We’re still looking at the 19th century:

“Verse 7. Nation shall rise against nation] This portended the dissensions, insurrections, and mutual slaughter of the Jews, and those of other nations, who dwelt in the same cities together; as particularly at Caesarea, where the Jews and Syrians contended about the right of the city, which ended there in the total expulsion of the Jews, above 20,000 of whom were slain. The whole Jewish nation being exasperated at this, flew to arms, and burnt and plundered the neighboring cities and villages of the Syrians, making an immense slaughter of the people. The Syrians, in return, destroyed not a less number of the Jews. At Scythopolis they murdered upwards of 13,000. At Ascalon they killed 2,500. At Ptolemais they slew 2000, and made many prisoners. The Tyrians also put many Jews to death, and imprisoned more: the people of Gadara did likewise; and all the other cities of Syria in proportion, as they hated or feared the Jews. At Alexandria the Jews and heathens fought, and 50,000 of the former were slain. The people of Damascus conspired against the Jews of that city, and, assaulting them unarmed, killed 10,000 of them. See Bishop Newton, and Dr. Lardner.“

Wow. Ok, so we are given “an example” here. On looking it up, I found that there are some things left out here…like the whole context. Caesarea was under Roman rule. There were more Syrians there than Jews. What set this off was a defilement of a Jewish temple by some Syrians. The Jews went to the Roman authorities for redress, but were refused. That’s when they took to arms and it became a revolt. You can see where it got them. This is hardy brother against brother, or city against city.

“Kingdom against kingdom] This portended the open wars of different tetrarchies and provinces against each other. 1st. That of the Jews and Galileans against the Samaritans, for the murder of some Galileans going up to the feast of Jerusalem, while Cumanus was procurator.“

Yup, some Samaritans murdered some Galileans when they were cutting through Samaria to go to Jerusalem. Again, the Jews went to Cumanus, the procurator, and, it’s said that the Samaritans paid him off, so they got no satisfaction. This started some border skirmishes between the two countries. Hardly kingdom against kingdom.

“2dly. That of the whole nation of the Jews against the Romans and Agrippa, and other allies of the Roman empire; which began when Gessius Florus was procurator.” 

Again, this was an uprising against Rome. This one was started by some Greeks defiling another temple in Caesarea. The Jews went to Florus with a complaint, and they were thrown in prison because Florus didn’t like Judeans. In this case it caused “unrest”, and the Jews made fun of Florus by passing a basket to collect donations for him as if he was indigent. Florus responded by arresting a number of city leaders in Jerusalem, some of whom were Roman citizens, then scourged and crucified them. Hardly kingdom against kingdom.

“3dly. That of the civil war in Italy, while Otho and Vitellius were contending for the empire. It is worthy of remark, that the Jews themselves say, ‘In the time of the Messiah, wars shall be stirred up in the world; nation shall rise against nation, and city against city.’ Sohar Kadash.” 

Does this author see these issues as being from around the world? Surely the 19th century was more aware of the “whole world” than they were in the 1st century. Besides, this was hardly “a civil war.” Several legions rebelled against Nero (who could blame them) and he was murdered, and Galba was the first to be proclaimed emperor in the Year of Four Emperors. Otho was a supporter of Galba, but he expected to be named next in line to the throne (Galba had no children), and wasn’t, so he murdered Galba and was declared the emperor by enough soldiers to make it stick. Vitellius had more soldiers behind him, so after a few months he challenged Otho and beat him in one battle (a big battle…40,000 killed) in northern Italy; Otho survived the battle but committed suicide the following day. Vitellius was only emperor for eight months before he was beaten by the even more soldiers who supported Vespasian. These soldiers didn’t even wait for Vespasian to get to Italy from Syria to lead them, they fought against Vitellius in the same place as the Otho/Vitellius bout.  Vitellius saw the writing on the wall and wanted to abdicate, but his supporters wouldn’t allow that, so, by one account the next/last battle was in Rome itself, and by another account, Vespasian’s men just went to Rome and arrested Vitellius. In any event, Vespasian’s troops won, and they executed Vitellius. This was certainly a series of skirmishes for the throne, but hardly a civil war.

By the way, the Sohar Kadash is absolutely correct.

“‘Again, Rab. Eleasar, the son of Abina, said, When ye see kingdom rising against kingdom, then expect the immediate appearance of the Messiah.’ Bereshith Rabba, sect. 42. 

“It is farther added, that There shall be famines, and pestilences] There was a famine foretold by Agabus, (Acts xi. 28) which is mentioned by Suetonius, Tacitus, and Eusebius; which came to pass in the days of Claudius Caesar, and was so severe at Jerusalem that Josephus says (Ant. b. xx. e. 2.) many died for lack of food. Pestilences are the usual attendants of famines: as the scarcity and badness of provisions generally produce epidemic disorders.” 

²⁸One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.   
(Acts 11:28; NASB)

Famines used to be very common. In our age of food security we have forgotten that fact, at least for the moment. With the increasing number of food production plants being burned, with more and more farms being sold and taken off-line, and with interruptions in the supply chains and delivery systems, we may be back to famines in the not too distant future.

As for “pestilences”, they were also pretty common. They do follow famine, as well as war. But, obviously, the author was unable to name a particular “pestilence” incident.

“Earthquakes, in divers places.] If we take the word [to mean] to shake, in the first sense, then it means particularly those popular commotions and insurrections which have already been noted; and this I think to be the true meaning of the word: but if we confine it to earthquakes, there were several in those times to which our Lord refers particularly one at Crete in the reign of Claudius, one at Smyrna, Miletus, Chios, Samos. See Grotius. One at Rome [in 51AD], mentioned by Tacitus; and one at Laodicea in the reign of Nero, in which the city was overthrown, as were likewise Hierapolis and Colosse. See Tacit. Annal. lib. xii. and lib. xiv. One at Campania, mentioned by Seneca; and one at Rome, in the reign of Galba, mentioned by Suetonius in the life of that emperor. Add to all these, a dreadful one in Judea, mentioned by Josephus (War, b. iv. c. 4.) accompanied by a dreadful tempest, violent winds, vehement showers, and continual lightnings and thunders; which led many to believe that these things portended some uncommon calamity.”

The earthquakes are all true. Laodicea, Hierapolis and Colosse were destroyed by earthquake in ~61 AD; Laodicea was rebuilt, the other two were not. The destruction was so bad that the emperor stopped collecting tribute from the area for 5 years. The other earthquakes mentioned were all reported in the Roman histories.

But again, is this unusual? It’s hard to say. I looked at Wikipedia’s List of Earthquakes: the Deadliest Earthquakes by Year,  and here’s the breakdown:

DECADE	# OF QUAKES	RICHTER RANGE/#KILLED	COUNTRIES/AREAS AFFECTED *the country with the biggest quake
1940’s	9	5.8-8.6 / ~170,650	Romania, Yemen,Turkey, Argentina, India* (2),  Dominican Republic, Soviet Union (2)
1950’s	10	6.4-9.0 / ~30,411	India, Salvador, the Soviet Union*, Turkey,  Algeria, Philippines, Iran (3), and the US
1960’s	10	5.8-9.2 / ~56,150	Morocco, Iran (3), Yugoslavia, US*, Chile,  China (2), Venezuela
1970’s	10	6.6-8.2 / ~782,937	Peru, Turkey (2), Iran (2), China (3), Romania, Columbia*
1980’s	11	5.3-8.0 / 64,928	Algeria, Iran (2), Yemen, Turkey, Japan,  Mexico*, El Salvador, Ecuador, Soviet Union (2)
1990’s	10	6.3-7.8 / ~86,672	Iran (2), India (2), Indonesia*, Columbia,  Japan, China, Afghanistan, Turkey
2000’s	11	6.1-9.1 / ~480,998	Indonesia* (4), India, Afghanistan (2), Iran,  Pakistan, Peru, China
2010’s	11	6.2-9.1 / ~354,366	Haiti, Japan*, Iran (2), Pakistan, China, Nepal (2), Ecuador, Indonesia, Albania
2020’s	4	6.0-7.8 / 62,789	Greece/Turkey, Haiti, Afghanistan, Turkey/Syria

Most people don’t even feel a quake until it hits at least 2.5 on the Richter scale, and many miss those below 3.5. We are looking at only those over 5.0, which is when structural damage happens. 

Yes, my list is for the entire world and not just the Roman Empire; no, we don’t have numbers killed for the 1st century quakes; and yes, the buildings in the world now are more often earthquake resilient than back then. But, earthquakes have been a “thing” for a very long time. We probably have no way of knowing how many quakes were happening in places like Haiti or Indonesia or Afghanistan during the 1st century. The number of people killed depends on the construction style of the affected buildings (those living in tents, for instance, often don’t die when their “house” collapses), the geology of the area (i.e. areas prone to mudslides will have much higher death tolls), if the area is coastal (i.e. tsunamis), or how dense the population is.  There are many other factors, such as the depth of the shock, or how far off shore it is, but this is already turning into a geology lecture.  I think we can conclude that we have at least as many devastating earthquakes now as they had in the 1st century; that we are probably having more deaths due to higher populations and buildings in more precarious places; and, we are definitely hearing about more earthquakes for obvious reasons. I suspect that Jesus meant something more than the usual earthquakes. 

“To these St. Luke adds that there shall be fearful sights and great signs from heaven (chap. xxi. 11.) 

and there will be massive earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrible sights and great signs from heaven.     (Luke 21:11; NASB)

“Josephus, in his preface to the Jewish war, enumerates these. 1st. A star hung over the city like a sword; and a comet continued a whole year. 2d. The people being assembled at the feast of unleavened bread, at the ninth hour of the night, a great light shone about the altar and the temple, and this continued for half an hour. 3d. At the same feast, a cow led to sacrifice brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple! 4th. The eastern gate of the temple, which was of solid brass, and very heavy, and could hardly be shut by twenty men, and was fastened by strong bars and bolts, was seen at the sixth hour of the night to open of its own accord! 5th. Before sun-setting there were seen, over all the country, chariots and armies fighting in the clouds, and besieging cities. 6th. At the feast of pentecost, when the priests were going into the inner temple by night, to attend their service, they heard first a motion and noise, and then a voice, as of a multitude, saying, LET US DEPART HENCE! 7th. What Josephus reckons one of the most terrible signs of all was, that one Jesus, a country fellow, four years before the war began, and when the city was in peace and plenty, came to the feast of tabernacles, and ran crying up and down the streets, day and night: ‘A voice from the east! a voice from the west! a voice from the four winds! a voice against Jerusalem and the temple! a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides! and a voice against all the people!’.  Though the magistrates endeavored by stripes and tortures to restrain him, yet he still cried, with a mournful voice, ‘Woe, woe to Jerusalem!’ And this he continued to do for several years together, going about the walls and crying with a loud voice: ‘Woe, woe to the city, and to the people, and to the temple!’ and as he added, “Woe, woe to myself.’ a stone from some sling or engine struck him dead on the spot! It is worthy of remark that Josephus appeals to the testimony of others, who saw and heard these fearful things. Tacitus, a Roman historian, gives very nearly the same account with that of Josephus.”

Again, I don’t know about these stories. Josephus and Tacitus were writing around the same time (Tacitus living 20 years longer than Josephus), so it’s likely that one read the other and copied these stories. It’s also possible that they both got them from the same source(s). I wouldn’t be surprised if there was an actual comet, but the chariots and armies fighting in the clouds story sounds more fanciful.

“Verse 8. All these are the beginning of sorrows.] [the literal meaning of the Greek word is] travailing pains. The whole land of Judea is represented under the notion of a woman in grievous travail; but our Lord intimates, that all that had already been mentioned were only the first pangs and throes, and nothing in comparison of that hard and death-bringing labor, which should afterwards take place. 

“From the calamities of the nation in general, our Lord passes to those of the Christians; and, indeed, sufferings of his followers were often occasioned by the judgments sent upon the land, as the poor Christians were charged with being the cause of these national calamities, and were cruelly persecuted on that account.”     [from THE NEW TESTAMENT, VOL1, MATTHEW TO ACTS, by Adam Clarke, 1846]  

I would have liked more information on the Christians being blamed for “national calamities.” 

Clarke is obviously another writer who is ducking the whole “end times” discussion in favor of “it all happened already.”

“Christ so answers to the question touching the sign of his coming, as manifestly to show it contemporary with the desolation of the temple and polity of Jerusalem, saying, ver. 27,”As the lightning Cometh from the east and shineth to the west, so shall be…the coming of the Son of man: ”for, ver. 28,”where the carcase is, there shall the eagles be gathered together;” i.e. the Roman army, whose ensign was the eagle: so that the coming of this army to destroy them, and ‘the coming of the Son of man,” must be contemporary.”        [A CRITICAL COMMENTARY AND PARAPHRASE OF THE OT AND NT AND APOCRYPHA, VOL 4, by Patrick, Lowth, Arnald, Whitby, and Lowman, 1846]  

This makes less sense than the last writer. The authors start by saying that, of course, the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem is “contemporary” with Christ’s return. Then they give 2 Bible passages that don’t prove their point.

“‘And the time draweth near,” (it is added in St. Luke’s Gospel:) ‘go ye not therefore after them.’ (St. Luke xxi.8.) This then is the first ‘sign’ to which our Lord directed the attention of His Church; and we shall find that he recurs to it, in verse 23. In the Acts, one remarkable instance of the foretold imposture is recorded in the history of Simon Magus; (Acts viii.9 to 11) and profane historians relate others. 

And he said, Take heed that ye be not deceived: for many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and the time drawer near: go ye not therefore after them.    
(Luke 21:8; KJV)

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or there; believe it not.  
(Matthew 24:23; KJV)

⁹Now a man named Simon had previously been practicing magic in the city and astonishing the people of Samaria, claiming to be someone great; ¹⁰and all the people from small to great, were paying attention to him, saying, “This man is the Power of God that is called Great.” ¹¹And they were paying attention to him because for a long time he had astounded them with his magic arts.    
(Acts 8:9-11; NASB)

“‘It may be observed,’ (says a thoughtful writer,)  [“Williams”]  ‘that as Josephus records the abundant fulfillment of all these things in the primary sense, the Revelation of St. John shadows forth the same as again to be fulfilled in the latter days.’ (Rev. xiii.13,14, &c) Our Lord proceeds to give His Disciples a second token in the two next verses, which are found in all the three Gospels, (St. Mark xiii.7,8. St. Luke xxi.9,10,11 [see table above]) —containing in each instance the same caution to the Disciples not to be terrified.” 

I want to mention here that “Williams” is all there was in the foot note; I looked through a lot of pages and it was always just “Williams”. No bibliography at all, in either volume. I don’t understand how a publisher didn’t demand more information about a direct quote, even in the 19th century.

Otherwise, I agree with this quote so far, and, I love that he is referencing Revelation. Finally.

¹³He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down out of the sky to the earth in the presence of people. ¹⁴And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life.   (Revelation 13:13-14; NASB)

“All these are the beginning of sorrows. Rather, ‘of birth-pangs’ (Consider St. John xvi.21.) 

Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world.   
(John 16:21; NASB)

“The expression is remarkable, and in the highest degree suggestive, —recalling those many other places of Scripture where Creation is spoken of in kindred terms: now, as groaning and travailing (Rom. viii.22.) —-now, as destined to undergo a process of ‘Regeneration.’ It seems here to be implied that the beginning of that glorious change, —the birth-day of the new Creation, —was already close at hand.”         [from  A PLAIN COMMENTARY ON THE FOUR HOLY GOSPELS – VOL 1 – MATTHEW-MARK, by John William Burgon, 1855]    

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.    
(Romans 8:22; NASB)

I don’t really think that “the birth-day of the new Creation was already close at hand.” The Kingdom of God definitely was close at hand.

“Let no one deceive us as to the leading facts of unfulfilled prophecy, by telling us they are impossible; or as to the manner in which they will be brought to pass, by telling us it is improbable, and contrary to past experience. Let no one deceive us as to the time when unfulfilled prophecies will be accomplished, either by fixing dates on the one hand or bidding us wait for the conversion of the world on the other. On all these points let the plain meaning of Scripture be our only guide, and not the human interpretations of men. Let us not be ashamed to say that we expect a literal fulfillment of unfulfilled prophecy. Let us frankly allow that there are many things we do not understand, but still hold our ground tenaciously—believe much, wait long—and not doubt that all will one day be made clear. Above all, let us remember that the first coming of messiah to suffer was the most improbable event that could have been conceived, and let us not doubt that as he literally came in person to suffer, so he will literally come again in person to reign.” 

Hard to believe that we are still in the 19th century here. An author with vision.

“The second grand lesson before us is a warning against over-sanguine and extravagant expectations as to things which are to happen before the end comes. It is a warning as deeply important as the preceding one. Happy would it have been for the church if it had not been so much neglected. 

“We are not to expect a reign of universal peace, happiness and prosperity before the end comes: if we do, we shall be greatly deceived. Our Lord bids us look for wars, famines pestilence and persecution. It is vain to expect peace until the Prince of peace returns: then, and not till then, swords shall be beaten into plowshares, and nations learn war no more; then, and not till then, ‘the earth shall bring forth her increase.’ (Isa.2:4 Psalm 67:6 ). 

And he will judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.     
(Isaiah 2:4; KJV)

Then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us.  
(Psalm 67:6; KJV)

“We are not to expect a time of universal purity of doctrine and practice in the church of Christ before the end comes: if we do, we shall be greatly mistaken. Our Lord bids us look for the rising of ‘false prophets’, ‘the abounding of iniquity,’ and ‘the waxing cold of the love of many.’ The truth will never be received by all professing Christians, and holiness will never be the rule among men, until the great head of the church returns, and Satan is bound: then, and not till then, there will be a glorious church without spot or blemish ( Ephesians 5:27 ).”       [from EXPOSITORY THOUGHTS ON MATTHEW, by J. C. Ryle, 1856]  

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.     (Ephesians 5:27; KJV)

An excellent note to end on. Ryle doesn’t even complain about “iniquity” and “waxing cold” in his own time, as so many do. He seems to understand that, even if he sees iniquity in his own time, things have a long way down to go before the end. As for our time, I think we are almost there.