Mark 13:7

And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled; for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

v 8. For nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles.

These are the beginnings of sorrows. Mark's description is graphic, vivid: Jesus with His disciples goes over to the mountain and then sits down opposite the Temple, with the great buildings in full view; an impressive setting for an earnest discussion. Throughout the chapter, note: Before the eye of the omniscient Son of God, when He speaks in a prophetic vein, the factor of time does not exist; unless He Himself makes the distinction, all the happenings are in His mind's eye at this instant; He sees them all together, whether they are connected with the destruction of the city of Jerusalem or with the end of the world; then, also, the judgment of God upon Jerusalem was the type and the beginning of the last great judgment. The final destruction of the world steeped in sins was begun in Judea, and its end, with the extension of God's avenging fury over the whole world, may be expected at any moment, we know not when.

The statement of Jesus concerning the absolute destruction of the Temple had made a deep impression upon all disciples. And therefore His three most intimate friends, together with. Andrew, the brother of Peter, venture to ask Him about this judgment of God. They combine, in their inquiry, the end of Jerusalem and the Temple and the last day of the world, when all these things will be fully executed. In giving them His answer, Jesus makes no sharp distinction between the two events, but speaks of them in such a way that the signs presaging the one may also be taken as foretelling the other. They should beware of deceivers that would falsely claim Messianic power and authority. As in those days these prophets misled the people, Acts 21:38; Acts 8:9, so men and women usurping the Christian name and authority of Christ are appearing in increasing numbers in our days. And they are deceiving many; the Athenians have been surpassed in gullibility and credulousness. As in those days people arose against people and kingdom against kingdom, the Jews and Galileans against the Samaritans, the Jews against the Romans and Agrippa, civil war in Italy, so the wars and rumors of wars of our days have reached a magnitude hitherto unheard of in the history of the world. These things will come; it is inevitable, so long as human nature remains sinful, that they do come; and they come also as a just punishment of God. As in those days there were earthquakes in various places, at Crete, in several cities of Asia Minor, on some of the islands of the Aegean, in Rome and the surrounding country, so the earthquakes of the last two decades, in California, in Alaska, in Java, in Italy, and many other countries and states are preaching a forcible sermon. As there were famines and internal strife in those days, in the days of Claudius Caesar, Acts 21:28, so at the present time a gigantic famine is threatening a large part of Europe and Asia, hundreds of thousands have perished, and this is but the beginning; and as for seditions, never has social unrest been so apparent throughout the nations as at the present time. The Lord is speaking with a powerful voice, asking the nations to heed His prophecies.