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BIRTH PAINS AND OUR GREAT GLORIOUS HOMECOMING

Written and published by Jean-Louis Mondon

The subject of pregnancy and childbirth are very close and dear to my heart. Three events related to the miracle of birth occurring at different stages in my life have caused a growing interest and a search throughout the Bible to discover important links between the natural and spiritual aspects of life created and sustained by our Creator and Heavenly Father. Moreover, 3 years spent on my brother´s farm in France have taught me many spiritual and practical lessons, one of them being the yearly birth of sheep and goats and the assistance that these animals require all the way to the time of delivery of their little ones. 

God in his infinite wisdom has given us finite creatures, the curiosity, imagination and thirst for knowledge to conceive and fabricate instruments to measure time and space. 

One of these instruments, the hourglass, although archaic, except for boiling eggs! served its purpose when it was invented. I chose it as a visual illustration of the greatest event in all of human history, the dividing of time between BC and AD, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is as if God took an hourglass made in heaven and chose the narrow passage between the two parts as the dividing line between past, present and future.  When the time allotted from the birth of Adam to the birth of Jesus had run its course, it is as if, God took the divine hourglass, turned it upside down 180 degrees and is still letting the grains of sand measuring time run down until his purpose is accomplished concerning the age of grace in which we are living.  

Time/Space continuum graphic

The biblical concept of correlation between the natural birth and the spiritual birth in that order is to be found and confirmed by Scripture. Paul, in the chapter about the resurrection of the body explains:  “…So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being;” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.… 1 Corinthians 15:45-47. 

Additionally, the Lord Jesus during Nicodemus nightly visit explained the new second spiritual birth. In John 3: 3-7:Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time to be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh is born of flesh, but spirit is born of the Spirit. Do not be amazed that I said, ‘You must be born again."

Pregnancy and childbirth, natural and spiritual

If the Word of God be true, and it is, proven by the verifiable historical context of 1000s of years of fulfilled prophecies, then, all the events described in the pages of the Bible, referring to human births, miscarriages, the spiritual new births of individuals, families, groups of people, nations and the inexorable aspect of the passing of time involved in these processes lead me to conclude that we are indeed living in the last days.

The Word mentions “birth pains“ as a major sign because it has been the longer in contiuous existence since Adam and Eve and everybody alive at any time had a mother and a father. Well, at least until now when man in his arrogant and prideful rebellion, is changing the laws concerning the nature of marriage between man and a woman and legalizing wholesale, unrestrained abortions, which in itself is a confirmation of prophecy announcing the time of the end.

There is something about the gestation period that doesn´t give us the luxury of choosing a middle ground between life and death. Within the time frame of more or less 9 months, the growing baby in the womb is going to be born dead or alive. We have a choice in the matter, but the baby unfortunately does not.

We know who the Lord of life and the Living Word is. His name is Jesus. We also know that the destroyer of life is satan. History has proven, centuries after centuries that he is a real personality and not an invention of uneducated, backwards believers in myths concocted to instill fear designed to indoctrinate and enslave weak, credulous masses of inferior people into submission to a ruling elite class and their subordinates.

Now we can connect the illustration of the hourglass to the miracle of childbirth. Are we now part of the last generation that is witnessing the inescapable motion of downward pull towards the next phase of history?

The Bible is replete with marking the span of periods of prophetic visions and dreams and their fulfillment exactly as the Lord spoke through His anointed prophets. This historical fact is undeniable.

Then, why did God choose to liken the period in which we live to a woman giving birth? By the way, the Spanish and Portuguese translation is to “bring forth to the light”, interesting!

Prophetic voices

Just as with the grains of sand in the hour glass, "gravity" is the dynamic moving element driving the process of childbirth. Again, the Portuguese word for a pregnant woman is "uma mulher grávida."

Didn´t the Lord tell Abraham in Genesis 22:17: “Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies.”

A corresponding, parallel reference to this verse echoes in the words of Jesus to Peter on the subject of faith if we consider that Abraham is the father of our faith through his spiritual progeny. Note the similarity of the 2 verses.

In Matthew 16:17-18, Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. 

If the gestation is uninterrupted and proceeds in a normal, healthy manner, we can be sure that the birth will be successful.

The Lord in his mercy and love for his children does not want to be ignorant of his ways. 

Psalm 103:7 states: “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.” Moses was the Lord´s instrument who experienced the divine intervention in his birth and the subsequent protection of his life from Pharaoh who wanted to kill him. He was also the one who prophetically, pointed ahead to a future propitious preordained time when Jesus would be born, the one who through the Holy Spirit, the Father would accomplish the spiritual New Birth. Acts 3:22 states: “"Moses said, 'THE LORD GOD WILL RAISE UP FOR YOU A PROPHET LIKE ME FROM YOUR BRETHREN; TO HIM YOU SHALL GIVE HEED to everything He says to you."

All these signs in the natural and supernatural realms are for our instruction and  benefit. In Romans 15:4 Paul reminds the believers that: “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope."

Now it doesn´t mean that we can and should calculate precisely dates within the time/space dimension to predict the exact date of the rapture divinely hidden from human knowledge . That is an impossible task at which many self-appointed greedy prophets of doom have tried and miserably failed, misleading many of their blind followers.

But we certainly can use the events predicted in history past including the plan, the patterns, the feasts of Israel and the many convergent signs provided by the Lord so we will not be caught unaware or even surprised when the prophecies find fulfillment.

In addition to the wisdom and understanding granted to us, some of the great blessings and gifts of our Father to encourage and strengthen others through our journey are hope, faith and love without which our pilgrimage through life would sometimes be unbearable in times of affliction, conflicts, distress and great upheaval of all kinds, as we have witnessed especially in the past few decades.  Paul mentions several times that sharing about the rapture comforts and helps us to stand firm in the grace and the mighty keeping power of our loving God. 1 Thess. 4:17,18; 2 Thess. 5:11.

To respond to the skepticism and unbelief or apathy from the detractors of dispensationalism and pre-trib millennialism who reason and argue that America is not under judgment because it doesn´t fit their eschatological framework and preconceived notions, I would just point out that it is God Almighty who directs history, elevates rulers and brings down nations by the power of his right hand and his will in his own chosen time. That is his prerogative as the Sovereign Lord and King of the universe. As his creatures and human subjects, we would do well to accept and align ourselves with his will and his Word. 

If there is a pressing need today more than ever, it is to guard against deception, even coming from political movements that seek, sometimes in a subtle ways, to change our allegiance and obedient submission to our God and King to conform to a lesser earthly wisdom and embrace the false hope of bringing about the Kingdom of God on earth.

God will have his way, no matter what man thinks, says or does. Job declares in Job 42:1-3: “Then Job replied to the LORD: “I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted. You asked, ‘Who is this who conceals my counsel without knowledge? Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.…

Every one of us is responsible for the way we respond to the clear instructions of the Lord as we are about to witness the final stage of the deliverance (delivery) of the Church at the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The souls and spirits of babies who were born again by receiving the life giving seed of life will be finally delivered from the limitations of the fleshly body when the birth pains and the last contractions push us out in our exit toward the bright shining light beckoning us in the clouds. Right on God´s time table, we will, in the twinkling of an eye enter through the portal of eternity with the Lord Jesus leading the way as the faithful bridegroom who, keeping his promise will present his bride without wrinkles or blemish to his Father.

First, there was the invitation to “COME TO ME”, all you who are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Then, the command: “COME, FOLLOW ME” and I will show you the way to the Father.

Next, another command: “COME OUT OF HER” to separate from the apostate church and do the will and accomplish the purpose of the Father.

Finally, we who have waited so long with faith and hope will hear those precious words like John the Revelator: “COME UP, HITHER” at the Rapture/Resurrection of the true Christian believers 

Conclusion

Deliverance sometimes happens at our weakest point when every else has failed. God shows up seemingly at the last minute to rescue his people. There is always a movement from one place to another, from one situation to another. Just read the lives of Noah, Abraham, Lot, Joseph or Moses account of the parting of the Red Sea. 

The increased persecution experienced by Christians around the world is a sign of the end. The church of the living God, his bride is at the stage of her last contractions. The Lord knows that we have little strength as he told the believers at the Church of Philadelphia in Revelation 3:8.

Romans 8:22-27 lays it out very explicitly for us: “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.  And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

The church is collectively going to experience her final deliverance. We, the pilgrims on this terrestrial ball get off to finally make our last flight to our heavenly home. The events marking the inexorable course of history, painful progression of the pregnancy will culminate in bringing the final big push from the earth heavenwards, unencumbered by the physical body. The words of the Lord “Come up hither” will have the irresistible power to attract all the members of the redeemed church upward to him like a super strong heavenly magnet sweeping upward around the globe the fine weightless dust of light particles responding to the Good Shepherd´s voice that guided us to our eternal destination. 

Maranatha,  Even so, Lord Jesus, come quickly”

2019 03 24 John Haller's Prophecy Update "Converging Flashpoints"

Bible Prophecy is Happening Now! (2019)

How Far Will the Falling Away Go?

By Gene Lawley

Published on: March 23, 2019 by RRadmin7 Category:Gene Lawley, General Articles

 

When I first began to pay attention to the Scriptures where Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, saying, “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4), I assumed it meant a “falling away” from the faith, a denial of Christ and rejection of church affiliation. Yes, but much more, as current events and trends are showing. It is a turning away from morality and lawfulness, and that includes many in the “Christian” category, no less. 

How many mainline churches and high-level clergy are embracing with welcoming arms the raging sexuality movement? The gender manipulation frenzy, the clamor for acceptance of homosexuality as a normal lifestyle, the hard-driven demand that abortion of babies in the womb, even partially born, is fully acceptable and legal—these trends have grown exponentially like a brushfire in these past few years. It is indeed like a frenzy.

The abortion issue ties in with this sexual revolution, for it has all the markings of nothing more than a major birth-control method. How to have all the sex experiences possible without any responsibility, that seems to be the hidden reason. How many of the 61 million abortions recorded in America since 1973 (Roe v Wade) were actually due to the health of the mother?

Oaths of office to uphold the Constitution mean nothing anymore. Gangs in streets opposing lawmen, destroying property and human lives, demanding open borders for illegals and providing safe cities for killers—the signs of a dying society are enormous.

What is to become of America? What is to become of the world?
In the “rat race” of this world, the rats seem to be winning. But when God shows up, the rats will race for the darkness, just as they have been for centuries. When Peter wrote these words in his second epistle, he revealed a great truth that holds up, and has held up for these centuries, of God’s purpose over all that time:

“…Knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’
“For this they willfully forget, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
“But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:3-9).

In spite of scoffers and naysayers, God is fixed in His patient desire that all can be saved who would be saved, that is, willing to repent and be saved. The current question, then, is how long will He wait in these days for that final one to be born again before He returns for all those whom He has bought with His own blood? 

In the days of Noah, all of the world except Noah and his family were in rebellion against God. And in the days of Lot, the whole city of Sodom was totally saturated with evil when Lot went out of the city and sudden destruction came upon it and its inhabitants. Luke 17:26-30 tells us that the Son of Man will come for His own, just like in the times of Noah and Lot, but during a time of economic and social revival or seemingly “well off” times, especially in America.
When Noah and his family entered the ark and God closed the door on them (Genesis 7:16), there was no more representation of righteousness left among physical mankind. Evil had won its final and ultimate conclusion. God’s judgment had also arrived, for the flood came and took away all evil in a cleansing of the whole earth. In 2 Thessalonians 2 we have looked at the compounding of a “falling away” comparable to, so Jesus said in Luke 17:26, “as it was in the days of Noah.” Further in Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, verses 5-8, he writes this:
“Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.”

The born-again believer is described and identified in this way in 1 Corinthians 6:17, “But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” Thus, the “One who restrains, the restrainer” is the believer in Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Lord has said to those who have accepted Him into their lives, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). (I quote these references to assert more forcefully that this passage, presenting the fact of the Rapture of the saints, is clearly the taking out of the earth the true body of Christ.)

It is comparable to the time of Noah in that, following that exit, there is no more representation of righteousness left on earth. Only left behind is the conclusion of evil—God’s judgment in the sudden destruction to follow, and then, seven years of tribulation judgment.

 In this Trump administration we have seen a reversal of the deceptive plan to destroy the sovereignty of the United States and initiate a New World Order that would front for a one-world government. That is clearly the underlying plan subtly pointed to when President Obama spoke at the 2016 DC Correspondents’ Dinner on April 30, 2016. In the video produced by C-Span and online on YouTube, he greeted the guests with, “You are all looking great…the end of the Republic has never looked better!”

Perhaps the guests, all news correspondents, thought this was a joke since that was somewhat the format of the evening. Yet, throughout his talk, he revealed his certainty of the coming results of the 2016 election…as he was so sure who would win it. One of those references went like this: “I don’t know who the next president will be, but I’m sure she will be a good one!”

But God had other plans, according to His long-suffering for those who would become born-again believers before His Appointed Time for that 7^th head of the Beast of Revelation, the one-world government. He said, in action if not words, “Barack Obama, you will get your one-world government, but it will be in My timing, not that of mankind.”

Take a look again at Luke 17:26-30 and see what happened, apparently, because the raging fight against the reversal of their intentions has never been so intense anytime in recent decades. The “falling away” from lawfulness is so deeply embedded in our governmental bodies, in society, in every corner of life that it is beginning to look like those days of Noah and of Lot and their surrounding conditions. The bowing down to the demands of pro-abortionists and their determined ally, Planned Parenthood, and the perverted sexual and gender manipulation frenzy is nothing short of astounding. As Romans 3:18 declares, “There is no fear of God before their eyes!” 

It is not likely that God will come to earth and bargain with anyone, like He did before the judgment of Sodom (see Genesis 18). He will come like a thief in the night, and sudden destruction will follow immediately, according to 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3. 

The remaining question, again, is “how full must the cup of God’s judgment be before the Son of Man comes?”
Contact email:  andwegetmercy@gmail.com