Prior to giving natural birth to my first child, I often thought I understood the meaning of verse 1 Thes 5:3, “...as travail upon a woman with child”. The analogy often heard is that labor pains and contractions increase in quantity as time progresses. This is true, but there's more. Oh, so much more.
Read 1 Thes. 5:3-8. (this text is included toward end)
As a labor instructor, one of the things we teach are laboring techniques so that the expecting woman and coach know what to expect during all stages of labor. Surprisingly, there are predictable emotional and physical stages that a laboring woman experiences. But, they are only predictable if she knows about them.
Imagine with me, a woman prepared for natural labor is like a Christian prepared for Jesus' second coming. Let's walk through the stages of a laboring woman and see if this could give us a clue on how a prepared Christian could experience the events leading to Jesus' return.
Surely, giving birth is often thought of as a very painful experience, one of which many women would rather forgo (epidural/c-section). But, let us not be numb to the unfolding of last days events; let us “watch and be calm”. 1 Thes. 5:6.
Let us look at the first and second stages of a laboring woman.
First Stage: A laboring woman will experience contractions that grow closer together and increase in strength. She will also go through several emotional states and lose her modesty as she approaches the end of first stage labor. What does she do during this time? What should she be watching for?
An educated (about natural labor) woman, will rest and relax during contractions. She does not know if labor will be 4 hours long or 20 hours long, but her level of modesty and emotional state will give her a clue as to how far along in labor she is. Her emotional state begins with a sense of joy, progress to mild seriousness, and end with a serious and focused concentration in relaxation. During this emotional progression, her level of modesty will gradually decrease.
An educated (about natural labor) woman will focus on relaxation during intense contractions. Any tense muscle in the body will bring about more pain.. any tense muscle. (Selah – Pause and reflect on this.) She must remain completely relaxed, not asleep. Between contractions, she saves her energy and remains in a relaxed position in preparation for the next contraction. Eventually, the contractions become so strong that she begins to doubt, may feel like giving up, and may even demand an epidural. This is the transition stage. However painful it is, she also knows that first stage labor is about to end and second stage (the less painful stage) is about to begin. Transition occurs during the latter part of first stage labor and marks the point at which the body completes labor and prepares to birth the baby.
Second Stage: The laboring woman only needs to push to the end. She is actively pushing and rests between pushes.
So what could this mean spiritually? I would like to make a few comparisons.
(Disclaimer: I do not consider myself extremely knowledge about end-time events, prophecy, or theology. So, please point out any obvious mistakes, misinterpretations, or ideas. I welcome comments. But, if you are interested in prophecy, here are a couple great links from Pr. David Asscherick, President of ARISE, - http://hopevideo.com/david_asscherick.htm - and Pr. Stephen Bohr - http://secretsunsealed.org/.)
Let's look at 1 Thes 5:3-8:
“For when they shall say, Peace and safety! Then sudden destruction comes on them, as travail upon a woman with child. And they shall not escape.” This sudden destruction comes on them. Who is "them"? Lets read the next verse, “But you, brothers are not in darkness, that the Day should overtake you like a thief. You are all the sons of light and the sons of day. We are not of the night, or of darkness.” So, it seems to me that sudden destruction comes to unbelievers. So, what is a Christian to do during this time of destruction? The next verse reads, “Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us watch and be calm.” Maybe this is like the laboring woman described earlier. She must rest. We must rest in Christ. Remember, any tense muscle and the laboring woman will experience pain. Likewise, the Christian must completely rest in Christ... COMPLETELY. The laboring woman is also watching for emotional and physical signposts. The Christian knows the signs and watches... calmly. “For those sleeping sleep in the night, and those being drunken are drunken in the night”. Maybe this too is like the laboring woman. She is not numbed to the laboring experience. She is very aware. “But let us, who are of the day, be calm, having on the breastplate of faith and love and the hope of salvation of a helmet”. What could a laboring woman teach us about this verse? Her level of modesty decreases. Instead of being caught naked, we must have on our Christian armor.
But what happens after that? I haven't checked for verses. But, if we just look at labor. Transition occurs. Like the laboring woman, the Christian may reach a point of doubt – Jacob's time of trouble. But, the Christian is also aware of this and does not give up! The painful labor is just about complete and the final pushes are about to begin. Like the laboring women, the prepared Christian may experience less pain, but will be pushing all the way to the end. Maybe during this time, the plagues will be occurring... the final push, if you will, to Jesus' coming... and you made it, calm... sober... and clothed with Christian armor.
"...and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name" - Revelation 14:11b KJV
Author: Melissa G. Bruhnke
A Bradley Method® labor instructor
