John 16:22 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

The whole church, Revelation 12:1,2, is compared to a woman with child, crying, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. During this time of your travail you must have sorrow. All those that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution, 2 Timothy 3:12. It is appointed for all men once to die, Hebrews 9:27. It is appointed for God's people (especially under some periods of time) to be dying daily, killed all the day long, as the apostle expresses the state of Christians in his time, Romans 8:36, quoting Psalms 44:22, which showeth the state of the church in the Old Testament to have been the same. But (saith our Saviour) it is but as the hour of the woman's travail; it will be sharp, very sharp, but it shall be short; for I will see you again, and then your heart shall rejoice; which cannot be understood of Christ's seeing them again after his resurrection; for before that time we read of few or no sufferings of the apostles or other disciples. It must therefore be understood, either of the visitation of his Spirit, filling their hearts with joy and peace, or the visitation of his providence: or rather, of Christ's coming to the last judgment, when all that have believed in Christ shall see him with joy unspeakable; and then all tears shall be wiped away from their eyes, and they shall enter into the joy of their Lord, and sigh and sorrow no more, nor shall it be in the power of all their enemies to deprive them of their joy.