Luke 21:9
But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by. But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not by and by.
Jesus spoke this warning in answer to questions about the temple adorned with goodly stones, joining the great calamity to come upon Jerusalem with the close of this earth's history when not merely nations but the whole world will be destroyed. The discourse deliberately blends together the destruction of Jerusalem and the coming of Christ and the end of the world instead of treating them separately, so that what is spoken of Jerusalem's fall reaches beyond that event to the final conflagration when the Lord rises out of His place to punish the world for iniquity. The blending was mercy because the disciples could not have endured a full sight of future events, leaving them and later readers to study out the meaning for themselves. The whole discourse was given not for the first disciples only but to instruct those who should afterward believe and help them prepare for the great conflict, with lessons especially applicable to those living in the last scenes of earth's history upon whom the ends of the world are come.
The command is not to be terrified when wars and commotions, wars and disturbances, are heard, because these things must first come to pass in the battle prior to the last closing conflict, yet their occurrence does not mean the end has arrived or follows immediately; they are an earlier stage in the sequence. They belong to what to expect before Christ's coming, and the signs described applied to Jerusalem's destruction and also point beyond it to the final visitation of God's wrath at the end of earth's history. Wars, rumors of war, sword, famine and pestilence first shake the powers ruling on earth, while the shaking of the sun, moon and stars and the earth at the voice of God is a distinct later shaking of the powers of heaven. Turmoil and political upheaval among European nations is therefore the shaking of angry earthly nations, not the heavenly shaking.
Conflict and calamities, famines, pestilences, earthquakes and storms causing thousands of deaths show the surrounding signs are already fulfilling throughout the world, yet they are only the beginning of what is to come. They testify that the end is near though it does not come immediately. At that time God's commandment-keeping people stand distinct and separate from Sunday observers, and many convinced of truth come over to their side. Many are imprisoned, flee for their lives from cities and towns, are martyred for defending truth, and are brought before kings and rulers and councils to meet false, absurd, lying accusations.
Therefore these signs of the times must be discerned in this age of the world, and God's people must reach a higher standard in view of the dangers they reveal. The warnings call people to watch and pray, remain spiritually alert, and prepare to stand before the Son of man. They must not be terrified but stand firm as a rock to principle in obedience to the express command of God, with strength as their day, not tempted above what they are able to bear, following Jesus who bore all this and far more. The chapter is a solemn message for the present time to be brought clearly to the people, especially in the cities.