John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 hIn those days iJohn the Baptist came preaching in jthe wilderness of Judea, 2 k“Repent, for lthe kingdom of heaven is at hand.”1 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

m“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:

n‘Prepare21 the way of the Lord;

make his paths straight.’ ”

4 Now John wore oa garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was plocusts and qwild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, rconfessing their sins.

7 But when he saw many of sthe Pharisees and tSadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, u“You brood of vvipers! Who warned you to flee from wthe wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit xin keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, y‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from zthese stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. aEvery tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

11 b“I baptize you with water cfor repentance, but dhe who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you ewith the Holy Spirit and ffire. 12 His gwinnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and hgather his wheat into the barn, ibut the chaff he will burn with junquenchable fire.”

The Baptism of Jesus

13 kThen Jesus came lfrom Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 14 mJohn would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16 And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, othe heavens were opened to him,3 and he psaw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; 17 and behold, qa voice from heaven said, r“This is my beloved Son,4 with whom I am well pleased.”

Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple

24 tJesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, uthere will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

Signs of the End of the Age

3 As he sat on vthe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him wprivately, saying, “Tell us, xwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ycoming and of zthe end of the age?” 4 And Jesus answered them, a“See that no one leads you astray. 5 For bmany will come in my name, saying, ‘I am cthe Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you dare not alarmed, for this emust take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For fnation will rise against nation, and gkingdom against kingdom, and there will be hfamines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of ithe birth pains.

9 “Then jthey will deliver you up kto tribulation and lput you to death, and myou will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away1 and nbetray one another and hate one another. 11 And many ofalse prophets will arise pand lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, qthe love of many will grow cold. 13 rBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom swill be proclaimed throughout the whole world tas a testimony uto all nations, and vthen the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation wspoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in xthe holy place (ylet the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 zLet the one who is on athe housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And balas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be cgreat tribulation, dsuch as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ethe sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 fThen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For gfalse christs and hfalse prophets will arise and iperform great signs and wonders, hso as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, jI have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, khe is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 lFor as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be mthe coming of the Son of Man. 28 nWherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “Immediately after othe tribulation of those days pthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and qthe stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then rwill appear in heaven sthe sign of the Son of Man, and then tall the tribes of the earth will mourn, and uthey will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven vwith power and great glory. 31 And whe will send out his angels with a loud xtrumpet call, and they will ygather zhis elect from athe four winds, bfrom one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32 “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, cat the very gates. 34 dTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 eHeaven and earth will pass away, but fmy words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

36 “But concerning that day and hour gno one knows, not even the angels of heaven, hnor the Son,2 ibut the Father only. 37 jFor as were the days of Noah, kso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 jFor as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, lmarrying and giving in marriage, until mthe day when Noah entered the ark, 39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, kso will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41 nTwo women will be grinding oat the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42 Therefore, pstay awake, for you do not know on what day qyour Lord is coming. 43 rBut know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night sthe thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 Therefore you also must be tready, for uthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is vthe …