Mark 13:3 and 4 say, “And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew questioned Him privately, Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?” The fact that the Lord was sitting with the disciples on the Mount of Olives indicates that to receive the vision of the Lord’s prophecy of the things to come, we need to climb to the high mountain to enter into His presence. When the disciples questioned Him privately, they asked Him concerning the time these things would be and the sign when they would be accomplished.
We may find it surprising that at such a time the Lord Jesus had the heart to sit with His disciples on the Mount of Olives and speak to them concerning things to come. It certainly was a great matter for Him to have the heart to do this. Furthermore, this indicates that the Lord Jesus was at peace. Even though He knew that in a few days He would be put to death, He was still at peace. He could peacefully sit down on the mountaintop and look at the forsaken city of Jerusalem and the forsaken temple. In His sight, Jerusalem and the temple had already been forsaken.
In verses 5 and 6 the Lord Jesus says, “Beware, lest anyone lead you astray. Many will come in My name, saying, I am He! and will lead many astray.” In these verses the Lord says that many deceivers will come in the name of Christ and lead many astray. History tells us that this has been so. Since Christ ascended to the heavens, many have come claiming to be Christ.
In verse 7 the Lord goes on to say, “And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; it must happen, but the end is not yet.” The “wars” here refer to all the wars from the first century to the present. They are signified by the red horse of the second seal in Revelation 6:3-4.
The “end” in verse 7 is the consummation of this age (Matt. 24:3; Dan. 12:4, 9, 6-7), which will be the three and a half years of the great tribulation.
If you know world history, you will realize that from the day the Lord Jesus ascended to the heavens, wars have been increasing. We may say that human history is a history of wars. In 13:7 the Lord prophesied concerning the wars that would come after His resurrection and ascension.
In 13:8 the Lord Jesus says, “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These are the beginning of birth pangs.” In this verse “nation” refers to the people, the Gentiles, and “kingdom” refers to an empire. The rising of nation against nation, or people against people, refers to civil war, whereas the rising of kingdom against kingdom refers to international war. From the time of the Lord’s ascension there have been both civil wars and international wars. Moreover, there have been many famines, which are often the issue of war. According to history, war brings in famine, signified by the black horse of the third seal in Revelation 6:5-6. Therefore, the sequence is war, famine, and death.
In 13:8 the Lord also says that there will be earthquakes in various places. From the time of Christ’s ascension, earthquakes have been increasing through all the centuries and will be intensified at the end of this age (Rev. 6:12; 8:5; 11:13, 19; 16:18). It seems that each year there are more earthquakes than in the previous year.
Referring to wars, earthquakes, and famine, the Lord Jesus says in verse 8, “These things are the beginning of birth pangs.” The Jews, as God’s elect, will suffer “birth pangs” to bring forth a remnant who will participate in the Messianic kingdom, the earthly section of the millennium.
At this point we need to say a further word concerning the birth pangs spoken of by the Lord in 13:8. In order to understand this expression, we need to realize that from the time of the Lord’s resurrection, a birth has been taking place. This is the birth of the universal new man.
The man created by God, the old man, failed God and became useless in fulfilling God’s purpose. Because of this, through Christ’s death and resurrection God has begun to bring forth a universal new man. The birth, or delivery, of this new man began with the Lord’s resurrection, for we, God’s called people, were all resurrected with Christ.
At the time of the Lord’s resurrection, the delivery of the universal new man was not complete. Actually, that was only the beginning of the birth of the new man. This birth will continue until the end of the great tribulation.
Peter and the other disciples, according to the book of Acts, suffered the birth pangs. Throughout the centuries, many of the Lord’s faithful ones have suffered these pangs, and today many are still suffering birth pangs. The reason these birth pangs continue is that the delivery of the universal new man has not yet been completed.
Before He died, the Lord Jesus spoke concerning the birth of the new man: “Truly, truly, I say to you, that you shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; you shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. When a woman gives birth she has sorrow, because her hour has come; but when she brings forth the child, she no longer remembers the affliction because of the joy that a man has been born into the world. And you therefore now indeed have sorrow; but I shall see you again and your heart shall rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you” (John 16:20-22). In one sense, a child, the new man, was born at the time of the Lord’s resurrection. But in another sense, the universal new man, revealed in chapters two and four of Ephesians, has not yet been fully delivered. On the contrary, this new man is still in the process of being born, and the process of birth, of delivery, involves suffering.
The persecutions endured by the saints are considered birth pangs by the Lord Jesus. These birth pangs began from the time of the Lord’s resurrection and ascension. Since the day of Pentecost, these birth pangs have not ceased to be experienced by the Lord’s followers. Because the delivery of the new man is still taking place, the birth pangs continue. What the Lord says in Mark 13:1-8 is related to the birth pangs for the bringing forth of the universal new man.