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LUKE 21:9 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Luke 21:8Luke 21:10
“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.”
When you hear of wars and uprisings, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away — wars and uprisings: the political instability before 70 CE (the Jewish revolt of 66 CE, the wars across the empire during 68–69 CE). Do not be frightened: the events are part of the divine plan. The end will not come right away: the events are not the immediate end.

Church Fathers on Luke 21:9

God denounces the woes that shall forerun the destruction of the world, that so they may the less disturb when they come, as having been foreknown. For darts strike the less which are foreseen. And so He says, But when you shall hear of wars and commotions, &c. Wars refer to the enemy, commotions to citizens. To show us then that we shall be troubled from within and without, He asserts that the one we suffer from the enemy, the other from our own brethren.

Gregory the Great · 6th century

But of the heavenly words none are greater witnesses than we, upon whom the ends of the world have come. What wars and what rumors of wars have we received!

Ambrose · 4th century

For an earthquake is at one time a sign of wrath, as when our Lord was crucified the earth shook; but at another time it is a token of God’s providence, as when the Apostles were praying, the place was moved where they were assembled. It follows, and pestilence.

Chrysostom · 4th century
Read all 10 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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