Chapter 13

Things to Come

1 aAs He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples * said to Him, “Teacher, behold 1what wonderful stones and 1what wonderful buildings!”

2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? aNot one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”

3 As He was sitting on athe Mount of Olives opposite the temple, bPeter and 1James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately,

4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the 1sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?”

5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.

6 “Many will come in My name, saying, ‘aI am He!’ and will mislead many.

7 “When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be frightened; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end.

8 “For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

9 “But 1be on your guard; for they will adeliver you to the 2courts, and you will be flogged ain the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.

10 “aThe gospel must first be preached to all the nations.

11 “aWhen they 1arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.

12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and 1have them put to death.

13 “aYou will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

14 “But awhen you see the babomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

15 “aThe one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house;

16 and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

17 “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

18 “But pray that it may not happen in the winter.

19 “For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred asince the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will.

20 “Unless the Lord had shortened those days, no 1life would have been saved; but for the sake of the 2elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

21 “And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is 1the Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him;

22 for false Christs and afalse prophets will arise, and will show 1bsigns and bwonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect.

23 “But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.

The Return of Christ

24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, athe sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light,

25 aand the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in 1the heavens will be shaken.

26 “Then they will see athe Son of Man bcoming in clouds with great power and glory.

27 “And then He will send forth the angels, and awill gather together His 1elect from the four winds, bfrom the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

28 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.

29 “Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, 1recognize that 2He is near, right at the 3door.

30 “Truly I say to you, this 1generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

31 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

32 “aBut of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

33 “Take heed, akeep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time 1will come.

34 “aIt is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and 1putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert.

35 “Therefore, abe on the alert—for you do not know when the 1master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or bwhen the rooster crows, or cin the morning—

36 in case he should come suddenly and find you aasleep.

37 “What I say to you I say to all, ‘aBe on the alert!’ ”