Mark 13:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

NIV: Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

NASB: For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are only the beginning of birth pains.

CSB: For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

NLT: Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, as well as famines. But this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines and troubles. These are the beginnings of sorrows.

"Nation" is from the Greek root word ethnos and means a group of people who are associated by some shared characteristic, whether geographical or familial or tribal. Paul uses the term in his letters to identify Gentiles in general (Romans 2:14, 24; 3:29). "Kingdom" is from the Greek root word basileia, and has more of a formal, political meaning. It is the territory and people ruled over by a specific leader, particularly a monarch. In simplified, modern terms, with basileia, Jesus prophesies formal wars, and with ethnos, He warns us of what modern people might define as "terrorists."

The world has seen truly dramatic earthquakes. In 1556, 830,000 people in China died via an earthquake. In 2004, 230,000 people from Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and India died in an earthquake and the resulting tsunami. If these are "normal" natural disasters, we can imagine how catastrophic earthquakes might become leading up to the end times.

Luke 21:11 adds that there will be "famines and pestilences…terrors and great signs from heaven." Millions of people have died from famines since Jesus' warning, including 25 million in the 6th century Plague of Justinian, 50 million from the Black Death in the 14th century, and 15 million in China and India in the early 20th century. Like the earthquakes, we have not yet seen what horrific damage famines and pestilences will wreak as we approach the tribulation. Revelation depicts events which kill a fourth or a third of the living people on earth (Revelation 6:8), including natural disasters which inspire even the rich and powerful to despair (Revelation 6:12–17), leading most to believe that actual end-times events will be catastrophic beyond what we have seen thus far in history.

The last phrase spoken here is both depressing and inspiring. When we experience warfare, natural disasters, and famine, we need to remember that it is not time, yet. We must be patient and have endurance to run the race (Hebrews 12:1). Such events give us a chance to show God's love to others, but we should not necessarily expect to be rescued in the midst of them. Jesus is coming, but not necessarily right now, even when we're experiencing suffering.

Preterists and semi-preterists teach that the prophecies in Mark 13 were mostly fulfilled by the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. This verse adds a complication to those claims. Between Jesus' teaching around AD 30 and the destruction of Jerusalem, there weren't wars, rumors of wars (Mark 13:7), earthquakes, and famines on the scale described in books like Revelation. We need to remember that despite the number of wars and natural disasters we experience today, when the end times truly approach it will be much, much worse.

Mark 13:3–13 occurs less than a week after a crowd celebrated their belief that Jesus is the Son of David, come to restore Israel from her Roman oppressors (Mark 11:10). The disciples think Jesus spent the last three years preparing them to rule in His royal court (Mark 10:35–45). Moments ago, Jesus prophesied it is the temple and Jerusalem that will be destroyed, not the Romans (Mark 13:1–2). The disciples were understandably confused, even as He continues His dire predictions. Jesus' warnings are also recorded in Matthew 24:4–14 and Luke 21:8–19.

Days before the crucifixion, the disciples praise the glory of the temple. When Jesus tells them the temple will be destroyed, they ask for signs of that coming destruction and of His return (Matthew 24:3). Jesus answers their second question with information crucial for believers in the end times, and any time. Tribulation Christians will face horrifying hardships and violence, as may believers of any era, but they must remember that the hardships will not last. Jesus will return so quickly, any attempt to live by the world's rules will be futile.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.