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APPROACHING THE DUE DATE "Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth. LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them. Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD." (Isa. 26:15-17) "Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children. Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God. Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her: That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory. For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees. As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem." (Isa. 66:8-13) "Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel." (Mic. 5:3) "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." (Joel 2:32) There are other passages that we could visit, such as Revelation 12, and also John 16:21, where Jesus speaks of a woman being joyous after delivering a child. But what we've read already is sufficient for establishing the basis for what I'd like for us to dwell upon for a while. I'd like to focus on the Lord's return being like the delivery of a child. I call this one "Approaching the Due Date." That's not an unscriptural title, since our opening text from Isaiah 26:17 does say "the time of her delivery." God's prophetic plan is centered around Israel and his promises to Israel, so if anyone wants to know what God is up to, just watch Israel. Those verses say that Israel as a nation is like a woman with child drawing near her delivery. Regardless of when one might place the conception date, there is no question that by May 14, 1948, Israel's labor pains had started, and they have increased continually since that time. Jesus said that the generation that sees Israel put forth leaves will live to see the Second Coming (Mat. 24:32). Well, that was 77 years ago. How many more years can a generation have? Time is running out, and the DUE DATE is approaching. Let's consider a few well-established facts regarding due dates and the delivery of children . . . I. NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY NOR THE HOUR Even though doctors set due dates all the time, no one really believes that that's the exact date in which the child will be born. Amen? It is well understood that due dates are given only for the purpose of giving folks a general idea, about a two or three week window, in which the child will most likely be born. No one expects the child to be born on any exact date. That's much like our Lord's return, because Jesus said in Matthew 24:36, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." So beware of anyone who tries to be so precise as to predict the exact date of the rapture, the Second Coming itself, the abomination of desolation, the mark of the beast, or anything else. II. WE DO KNOW THE GENERAL TIME We are so confident in the estimations of our medical professionals that we often ask expecting mothers, "When is your due date?" It's never debated or doubted, because time and time again we have known the doctors to get very close, usually within two weeks. No one ever says, "Well, that's silly! No one knows when their baby will be born!" No, we DO know when the baby will be born. He will be born within a few weeks from when the doctor predicted. No one knows the exact date, but when a mother has carried a child for over eight months, only a fool would say that the time is not at hand! So it is with our Lord's return. Only a fool would look at the world scene today, and at Israel in particular, and then claim that something isn't about the happen. The DUE DATE is rapidly approaching. III. FALSE LABOR IS DECEPTIVE It is quite common, especially for newly expectant mothers, to become excited about her new baby coming only to discover that she is having what they call Braxton Hicks contractions, or false labor. My understanding is that these can start anytime after about twenty weeks of pregnancy, and they can be very deceptive. But if the expectant mother has listened to her doctor and has studied pregnancy, then she is educated about this and does not fall for the deception. She patiently waits and stays focused on facts and reality. Jesus said that in the last days false prophets would arise and deceive many (Mat. 24:11). Paul said that there would be "seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils" (I Tim. 4:1). This is all part of the great falling away, the apostasy, that the devil stirs up as he sees God's end-time plan unfolding. All dispensations end with apostasy, so don't be foolish enough to think that ours is an exception. There will be no national or international revivals. Keep YOURSELF revived, and keep your family and church revived, but look out for all the prosperity prophets who will turn you from the word of God to the vain words of men. God's word is true, and this world will travail in increased pain until God's deliverance comes; and when it comes, it will come from the clouds, not from the crowds. "Look up," Jesus said, ". . . for your redemption draweth nigh" (Luke 21:28). IV. LABOR PAINS INCREASE As a woman approaches her due date, she starts having real labor pains, and they start increasing in time and in intensity. In early labor, she might have a 30 to 40 second contraction every 15 to 20 minutes, but as the time draws closer, it will be more like a 60 second contraction every 3 to 5 minutes. At that point, no one says, "Oh well, it could still be another month or two." So it is with the labor pains of God's prophetic plan. Before the twentieth century, the Jewish people pretty much just wandered from one nation to the next trying to survive. This earned them the nickname "the wandering Jew," which is most fitting when we remember Abraham's words from Genesis 20:13: "God caused me to wander from my father's house." But then God got the land ready for the people with World War I, and then he got the people ready for the land with World War II. (They were tired of Europe after Adolf finished with them!) So they established statehood in 1948, and the labor pains have been increasing since that time. Today, you can't turn on the news without seeing and hearing things about Israel and her enemies in the Mid-East. The DUE DATE is approaching! V. LOVED ONES ARE HOPEFUL AND HAPPY Strangers usually just go on about their business as a lady's due date approaches, but family and friends stay close and in touch. The moment she heads to the hospital phones start ringing and beeping, and within an hour, two or three dozen loved ones know that the time has come. That's how it is with the Lord's return. Paul said in II Timothy 4:8 that we ought to "love his appearing." John said you will purify yourself by focusing on the hope of the Lord's return. I John 3:2-3 says, "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." A Christian who doesn't want Jesus to come back is a backslidden Christian. It's just normal for loved ones to be excited in anticipation of a baby being born, and it's very abnormal to not be happy about it and to not look forward to it. God’s prophetic “baby” is about to be born, and we should all be looking forward to it. VI. PAIN BECOMES JOY Psalms 30:5 says, ". . . weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." Jesus said in John 16:21, "A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world." It has happened billions and billions of times in this old world: a lady goes through pain and suffering for hours, and then she's overwhelmed with a spirit of joy and as she holds her new baby and tries to take it all in. She's happy, all the loved ones are happy, the medical staff is happy, and after a little while the baby will be happy. That's what we are about to witness in this world. Paul said, "For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now." (Rom. 8:22) The future blessings of a redeemed Israel will be like a cup of blessing that overflows into all the world. A new age will be born, and it will be GOD'S new world order, not the new world order of unsaved, power-mad elitists. The devil and his antichrist will have their short reign, which is all part of the labor pains, but then the Kingdom of Jesus Christ will be established (Rev. 20:1-7), and the age-old prayer will finally be answered: God's will WILL be done on earth as it is in heaven. I hope you're going to be a part of it, and I hope you're looking forward to it. The best is yet to come for all who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't miss it for the world.