The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

24:1–51pp—Mk 13:1–37; Lk 21:5–36

24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2 “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another;f every one will be thrown down.”

3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives,g the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your comingh and of the end of the age?”i

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.j 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.k 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.l There will be faminesm and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecutedn and put to death,o and you will be hated by all nations because of me.p 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophetsq will appear and deceive many people.r 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.s 14 And this gospel of the kingdomt will be preached in the whole worldu as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

15 “So when you see standing in the holy placev ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’a w spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetopx go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!y 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.z

22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the electa those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.b 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wondersc to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightningd that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the cominge of the Son of Man.f 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.g