What is the “travail” in 1 Thessalonians 5:3? Does it relate to present conditions and the many wars?

The full scripture reads, “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.”

How fitting it is to compare the birth pangs of a woman in labor, to the many wars and the proclamations of peace that are promised. Each of these many wars is proclaimed to be the righteous and necessary answer to the problem and to bring lasting peace. In the past 100 years the United States fought in World War I, World War II, Korea, Viet Nam, the Gulf War, Iran and Afghanistan.   Numerous civil wars have erupted in places such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Angola, and South Africa.  Peace keeping groups like the former League of Nations and the United Nations have been helpless to stop the violence and needless bloodshed.  Like labor pains, these events have come closer together and are more violent than the ones before it. In addition to the many wars, the twentieth century has witnessed horrendous genocides such as the Armenian genocide, the Jewish Holocaust and those in Rwandan, Bosnia and Darfur. When we look at recent history we can see the fulfillment of this scripture. We hear lots of talk about peace but we see no peace.

But what will be the “sudden destruction?”  Daniel 12:1 tells us, “and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation” This time of trouble will end in the destruction of the nations’ governments.  These governments will collapse and the world will be in a state of anarchy. We know we are in this “time of trouble” every time we read a newspaper or listen to the news.  The “sudden destruction” is not the end of this earth.  Ecclesiastes 1:4 tells us, “One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.”
We have all seen startling changes in the world during our lifetime.  We see a world in which there is little respect for authority or traditions of human decency.  We see governments not helping the people but, preying on the people that they govern. We see the world stage set for anarchy.

 
But the Lord will only let it go so far before he intervenes and sets up his righteous kingdom.  In Mark 13:20 we read, “And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved.”  This time of trouble will give birth to His Kingdom, a new world after the pangs of wars and human sufferings.  This kingdom will be the kingdom that the angels sang about in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. This is what Christians have prayed about for nearly 2,000 years as Jesus taught in Matthew 6:10, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”