Birth pains

“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 24:7-8
In Matthew 24, Jesus gives His disciples a number of signs that will precede His second coming. Here He describes how wars will increase, famines will increase, and earthquakes will increase, all over the world. He likens these events to birth pains – that is, they will increase in frequency and intensity up to the moment of birth.
When we look at the world around us, we do indeed see wars in various places. In fact, there has not been a single day since 1945 that there has not been a war being fought, somewhere on earth. We see the number of people affected by famine and disease increasing. And we see the number of earthquakes increasing, and their severity.
However, we shouldn’t read the newspaper with dread. Jesus said that these things would happen, and they are. Moreover, they are signs that the end is getting closer. What a glorious day it will be when the Kingdom Age is finally born, and Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning on the earth! The joy we will have then, far surpasses the trouble we may have now. So hang in there, and keep looking up.