¹ As he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, see what kind of stones and what kind of buildings!” ² Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down.” ³ As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things happen? What is the sign that these things are all about to be fulfilled?” ⁵ Jesus replied, “Be careful that no one misleads you. ⁶ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and will mislead many. ⁷ “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be troubled. For those must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁸ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines and troubles. These things are the beginning of birth pains. ⁹ “But watch yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them. ¹⁰ The Good News must first be declared to all the nations. ¹¹ When they lead you away and deliver you up, don’t be anxious beforehand or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. ¹² “Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. ¹³ You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ “But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, ¹⁵ and let the person on the housetop not go down, enter, or take anything out of his house. ¹⁶ The person out in the field must not return even to get his coat. ¹⁷ How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who nurse babies in those days! ¹⁸ Pray that your escape won’t be in the winter. ¹⁹ For in those days there will be oppression unlike anyone has known from the earliest beginning of God’s creation until now. And it will never will be that great again. ²⁰ Unless the Lord had shortened the days, nobody would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones—whom the Lord himself picked out—he shortened the days. ²¹ Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t believe it. ²² For false “messiahs” and false “prophets” will arise, will show signs and wonders, and will try to lead—if possible—even the chosen ones down their false and corrupt path. ²³ But you watch. “Look! I have told you about all these things beforehand. ²⁴ But in those days, after that oppression, *the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, * ²⁵ the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky. ²⁸ “Now learn this object lesson from the fig tree: When its branch becomes tender and produces its leaves, you know that its summer is near; ²⁹ even so you also, when you see these things happening, know that your summer is near, at the doors. ³⁰ Most certainly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ³² “But of that day or that hour no one knows—not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³ Watch, keep alert, and pray; for you don’t know when the time is. ³⁴ “It is like a man traveling to another country, having left his house and given authority to each of his servants to do his work, and having also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch. ³⁵ Therefore watch, for you don’t know when the lord of the house is coming—whether at evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning; ³⁶ Otherwise when he comes suddenly he might find you sleeping. ³⁷ What I tell you, I tell all: Watch!”