"When you hear of wars and rumours of wars ... " (Mark 13)

^{Mark 13:7-8
7} “When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, don’t be alarmed! These things must happen, but they don’t mean that the end has come. ⁸ Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes and famines in various places. These are only the beginning pains of the end.
Wars, earthquakes, famines - What are we to make of such things? Jesus says, "Don't be alarmed." Many people look at the terrible things that happen in our world - and they lose their faith. They find it hard to rediscover their faith. Everything seems to come back to this - 'Terrible things are happening. I don't know what to make of it all.' How can Jesus say to us, "Don't be alarmed"? He looks beyond what's happening now. He looks on to "the end." We see the mess that our world's in. He sees God's eternal Kingdom. He's calling us to lift up our eyes. He's calling us to see things with his eyes. We're not to close our eyes to what's happening on earth. When we look at our troubled world, we must learn to see that this is not all that there is. There is something better. Jesus invites us to look beyond "the end" of our world. He invites us to catch a glimpse of our new beginning in God's  everlasting Kingdom. When will "the end" come? We don't know. We can only trust the Lord, believing that beyond our "end", there will be his new beginning. This is what gives us hope. This is more than human optimism - hoping for the best. It's trust in Jesus, our Saviour. It's believing that He will lead us on into His eternal salvation.
"Be on your guard! I have told you everything before it happens" (Mark 13:23).
Why does Jesus speak to us about the future? He's calling us to live for Him in the present. Will we be ready for Jesus when He returns? It all depends on our response to him here-and-now. 
"Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory" (Mark 13:26).
When will this happen? We have no answer to this question. It is one of "the secret things" that are known only to God" (Deuteronomy 29:29) - "No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don’t know. Only the Father knows... You don't know the exact time" (Mark 13:32-33). What has been "revealed to us" (Deuteronomy 29:29) is this: Jesus "will" come (Mark 13:26) - and we must get ready for Him. This is what He's saying to us in Mark 13:33-37   - " ³³Be careful! Watch! You don’t know the exact time. ³⁴ It is like a man who went on a trip. As he left home, he put his servants in charge. He assigned work to each one and ordered the guard to be alert. ³⁵ Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know when the owner of the house will return. It could be in the evening or at midnight or at dawn or in the morning. ³⁶ Make sure he doesn’t come suddenly and find you asleep. ³⁷ I’m telling everyone what I’m telling you: ‘Be alert!’"