is unrelenting and unforgiving, and no one—not even the faithful—can escape its devastating blows as the old age is swept away for the new one. In what is called the “little apocalypse” in Mark (because its form and content resembles Daniel 7–12 and Revelation), we find the longest speech of Jesus in this Gospel, as today’s passage extends to verse 37 at the end of the chapter. Mark associates the destruction of the temple with the end of the current age and the coming kingdom of God. Today’s passage