- As he was leaving the temple,
one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones!
What magnificent buildings!"
- "Do you see all these
great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left
on another; every one will be thrown down."
- As Jesus was sitting on the
Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him
privately,
- "Tell us, when will these
things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be
fulfilled?"
- Jesus said to them:
"Watch out that no one deceives you.
- Many will come in my name,
claiming, `I am he,' and will deceive many.
- When you hear of wars and rumours
of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to
come.
- Nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various
places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
- "You must be on your
guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the
synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as
witnesses to them.
- And the gospel must first be
preached to all nations.
- Whenever you are arrested and
brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say
whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy
Spirit.
- "Brother will betray
brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their
parents and have them put to death.
- All men will hate you because
of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
- "When you see `the
abomination that causes desolation' [59]
standing where it [60] does not
belong--let the reader understand--then let those who are in Judea flee to
the mountains.
- Let no one on the roof of his
house go down or enter the house to take anything out.
- Let no one in the field go
back to get his cloak.
- How dreadful it will be in
those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!
- Pray that this will not take
place in winter,
- because those will be days of
distress unequalled from the beginning, when God created the world, until
now--and never to be equalled again.
- If the Lord had not cut short
those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has
chosen, he has shortened them.
- At that time if anyone says to
you, `Look, here is the Christ [61]!'
or, `Look, there he is!' do not believe it.
- For false Christs and false
prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect--if
that were possible.
- So be on your guard; I have
told you everything ahead of time.
- "But in those days,
following that distress, "`the sun will be darkened, and the moon will
not give its light;
- the stars will fall from the
sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' [62]
- "At that time men will
see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
- And he will send his angels
and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the
ends of the heavens.
- "Now learn this lesson
from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out,
you know that summer is near.
- Even so, when you see these
things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.
- I tell you the truth, this
generation [63] will certainly
not pass away until all these things have happened.
- Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will never pass away.
- "No one knows about that
day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the
Father.
- Be on guard! Be alert [64]!
You do not know when that time will come.
- It's like a man going away: He
leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned
task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.
- "Therefore keep watch
because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back--whether
in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.
- If he comes suddenly, do not
let him find you sleeping.
- What I say to you, I say to
everyone: `Watch!'"
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