Christ foretells the destruction of the temple, with the signs that shall come before it and before the last judgment. We must always watch.

¹ And Jesus departed from the temple and went away. And his disciples approached him, so as to show him the buildings of the temple.

² But he said to them in response: “Do you see all these things? Amen I say to you, there shall not remain here stone upon stone, which is not torn down.”

³ Then, when he was seated at the Mount of Olives, the disciples drew near to him privately, saying: “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of your advent and of the consummation of the age?”

⁴ And answering, Jesus said to them: “Pay attention, lest someone lead you astray.

⁵ For many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ.’ And they will lead many astray.

⁶ For you will hear of battles and rumors of battles. Take care not to be disturbed. For these things must be, but the end is not so soon.

⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be pestilences, and famines, and earthquakes in places.

⁸ But all these things are just the beginning of the sorrows.

⁹ Then they will hand you over to tribulation, and they will kill you. And you will be hated by all nations for the sake of my name.

¹⁰ And then many will be led into sin, and will betray one another, and will have hatred for one another.

¹¹ And many false prophets will arise, and they will lead many astray.

¹² And because iniquity has abounded, the charity of many will grow cold.

¹³ But whoever will have persevered until the end, the same shall be saved.

¹⁴ And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached throughout the entire world, as a testimony to all nations. And then the consummation will occur.

¹⁵ Therefore, when you will have seen the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place, may he who reads understand,

¹⁶ then those who are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains.

¹⁷ And whoever is on the roof, let him not descend to take anything from his house.

¹⁸ And whoever is in the field, let him not turn back to take his tunic.

¹⁹ So then, woe to those who are pregnant or nursing in those days.

²⁰ But pray that your flight may not be in winter, or on the Sabbath.

²¹ For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until the present, and such as will not be.¹

1. 24:21This verse refers to the greater tribulation, i.e. the second part of the tribulation, not the first, because the first part of the tribulation (the lesser tribulation) will be exceeded in severity by the second part (the greater tribulation).(Conte)

²² And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days shall be shortened.

²³ Then if anyone will have said to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘he is there,’ do not be willing to believe it.

²⁴ For there will arise false Christs and false prophets. And they will produce great signs and wonders, so much so as to lead into error even the elect (if this could be).

²⁵ Behold, I have warned you beforehand.

²⁶ Therefore, if they will have said to you, ‘Behold, he is in the desert,’ do not choose to go out, or, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not be willing to believe it.

²⁷ For just as lightning goes out from the east, and appears even in the west, so shall it be also at the advent of the Son of man.

²⁸ Wherever the body shall be, there also will the eagles be gathered together.¹

1. 24:28Wheresoever, etc: The coming of Christ shall be sudden, and manifest to all the world, like lightning: and wheresoever he shall come, thither shall all mankind be gathered to him, as eagles are gathered about a dead body.(Challoner)

²⁹ And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.¹

1. 24:29The stars: Or flaming meteors resembling stars.(Challoner)

³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of man shall appear in heaven. And then all tribes of the earth shall mourn. And they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven, with great power and majesty.¹

1. 24:30The sign, etc: The cross of Christ.(Challoner)

³¹ And he shall send out his Angels with a trumpet and a great voice. And they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the heights of the heavens, even to their furthest limits.

³² So, from the fig tree learn a parable. When its branch has now become tender and the leaves have sprung forth, you know that summer is near.

³³ So also, when you will have seen all these things, know that it is near, even at the threshold.

³⁴ Amen I say to you, that this lineage shall not pass away, until all these things have been done.

³⁵ Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.¹

1. 24:35Shall pass: Because they shall be changed at the end of the world into a new heaven and new earth.(Challoner)

³⁶ But concerning that day and hour, no one knows, not even the Angels of the heavens, but only the Father.

³⁷ And just as in the days of Noah, so also will be the advent of the Son of man.

³⁸ For it will be just as it was in the days before the flood: eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, even until that day when Noah entered into the ark.

³⁹ And they did not realize it, until the flood came and took them all away. So also will the advent of the Son of man be.

⁴⁰ Then two men will be in a field: one will be taken up, and one will be left behind.

⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at a millstone: one will be taken up, and one will be left behind.¹

1. 24:41The Latin here does not actually have a word meaning woman, but the word ‘una’ is feminine, so the translation of ‘molentes’ (persons working at a grindstone) is feminine.(Conte)

⁴² Therefore, be vigilant. For you do not know at what hour your Lord will return.

⁴³ But know this: if only the father of the family knew at what hour the thief would arrive, he would certainly keep vigil and not permit his house to be broken into.

⁴⁴ For this reason, you also must be prepared, for you do not know at what hour the Son of man will return.

⁴⁵ Consider this: who is a faithful and prudent servant, who has been appointed by his lord over his family, to give them their portion in due time?

⁴⁶ Blessed is that servant, if, when his lord has arrived, he shall find him doing so.

⁴⁷ Amen I say to you, he shall appoint him over all of his goods.

⁴⁸ But if that evil servant has said in his heart, ‘My lord has been delayed in returning,’

⁴⁹ and so, he begins to strike his fellow servants, and he eats and drinks with the inebriated:

⁵⁰ then the lord of that servant will arrive on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know.

⁵¹ And he shall separate him, and he shall place his portion with the hypocrites, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”