“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.” - Matthew 24:6-8 NIV
We all know that when a woman is about to give birth she enters into labour. That is what is called birth pains. It is not the end of the process but it signifies that the end is near. So what will the woman and her husband (that’s if she has one) do? They will go to the hospital with all that they need in preparation for the new baby.
However, when many people read this text, they have a laid back attitude especially from what Jesus said in verse 6. He said the end is yet to come but people fail to understand that he also pointed out that these wars and rumors of wars indicate the beginning of birth pangs. This was an admonition from the Lord for us to get ready.
As I write this, I remember a song we used to sing back in the day:
‘Will you be ready when the Lord shall come?’
There are wars going on everywhere even in countries that are not on the news. War in Russia and Ukraine, War in Sudan, over 3,150 rockets have been fired by Palestinian militant group Hamas from Gaza into southern and central Israel over the past month, targeting both Israeli population centers and border villages. There are wars going on in countries you probably have never even heard of. The signs are everywhere. Remember the earthquake in Türkiye 🇹🇷? How about the tsunamis we’ve all seen in our day? The hurricanes, the famine in Somalia and many places around the world?
The earth is sending us a message guys!
If you can tell whether it’s going to rain or not, if you can tell what season it is and when the season will end, how can’t you tell o child of God when your Lord will come? He has made clear the signs of His coming.
We must be ready and make others ready.
“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” - Hebrews 9:27 KJV
There is only one judgement my brothers and sisters. So how do we make sure that we and the people we love are on the right side? The next verse helps us understand how.
“so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” - Hebrews 9:28 NIV
Jesus is Saviour and all who call upon Him will be saved (Rom. 10:13). Now, there is salvation in no other (Acts 4:12). This is to say that;
No other religion or mindset can save you on that day, only faith in Jesus Christ the son of God.
This is the truth that we must preach to ourselves and to everyone the Lord leads us to even if it means persecution for us.
May God help us in Jesus’ name.
https://youtu.be/pPo4wuQolTQ