^24:1Now¹ as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings.²^24:2And he said to them,³ “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth,⁴ not one stone will be left on another.⁵ All will be torn down!”⁶

Signs of the End of the Age

^24:3As⁷ he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things⁸ happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ^24:4Jesus answered them,⁹ “Watch out¹⁰ that no one misleads you. ^24:5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’¹¹ and they will mislead many. ^24:6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come.¹²^24:7For nation will rise up in arms¹³ against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines¹⁴ and earthquakes¹⁵ in various places. ^24:8All¹⁶ these things are the beginning of birth pains.

Persecution of Disciples

^24:9“Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations¹⁷ because of my name.¹⁸^24:10Then many will be led into sin,¹⁹ and they will betray one another and hate one another. ^24:11And many false prophets will appear and deceive²⁰ many, ^24:12and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. ^24:13But the person who endures to the end will be saved.²¹

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Footnotes

1 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
2 The Jerusalem temple was widely admired around the world. See Josephus, 15.11 [15.380–425]; 5.5 [5.184–227] and Tacitus, History 5.8, who called it “immensely opulent.” Josephus compared it to a beautiful snowcapped mountain.
3 Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (ajpokritheis) is redundant in English and has not been translated.
4 Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amēn), I say to you.”
5 With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in a.d. 70.
6 Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”
7 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
8 Because the phrase these things is plural, more than the temple’s destruction is in view. The question may presuppose that such a catastrophe signals the end.
9 Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.
10 Or “Be on guard.”
11 Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.” See the note on Christ in .
12 Grk “it is not yet the end.”
13 For the translation “rise up in arms” see L&N 55.2.
15 Most witnesses (C Θ 0102 f1, 13 𝔐) have “and plagues” (καὶ λοιμοί, kai loimoi) between “famines” (λιμοί, limoi) and “earthquakes” (σεισμοί, seismoi), while others have “plagues and famines and earthquakes” (L W 33 lat). The similarities between λιμοί and λοιμοί could explain how καὶ λοιμοί might have accidentally dropped out, but since the Lukan parallel has both terms (and W lat have the order λοιμοὶ καὶ λιμοί there too, as they do in Matthew), it seems more likely that scribes added the phrase here. The shorter reading does not enjoy overwhelming support ([א] B D 892 , as well as versional witnesses), but it is nevertheless significant; coupled with the internal evidence it should be given preference.
16 Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
17 Or “all the Gentiles” (the same Greek word may be translated “nations” or “Gentiles”).
19 Or “many will fall away.” This could also refer to apostasy.
20 Or “and lead many astray.”
21 But the person who endures to the end will be saved. Jesus was not claiming here that salvation is by works. He was simply arguing that genuine faith evidences itself in persistence through even the worst of trials.

Cross references

14 See Isa 5:13–14; 13:6–16; Hag 2:6–7; Zech 14:4.
18 See Matt 5:10–12; 1 Cor 1:25–31.