10 Then said he unto them, Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11 and there shall be great earthquakes, and in divers places famines and pestilences; and there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven. 12 But before all these things, they shall lay their hands on you, and shall persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 It shall turn out unto you for a testimony. Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate beforehand how to answer: 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or to gainsay. 16 But ye shall be delivered up even by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolk, and friends; and _some_ of you shall they cause to be put to death. 17 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake. 18 And not a hair of your head shall perish. 19 In your patience ye shall win your souls. The occasion of this prophetic message was the question asked by the disciples, as they gazed on the splendor of the Temple, concerning the destruction of which Jesus had spoken as he declared that the days would come “in which there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. And they asked him, saying, Teacher, when therefore shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when these things are about to come to pass?” In the words of Matthew, they also asked, “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” First of all, then, Jesus sketched for his disciples the character of this present age down to its very end, and described the experiences of his followers urging them to be faithful to him amidst all the commotions and trials of the coming years until he should return. According to his description the age will be characterized by the appearance of many deceivers who will claim the allegiance of his followers and assume to take the place of Christ. Furthermore, there will be wars and tumults but by these believers are not to be terrified. It is always a temptation of shallow minds to interpret every unusual event as a sign of the approaching end of the world. Our Lord assured his disciples that all through the passing years such events would happen without warranting the conclusion that the great event is near; as he declared, “The end is not immediately;” there would be a long period of delay; there would be a political commotion, “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” There would also be earthquakes, famines, pestilences, and “great signs from heaven,” but these again must be regarded as characteristics of the present age and not as signs of its approaching end.