Scripture Sunday: War, Earthquakes, and Famine

Mark 13:1-8
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1 As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!"

2 Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."

3 When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, 4"Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?"

5 Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. 6 Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come. 8 For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.”

War, earthquakes, and famines. Oh my! This three part terror rings like “lions, tigers, and bears,” yet this one feels more eerie… more frightful. We, like the Tin Man and Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, shutter when we imagine or perhaps even relive these tragedies. 
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War, earthquakes, and famines. Oh my! These are the birth pangs, the signs that Jesus has not yet returned. They are painful, make us scream and cry, and leave us praying for new life.

Thankfully, we have been taught well that when Christ returns, all things will be made right. We aren’t as tempted to believe those who shout, “I am he! I am Jesus come back.” We know not to follow such people.

Yet our deception is a little more eerie, more frightful. We aren’t necessarily tempted to follow a new cult leader claiming to be Christ. Instead, we’re tempted to place too much hope in government leaders or even in ourselves to usher in the kingdom of God. But only Jesus, who is the Kingdom, has the power to bring it in.

Like the early Christians, we too are tempted to follow false teachers motivated by greed and pride. In 1 Timothy, Paul warns and instructs Timothy on recognizing these false teachers: “If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing” (1 Tim 6:3-4a). Godly teaching, first and foremost, is teaching that leads to life and love. The Word becoming flesh requires love, and if our interpretation brings violence and death, we must question if it is truly of God. If someone’s teaching leads to harm or destruction for any part of creation, we must confront it and evaluate our own ideologies.

​Living in these birth pangs is unavoidable; Jesus has not yet returned. But it is not hopeless. We know that the Son of God will come again, and as God’s children, we too are empowered by the Spirit to bring life to the world. Christ’s return will bring justice to creation—war, earthquakes, and famine, fueled by bloodshed, greed, and exploitation, will cease. The fear of death and the lure of false teaching will end. As the Church, we have the opportunity to acknowledge these fears, to teach in ways that bring life and justice, and to look forward to the promise of new birth.



Caroline Hiler is a Seminary Intern at Creation Justice Ministries