If we are to take our Lord seriously and believe that He said what He meant and meant what He said, we cannot avoid the conclusion that He was talking about World War I, as being the sign of His coming and of the end of the age. There are various signs of the times, but there is but one sign that may be called the sign of the end of the age, "the beginning of travail." We had the first birth pain back in 1914-'18, and a second time in the form of World War II of 1939-'45.

When the third birth pain will come upon the world and what form it will take--should it come before the Tribulation--the Scriptures do not tell us. But when the Tribulation, the period of travail, does actually burst forth upon the world, there will be nineteen major birth pains, which are set forth under the symbolism of the seal (Rev. chap. 6), the trumpet (chaps. 8,9), and the bowl judgments (chap. 16). Just as the pains become more severe and follow each other more frequently as the period of childbirth advances, thus will be the birth pains that will come upon the entire world during its period of travail.

(While I am clear in my own mind as to the interpretation that I have given of the sign of the end of the age, I am still open to conviction and am eager to receive any new light--from any and every source, provided it be genuine light--on this most important subject, that the Lord has for me. I pray constantly for more light.)

After this digression from our text in Luke, chapter 21, now let us return to the next item on the program as outlined by our Lord in the Olivet Discourse. In order to refresh our minds, may I quote again Luke 21:10,11: "Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11 and there shall be great earthquakes, and in divers places famines and pestilences; and there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven." Let us bear in mind that verses 10 and 11a constitute a prediction of a world war, attended by famines, pestilences, and great earthquakes in different places of the world. Verse 11 concludes with this statement, "and there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven." Did these terrors and great signs from heaven occur in connection with World War I? Every intelligent and informed person will answer in the negative, for no such things occurred at that time; therefore the things mentioned in this statement are no part of the prediction found in the preceding words. (Let us remember that the punctuation in our Bibles was put there by men. There was no punctuation at all in the original text. I can punctuate these sentences as appears to me to be proper--just as the editors of our translation punctuated as they thought proper.) Since I know that the signs and wonders and terrors from heaven are no part of the prediction of the first sentence, therefore I can, with all good conscience, put a period after the word "pestilence." Then I can begin the word, and, introducing the last clause, with a capital letter. In thus punctuating the text, I am not doing violence to the thought, but I am simply clarifying it to our minds. Jesus did not intimate that the terrors and the great signs from heaven would accompany or even follow immediately the world war with its pestilences and the like.

We are safe in saying, in view of all that has already been said on this subject, that verses 10 and 11a were fulfilled in 1914-'18. In the margin of my Bible opposite this verse I can put the date, 1914-'18 and be in perfect harmony with all the facts. But opposite the expression "and there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven," in the margin I can put the date, 1954-plus X. This year is A.D. 1954. We do not know how many years there will be until this prediction is fulfilled. I therefore use the algebraic expression "X," indicating the unknown quantity. Thus 1954-plus X will be the year when these terrors and great signs from heaven will occur.

The next section of the Olivet Discourse recorded by Luke is found in verses 12-19, which I herewith quote: "But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name's sake. 13 It shall turn out unto you for a testimony. 14 Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand how to answer: 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or to gainsay. 16 But ye shall be delivered up even by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. 17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. 18 And not a hair of your head shall perish. 19 In your patience ye shall win your souls."

Let us remember that the date of the terrors and great signs from heaven is the year 1954-plus X. Thus in His thinking, our Lord has in the last of verse 11 taken His hearers to the year 1954-plus X. Then in verse 12 we note this significant sentence: "But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you." This language is very significant and must be understood if we are to comprehend the flow of thought. But before what things? The answer is, the things mentioned last, which are to occur in 1954-plus X. What is said to happen "before all these things"? By reading onward through verse 19, anyone can see that Jesus was talking about the personal experiences that the Apostles would have in their own lifetime. Jesus, therefore, in verses 12-19 brought the Apostles back in their thinking from the year 1954-plus X to their own day and time, namely, to A.D. 30 plus X, the period of their own lives. The New Testament and early church history show that this prediction was literally fulfilled in the lives of the Apostles. Jewish officials laid their hands upon them and cast them into prison. (See Acts, chaps. 4, 5, and 9.) The Apostles and early Christians were persecuted because of their faith and were brought before synagogues and were cast into prison. They were likewise brought before kings and governors, because of their being Christians. Whenever they were thus brought to trial, that situation was to be their pulpit, from whence they were to give their testimony and to proclaim the gospel to those before whom they were being tried.

As we continue to study the language of our Lord, we come next to His prediction concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, which reads as follows: "But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand. 21 Then let them that are in Judaea flee unto the mountains: and let them that are in the midst of her depart out; and let not them that are in the country enter therein. 22 For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 Woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days! for there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath unto this people. 24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles" (vss. 20-24b).

Verse 20 reads; "But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that her desolation is at hand." We know that verses 20-24b refer to the siege and overthrow of Jerusalem which occurred in A.D. 70. When this is seen, we look back and realize that verses 12-19 cover the Apostolic Age from the year A.D. 30, when Jesus spoke the message, to A.D. 70, a period of forty years which might properly be called the Apostolic Age.

Jesus instructed His disciples that, when Jerusalem should be compassed by armies, they were to escape from the city and flee to the mountains, and that those of His disciples who should be out in the rural districts should not enter into the city. To the man who does not believe, these instructions appear to be ridiculous. After the city should be encompassed by the Roman army, how could those who were in the city flee out of it, and how could those out in the rural districts enter? Such a thing seems preposterous--and is preposterous from the natural standpoint. But light is thrown upon this situation. Eusebius, the father of church history, informs us that, after Titus, the Roman general, had drawn up his tenth legion about the city of Jerusalem, for some unknown reason he withdrew his armies silently and unexpectedly from the siege. The Christians who were in the city, knowing what Jesus said, immediately fled from the city and went eastward, crossing the Jordan into Perea, and then northward to Pella. After they had made their escape from the doomed city, Titus drew up his armies once more and prosecuted the siege, storming the city until it finally fell. Great was the slaughter in the fall of Jerusalem, but not one Christian, according to Eusebius, lost his life in its downfall. Our Lord knows the future, whereas we do not. Let us trust Him for the future, who holds the future in His hands.

According to verse 22 the days when Jerusalem would be besieged by the Roman army would be days of vengeance in order that that which had been written concerning it should be fulfilled. There are certain general statements that are made by the prophets, and that would comprehend the situation which developed in A.D. 70. The Apostle Paul likewise in I Thessalonians 2:14-16 foresees the events of A.D. 70. Then in Romans 2:4-11 he refers to the same catastrophe and blends that period of the pouring out of God's wrath upon the Jews with His full and complete dealing with them in the end time.

Jesus pronounced a woe in verse 23 upon those who would be expectant mothers and those who would have little babes in their arms. The reason He spoke thus was that there "should be great distress upon the land [Palestine], and wrath, unto this [Jewish] people." According to verse 24 they would fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. Those who survived that ordeal were sold in the slave markets of the world. Jerusalem was then trodden down by the Gentiles.

We now come to consider the temporal clause, "until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." What is meant by "the times of the Gentiles"? Since this phrase is used in connection with Gentiles and their having control of Jerusalem, it is obvious that the Saviour was talking about a period of time during which the Gentiles would have dominion over the Holy Land and the Jewish people. This thought immediately takes us to such passages as Daniel, chapters 2 and 7. In chapter 2 Gentile world dominion is set forth under the symbolism of a metallic image, the head of which was of gold; the chest and arms of silver; the belly, of brass; the legs of iron, and the feet part iron and part clay. Finally, this image was broken into fragments by the little stone, cut out from the mountain without hands, which rolled down and "smote the image upon its feet... and brake them in pieces." The impact was such that the entire image was "broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors." The image was completely demolished. What is the meaning of this symbolic vision? As interpreted by Daniel, the head of gold represented the Babylonian Empire, to which God granted world-wide dominion, as we see in Daniel 2:37,38. The chest and arms of silver symbolized the Medo-Persian dual monarchy, successor to Babylon. The belly of brass signified the Grecian Empire. The legs, feet, and toes of iron, mixed with clay, represented the Roman Empire throughout its entire history from its rise to the time of the smiting stone. The stone is a symbol of the Messiah at His second advent, when He comes in power and glory, destroys all civil governments, and establishes His reign of righteousness upon the earth. Thus world dominion, including authority over the Jewish people, is presented as beginning with the neo-Babylonian Empire of Nebuchadnezzar and continuing throughout the centuries until the second coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation.