The things which Jesus is referring to are the presence of false teachers, wars, famines and earthquakes, everything which he has mentioned in Matthew 24:4–7. All these events occurred between AD 30 and 70 and have continued to take place since. A Samaritan prophet gained a significant following in AD 36; there was a major famine in Judea around AD 46, and an earthquake in AD 61.1 Labour pains at birth is a common biblical metaphor for calamities (2 Samuel 22:6; Psalm 18:4) or national crisis (Isaiah 13:8; Jeremiah 6:24) and thus a natural image to use also for end time events (Isaiah 26:17–18).2 The beginning of birth pangs suggest that an extended period of labour is still to come.3
8 Tout cela ne sera que le commencement des douleurs.