In Matthew 24:3, the disciples asked Jesus: When shall these things (the destruction of the Temple) be? What shall be the sign of your coming? What are the signs of the end of the age? Jesus did not chide them for asking what signs would herald these events, as he did the Pharisees in Matthew 16:1-4.  There, they refused to acknowledge the signs that already existed! Let’s not be like the Pharisees, let’s be like the disciples of Jesus -- willing learners.

   Bible-believing Christians are not the only ones expecting cataclysmic events as precursors to the end of the age, as the following quote illustrates. "Anyone who has been just looking around and has his or her eyes open must be frightened. Things are happening that just don't make sense. Overnight, our cherished institutions, our icons, have collapsed. We don't understand it. People blame this one and that one. It's not just in the United States, it's all over the world, and we have so many natural disasters, and so much illness. What is happening?"

   This quote comes from a speech by Rebbetzin Esther Jungreis, who is the founder of the successful 'Hineni' Jewish outreach organization and author of many books. She made the statements recently during an exclusive interview on Israel National Radio (an Orthodox Jewish Internet radio station).

She further states, "All our [sages] agree…they do not want to be present for the chevlei Mashiach, the birth pangs, because the birth pangs are going to be very painful… It's going to be a generation that will abound in chutzpah [audacity]. Chutzpah will be colossal. Families will be fragmented. Children will turn against parents, parents against children. The elderly will not be respected. Youth will be worshipped.”

    Islamist terror, says Rebbetzin Jungreis, is also predicted in the 9th century Jewish work, ' Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer,' which prophesied that before the coming of Messiah in the end of days, Ishmael – who is described as a brutal, wild man – will rule the world. Rebbetzin Jungreis attributes Arab terror in Israel, the Islamization of Europe, and the welcoming of Iranian President and vocal anti-Zionist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York to the ancient prophetic writing.

   Recent events clearly  indicate that the things Jesus spoke about are coming upon us with increasing rapidity. He aptly uses the analogy of a woman’s birth pains to describe these events, because birth pains do not “sneak up” on her! And when the birth pains come, the birth can not be far behind! Are you ready to be delivered?
 

                        Sincerely in HOPE of the Gospel,
                         HERALDS OF HOPE, INC

                           J. Mark Horst, President