As the time of Christ's return approaches, believers are warned to expect a period of intense suffering and distress, likened to a woman in labor. In John 16:21, Jesus teaches that the sorrow of this time will give way to great joy, while Genesis 3:16 reveals that God ordained labor pains as a consequence of humanity's sin. The apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:18 that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed, and Revelation 12:1-2 portrays a woman crying out in labor, symbolizing Israel's travail. Jeremiah 48:41 also uses the metaphor of labor pains to describe the anguish of judgment.
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A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has been born into the world.
To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.
And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and crying out in the pain and agony of giving birth.
Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.