Episode Details

Jesus talks about the completion of this age in several of his end-time passages, using expressions such as the “end” (telos) and “end of the age” (synteleias tou aiōnos). The Olivet Discourse was occasioned by the question from his disciples about the end: “As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”” (Matt 24:3).

Further into his discourse Jesus explains that his coming (parousia) brings about the end of this age. When Jesus returns, this age as we know it will be behind us and a new one will dawn. But before this happens Jesus outlines a number of discernible events that must happen before the end of the age. The first cluster of events Jesus prophesies is a combination of natural and human catastrophes:

 “Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one misleads you. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will mislead many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come. For nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these things are the beginning of birth pains.” (Matt 24:4–8)

Jesus emphasizes that these are not events to signal the end has occurred, but that it has not occurred. In other words, the disciples ask for a sign that announces the end of the age, while Jesus immediately replies with what must happen before the the sign. The conditions that Jesus lists that must happen before his return are: False christs, wars and rumors of wars, famines, and earthquakes. These are the “beginning of birth pangs.” This metaphor indicates that they will be the start of painful experiences for God’s people that are part and parcel of eschatological events that lead up to his return. So it makes sense why Jesus would warn them not to think that the end has arrived when they witness them. In addition, they indicate that they will not be as intense as the “great tribulation” (thlipsis megalē). “For then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen.” (Matt 24:21). It is noteworthy that the Greek term thlipsis (tribulation) was a common word used for painful child birthing. This would suggest that based on Jesus’ choice of terms in his discourse there will be three stages of intensity: the beginning of birth pangs, the great tribulation (i.e. intense birth pangs), and b