Matthew 24:6

“And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled. For it is necessary for these things to happen, but the end is not yet.”

Nor were His disciples to see wars of which they heard, or even rumours of distant wars (including the wars in Judaea), as indications that His coming was near. Any such news was not to disturb them. Such wars, however terrible they might sound, were not to be seen as an indication of His coming, even the great war that will envelop Jerusalem, for wars like this will continue on through time (see Revelation 6:3). This reference to ‘hearing of wars' is preparing the way for the fact that the war that will strike at Jerusalem is simply one among many.

The reference to ‘hearing' of wars does not exclude the possibility of their being caught up in wars themselves. It is simply a reminder that what is heard about can often be seen as much more portentous than what is experienced personally, and that rumours which come from a distance tend to grow in the telling and can become so exaggerated that it often sounds as though the world must surely soon come to an end.

‘It is necessary for these things to happen.' Note the divine necessity. It is all part of God's programme, for it is the outworking of man's sinfulness, and as the Old Testament Scriptures have revealed, such sinfulness always has its consequences.

‘But the end is not yet.' While these things such as wars will lead up to what is to follow, and are reminders along the way, they are not to be seen as indicators that the end is near for they will continue on through history. Thus wars of any kind are never to be taken as the sign of the end. Taking this with the continuing necessity for wars, and referring back to the disciples' questions concerning the destruction of the Temple and Jesus' parousia (coming, arrival), it is a further indication that the war which results in the destruction of the Temple will not necessarily signify the closeness of His coming. Wars will happen, even war in Palestine, without it necessarily signifying the end of the age.