The Beginning of Birth Pains 产痛的开始
“As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.”
Author: Ps Andrew Xu
Dear brothers and sisters,
Blessings to everyone. Today’s pastoral message stems from a very personal reflection of the events happening recently and my walk with God. There has been a very heavy burden on me recently, not only due to the Covid-19 virus outbreak but a revelation from God during my daily reflections in God’s word and the happenings around the world. We are drawing near to the second coming. Please do not mistake me for being another one of the apocalyptic prophets who is trying to predict the day and date of Christ’s second coming, but rather, a pastor who wants to declare a prophetic warning of things to come. Lest we slack and is caught ill-prepared for our Lord’s coming.
We must recognize the times. The world events that are happening around us are showing us something. Protectionist diplomatic policies, political tensions, famine, floods, earthquakes, global warming, virus outbreaks, fire, extreme weather events, etc… I can keep going on and on. They are happening around us with increasing frequency and intensity. Do not turn a blind eye towards these events, for it is speaking to us. It is as what Jesus described, “the beginning of birth pains”. Just as the pains increases in frequency and intensity as the birth draws near in childbirth, so does the signs of end times as the second coming draws near.
Do not fear, the Lord will be with us through the whole process. But be awake, do not slumber and slack. When we recognize the times we are in, it should serve as an alarm and warning. Be watchful and prepared like the 5 diligent virgins of Matthew 25:1-13 and not land yourself as one who is ill-prepared to receive the bridegroom.
More than ever, we must go back to God’s Word. As false prophets will twist God’s Word, the anti-Christ will seed doubt and the world will blind your eyes to the truth. My fear is that we are not prepared. We know too little of God’s Word and because of this, we are not discerning through the lens of God’s Word. Know the urgency of getting yourselves prepared, be acquainted with the Word of God and live your life in trust and obedience to the truth in it. You are not alone, as a faith community, we will do this together. Stay in the fellowship of the saints and do not wander around alone in these dangerous times. Let us watch out for each other and spur each other on to be prepared for what is to come.
“耶稣坐在橄榄山上，门徒暗中前来问他：“请告诉我们，什么时候会有这些事呢？你的降临和这世代的终结，有什么预兆呢？”耶稣回答他们:“你们要小心，不要被人迷惑；因为许多人要假冒我的名而来，说：‘我就是基督’， 并且要迷惑许多的人。你们要听见战争，也听见战争的风声；你们要小心，不要惊慌，因为这是免不了的，不过结局还没有到。一个民族要起来攻打另一个民族，一个国家要起来攻打另一个国家，到处都有饥荒和地震，这一切不过是痛苦的开始。”
作者：许燕杰传道
亲爱的弟兄姐妹：
平安！我今天的牧者感言是从我个人对于进期世界局势和属灵操练的反思而发。最近，我的心里甚是沉重。不仅是因为新冠肺炎的肆虐，也是近期世界发生的总总事件的反思导致。请不要误会我，我并不是要像先知一样发末日预言基督的第二次再来，而是以牧者心肠宣告先知性的提醒将要发生的事和应当注意什么。免得我们懒惰，不警醒，在主再来的时候措手不及。
我们必须认清所属的时代。世界近期在发生的事件都在告诉我们一些的东西。保护主义的外交政策、政治的动荡、干旱、水淹、地震、全球暖化、病毒袭击、火灾、极端的天气、等等！我还可以继续列下去！这些事都在我们周围发生，该频率越来越密，强度也日渐上升。我们对于这些事件不能闭目塞听，因为它们都是在跟我们说话。以上的经文耶稣形容说是“痛苦”的开始，原文更表达与生产痛苦的开始。就如产妇要生产时产痛会越频繁越激烈，基督要再来的时候这些的迹象也会越频繁越激烈。
但我们不要惧怕，因为主必带领我们经过。反而，我们要警醒、不可发困和懒惰。认清了所属的时代对我们应该是一种的警报和提醒。要像那在马太福音25章中警醒并预备好的5个童女，而不是那没预备好的另外5个童女。
神话语（圣经）的重要性没有比现在更急切了。假先知会扭曲神的话、敌基督会使我们怀疑上帝、世界会蒙蔽我们看到神的真理。我担心的是我们还没预备好。我们对神话语的认识太少太浅了，因此我们没有办法以神的真理分解我们所面对的经历。我们对这件事有更强的紧迫感，好好在神话语上装备自己， 活出一个信靠顺服真理的生命。这是一条一起走的天路，不要漏单，持续地 团契。在这个危难的时代中彼此守望、鼓励，预备好应对那将来的世界。