SPECIAL TOPIC: BIRTH PAINS

The full idiom is “birth pangs of the new age” (cf. Isa. 13:8; 26:17; Jer.
30:6-7; Micah 4:9-10; Matt. 24:8; Mark 13:8; Acts 2:24; 1 Thess. 5:3). This
reflects the Jewish belief in the intensification of evil before the new age of
righteousness (cf. Mark 13:19-20 and the Book of Jubilees 23:18 along
with the Apocalypse of Baruch
27-29). The Jews believed in two ages: the current evil age, characterized by
sin and rebellion against God, and the “age to come.” The New Age would be
inaugurated by the coming of the Messiah (cf. Psalm 2). It would be a time of
righteousness and fidelity to God. Although the Jewish view was partially true,
it did not take into account the two comings of the Messiah. We live in the
overlapping of these two ages: the “already” and “not yet” of the kingdom of
God! See the
SPECIAL TOPIC: THIS
AGE AND THE AGE TO COME
.