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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_13:3-8
3As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4"Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?" 5And Jesus began to say to them, "See to it that no one misleads you. 6Many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He!' and will mislead many. 7When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. 8For 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 merely the beginning of birth pangs."
Mar_13:3 "sitting on the Mount of Olives" This 2.5 mile ridge on the east overlooked (i.e., about 300-400 feet higher) Jerusalem and the temple area.
▣ "Peter and James and John and Andrew" Only Mark's Gospel mentions this detail. This is probably one of Peter's eyewitness memories.
Mar_13:4 "'when will these things be said, and what will be the sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled'" Mat_24:3 records the expanded questions. There were several events that these disciples wanted to know about: (1) the time of the destruction of the temple; (2) the time of the Second Coming; and (3) the time of the end of the age. The disciples probably thought all three would happen at one time. Notice Jesus merges the temporal and the eschatological, just as the OT prophets did.
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Mar_13:5-13 "'See to it that no one misleads you'" "See" is a present active imperative. Jesus commands them to be on constant alert. In some ways these Jewish traditions about the Messiah had already biased them. These verses mention false signs or precursor signs that are present in every age. This statement is repeated often (cf. Mar_13:5; Mar_13:9; Mar_13:23; Mar_13:33). There will be many who try to trick them on these issues.
Every generation of Christians has tried to force its contemporary history into biblical prophecy. To date they have all been wrong! Part of the problem is that believers are to live in a moment-by-moment expectation of the Second Coming, yet the prophecies are all written for one end-time generation of persecuted followers. Rejoice that you do not know!
Mar_13:6 "'Many will come in My name'" This refers to false Messiahs (cf. Mat_24:11; Mat_24:23-24). There is even a reference in Josephus' Wars of the Jews 6.54 which asserts that the Romans destroyed Jerusalem because of the fanaticism of the false prophets, who led the people astray with false promises of YHWH's intervention in saving Jerusalem based on Isaiah's prophecies (i.e., Isaiah 37), but of course not mentioning Jeremiah's repeated predictions of faithless Jerusalem's fall.
▣ "'saying "I am He"'" This is literally "I am." This was a Messianic designation using the title of the OT Covenant God, YHWH, from the Hebrew verb "to be" (cf. Exo_3:12; Exo_3:14; Joh_4:26; Joh_8:24; Joh_8:58; Joh_13:19; Joh_18:5). See Special Topic at Mar_12:36.
▣ "'and will mislead many'" These types of warnings and terminology are common in apocalyptic literature. This shows the persuasive power of the false Messiahs and the spiritual vacuum of fallen humanity (cf. Mat_24:11; Mat_24:23-26). It also shows the naivete of new believers and/or carnal Christians (cf. 1Co_3:1-3; Heb_5:11-14).
Mar_13:7 "'do not be frightened'" This is a present imperative with the negative particle, which usually means to stop an act in progress.
▣ "'those things must take place; but that is not yet the end'" Wars and earthquakes are not signs of the end, but precursors/signs present in every age (cf. Mar_13:8; Mar_13:10; Mat_24:6-8). These violent natural events are not signs of the Second Coming, but of life in a fallen world (cf. John L. Bray, Matthew 24 Fulfilled, pp. 25,28, which is a good presentation ot the Preterist Interpretation).
Mar_13:8 "'there will also be famines'" Some Greek manuscripts add the phrase "and troubles" (cf. MSS A, W, and NKJV). There are several other variants, but most English translations have "and famines," which is found in Mat_24:7 and MSS à , B, and L (and MS D in a slightly different form). The parallel in Luk_21:11 has several other things listed. The UBS4 gives the shorter reading a "B" rating (almost certain).
▣ "'birth pangs'" The full idiom is "birth pangs" of the new age (cf. Isa_13:8; Isa_26:17; Jer_30:6-7; Mic_4:9-10; Mat_24:8; Mar_13:8; Act_2:24; 1Th_5:3). This reflects the Jewish belief in the intensification of evil before the new age of righteousness (cf. Mar_13:19-20 and the Book of Jubilees 23:18 along with the Apocalypse of Baruch 27-29). The Jews believed in two ages: the current evil age, characterized by sin and rebellion against God, and the "age to come." The New Age would be inaugurated by the coming of the Messiah (cf. Psalms 2). It would be a time of righteousness and fidelity to God. Although the Jewish view was partially true, it did not take into account the two comings of the Messiah. We live in the overlapping of these two ages: the "already" and "not yet" of the kingdom of God!
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