Labor Pains

1 Thessalonians 5-Part 1
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.           1 Thess. 5:1-3


LET IT GLOW

When will it be?
Although Paul was only with the Thessalonians for a few weeks (Acts 17:2), he taught them about the prophetic times and seasons regarding the return of Jesus. So it is with us. We should study the Scriptures, look around us, and we aware of the times and seasons.
Times denotes chronological extension or "periods of time" while seasons denotes "specific points" in time when designated events occur. (Liberty Bible Commentary)
This is not an event Christians need to be worried about, because we won't be here, I believe.

How did Paul describe the Day of the Lord? It would come as a thief in the night, unannounced and as a surprise. In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said, But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." God wants it to be an unexpected day, but He wants us to be prepared for the unexpected. [David Guzik Commentaries on the Bible]

Charles Swindoll said, "This event is quite different from the resurrection and rapture of believers that were described earlier. Those events will be dramatically announced by the Lord Himself (4:16)."

 This period of divine judgment will be inescapable for the unbeliever. God's wrath will be poured out during a 7-year period of judgment called the Great Tribulation (Rev. 6-19). However, I believe that Christians will be taken out before this occurs. 


LET IT GROW

There is one day in every mother's life that they do not forget-the day she went into labor with each of her children or the day they were born. There is excitement and anticipation as time draws near the baby's due date, such as it was with me. My hubby and I went a week early to stay with my parents so we would be closer to the hospital. She was almost two weeks late in coming. We lived in Bentonville at that time, which was a 40-50 minute drive to the hospital we were going to use. (fewer stop lights back them)
As usual, I woke up during the night to make the visit to you know where. On that particular morning, at 4 am, my water broke, but I didn't recognize it as such. So I went back to bed. Then the pains began. I knew it would be a long process, so I wanted to let my hubby and Mom sleep. But around 6 am, he woke up, saying he could tell "it was time." Of course, the excited father-to-be woke up Mom and we went to the hospital. After x-rays, and only 6 hours of having increased, intense labor pains, she was born, our beautiful baby girl.
Now, the experience was different with the birth of our second child, a son. Since my first child was born by C-section, the doctor didn't want me to go into labor, so we scheduled his day of birth. You know I had to go to WalMart the day before to get last minute things in preparation. (Even though there were no labor pains, there were surgical pains.) I'm sure you're like me and don't dwell on the pains of labor, but the joy our children have brought us throughout the years.

Paul says in verse 3 that destruction (for unbelievers) will come like birth pangs upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. (NAS) We know that labor pains for a pregnant woman are inevitable, sudden, inescapable, and painful. Paul used this illustration for the Day of the Lord.

David Guzik had this to say about verse 3:
"Jesus used the same idea in Matthew 24:8, when He spoke of calamities preceding the end times as the beginning of sorrows, which is literally the beginning of labor pains. The idea is both of giving birth to a new age, and implying an increase of intensity and frequency in these calamities. Even if you are ready for labor pains, you still don't know when they will come, and the pains are almost always worse than you expected."

When everything is said and done, a new heaven and new earth will be enjoyed, for eternity by the children of God who trusted in Jesus as their Savior. There will be no more pain and suffering. It will be worth all we endure here and now.


LET IT GO

Be ready to meet the Lord in the air.