Mark 13:3-8

³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately,

⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?”

⁵ And Jesus, answering them, began to say: “Take heed that no one deceives you.

⁶ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many.

⁷ But when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be troubled; for such things must happen, but the end is not yet.

⁸ 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.

Also found in Matthew 24:3-7 and Luke 21:5-11.

See my notes on Matthew 24:3-8. The period Jesus described in these verses was the beginning of the Tribulation, after the Rapture. He wasn’t referring to anything that has occurred, or will occur, during the Age of Grace — apart from the fact that political and physical upheavals are always a thing. The Rapture and the Body of Christ wouldn’t be revealed until God called Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles.

Peter and Andrew were brothers, as were James and John.

sign (v.4) = mark, token, that by which a person or thing is distinguished from others and known

deceives (v.5) = leads astray. The Lord warned them not to be fooled and especially not to follow after the one who tries to fool them and lead them astray

in My name (v.6) = lit. “upon the basis of My name” — basing their claims on the use of His name — calling themselves the Messiah (Christ), or claiming powers which only belong to the Messiah

I am He (v.6) — the “I” means “I, in contradistinction to all others.” I, and only I …

The word “troubled” [means] “to be disturbed, disquieted, terrified.” The present imperative in a prohibition is used here, forbidding the continuance of an action already going on. The disciples were already troubled about the political unrest in Palestine. Our Lord says, “Stop being troubled.” He says: “It is necessary in the nature of the case for such things to be.” — Wuest, page 246.

sorrows (v.8) = pains of childbirth, intolerable anguish

There have always been political and physical upheavals and dangers. The apostles weren’t to be concerned when they heard about them. The end wasn’t yet. When the wars and earthquakes and so forth occur in the Tribulation, they will be much more severe.