What Old Testament prophecies align with the "birth pains" in Matthew 24:8? “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.” Tracing the Labor-Pain Picture Backward • Isaiah 13:6-8 “Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near… Terror, pain and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor.” • Isaiah 26:16-18 “LORD, in distress they sought You… As a woman with child about to give birth writhes and cries out in her pain, so were we in Your presence.” • Jeremiah 4:31 “I hear a cry like a woman in labor, anguish like one bearing her first child.” • Jeremiah 30:5-7 “Every man’s hands on his stomach like a woman in labor… That day is great; none is like it. It is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he will be saved out of it.” • Hosea 13:13 “Labor pains come upon him, but he is an unwise son; for when the time arrives, he fails to present himself at the opening of the womb.” • Micah 4:9-10 “Pain grips you like a woman in labor. Writhe in agony… For now you must leave the city… But there you will be rescued.” • Micah 5:3 “Israel will be abandoned until she who is in labor has given birth.” These prophets use labor-pain language to depict end-time anguish that precedes deliverance—precisely the point Jesus makes. Wars Foretold in the Same Breath • Isaiah 19:2 “I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians; brother will fight against brother.” • Ezekiel 38:21-22 “I will summon a sword against Gog… All men will turn their swords against one another.” • Daniel 11:40-45 “King of the North … will invade many countries.” Jesus lists “nation against nation” first; the prophets had already sketched that battle-ridden backdrop. Famines as Pre-Messianic Birth Contractions • Leviticus 26:19-20 “I will break your proud strength and make your sky like iron… Your land will yield no produce.” • Ezekiel 14:13, 21 “When a land sins… I cut off its supply of food and send famine upon it.” • Joel 1:10-16 “Grain is ruined, new wine is dried up… The day of the LORD is near.” Food shortages, like contractions, intensify as the Day approaches. Earthquakes and Cosmic Upheaval • Isaiah 24:19-20 “The earth is utterly broken apart… It sways like a hut.” • Ezekiel 38:19-20 “There will be a great earthquake in the land of Israel.” • Joel 2:10 “Before them the earth quakes, the heavens tremble, the sun and moon grow dark.” Creation itself shudders, picturing global birth pangs preceding new-kingdom life. Putting It All Together Old-Testament prophets consistently pair labor-pain imagery with: • Worldwide conflict • Severe shortage of food • Massive seismic and cosmic disturbances Jesus gathers those threads, calls them “the beginning of birth pains,” and readies His disciples for the literal, escalating travail that will climax in His visible return and the birth of His Kingdom (cf. Daniel 12:1; Zechariah 14:3-9). |
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