Luke 21:10

‘Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom,”

‘Then he said to them.' This may indicate that there had been a lull in the conversation (it does not appear in Mark, but Luke's careful enquiry may have elicited the need for it from his witness). Or it may be with the intention of heightening the effect of what follows, as Jesus moves from relatively local situations to worldwide ones.

He now pointed out that wars between nations must be expected in the normal course of events (compare 2 Chronicles 15:5). They have always taken place, and they always will. This is something that the first century onwards, through to the twenty first century, have constantly made clear. The first century was a century of war and disasters, and it is doubtful if there has been any time in all the ensuing centuries when there have not been wars somewhere in the world, wars which were devastating and appeared like the end of the world, and was for many of those involved.