¹ As Jesus was walking out of the Temple Courts, one of his disciples said to him: “Teacher, look what fine stones and buildings these are!”

² “Do you see these great buildings?”asked Jesus. “Not a single stone will be left here on another, which will not be thrown down.”

³ When Jesus had sat down on the Mount of Olives, facing the Temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew questioned him privately:

⁴ “Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign when all this is drawing to its close.”

⁵ Then Jesus began: “See that no one leads you astray.

⁶ Many will take my name, and come saying ‘I am He’, and will lead many astray.

⁷ “And, when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; such things must occur; but the end is not yet.

⁸ For ‘nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom’; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This will be but the beginning of the birth-pangs.

⁹ “See to yourselves! They will betray you to courts of law; and you will be taken to Synagogues and beaten; and you will be brought up before governors and kings for my sake, so that you can bear witness before them.

¹⁰ But the good news must first be proclaimed to every nation.

¹¹ Whenever they betray you and hand you over for trial, do not be anxious beforehand as to what you will say, but say whatever is given you at the moment; for it will not be you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

¹² Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; and children will turn against their parents, and cause them to be put to death;

¹³ and you will be hated by everyone because of me. Yet the person who endures to the end will be saved.

¹⁴ “As soon, however, as you see ‘the Foul Desecration’ standing where he ought not”(the reader must consider what this means) “then those of you who are in Judea must take refuge in the mountains;

¹⁵ and a person on the house-top must not go down, or go in to get anything out of their house:

¹⁶ nor must one who is on their farm turn back to get their cloak.

¹⁷ And alas for pregnant women, and for those who are nursing infants in those days!

¹⁸ Pray, too, that this may not occur in winter.

¹⁹ For those days will be a time of distress, the like of which has not occurred from the beginning of God’s creation until now — and never will again.

²⁰ And, had not the Lord put a limit to those days, not a single soul would escape; but, for the sake of God’s own chosen people, he did limit them.

²¹ “And at that time if anyone should say to you ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ ‘Look, there he is!’, do not believe it;

²² for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and display signs and marvels, to lead astray, were it possible, even God’s people.

²³ But see that you are on your guard! I have told you all this beforehand.

²⁴ “In those days, after that time of distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light,

²⁵ the stars will be falling from the heavens,’ and ‘the forces that are in the heavens will be convulsed.’

²⁶ Then will be seen the ‘Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory;

²⁷ and then he will send the angels, and gather his people from the four winds, from one end of the world to the other.

²⁸ “Learn the lesson taught by the fig-tree. As soon as its branches are full of sap, and it is bursting into leaf, you know that summer is near.

²⁹ And so may you, as soon as you see these things happening, know that he is at your doors.

³⁰ I tell you that even the present generation will not pass away, until all these things have taken place.

³¹ The heavens and the earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

³² “But about ‘that day,’ or ‘the hour,’ no one knows — not even the angels in heaven, not even the Son — but only the Father.

³³ “See that you are on the watch; for you do not know when the time will be.

³⁴ It is like a man going on a journey, who leaves his home, puts his servants in charge — each having their special duty — and orders the porter to watch.

³⁵ Therefore watch, for you cannot be sure when the Master of the house is coming — whether in the evening, at midnight, at daybreak, or in the morning —

³⁶ otherwise he might come suddenly and find you asleep.

³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all — Watch!”