“And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.”
When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come — the wars and rumors of wars are not signs of the end but pre-end events that characterize the period between the resurrection and the final consummation. Do not be alarmed (mē throeisthe): the wars are not the end-signal the disciples might assume. Such things must happen (dei genesthai) — the must is the divine necessity that governs history. But the end is still to come: wars do not announce the end; they are part of the ongoing condition of this age.
Church Fathers on Mark 13:7
Because the Lord, when some were praising the buildings of the temple, had plainly answered that all these were to be destroyed, the disciples privately enquired about the time and the signs of the destruction which was foretold.
In answer to the disciples, the Lord tells them of things which were from that time forth to have their course; whether He meant the destruction of Jerusalem which occasioned their question, or His own coming through the Church, (in which He ever comes even unto the end, for we know that He comes in His own, when His members are born day by day,) or the end itself, in which He will appear to judge the quick and the dead.
But before answering their question, He strengthens their minds that they may not be deceived.
Read all 6 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS
Publish a reflection on this verse
No reflections on this verse yet. Be the first to write one!