"Tell us, [...] of the end of the age?"

(NKJV) Matthew 24:3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?"

(NKJV) Matthew 24:7 "For nation [ethnos] will rise against nation [ethnos], and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

Ethnos v. ethnos.
Race against race.
All these will increase with intensity and frequency, just like birth pangs [sorrows].