“A Beginning of Pangs of Distress”

11, 12. In what way was the first world war merely “a beginning of pangs of distress”?

¹¹ The early verses of Jesus’ prophecy conclude with the words: “These things are a beginning of pangs of distress.” This was certainly true of the first world war. Its end in 1918 did not bring peace for long. It was soon followed by limited but vicious military actions in Ethiopia, Libya, Spain, Russia, India, and other lands. Then came the horrendous second world war, which claimed some 50 million military and civilian victims.

¹² Moreover, despite periodic peace agreements and lulls in the fighting, mankind is still at war. In 1987 it was reported that 81 major wars had been fought since 1960, killing 12,555,000 men, women, and children. The year 1987 saw more wars being fought than any previous year in recorded history.​¹ Further, military preparation and expenditures, now reaching a total of about $1,000,000,000,000 annually, distort the economy of the world.​² Jesus’ prophecy of ‘nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom’ is surely undergoing fulfillment. The red horse of war continues its ferocious ride through the earth. But what about the second aspect of the sign?

14. What major famines since 1914 have fulfilled Jesus’ prophecy?

¹⁴ Is it possible that this prophecy is being fulfilled today, when some lands have achieved such high standards of living? A glance at the world as a whole leaves no doubt as to the answer. Historically, famines have been caused by wars and natural disasters. It is not surprising, then, that our century, which has had more than its share of disasters and wars, has been plagued repeatedly with famines. Many parts of the earth have suffered such disasters since 1914. One report lists more than 60 major famines since 1914, in such widely separated lands as Greece, the Netherlands, the U.S.S.R., Nigeria, Chad, Chile, Peru, Bangladesh, Bengal, Kampuchea, Ethiopia, and Japan.​³ Some of these famines have lasted several years and caused millions of deaths.

Earthquakes

17. What devastating earthquake took place soon after 1914?

¹⁷ On January 13, 1915, when the first world war was just a few months old, an earthquake shook Abruzzi, Italy, and took the lives of 32,610 people. This major disaster reminds us that wars and food shortages during Jesus’ presence would be accompanied by something else: “There will be . . . earthquakes in one place after another.” As with war and famine, the Abruzzi earthquake was just “a beginning of pangs of distress.”a