                    [Times Square Church PulpitSeries]

                       Sudden Destruction as Travail
                         Upon a Woman With Child!

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By David Wilkerson
May 2, 1988
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          "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no
          need that I write unto you. For yourselves know
          perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief
          in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and
          safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as
          travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not
          escape" (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).

          The judgments of God strike suddenly, but not without
          warning. God promised He would do nothing, including
          sending judgment, without telling His prophets what was
          coming. "Surely the Lord God will do nothing [unless]
          He revealeth His secret unto His servants the prophets.
          The lion hath roared, who will not fear? The Lord God
          hath spoken, who can but prophesy?" (Amos 3:7-8). God
          promises that a trumpet will be sounded, God will roar
          like a lion, to awaken the people prior to judgment.
          "And the Lord shall be seen over them, and His arrow
          shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord God shall
          blow the trumpet ..." (Zechariah 9:14).

          "The great day of the Lord is near, it is near, and
          hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord:
          the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a
          day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of
          wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and
          desolation, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day
          of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and
          against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon
          men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they
          have sinned against the Lord: and their blood shall be
          poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
          Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to
          deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; but the
          whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His
          jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of
          all them that dwell in the land" (Zephaniah 1:14-18).

          Here is a prophesy of a sudden destruction by fire, a
          day of distress and great trouble -- darkness and
          gloominess! But it is also "a day of the trumpet and
          alarm"! Hosea 8:1 says, "Set the trumpet to thy mouth."
          This was the verse God gave me when I wrote the book of
          that title. Trumpet means the voice of warning. The
          Lord says in Ezekiel 33:2-4, "... When I bring the
          sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man
          of their coasts, and set him for their watchman: if
          when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the
          trumpet, and warn the people; then whosoever heareth
          the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if
          the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be
          upon his own head."

          God blows the trumpet through the voice of His watchmen
          and prophets. The trump is a reverberating blast, a
          warning. Paul warned, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; we
          shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a
          moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump:
          for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
          raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (1
          Corinthians 15:51-52). "At the last trump" suggests
          there were other trumpet blasts. I do believe there
          will be angelic trumpets heralding His coming. But I
          also believe this means that just prior to that change
          which will come "in the twinkling of an eye," the Holy
          Spirit will have all His watchmen at their posts, all
          seeing eye to eye, all giving forth the last call --
          the final warning! Within hours or seconds, the sudden
          change will come.

          Noah sounded the last trump to his doomed society in
          the second month on the seventeenth day. God pinpoints
          the very day! For one-hundred twenty years the trumpet
          was to his lips, warning, pleading. Then, on the night
          of the sixteenth, in the second month, God shut him and
          his family in the ark, letting him know -- "Tonight is
          the last trump! Tomorrow, Mother Earth brings forth
          judgment!" It came on the seventeenth of the month! "In
          the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second
          month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day
          were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and
          the windows of heaven were opened" (Genesis 7:11).

          No wonder Paul wrote these words to the church at
          Thessalonica, "But of the times and the seasons,
          brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For
          yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so
          cometh as a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians
          5:1-2). Why should it be perfectly clear to them that
          God's Day of Judgment will come suddenly? The church in
          Thessalonica was about six months old when this letter
          was received. Paul probably, with Silvanus and Timothy,
          preached about Noah and Lot and the sudden destruction
          of Israel. They had all the same Old Testament examples
          we have. They had the prophets. This letter was written
          in either 52 or 53 A.D. They were less than twenty
          years away from the destruction of Jerusalem, as
          prophesied by Jesus! Paul is saying: it is perfectly
          clear that God's judgments fall suddenly, like a thief
          in the night! Yet, no believer should ever be surprised
          -- that day should not overtake God's people unawares.
          We should know how God works, because we have His
          record. Paul proceeds to warn them what it will be like
          just before judgment strikes and how to act in such an
          hour.

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                       The Day of Judgment Will Come
                       When Society Becomes Obsessed
                       With Prosperity and Security.

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          "For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden
          destruction cometh upon them ..." (1 Thessalonians
          5:3). The Greek work Paul uses for peace is "eirene"
          which implies prosperity. Sudden destruction is about
          to break forth in that day when men's minds are focused
          on riches. Money madness! Greed! Accumulating!
          Hoarding! Jesus warned us it will be a time when men's
          hearts would fail them for fear, watching the terrible
          things coming upon the earth. Men will yearn for
          something certain, something secure. It does not say it
          will be a time of peace and safety, only that they will
          say, "Peace and safety." It will be all they talk
          about. Their conversation will be about money, things,
          investments, how to find a secure haven for their
          assets!

          Never in world history have men become so driver by a
          quest for money. Prosperity is the American dream! The
          stock market has become one gigantic gambling casino.
          Millions of Americans play numbers, the lottery, hoping
          to get rich overnight. Why such obsession to make it
          big? Because everyone knows a storm is coming! The
          entire world awaits with anxiety that one day when a
          financial meltdown hits. They are trying to secure
          themselves against that awful time, hoping to outride
          the storm.

          The obsession for prosperity has even corrupted the
          church. How Paul would have grieved had he known a day
          would come when ministers of the Gospel would turn
          Christ's covenant into a covenant of cash! The church
          once stood before the world as a testimony against
          greed and materialism, against the love of things,
          against self-love, against hoarding and covetousness.
          But now the world sees the church as it's biggest
          competitor for the good life! The world laughs and
          mocks at Christians who reject the sufferings of Christ
          and Paul to indulge in the riches of this age.

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               Judgment on God's House - Then All of Society

                      -------------------------------

          Sudden destruction can mean more than a hydrogen
          holocaust. By one sudden event, one single catastrophe,
          the American dream can become a horrible nightmare. The
          judgment that has so suddenly fallen upon God's house
          will fall on the nation. The church woke up one day to
          a horrible scandal. We blushed to hear that a preacher
          of the Gospel spent millions of dollars on fancy cars,
          jewelry, luxury homes, expensive wines! The ungodly
          laughed and mocked, and the name of Jesus became the
          butt of jokes and satire. Jesus became the song of
          drunkards! Then again, in one hour, one newscast, the
          whole world was told the nation's number one sin
          preacher was caught in sin! In Times Square Church I
          heard God's people scream and groan, crying out,
          "Please say it isn't so!" And now we watch the awesome
          stripping of some ministries. Amidst it all, these
          awesome words ring so true: "For the time is come that
          judgment must begin at the house of God ..." (1 Peter
          4:17).

          Why are we shocked? We've been warning the wicked that
          judgment is at the door, and it must begin in God's
          house. God is willing to let His name be mocked just to
          wake up the church and give one last trump to the
          world. "... And if it begin at us, what shall the end
          be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the
          righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly
          and the sinner appear?" (1 Peter 4:17-18). God's
          judgments in His house are so sudden and frightful,
          men's ears tingle when they hear of it! When God judged
          the house of Eli, He said, "... I will do a thing in
          Israel, at which both the ears of every one that
          heareth it shall tingle ... I will judge his house
          forever for the iniquity which he knoweth ..." (1
          Samuel 3:11-13). When God judged Israel and the house
          of Manasseh for corruption, He said, "... I am bringing
          such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever
          heareth of it, both his ears shall tingle" (2 Kings
          21:12). God told Jeremiah that such awesome judgments
          were soon to fall on the house of Israel, "... that
          whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle" (Jeremiah
          19:3). To tingle the ears in Hebrew meant, "to rattle
          their ears and make them red with shame." Even the
          wicked will have blushing ears!

          If God will rattle the ears of this nation by what they
          see and hear of His judgment upon the church, what kind
          of sudden, fearful judgments will fall upon this
          society? The media of this nation has delighted in
          making sport of religion. They have made the nation
          distrust all holiness preaching, making all ministers
          out to be charlatans and crooks! Barrooms are abuzz.
          They lift their drinks to toast, laughing,"Here's to
          all hell-fire preachers!" But they had better get the
          most mileage they can out of it because it's all going
          to change overnight! God will tingle the ears of the
          world now because society is next -- American is next
          -- our government is next -- our financial institutions
          are next! Wall Street is going to be "Wailing Street."
          The word destruction as used here refers to ruin,
          death. Sudden ruin! Sudden death! The judgment in God's
          house is God firing a warning shot over the bow of the
          ship of state. Soon He will call for a direct hit! Men
          will not want to hear -- they will try to cover their
          ears. The news will be so unbelievable! So shocking!

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                      Sudden Destruction Will Come as
                     Travail Upon a Woman With Child.

                      -------------------------------

          This is God's inspired Word; and every word was chosen
          carefully. Destruction is coming suddenly as the birth
          pangs of a woman about to deliver a child. The woman
          here is a lost, wicked, godless society -- and a
          monster is about to be birthed. Judgment comes out of
          her very own womb! As surely as an expectant woman
          cannot hide her pregnancy, the impending judgments
          should be obvious to all. A woman has nine months
          preparation! Judgments are going to come like birth
          pangs, labor pains. When the moment of birth draws near
          the labor pains begin to increase both in number and
          intensity. They can be an hour apart, then half an
          hour, then ten minutes apart. She is taken to a
          hospital, and the pains keep increasing. Suddenly,
          constant labor pains! Travail! Its spiritual
          application is that the final destruction will begin
          with painful warnings which will intensify and become
          accelerated.

          I believe America is already ambulatory -- headed for
          the labor room! Didn't the ears of the whole world
          tingle when America's spaceship blew up in the heavens?
          The world watched in horror as five astronauts plunged
          helplessly to earth! A warning labor pain! Then close
          to that pain, another: hundreds of American marines
          were suddenly destroyed in Lebanon, without a warning!
          We stood by, helpless! A plane went down near Iceland,
          killing a plane-load of American soldiers headed home.
          We watched our President's tears flow! AIDS is declared
          a plague upon America by alarmed doctors. The
          projections of its spread are terrifying! Drugs have
          exploded upon our society -- another plague. An
          engineer high on drugs caused a tragic train wreck.
          Drug abuse is spreading like the black plague of past
          centuries. Gangs now roam New York, Los Angeles,
          Chicago -- killing, robbing, mugging: slaves to drugs
          at 15 years of age! Did the ears of all mankind tingle
          when our stock market nearly went into meltdown! I was
          there that October day. The New York Daily News
          headline screamed, "Panic -- Dow Plunges Through Floor
          508 Points!" Paul warns us that it is all going to
          intensify, to accelerate. God is now quickening the
          pace of troubles and sorrows.

          The Holy Spirit is also blowing the trumpet louder. The
          trumpet is sounding more clearly, more ominously. Never
          have we heard so many warnings. Never have there been
          more watchmen crying from the wall. In fact, there have
          been so many warnings that many of God's people have
          turned a deaf ear! Society is in travail -- judgment is
          breaking out -- and they are turning to idols and toys!
          Jesus did say we are to rejoice when we see all these
          things coming to pass because it means our redemption
          is near. But who are these who can rejoice on the brink
          of destruction?

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                     It's a Time to Watch and Be Sober

                      -------------------------------

          God is calling His people to watch and be sober as the
          day of destruction nears. "Therefore let us not sleep,
          as do others; but let us watch and be sober" (1
          Thessalonians 5:6). Paul exhorts the brethren, "Ye...
          are not in darkness... Ye are all the children of
          light, and the children of the day: we are not of the
          night, nor of darkness" (1 Thessalonians 5:4-5). What
          he is saying is this: "What is to this world a tragic
          night of darkness and destruction is the dawning of a
          new day to you who watch and are sober. This day of
          darkness and fiery judgment has nothing to do with us!"
          As surely as we are not of this world, we are not
          destined for darkness and destruction, "for God hath
          not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by
          our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thessalonians 5"9).

          As the labor pains increase it means something glorious
          to Christs' bride! It is one crisis closer to home! It
          is their countdown to destruction; it is our countdown
          to glory! It is their appointment with wrath; it is our
          appointment with resurrection! They will weep and gnash
          their teeth; we will rejoice and shout for joy! Those
          who are the children of this gross darkness, this night
          of destruction, are drunken and asleep: "For they that
          sleep, sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are
          drunken in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:7). "Let us,
          who are of the day, be sober ..." (v. 8). This has to
          do with any kind of earthy intoxication. "To
          intoxicate" means "to excite the human spirit to a
          high-fever pitch." This is a powerful warning to us
          from the apostle Paul. He warned us not to get excited
          over early things on the eve of destruction -- not to
          become intoxicated, high, over anything but Christ!

          We must occupy until He comes. We must be diligent and
          provide well for our households -- and in all things do
          our best as unto Him. But, above all else, we must be
          sober and watchful. The word"sober" here means
          "discreet, discerning, cautious." In other words, don't
          let anything take your heart. Be watchful that you do
          not get too involved, too excited, or too wrapped up in
          things of this life. "Be sober, be vigilant; because
          your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh
          about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist
          steadfast in the faith ..." (1 Peter 5:8-9).

          Watch out! Be warned! You may right now be drinking the
          devil's wine of distraction -- the wine of busyness.
          The Bible warns that Satan will attempt to deceive, if
          it were possible, even the elect. I have often wondered
          how that could be possible. Not by adultery,
          fornication, pride, evil habits -- but by letting
          something worthwhile take the heart -- by using what is
          legitimate to obsess the heart and consume all one's
          time.

          According to Scripture, God's people are to earnestly
          desire this fiery day of sudden destruction. "But the
          day of the Lord will come as thief in the night; in the
          which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise,
          and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the
          earth also and the works that are therein shall be
          burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be
          dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all
          holy conversation and godliness, looking for an hasting
          [longing for] unto the coming of the day of God,
          wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved,
          and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
          Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new
          heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
          righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, SEEING THAT YE LOOK
          FOR SUCH THINGS, be diligent that ye may be found of
          him in peace, without spot, and blameless. Ye
          therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before,
          beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of
          the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness" (2 Peter
          3:9-14,17). We are to earnestly look for that day of
          burning -- because this old sin-cursed earth must be
          purged to bring on our new heaven and earth, where His
          righteousness dwells.

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                           A Time to Be Stirred

                      -------------------------------

          This is not a time to be settling down to a life of
          ease. This is not a time to be at ease in Zion. We must
          live in a stirred-up state. "And it shall come to pass
          at that time [before judgment] that I will search
          Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are
          settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The
          Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil"
          (Zephaniah 1:12). "Settled on their lees" means
          unconcerned. "Lees" are sediment of wine settled at the
          bottom of the barrel. Many Christians have not wanted
          Holy Ghost stirrings; they now sit back, take it easy,
          and let all the dirt settle in their hearts. Some have
          left Times Square Church because it is too intense --
          there is too much stirring up of the heart. The lees
          [the sediment, dregs] keep floating to the top. They
          have gone on, looking for a place where there is no
          stirring. They say, "I can't take the pressure, the
          strong preaching. Too much heart-searching -- too much
          pricking of the conscience."

          I say to you, a true Holy Ghost church will be the
          candle of God, searching through the city, making it
          very uncomfortable for those who have settled down.
          God's Word calls it "being emptied from vessel to
          vessel" in Jeremiah 48:11. "Moab hath been at ease from
          his youth, and he hath settled on his lees, and hath
          not been emptied from vessel to vessel. Therefore his
          taste remained in him, and his scent is not changed."
          These people refused to get involved. They preferred
          quite, peace, and undisturbed prosperity -- they
          refused to be probed, convicted, or stirred.

          If we knew how close we were to our Lord's return --
          how close to fiery judgments, we would thank God for
          His stirrings in us. We would be poured out in every
          meeting, getting rid of the dregs. We would thank God
          for ministers of the Gospel who keep provoking us to
          walk in righteousness and who flood our souls with the
          convicting, piercing Word of truth. On Judgment Day, we
          will be eternally grateful to God for being awakened by
          the trumpet messages which brought us to repentance and
          the true fear of God.

          If you are walking in the Spirit, you are having Jesus
          Christ lay the ax to every root that ties you to this
          earth. "Now also the axe is laid unto the root" (Luke
          3:9). This was a powerful prophetic utterance by John
          the baptist. He saw the destruction of Jerusalem just
          ahead. Israel's days were numbered -- God would cut
          them off! But, it is also a picture of the last day
          Christian pulling up roots.

          My bags are packed! I'm ready; I'm longing to see Jesus
          face to face. I'm being weaned from this world. It's an
          everyday battle to resist mammon in this materialistic
          society, but all of this world must become to us as
          dung. Paul was so right.

          How wonderful to know we need not fear the dreadful
          days of wrath and indignation that are just ahead. Live
          or die, we are the Lords. Sudden destruction is surely
          coming upon the wicked; but sudden glory awaits the
          overcomers.

          There is not a time to be flirting with some hidden
          sin. It is not a time to be lounging for hours in front
          of TV, wasting precious hours that ought to be spent in
          prayer and devotion.

          The trumpet of God is blowing -- loudly and clearly. We
          are without excuse, and we will soon be startled by the
          swift, ominous outbreaks of terror, disasters, and
          troubles -- worldwide. Those who know the Lord and are
          walking in His righteousness will not be afraid. They
          will be on the front-lines of the spiritual battlefield
          -- overcoming all the principalities and powers of
          darkness through intercessory prayer.

          We'd better believe it and get out hearts prepared --
          CHANGES ARE COMING -- UNBELIEVABLE CHANGES. Sudden and
          ruinous! But also, in the twinkling of an eye -- God's
          people will be changed -- from mortal to immortal.

          ---
          Used with permission granted by World Challenge, P. O.
          Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771 USA.

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