“A major earthquake hits... Powerful storms are churning up ocean water... More than 42,000 people are now confirmed to have been killed in earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria...” Jesus Christ describes them as “the beginning of birth pains,” a metaphor used throughout the Bible in reference to suffering and judgement, and also indicates that just as birth pains increase in intensity and frequency as labor progresses, so too will these events increase in intensity and frequency as the end of the age draws near.
In today’s episode we will continue our exploration of the predictions that were fulfilled in Christianity’s holy scriptures. The Old Testament contained many predictions about the Messiah – Lord Jesus Christ (vegetarian) and it was also foreseen that He would become a Prophet. “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to him.”
Indeed, Lord Jesus Christ shared numerous prophecies that were fulfilled during His time, and also fulfilled after His passing. Among these prophecies are that His words would be everlasting; “Heaven and Earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away.”
He also stated that the story of Mary of Bethany would be shared for a long time afterward. After Lord Jesus miraculously raised her brother from the dead, at the dinner honoring the Lord, she poured perfume on Lord Jesus’ feet. At the time, Judas scolded her for pouring expensive perfume instead of selling it and helping the poor. Lord Jesus replied: “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for me. For the poor you have with you always; but you do not always have me. For when she poured this perfume upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.”
The profound words of wisdom and stories of Lord Jesus Christ – including this particular story – were recorded by His disciples, and later shared and documented by many others. Today the teachings are spread worldwide, indeed fulfilling His prophecy.
Lord Jesus also knew in advance that He would be betrayed by one of His disciples. At the Last Supper, He revealed that the betrayal would occur. “And as they did eat, He said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto Him, Lord, is it I?” Then it happened; “While He was still speaking a crowd came up, and the man who was called Judas, one of the Twelve, was leading them. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked Him, ‘Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?’”
He also knew that His disciple, Saint Peter, would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed. “Peter replied, ‘Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.’ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘This very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’” Later, the details unfolded. “[…] Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. ‘You also were with Jesus of Galilee,’ she said. But he denied it before them all. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ he said. Then he went out to the gateway, where another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, ‘This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth.’ He denied it again, with an oath: ‘I don’t know the man!’” “Then he (Peter) began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, ‘I don’t know the man!’ Immediately a rooster crowed. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: ‘Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.’ And he went outside and wept bitterly.”
The merciful Lord Jesus also knew that He would suffer because of the religious rulers. He knew that His death would occur in Jerusalem, by crucifixion, and that He would be raised from the dead on the third day after His death. “From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.” “You know that after two days is the Passover, and the Son of Man will be delivered up to be crucified.” “The Jews then said to Him, ‘What sign do you show us as your authority for doing these things?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body. So when He was raised from the dead, His disciples remembered that He said this; and they believed the Scripture and the words which Jesus had spoken.”
Lord Jesus also predicted the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. “After His (Jesus’) suffering, He presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the Kingdom of God. On one occasion, while He was eating with them, He gave them this command: ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’” And so it happened. “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.” Then Saint Peter and the Apostles explained this auspicious phenomenon. They encouraged everyone to repent and follow the Lord. Three thousand people accepted Saint Peter’s message, were baptized, and this was the start of the early church.
Lord Jesus also predicted that the Jewish people would be persecuted and scattered, while Gentiles would rule the Holy Land. “And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” All of these predictions were fulfilled, demonstrating that Lord Jesus Christ was indeed a genuine prophet.
Jesus Christ also made many prophecies concerning the events that signify the arrival of the end of the age, also known as the End Times, and His return for salvation, also known as the Second Coming. They are recorded in His famous Olivet Prophecy and are further detailed in the Book of Revelation, which Jesus Christ received from God and passed on to John the Apostle in a dramatic vision.
The Olivet prophecy was delivered during Lord Jesus’ final days on Earth, in which He spent most of His remaining time with His disciples. He cautioned His followers, saying that they would suffer tribulation and persecution before the ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God. In the prophecy, Jesus Christ reveals the events of the End Times in stages: the beginning of the birth pains, the arrival of the end, the great tribulation, and His Second Coming.
Two days before His crucifixion, when Jesus Christ was sitting on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him privately and asked, “‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?’”
In response, Jesus revealed several major signs of the End Times, which we have been experiencing in the present time. “Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.”
He warns of the rise of false christs who will deceive people and lead them away from the true way of God, and emphasizes the importance of staying faithful to God.
Jesus Christ also mentions the occurrence of wars, famines, pestilence and earthquakes as early signs of the end of the age. These problems have existed throughout human history, causing great damage and loss of life. In this prophecy, Jesus Christ describes them as “the beginning of birth pains,” a metaphor used throughout the Bible in reference to suffering and judgement, and also indicates that just as birth pains increase in intensity and frequency as labor progresses, so too will these events increase in intensity and frequency as the end of the age draws near. Ultimately, they will lead to the birth of a new age and the final triumph of the Kingdom of God when Jesus Christ returns to establish His Kingdom on earth. We will look up these signs of End Times further in our next episode.
