9 "When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately." 10 Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; 11 there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
Remember, now the context for this teaching: Jesus is saying that no matter what, the good news of the Gospel will be proclaimed. It will be difficult, bad things will happen, Christians will suffer and face persecution for their faith, but God will continue to work out God's plan of salvation for the world.
To that end, reflect on the following from Louis Evely (In the Christian Spirit):
To believe in God is to believe in the salvation of the world. The paradox of our time is that those who believe in God do not believe in the salvation of the world, and those who believe in the future of the world do not believe in God.
Christians believe in "the end of the world," they expect the final catastrophe, the punishment of others.
Atheists in their turn, invent doctrines of salvation, try to give meaning to life, work, the future of humankind, and refuse to believe in God because Christians believe in him and take no interest in the world.
All ignore the true God: he who has so loved the world! But which is the more culpable ignorance?
To love God is to love the world. To love God passionately is to love the world passionately. To hope in God is to hope for the salvation of the world.
I often say to myself that, in our religion, God must feel very much alone: for is there anyone besides God who believes in the salvation of the world? God seeks among us sons and daughters who resemble him enough, who love the world enough, that he could send them into the world to save it.
