The labor pain that Jennifer, my wife endured before our daughter, Laura was born lasted for more than 12 hours. The "pains" came in cycles and the intensity got worst with every new cycle. This is liken to the coming Day of the Lord. The cycles will get worst and worst and eventually the calm utterance of "Peace and Safety" will denote its last cycle and the birthing forth of this Day.
The Thessalonian church got this message first hand from Paul in his first letter to them. The Scripture spells it out this way in Chapter 5, "Now as to the times and the epochs, brethern, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape
I may not know the actual timing for the End but certainly I am not in darkness that I cannot read the signs. Like the sons of Issachar, I need to understand the times and know what to do, with the discernment of the Holy Spirit. I believe that it is no coincident that the nation is celebrating its Jubilee year and I am also celebrating my Jubilee year.
Like Esther of old we are called for a time such as this and her resolve was "if I perish, I perish". This is the same challenge we hear in Revelations 12:10-11, "Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death."
Lord Jesus, I want to be alert and discern the calm before the storm and be empowered by the Holy Spirit to do what is needful. Amen!
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