And when ye shall hear of wars and tumults, be not terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end is not immediately.
The disciples had just asked when the temple would fall. The Lord answers with a warning, not a date. He names the things that make people panic: war and public unrest. Then He says these are not the sign that the end has come.
Older translations end this verse with "the end is not by and by." Today that sounds like "not for a long time." It meant the opposite: not at once. So the verse is a command against panic.
They are not to fear the violent movements of men. They are not to imagine that these upheavals mean the end is coming at once — for that is what "by and by" means here.
The Lord does not present the coming turmoil as an accident. Writers trace it to one cause: the King was rejected. Until He reigns, the world has no peace.
The Lord first gives a general sketch of the ruin about to follow. Moral improvement, truth spreading everywhere, peace for mankind — for now these were misleading dreams. They should be on their guard against them. ... His disciples were not to be disturbed or deceived. Such evil things must be because the King was rejected, and the end is not yet. Instead of learning war no more as when He comes in His kingdom, nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.
Because the end is not immediate, headlines are not a countdown clock. The purpose of the warning is practical: a disciple who is not shaken by world events can keep working.
Besides the false Christs, there would be political disturbances, restlessness, and actual wars and rumours of wars. These would attract attention and mark the state of things on earth. But the disciples were not to be troubled. All this would come to pass, but these were no signs of His coming — the end was not yet. So the Lord is providing what would guide and strengthen His witnesses, keeping them calm and steady in their places. He gives instruction that would make them calm in service, not agitated by circumstances or by false hopes... They might still serve quietly on.
Commentators note that Luke tells this discourse as history. Several place verse 9 in the years running up to the Roman siege of Jerusalem.
As for Luke 21, it is much more historical... So verses 9 to 19 give us the state of things from after the Lord's death until the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem. There is no mention of the abomination of desolation here.
The same writer lists what those years would ask of the disciples, up to the Roman sack of Jerusalem under Titus.
In these earlier verses (8-19) the Lord dwells on the dangers, duties, and trials of the disciples before Titus sacked Jerusalem. They were especially to beware of a pretended deliverer, and of the cry that the time of deliverance was at hand. Nor were they to be terrified by wars or commotions, any more than seduced by fair promises. These things must first happen, but the end not immediately.
Not everyone limits the verse to the first century. Some read the same words as a picture of the whole course of the world. They also read them as an answer to the hope that things will slowly improve.
Wars and commotions would come (v. 9), as they have, but this is not enough to signify the end. Nations and kingdoms are set against one another. That shows the gospel will not slowly change the world for the better, as some have imagined... How well the Lord knew and fully declared that the gospel would not convert the world. His words here are a rebuke to those who have cherished such futile hopes.
Another writer warns against reading the news as fulfilled prophecy.
There are sure signs that we are in the last days. But these are not the "wars and tumults," the "earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences," or the "terrors and great signs from heaven" of Luke 21... Some have allowed their imagination to run riot over such things and over sensational events in the political world.
- Meaning — In older wording, "the end is not by and by" means the end is not at once. Wars do not announce it.
- Cause — The turmoil goes back to the rejection of the King. Peace on earth waits for His reign, so dreams of steady progress are misplaced.
- Composure — "Do not be terrified" is the point of the warning. Disciples who know what is coming stay calm, steady in their places, and go on serving.
- Timing — Commentators differ. Several read verses 9–19 as the years from the Lord's death to the Roman siege of Jerusalem. Others hear a description of the world's whole course.
- Caution — Both readings agree on one rule. Never treat today's conflicts as proof that the end has arrived, and do not let imagination run wild over political events.
Then he said to them, Nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
The Lord has just told the disciples not to panic at wars and unrest, for "the end will not be at once." Here He describes the world between His going and His return — and readers ask whether He means the fall of Jerusalem, the last crisis, or both.
Matthew and Mark give this stage of trouble a name that Luke does not repeat. One writer marks where the section ends:
Luke 21:9. — Down to verse 11 we have what Matthew and Mark call the "beginning of birth pains."
So nation against nation is not the crisis itself but the first pang. Such troubles are not new, yet they still point forward:
So we read of "the beginning of sorrows," announced in advance by nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, with the famines, plagues and earthquakes that come with them. These things are not unique to that one moment. Yet they still come before it, and so they give a clear warning of worse to follow.
Luke's report differs from Matthew's. One writer explains that Luke has the nearer event in view, while Matthew looks to the end of the age — and that the same features mark both:
Luke refers to the state of things around the siege of Jerusalem by Titus. Matthew refers to the final troubles of the Jews. The two are clearly much alike. The features that long ago became history in the earlier events will appear again in the later ones. False Christs, wars, commotions, and frightening natural events are common to both periods. So in the first few verses (Luke 21:8-11; Matt. 24:4-8) there is only slight variation between the reports.
What the Lord announces here is the opposite of the promised kingdom. It settles the character of the whole present time:
The new age has not yet come, and it cannot while the Lord Jesus is away. Whatever men promise and hope for, all their scheming will not succeed. All their expectations will prove false. "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" — that is, a state quite the opposite of what is promised for the kingdom.
This also answers a hope many have held about what the gospel would do in the world:
Nations and kingdoms are hostile to one another. This shows there would be no gradual change for the better in the world through the gospel, as some have foolishly imagined. Instead there would be a sharp increase in alarming signs — earthquakes, famines, plagues. The Lord knew well, and declared fully, that the gospel would not convert the world. His words here are a rebuke to those who have cherished such futile hopes.
The Lord warns His followers in advance. World events then cannot shake them or confuse their sense of the times:
But in each case His warnings arm His disciples beforehand. They must not let false Christs deceive them for a moment, or follow them. They must not fear the violent movements of men, or think that such upheavals mean the end is coming at once.
- Beginning — war between nations is the first birth pang, not the birth. Matthew and Mark call this stage "the beginning of birth pains."
- Twice over — the same features marked the siege of Jerusalem and will appear again in the final troubles. Luke and Matthew report this section almost alike.
- Contrary — a world of nation against nation is the opposite of the promised kingdom. So that kingdom has not yet come.
- Undeceived — nations keep clashing to the end. No human scheme and no spread of preaching will slowly mend the world.
- Unshaken — warned in advance, believers do not follow false Christs, do not fear violence, and do not rush to say the end has come.
there shall be both great earthquakes in different places, and famines and pestilences; and there shall be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.
Luke 21:11 sits inside the Lord's answer to a question about the temple's destruction. Commentators read the events He lists — earthquakes, famines, plagues, terrors overhead — both as history already fulfilled and as a picture of what still lies ahead. The chapter raises a question every generation asks again: are these disasters the sign that the end has come?
One writer marks off Luke's report of this prophecy from Matthew's.
Here the Lord Jesus gives us a very direct and immediate picture of the destruction of Jerusalem, which was then close at hand. Matthew passes over the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. He fixes attention on what will take place at the end of the age. Luke gives us this last event too — at least he closes with the future crisis. But the main point in the central part of Luke is to point out the destruction that was then at hand. It was a distinct state of things, and a distinct time, from the circumstances of the Son of man's day.
The verse ends with terrors and great signs from heaven. One writer points to strange sights over the city that the historian Josephus recorded. (Older translations render the phrase as "fearful sights.")
Josephus, the historian, tells us that a star or a comet with a long tail shaped like a sword hung over the city for a whole year. Another sign was that on one occasion chariots and troops of soldiers were seen among the clouds, rushing to and fro. On another occasion a great light shone around the altar for about half an hour and then died out. The gate of the inner court of the temple, made of brass and so heavy that it took twenty men to shut it, opened by itself. This was taken to mean that the temple would no longer be protected from the enemy. These events may seem like fables, but the historian declares that many people witnessed them, and Tacitus confirms these signs.
The Lord gave this list to men who would have to keep serving while the world shook.
The disciples were not to be troubled; all this would come to pass, they were no signs of His coming, the end was not yet. So the Lord is caring for what would guide and strengthen His witnesses, keeping them calm and steady in their places. He gives them the kind of teaching that would keep them calm in service, not stirred up by circumstances or by false hopes.
Disasters of this kind have marked every century. One writer weighs the wording of the verse before treating any of them as fulfilment.
You can trace such events through the whole course of world history. But they have been rare, not frequent, while the text plainly implies they will happen often, and probably in different places at the same time. How often has a Christian, on hearing of an event of this kind, said, "Surely we must now be in the time of Matthew 24!" Yet the very fact that it draws comment as a rare event shows that we are not yet in that time. It is fair to conclude that the prophecy means famines, plagues and earthquakes to a degree and over an area beyond anything known before.
Commentators differ over what is shaken here. One writer reads the earthquakes as a symbol.
As a symbol, earthquakes point to an upheaval of the lower masses of society. This overthrows the social system, either in part or completely.
Another writer does not choose between the two readings.
I have little doubt that the scene will be as mixed as the language. There will be terrible signs really given. Besides that, there will be a real breaking up of all existing powers, and terror in every heart… But there will be more than a revolution. It will be an overthrow and upsetting of all visible and organised powers.
Disasters in the meantime still carry a voice, and men are quick to explain it away.
These happen under the providential government of God. Through them He keeps making Himself heard and shows His power… Sadly, people too often treat such judgments as natural events or mere accidents and disasters. They see no God in them, and soon forget them. These judgments should warn men. A light shower often falls before a storm, and in the same way these frequent judgments are only the forerunners of the great storm of the wrath of God that will fall on this guilty world.
- Setting. Luke's report keeps the coming Roman siege of Jerusalem in view, while Matthew looks past it to the end of the age.
- Signs. Josephus recorded strange sights over the city: a sword-shaped comet, armies in the clouds, a temple gate that opened by itself.
- Scale. The wording points to disasters more frequent and more widespread than any before. One rare disaster shows the time has not yet come.
- Steadiness. The Lord gave the list so His witnesses would stay calm and keep serving, not chase false hopes.
- Shaking. Ground trembling, society collapsing, or both — these are forerunners. They are a light shower before the storm, calling men to reckon with God now.