Temple Destruction Foretold

(Mark 13:1-9; Luke 21:5-9)

1And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. 2And Jesus said to them, See ye not all these things? verily I say to you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? and what will be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

4And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

False Christs

5For many will come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and will deceive many. 6And ye will hear of wars, and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there will be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. 8All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Witnessing to All Nations

(Mark 13:10-13; Luke 21:10-19)

9Then will they deliver you up to be afflicted, and will kill you: and ye will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. 10And then will many be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11And many false prophets will rise, and will deceive many. 12And because iniquity will abound, the love of many will become cold. 13But he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a testimony to all nations; and then shall the end come.

The Abomination of Desolation

(Mark 13:14-23; Luke 21:20-24)

15When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever readeth, let him understand,) 16Then let them who are in Judea flee to the mountains: 17Let him who is on the house-top not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18Neither let him who is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19And woe to them that are with child, and to them that nurse infants in those days! 20But pray ye that your flight may not be in the winter, neither on the sabbath: 21For then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22And except those days should be shortened, there would no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. 23Then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. 24For false Christs will arise, and false prophets, and will show great signs and wonders; so that, if it were possible, they would deceive the very elect. 25Behold, I have told you before.

The Return of the Son of Man

(Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-28)

26Wherefore, if they shall say to you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not. 27For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even to the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 28For wherever the carcass is, there will the eagles be collected.

29Immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The lesson of the Fig Tree

(Mark 13:28-31; Luke 21:29-33)

32Now learn a parable of the fig-tree; When its branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34Verily I say to you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things shall be fulfilled. 35Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Be Ready at Any Hour

(Genesis 6:1-7; Mark 13:32-37; Luke 12:35-48)

36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37But as the days of Noah were, so will also the coming of the Son of man be. 38For as in the days that were before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away: so also will be the coming of the Son of man. 40Then will two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

42Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord cometh. 43But know this, that if the master of the house knew in what watch the thief would come, he would watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken up. 44Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.

45Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? 46Blessed is that servant, whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing. 47Verily I say to you, that he will make him ruler over all his goods. 48But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delayeth his coming; 49And shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; 50The Lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51And will cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.