless souls will fill its ranks. Over time, like the leaven Jesus
spoke of, it will leaven the whole lump. Birth pangs are nature’s indicator of
something greater about to take place. In this case, an indicator of a world
about to give birth to an era in human history that no words are capable of
describing. Only two elements are necessary to bring the world to an end, man
and time, nothing more. As we look around at the world and the pangs being caused
by evil everywhere, they are meant to be a reminder, a reminder to get ready
for the inevitable!
Your Pastor
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