Our theme ZionInTravail is best understood by looking upon Zion as representing the kingdom of God in our day, and there are two aspects to that kingdom that need to be considered. These two aspects are the external, visible, temporal kingdom of God as it is represented by the churches and congregations worldwide, on the one hand, and the invisible, eternal kingdom of God consisting of all the true believers, on the other. Increasingly in our day, those who are the true believers are being driven out of the local congregations, and are commanded to depart out of the local congregations (Matthew 24:15-16; Luke 21:20-22; Revelation 18:4). This is the separation of the wheat (true believers) and tares (weed, those who identify externally with the kingdom of God, yet are not children of God) that Matthew 13:30 is talking about, which shall take place in the time of harvest. The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the messengers of God who are bringing the true gospel outside the local congregations (Matthew 13:39).
A synonym for Zion in the Bible is Jerusalem, and it, too, is used in two different ways, as illustrated in the allegory of Galatians chapter 4. In that allegory, God is contrasting Jerusalem which is now, and is under bondage, typified by Hagar the bondwoman, over against Jerusalem above, which is free, and is the mother of us all, typified by Sarah the freewoman (Galatians 4:21-31). In that allegory, Sarah typifies the true believers in our day, whereas Hagar typifies the external, visible kingdom of God consisting of churches worldwide.
In the historical setting, Sarah was barren and well beyond the age of child-bearing. And yet, in accordance with God’s promise to Abraham, Sarah became with child at the age of 89, imagine that! The son that was born to Sarah at the age of 90 (Abraham being 100 years of age) was Isaac, from whose bloodline the Lord Jesus Christ came forth according to the flesh. The Bible says in Galatians 3:16
16Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.”
In the same way, today, Zion, that is, the eternal, invisible kingdom of God, is relatively-speaking barren and childless, in that the vast majority of those within the local congregations are following a man-made gospel and are not truly saved. This is evident as we carefully study the Bible on this matter. For example, in Isaiah 9:3 we read
3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
The joy that is missing is the joy of harvest. This is a veiled reference to the fact that very few were actually saved during the church age. We also read in Isaiah 49:20
20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell.
In this verse, the children which thou has lost are all those who professed the name of Jesus in local congregations and yet never did become saved.
But it was God’s plan all along that in our day, God in his wisdom would be finished utilizing the local congregations, which have come under the judgment of God in accordance with 1 Peter 4:17, and would gather in his elect in far greater numbers than at any other time in history using sources outside the churches, using only the word of God, the Bible.
The Bible summarizes this under the heading, “there are last which shall be first, and first which shall be last,” which can be shown to be speaking not only spiritually but chronologically of those who are being saved today outside the churches during the period called great tribulation (Luke 13:30; Matthew 20:16).
Going back to the allegory of Galatians chapter 4, God declares in verse 27
27For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
In this setting, the barren that shall break forth and cry, and the desolate, refers to Jerusalem above, which is free, and is the mother of us all, typified by the freewoman Sarah. The verse states, “the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband,” that is, the number of those who are becoming saved during this period of great affliction from outside the churches is far greater than the number of those who became saved during the church age, typified in this allegory by Hagar who was given to Abraham to wife. Galatians 4:27 is a quotation from Isaiah 54:1. We read in Isaiah 54:1-3
1Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. 2 Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; 3 For thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.
In this context, the desolate cities in verse 3 is a reference to the desolation that exists today in the churches worldwide, which is why it is called the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, that is standing in the holy place (churches and congregations worldwide) in Matthew 24:15.
The theme ZionInTravail also highlights the affliction of the true believers in our day, who are driven out and commanded by God to come out from the local congregations and are scattered throughout the world. They are characterized as the desolate, the barren, the afflicted.
The Bible calls this period a time of trial or testing that shall come upon the whole world to try them that dwell upon the earth (Revelation 3:10). God calls this period “great affliction” in Acts 7:11 or as “great tribulation” in Matthew 21:21-22. It is a time when God is separating the wheat from the tares, as we read in Matthew 13:30. It is also called a time of harvest that occurs at the end of the world (Matthew 13:39), when the messengers, who are true believers, are gathering up the wheat while binding the tares into bundles to be burned.
Simultaneous with God’s judgment on the churches, and blinding those who think they see and yet are blind, outside the churches, God is saving a great multitude which no man can number using sources outside the local congregations (Revelation 7:9,14). Verses that emphasize this include Micah 4:10
10Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, O daughter of Zion, like a woman in travail: for now shalt thou go forth out of the city, and thou shalt dwell in the field, and thou shalt go even to Babylon; there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies.
In this verse, the daughter of Zion refers to the invisible, eternal kingdom of God consisting of all those who are the elect of God. When God declares, Be in pain, and labour to bring forth, like a woman in travail, it is a reference to the sending forth of the true gospel during this time of great affliction just prior to the visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ in power and great glory. When God declares, now shalt thou go forth out of the city, it is a veiled reference to the true believers going forth out of the local congregations, typified by Jerusalem which is now, and is in bondage, as we read in Galatians 4:25. When God declares, “and shalt dwell in the field,” the field is a reference to the secular world (Matthew 13:38). When God declares, “and thou shalt go to Babylon, there shalt thou be delivered; there the LORD shall redeem thee from the hand of thy enemies,” it is a reference to the true believers going to secular Babylon, also called the “north country” in a number of places in the Bible. Babylon in this context is a reference to the secular world that is ruled over by Satan in a secular capacity, as distinguished from spiritual Babylon, the churches and congregations, where Satan is worshipped as God (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
God equates Zion (external representation of the kingdom of God, local congregations) with spiritual Babylon in Jeremiah 6:23 and Jeremiah 50:42:
Jeremiah 6
22 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. 23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion.
Jeremiah 50
41 Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon.
The language is virtually identical in these two passages, except in one case, God addressing the daughter of Zion, while in the other, God is addressing the daughter of Babylon. This is because in God’s sight, the churches have become the citadel of Satan, who comes as the antichrist with deception. We read this in Daniel 7, for example:
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. 24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft [deceit] to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
Daniel 11:21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
Daniel 11:34 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do
God is driving out the true believers from the local congregations to secular Babylon, and as Micah 4:10 declares, there shalt thou be delivered; there the Lord shall redeem thee from the hand of thine enemies. It is in that environment, outside the local congregations, in secular Babylon, the north country, where God is still saving today. A beautiful prophecy is that of Jeremiah 31:8-9 where we read
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither. 9 They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
This passage gives great encouragement that God will bring his elect who are in the churches out of the churches, to the north country, secular Babylon. The clue phrase is, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together. This language pertains to those who are in the churches who God shall bring out of the churches, even as God brought Lot and his family out of Sodom before raining down fire and brimstone on Sodom.
The theme ZionInTravail ties directly with Isaiah 66:7-8
7 Before she travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of a man child. 8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
In these verses, Zion in travail is a reference to the true believers who are living during this present period called great affliction or great tribulation. In verse 7, “she was delivered of a man child” is a reference to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to take upon himself a human nature and to demonstrate that he had to die to atone for the sins of the elect. In verse 8, God is making a rhetorical statement. Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? shall a nation be born at once? This statement can be understood as referring to this period of great affliction, where the primary focus is on the resurrection of the last day that culminates this period of time, at which time all the true believers, both living and dead, shall be raised incorruptible in the sight of their enemies and shall be instantly changed into their glorified, spiritual bodies. Truly, on that day, a nation shall be born at once. In the Bible, God frequently refers to the true believers as a “great nation,” see for example, Genesis 46:3; Deuteronomy 4:6-7. Throughout history that great nation has been kept hidden by God, scattered throughout the world. But on that great day, this great nation shall be put on display as never before.
Thus, the last phrase, “for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children,” can be understood as referring to the glorious salvation program that is going on during this brief period called great affliction and culminating in the resurrection of the last day.
Another beautiful passage that identifies with ZionInTravail is found in Isaiah 49
18Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold: all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth. 19 For thy waste and thy desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants, and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away. 20 The children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other, shall say again in thine ears, The place is too strait for me: give place to me that I may dwell. 21 Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where had they been?
In these verses, the waste and desolate places, and the land of thy destruction, are references to the abomination of desolation that is standing in the holy place, namely the churches and congregations worldwide. In these verses, God is consoling Zion, Jerusalem above if you will, with respect to the children which thou shalt have, after thou hast lost the other (verse 20). The children which thou hast lost refer to those who outwardly identified with the kingdom of God as it has been represented by the churches and congregations during the New Testament era, and yet never became born from above. Sadly this pertains to a high percentage of those in the churches at any time in history, but most especially during this period of great tribulation.
The children which thou shalt have after thou hast lost the other are those who today are being saved using sources outside the local congregations. God is emphasizing that their number shall be such that there will be barely sufficient room for them in the eternal, invisible kingdom of God.
The Bible emphasizes that those who are being saved outside the churches in our day are being saved in an environment characterized by affliction, as Isaiah 48:10 declares:
9For my name’s sake will I defer mine anger, and for my praise will I refrain for thee, that I cut thee not off. 10 Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. 11 For mine own sake, even for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted? and I will not give my glory unto another.
Please note the language in verse 10, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” This verse is emphasizing that those whom God is saving in this period called great affliction are brought through the furnace of affliction and adversity. A corollary verse is Zechariah 13:8-9
8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the Lord, two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein. 9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The Lord is my God.
Also note in Isaiah 48:11, “For mine own sake, for mine own sake, will I do it: for how should my name be polluted?” This verse is emphasizing that those who are being saved during this period called great affliction are not being saved because they are “good” people. Those who are being saved are being plucked as a brand out of the fire (Zechariah 3:2). They as unprofitable servants are being saved strictly by the mercy of God. The proper attitude of the believers who are saved is reflected in the prayer of Daniel in Daniel chapter 9:
4 And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee.
Please note, Daniel is not excluding himself as he makes confession unto the LORD. He declares, “we have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled.” One of the chief characteristics of one who has become born from above is the knowledge that he is a sinner who is entirely unworthy of the love that has been bestowed upon him. Such a one will likewise have an intense desire to share that love of God with others who are no different than he was prior to God bestowing his mercy on him.
The previous verses have emphasized that ZionInTravail has everything to do with the salvation that is taking place outside the churches during this period of great affliction. However, the picture of a woman in her pangs, a woman in travail, is also applied to the unsaved that come under judgment. The day of judgment that is rapidly approaching shall overtake them as travail upon a woman with child, as the following verses emphasize.
1 Thessalonians 5
2For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 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.
Psalm 48
1Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 2 Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great King. 3 God is known in her palaces for a refuge. 4 For, lo, the kings were assembled, they passed by together. 5 They saw it, and so they marvelled; they were troubled, and hasted away. 6 Fear took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Jeremiah 49
23 Concerning Damascus. Hamath is confounded, and Arpad: for they have heard evil tidings: they are fainthearted; there is sorrow on the sea; it cannot be quiet. 24 Damascus is waxed feeble, and turneth herself to flee, and fear hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her, as a woman in travail.
Jeremiah 6
22 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people cometh from the north country, and a great nation shall be raised from the sides of the earth. 23 They shall lay hold on bow and spear; they are cruel, and have no mercy; their voice roareth like the sea; and they ride upon horses, set in array as men for war against thee, O daughter of Zion. 24 We have heard the fame thereof: our hands wax feeble: anguish hath taken hold of us, and pain, as of a woman in travail.
Jeremiah 50
41Behold, a people shall come from the north, and a great nation, and many kings shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. 42 They shall hold the bow and the lance: they are cruel, and will not shew mercy: their voice shall roar like the sea, and they shall ride upon horses, every one put in array, like a man to the battle, against thee, O daughter of Babylon. 43 The king of Babylon hath heard the report of them, and his hands waxed feeble: anguish took hold of him, and pangs as of a woman in travail.
The above verses emphasize God’s judgment that comes suddenly as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape or be prepared when that day comes. We read in Luke 17
24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. 25 But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. 26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. 27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
This judgment of God that comes suddenly is strongly emphasized in the following passage:
Isaiah 47:1-11
1 Come down, and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate. 2 Take the millstones, and grind meal: uncover thy locks, make bare the leg, uncover the thigh, pass over the rivers. 3 Thy nakedness shall be uncovered, yea, thy shame shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet thee as a man. 4 As for our redeemer, the Lord of hosts is his name, the Holy One of Israel. 5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of kingdoms. 6 I was wroth with my people, I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke. 7 And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst remember the latter end of it. 8 Therefore hear now this, thou that art given to pleasures, that dwellest carelessly, that sayest in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I know the loss of children: 9 But these two things shall come to thee in a moment in one day, the loss of children, and widowhood: they shall come upon thee in their perfection for the multitude of thy sorceries, and for the great abundance of thine enchantments. 10 For thou hast trusted in thy wickedness: thou hast said, None seeth me. Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath perverted thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. 11 Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know.
In these verses, the daughter of Babylon that is called, the lady of kingdoms, that has been perverted by her wisdom and knowledge, that trusteth in her wickedness, that art given to pleasures, and that dwellest carelessly, is a reference to the churches and congregations worldwide that consider themselves to be the bride of Christ. God is declaring she shall suffer the loss of children and widowhood in a moment in one day, and evil shall come upon her, and desolation shall come upon her suddenly, and she shall not be able to put it off. This aspect of the day of judgment is inherent in the theme ZionInTravail. In short, this is a time in history where God’s judgment and God’s mercy are both magnified and build up to a climax at the resurrection of the last day when Christ appears with great power and great glory.