Week #1: Don’t Be Alarmed – Birth Pains Before the End

Blog Series Intention Recap

The Signs of the Times series explores Jesus’s teaching about the end of the age from a dispensational, pre-tribulational, premillennial perspective. Each week unpacks key events of the future Tribulation period, beginning with the initial birth pains and culminating in Christ’s Second Coming. While these events are not for the Church to endure, they reveal God’s sovereign plan for Israel and the nations. The Church will be raptured before the Tribulation, but believers are called to live in readiness, understanding the times and proclaiming the gospel urgently. This series equips Christians to interpret prophetic Scripture rightly, stand firm in truth, and keep watch for the blessed hope—Christ’s imminent return.

This page is a post in the series “Signs of the Times.” Click here to see the rest of the posts.

Let’s jump into Week #1:

Before the Storm Breaks: What Jesus Really Meant About the End Times… Matthew 24 is not about the Church—but about Israel’s future during the Tribulation. However, the signs we see today echo what Jesus described. These “birth pains” warn us of the coming judgment. Believers won’t be here for the Tribulation, but we are called to live in urgent readiness for the imminent rapture. Fix your hope on Christ’s return for the Church. Know the signs. Share the gospel. Live ready.

Why it Matters:

• Jesus spoke to a Jewish audience about Israel’s future, not the Church’s experience.

• The “birth pains” describe the first half of the seven-year Tribulation.

• The Church will be raptured before this period begins (1 Thess. 4:16–17).

• Today’s instability foreshadows coming judgment—so we live with urgency.

Go Deeper:

When the Disciples Asked, Jesus Answered

The disciples were troubled. As Jesus left the temple, He declared that not one stone would remain on another (Matthew 24:2). Shocked, they asked: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” (Matt. 24:3). Their question was rooted in Jewish expectation—the hope of Messiah’s visible kingdom on earth.

Jesus answered with clarity—but many today confuse His reply. This chapter, often quoted in times of chaos, is not about the Church’s future, but Israel’s experience during the seven-year Tribulation (Daniel 9:27). Jesus was teaching Jewish disciples about what will happen after the Church is gone.

1. What Are the “Birth Pains”?

Jesus began by warning of false messiahs, wars, famines, earthquakes, and lawlessness (Matt. 24:4–8). He called them “the beginning of the birth pains.” This phrase is critical. Like contractions before labor, these are signs of something about to be born—namely, the Messianic kingdom.

But we must note the timing. According to Daniel 9:27, there is a future seven-year period appointed for Israel, when a covenant will be confirmed by a coming world ruler. This is the same timeframe Revelation 6–19 describes. The first half of this period includes the events Jesus called “birth pains.” These signs are not the Great Tribulation yet—but they lead there.

So what about now? We are not in the Tribulation. But like storm clouds before a hurricane, we see signs of what is coming: global unrest, deception, hostility toward truth, and growing apostasy. These are foreshadows, not fulfillments.

2. The Church Will Not Face the Tribulation

Scripture is clear: believers in Jesus Christ will be caught up before the wrath of God falls.

Paul wrote, “Jesus…delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10). John added in Revelation 3:10 that believers would be “kept from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world.” The Tribulation is not for the Church—it is a time of judgment and a time for Israel’s national repentance (Jer. 30:7; Rom. 11:26–27).

The rapture (1 Thess. 4:13–18) is imminent—it could happen at any moment. That means the Church won’t see the rise of the Antichrist or the global judgments Jesus describes. But we should recognize how quickly the world is preparing for such things.

3. The Gospel Will Still Be Preached

Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world… and then the end will come” (Matt. 24:14). This is often misunderstood.

This verse does not refer to the Church Age mission. Instead, it points to the supernatural gospel witness during the Tribulation: the 144,000 sealed Jewish evangelists (Rev. 7:3–8), the two witnesses in Jerusalem (Rev. 11), and even an angel flying overhead preaching the eternal gospel (Rev. 14:6). The gospel will go global after the Church is gone.

Yet, this doesn’t mean we pause our efforts now. In fact, the opposite is true. Knowing what’s coming should compel us to share the gospel urgently today—before the rapture and before the world enters that terrible time of judgment.

4. We Are in the Last Days of the Church Age

We are not in the Tribulation—but we are in the last days of the Church Age (2 Tim. 3:1–5). Paul described these days as perilous—marked by deception, immorality, and a form of godliness without power. Everything we see—the breakdown of moral restraint, the rise of false teaching, the rejection of truth—is what we’d expect in a world that is being prepared for judgment.

Peter said it plainly: “The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded” (1 Peter 4:7).

How does this help me understand, “Signs of the Times?”

The Storm Is Coming—But We’re Going Home First

Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 are not about guessing dates or fueling fear. They are a wake-up call to Israel—and a warning to the world. The labor pains are real. The delivery is coming. But the Church will be gone before the worst begins.

So don’t be alarmed. Be alert. Don’t be discouraged. Be determined. The signs of the times are everywhere—but the Lord’s return for His Church is even nearer.

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command… and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive… will be caught up together… to meet the Lord in the air…”
—1 Thessalonians 4:16–17

How Should We Live?

1. Watch, but do not worry.
   Jesus told us what would happen—not to frighten us, but to prepare us. We’re not looking for signs—we’re looking for the Savior.

2. Discern the times.
   Know the difference between the Church Age and the Tribulation. Don’t confuse Israel’s future with the Church’s calling.

3. Live ready for the rapture.
   Our blessed hope is not survival through judgment—but rescue before it. The trumpet could sound at any moment.

4. Share Christ while there is time.
   If you believe these things are true, tell someone. Speak the gospel boldly. Urgency fuels mission.

Fix your hope on Christ’s return for the Church. Know the signs. Share the gospel. Live ready.