The history of Israel and Judah's division and their captivities, and of Israel's migration away from its homeland, is easy to grasp. Recognizing the descendants of Israel in Northwestern Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa gives a profound understanding of what is presently happening in the world. But what is the future of these modern Israelites? What does the end-time hold for those that God chose above "all the families of the earth," as the beginning of Amos 3:2 records? The remainder of the verse supplies a glimpse: ". . . therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities" (Amos 3:2).

As we will see, the nations of Israel will ultimately be brought back to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But before this Second Exodus takes place, they will first go through a time of tremendous tribulation and hardship known as Jacob's Trouble—a time when the iniquity of God's people will be full, and God will recompense their deeds as only He can:

For thus says the LORD: "We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it." (Jeremiah 30:5-7; emphasis ours throughout)

Notice that it is called "Jacob's Trouble," and not either "Israel's Trouble" or "Judah's Trouble." The implication is obvious: Both houses will go through this trouble. God causes the peoples of Jacob to be greatly troubled because of their sins. This time of unprecedented crisis—"none is like it"—corresponds to the time of "great tribulation" of which Jesus Christ warns:

"Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. . . . For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:15-16, 21-22)

Luke's version of the Olivet Prophecy uses different language to describe the same time and events:

But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-24; cf. Revelation 11:2)

Just as Christ reassures us in Matthew 24:22 that this will not be the complete end of mankind, Jeremiah promises that Jacob will be saved out of his trouble. Even though that "day" [time] is great, and like nothing we have seen before, it will not be the end of Jacob, as we will continue to see.

Jeremiah 30:5-7 does not give the specifics of that time of tribulation. The only clue of its intensity that we have in these verses is that God compares it, not just to a woman who is in labor, but to a man in labor. This is certainly an unusual symbol, but the picture of the sorrows and pains of labor and childbirth in other scriptures helps us to understand what this figure portends. For example, Isaiah 13:6-8 says,

Wail, for the day of the LORD is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, every man's heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames. (See also Isaiah 26:16-18; 42:14-25; 66:6-24; Jeremiah 4:31; 13:20-27; Hosea 13:12-16; Micah 4:9-10; I Thessalonians 5:1-3.)

Overall, the symbol is one of anguish, sorrow, intensity, great discomfort, and pain. The prophets contain scores of examples of God's anger at the sins of His people. It is with good reason that the prophecies mention that only a "remnant" will return; even though the descendants of Jacob will ultimately be saved, the percentage of the current hundreds of millions of Israelites and Jews who survive that trouble will be small (see Ezekiel 5:1-4; 6:8; 23:25; Isaiah 6:11-13; 10:20-22; 11:11; Jeremiah 23:3; 31:7; Joel 2:32; Amos 5:15; Micah 2:12; 5:3; Romans 9:27).

Next time, we will see that, despite the horrifying destruction and death portended in these prophecies, God does not forget His mercy.