Matthew24:7

1

“Nation” literally means an ethnic group, and it is where we get out word “ethnic” from. It is not concerned with borders and governments, but with natural divisions of people by ethnicity, i.e. a common blood line, language, and culture.

At first glance this statement seems to be talking about all of history, because that is what history has been characterized by. Such events were not exclusive to the 40 years between Jesus and the destruction of the temple. However, there is another way to look at it. This can easily refer to the fact that the Roman emperors were continually expanding their empire through military conquests of other nations or empires. How peaceful was the Pax Romana? The answer depends on your perspective. While there was relative peace if you were a loyal Roman, every non-Roman could see only the high price associated with that “peace.” We must remember that history is usually written by the winners, and we seldom hear the voice of the losers. But we do have some records that express the opinions of people who opposed Rome, either from within the empire, or from without. A leader of British troops named Calgacus, said this about the Romans, “Robbery, butchery, and rapine, the liars call Empire; they create desolation and call it peace” (recorded by Tacitus in his work called On Britian and Germany).

2

“Famines” were usually caused by a lack of rain, so this statement is about nature and its weather patterns. The fact that humans do not get enough to eat during those times is the consequence of the weather pattern, which man can do nothing about.

3

Throughout the Old Testament earthquakes were always a demonstration of God’s power. When He wanted to get people’s attention one thing He could do was send an earthquake, something that only He could do, and something that requires an incredible amount of force – power. We think of the ground as solid and stationary. We build buildings and make roads on it. We trust it to hold whatever we build. Then God comes along and turns the ground into a liquid for a few seconds.

This verse is both a prediction of a few specifics leading up to the main event, and also a big-picture statement about demonstrations of power that have always been part of history. He was saying, “Man shows his power, and sometimes God shows His power. What is coming (the destruction of the temple) will have elements of both man’s power and God’s power. It may look like an event caused by man, but if you look for it, you will see God’s hand it in it too.”