Dedicated to Barry Isaacs
By Dr. Samuel M. Frost
The first instance of “labor” is, of course, Genesis 3:16. There, pain is associated with the bringing forth of Eve’s child who is destined to “bruise the head” of the wise creature of God (3:1). There are several instances of this image that came to be used metaphorically of great anguish due to fear, panic, or any number of adversities.
“The peoples heard, they trembled; pangs seized the inhabitants of Philistia” (Exodus 15:14). Psalm 48:7 reads, “trembling took hold of them there, pains as of a woman in labor.” Jeremiah 6:24 states, “”We have heard news of them, our hands fall helpless; anguish has taken hold of us, pain as of a woman in labor.” Again, “O inhabitant of Lebanon, nested among the cedars, how you will groan when pangs come upon you, pain as of a woman in labor!” (22:23).
Deuteronomy 2:25 states, “This day will I begin to send the dread and fear of thee upon the nations that dwell under the whole heaven: that when they hear thy name they may fear and tremble, and be in pain like women in travail.” This verse echoes Jeremiah as well as Exodus 15:14. There are two words in Hebrew and Greek usually associated together: odin (Greek), and hil (Hebrew, with a variant, hul). We find this expression in numerous actual births (example, 1 Samuel 4:19). The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible has, “the pangs of death surrounded me, the agonies of death prevented me” (2 Samuel 22:6).
In a fascinating passage, we find, “And they said to him, Thus, says Ezekias, this day is a day of tribulation, and rebuke, and provocation: for the children are come to the travail-pangs, but the mother has no strength” (2 Kings 19:3). It is often associated with “tribulation” or “affliction.” This can be used individually of males, “In vain, my sons, I endured many birth pangs for you, and the more grievous anxieties of your upbringing” (4 Maccabees 16:8). As we have seen, it can used of a nation, or even “nations.” “The cords of death entangled me, the pangs of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow” (Psalm 116:3).
“Pangs” of labor, then, are used for individual affliction, national affliction, or regional affliction. “Death” is a “pang.” War is a “pang.” Suffering at the hands of the enemy is a “pang.” Anything that brings about great anguish is referred to as “pangs of labor,” metaphorically speaking. Nahum 2:10, speaking of Ninevah, pens, “There is thrusting forth, and shaking, and tumult, and heart-breaking, and loosing of knees, and pangs on all loins; and the faces of all are as the blackening of a pot.”
The NT uses the image, “pangs of death,” as we have seen in a few verses above, in Acts 2:24. Saint Paul also uses the image, typical of OT imagery, in 1 Thessalonians 5:3, “While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” This, again, is typically descriptive of any time or tumult that grips human beings and brings them to great, emotional panic. The wicked, “speak peace to their neighbors, but evil is in their hearts” (Psalm 28:3). Also echoing Isaiah 48:22, “”There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” Mainly, though, we find the phrase, “peace, peace, when there is no peace” in Jeremiah 6:14, 8:11; (9:8); 13:21; “There is no peace for all flesh” (12:12). Ezekiel utters the same phrasing in 13:10, 16 (see also Micah 3:5).
This is a very brief survey of the images of a “woman in travail” being used metaphorically of literal times of war, destruction, famine, and individual fear. It is a phrase used throughout the history recorded in the OT for times of travail. It is not limited to any particular time, but is used in any time of great affliction. Like the phrase, “great tribulation,” which is used by David and Nehemiah (“On account of our sins it yields its abundant crops to kings whom You have set over us. They rule over our bodies and our beasts as they please, and we are in great tribulation” – 9:37), anyone, any nation, any local region can be at any time in “pangs of labor.” This is because the “things” that bring about such a distressing situation are vehicles of great stress: war, famine, plague, drought, enemies in the camp, false prophets, lies, and conspiracies. In short, when God brings about such calamities due to sin, you usually find folks crying, “peace, all is well,” when not all is well. Thus, from the beginning of Adam and Eve’s plight, and all throughout the OT, times of great distress have come as “pangs of a woman in labor.”
This brings me to Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21. Here, Matthew places two categories of thought in opposites by using two antonyms: “beginning” (arche) and “end” (telos). The phrasing in 24:8 uses odin (Greek): “the beginning of travail” (ASV); “beginnings of sorrows” (DRA); “beginning of the birth pains” (ESV); “commencement of sorrows” (MRD); “beginning of the birth pangs” (NRS); Anfang der Wehen” (EIN, “beginning of contractions”). As we can see here, the idea of “labor” is connected to the term odin because odin is often used in contexts of women giving birth. The term itself does not mean “labor pains,” but, simply, “pains” or “woes.” The noun, arche, is “beginning” followed by the genitive, “of pangs.” Hence, some translators have brought in the idea of “labor pains.” Fair enough, since it does not detract from the meaning.
“Pains” is in the plural, which would grammatically correlate with “all these things” (panta tauta); a definite phrase. Since we have the plural, and “the end” is in the singular, we can again highlight the fact that these multiple “woes” are not the singular “end.” What is of greater interest is that the phrase, “beginning of woes” as we have it in Greek is only found here (and Mark 13:8). What this suggests, then, is that Matthew is deliberately separating out the “beginning things” (plural) from the “end thing” (singular). The beginning things are not the end thing.
Thus, what are the beginning things? As we have seen, these are things marked by persecution, war, famine, earthquakes, afflictions, plagues, economic anxiety; basic judgement of God stuff. In our OT survey we noted the several times “these things” came upon the inhabitants of the earth. These are things that cause “great affliction” (or, “tribulation” if you prefer). They can happen whenever, where ever, to whom ever, be it a nation, local city, or individually, as we have seen.
What has happened is that certain prophecy pundits have invented the term “beginning of labor pains” as a technical term that can only stand for the last years (last days) that lead up to “the Great Tribulation.” The GT is another invented technical term that suggests that the Great Tribulation is a mere few years until “the end.” Hence, we often hear folks saying, “the end is right around the corner,” because we are “living in the last days,” and then they will show how the “signs” all line up. The Preterists do the same thing, just in the past. Notice that the disciples never asked for signs. Yet, both the Preterist and the Dispensationalist have their “lists” by enumerating “signs” like earthquakes in the years leading up to AD 70, or “famines,” and the like. In other words, both faulty paradigms have “the beginning woes” taking place within the few short years leading up to “the end.” For the Preterist, “the end” is 70 AD (the made up, “age of Moses” ends, sounding, again, very Dispensationalist like). For the Dispensationalist, the “end of the mystery church age” (rapture), then seven years of The Great Tribulation. They both operate without any consideration of biblical survey, as we have done here.
First off, “the latter times” is an undefined period of time. Preterists and Dispensationalists assume it only means a short period of time leading up the “the end.” There is no biblical precedent for this. It’s almost as if the Preterist has simply stolen the Dispensationalist meaning, but simply placed it in the past.
Second, “the labor pains” are, as we have seen, a term used throughout the OT for times of suffering and what not. It is not a technical term at all. Rather, it is a metaphorical term to describes times of great pain. Simple. Nothing more, nothing less (so is the phrase, “great tribulation” – which is only found in Matthew’s presentation of the Olivet Discourse, and left out in Mark’s). Critics of Dispensationalism have been right in pointing out that World War 2 was a time of great tribulation; worldwide tribulation. But, the Dispensationalists will respond with, “yeah, but that’s nothing to be compared with what’s coming.” Well, okay. I am not sure how one can rate “suffering,” but the idea that human suffering have never reached fever pitch “yet,” is simply absurd (not to mention totally oblivious to actual, present suffering). The same thing is pointed out to the Preterist: “World War 2 was far greater than 70 AD.” The Preterist will respond with, “well, no, because that time was the worst time ever in history for the Jews.” Well, how about the Shoah? “That’s different, because Jews today are not covenantal Jews.” Whatever. The point being is that both camps minimize present suffering, tribulation, earthquakes, famines, drought, human-on-human cruelty, and the like. The Bible speaks directly to present suffering.
So, what is Jesus saying? “All these things; persecutions, tribulations, hatred in the world, famines, earthquakes, nations against nations, wars, rumors of wars, panic, fear, false Messiahs, false Prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing; all these things are like beginning contractions of labor pains when they happen. But these things must continue to take place, and will continue to take place.” Or, in comparing (and summarizing) the entire period from “creation” to Jesus’ own day as “great tribulation,” to continued “great tribulation” to come (summarizing the entire period until the end), until “it is no more.” That is, all these things that are descriptive of what “great tribulation” is, “shall be no more” – shall end.
Indeed, Jesus had already stated this in Matthew 13:41, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers.” When? “at the end of the age” (13:40). What is “gathered out”? “All causes of sin and all law-breakers.” That is, all who cause tribulation, and things that bring tribulation and God’s wrath.
The biggest absurdity Preterists have to contend with is the large, suffering elephant in the room: the continuation of great things that bring great affliction post 70 AD. In their view, Jesus is more or less saying, “Great Tribulation will happen, and shall be no more in this generation. The generation after you, however, is going to have to same kinds of great things that cause great tribulations, but they are not really the Great Tribulation things I am talking about that you (and you only) will see.” Absurd? You bet.
Rather, in Matthew “the end” is distinctly contrasted with many occurrences of “woes.” The “woes” occur, and continue to occur, until the End, when they shall occur “no more.” Thus, in this light, Jesus specifically tells his audience (his generation) that they will, indeed, “see all these things” (tauta panta), 24:33. What “things” (plural) will they see? War, famine, earthquakes, etc. Jerusalem (a war – a nation against nation) will be “seen,” too. Don’t panic. “Flee!” Why? Because this is not “the end.” Nowhere does Jesus tell them that they will see “the end of the age,” which has already been defined: When “they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers” (13:41). Thus, they are asking, “when is the end of the age” – or, “when is the time when they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers?” Jesus’ answer is this: “you will all these things (as listed), things that bring about labor pains. You will see Jerusalem’s demise in a war, where not one stone will be left upon another. I highly recommend you flee the city. But, the end you ask about is not yet. No man knows that day or hour, when heaven and earth pass away (24:35-36).
Having said this, then, we can see that “those days” (24:29), which are directly connected to “those days” in their time, continue to describe “those days” of “great tribulation that shall be” (24:21) until “no more” (the end). Thus, “immediately after the tribulation of those days” (24:29) comes “the end” as described (24:29). This is how the language was understood in Jesus’ day. It is, then, quite understanding that “the tribulation of those days” are akin to “the onset of labor pains,” which is equal to “all these things.” All these things shall continue until no more.
Finally, let us break down the Greek that the original readers would have read. “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be” (24:21).
ἔσται γὰρ τότε θλῖψις μεγάλη οἵα οὐ γέγονεν ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς κόσμου ἕως τοῦ νῦν οὐδ’ οὐ μὴ γένηται.
For then “there shall be” (ἔσται) – What “shall be” (future)? “Tribulation.” That is the subject of the verb. “such as has not been” (οἵα οὐ γέγονεν). What “has been”? “Tribulation.” We have a relative pronoun (οἵα) with the verb (γέγονεν). “Then great tribulation shall be, not as great tribulation that has been.” Has been since when? “From the beginning of creation.” Notice this. The entire period of thousands of years is called, “great tribulation” (singular), from the creation until Jesus’ day. Now, I don’t know about you, but from the time of Adam to Jesus’ day, there must have been thousands of times of what would be called great calamity! Including Noah’s Flood! Yet, the entire period from creation to Jesus’ day is described under the singular term: “great tribulation.”
Jesus has said that “great tribulation shall be.” Might this not mark, equally so, an entire span of time? If the second clause of “great tribulation” marks the time of thousands of years from Adam to Christ, then why do we assume that the coming great tribulation marks only a few brief years? Would this not bring an imbalance to the comparisons of the clauses? Of course it would. If we understand the verb ἔσται to mark the idea of continual action (the progressive future), then we can translate, “great tribulation shall continue to be….until no more.” The final clause, οὐ μὴ γένηται (subjunctive aorist, singular) has “tribulation” as its subject. “For then great tribulation shall be, great tribulation unlike what tribulation has been, and not, never great tribulation be no more.” Here, we have the “woes” (tribulation shall be) and the “end” (“be no more”). We have the disciples “seeing all these things” and passing away (giving way to another generation, and another) until “heaven and earth shall pass away, but of that day, no man knows” (the end). We have “all these things” continuing “until no more.” The continuance of all these things lets the reader know that the end is not yet. The end is described as absolutely catastrophic (24:31).
All these things/Great Tribulation/Labor Woes: Wars, Rumors of wars, Famines, Plagues, Tribulations, Earthquakes, False Messiahs, Persecution, Nations against Nations, Peoples against Peoples, Hatred, Gospel Proclamation, Jerusalem’s demise (a war).
The End: Heaven and Earth will pass away, Sun-moon-creation collapse, Tribulation shall be no more.
By noting the marked differences between “the beginning woes” and “the end” (which ends the beginning things), we can see that there is a considerable allowance of “all these things” continuing until “the end,” which, in turn, allows each successive generation to find relevance with Jesus’ words here. We also find relevance in the theological meaning of Jerusalem’s demise (a covenantal judgment of God, or applied “cursing” upon the people of Israel) without resorting the extremes of Preterism, or Dispensationalism. As such, Judea’s being “scattered among the nations” in 70 C.E. (and 136 C.E.) is allowed to be understood not as a “rejection” of “casting off” of Israel (“God forbid” as Paul would say), but as an opportunity of dialogue with Christians and Jews, for the Christian is in “exile” as well. Together, both exiled groups are “awaiting” the inheritance of “all things” at “the end.” This, then, forces the conversation and action of Christians to walk “in love,” since the whole world is viewed as “in exile” from God and in need of God as Savior, who shall save those “in the end” who have remained faithful to Him. For the followers of Yeshua, Ha Meshiach, Ben-David, we proclaim and announce that the heavenly King has come, is come and that he is graciously calling out to the Jews, and the to the Nations, “I have a home prepared, and a seating at the banquet made ready.” By his great patience and loving kindness, he has extended his offer in the gospel announced by the Nevi’im, the Prophets, in Yeshua, and he has not yet brought the end in which the all the nations that have believed in Abraham’s God shall be eternally blessed with eternal shalom in a the new heavens and new earth God is creating. The invitation is to stand with Noah, Abraham, Ruth, David, and Hannah in this creation, immortal, forever, as promised.
Vigilate et Orate 