Temple Destruction Foretold

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

1Jesus had left the Temple and was going on His way, when His disciples came and called His attention to the Temple buildings. 2"You see all these?" He replied; "in solemn truth I tell you that there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be pulled down."

3Afterwards He was on the Mount of Olives and was seated there when the disciples came to Him, apart from the others, and said, "Tell us when this will be; and what will be the sign of your Coming and of the Close of the Age?"

4"Take care that no one misleads you," answered Jesus;

False Christs

5"for many will come assuming my name and saying 'I am the Christ;' and they will mislead many. 6And before long you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. Do not be alarmed, for such things must be; but the End is not yet. 7For nation will rise in arms against nation, kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places; 8but all these miseries are but like the early pains of childbirth.

Witnessing to All Nations

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

9"At that time they will deliver you up to punishment and will put you to death; and you will be objects of hatred to all the nations because you are called by my name. 10Then will many stumble and fall, and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11Many false prophets will rise up and lead multitudes astray; 12and because of the prevalent disregard of God's law the love of the great majority will grow cold; 13but those who stand firm to the End shall be saved. 14And this Good News of the Kingdom shall be proclaimed throughout the whole world to set the evidence before all the Gentiles; and then the End will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

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

15"When you have seen (to use the language of the Prophet Daniel) 16"then let those who are in Judaea escape to the hills; 17let him who is on the roof not go down to fetch what is in his house; 18nor let him who is outside the city stay to pick up his outer garment. 19And alas for the women who at that time are with child or have infants! 20"But pray that your flight may not be in winter, nor on the Sabbath; 21for it will be a time of great suffering, such as never has been from the beginning of the world till now, and assuredly never will be again. 22And if those days had not been cut short, no one would escape; but for the sake of God's own People those days will be cut short. 23"If at that time any one should say to you, 'See, here is the Christ!' or 'Here!' give no credence to it. 24For there will rise up false Christs and false prophets, displaying wonderful signs and prodigies, so as to deceive, were it possible, even God's own People. 25Remember, I have forewarned you.

The Return of the Son of Man

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

26If therefore they should say to you, 'See, He is in the Desert!' do not go out there: or 'See, He is indoors in the room!' do not believe it. 27For just as the lightning flashes in the east and is seen to the very west, so will be the Coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever the dead body is, there will the vultures flock together.

29"But immediately after those times of distress the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shed her light, the stars will fall from the firmament, and the forces which control the heavens will be disordered and disturbed. 30Then will appear the Sign of the Son of Man in the sky; and then will all the nations of the earth lament, when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with great power and glory. 31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet-blast, and they will bring together His own People to Him from north, south, east and west—from one extremity of the world to the other.

The lesson of the Fig Tree

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

32"Now learn from the fig-tree the lesson it teaches. As soon as its branches have now become soft and it is bursting into leaf, you all know that summer is near. 33So you also, when you see all these signs, may be sure that He is near—at your very door. 34I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place. 35Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my words will not pass away.

Be Ready at Any Hour

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

36"But as to that day and the exact time no one knows—not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37For as it was in the time of Noah, so it will be at the Coming of the Son of Man. 38At that time, before the Deluge, men were busy eating and drinking, taking wives or giving them, up to the very day when Noah entered the Ark, 39nor did they realise any danger till the Deluge came and swept them all away; so will it be at the Coming of the Son of Man. 40Then will two men be in the open country: one will be taken away, and one left behind. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken away, and one left behind.

42Be on the alert therefore, for you do not know the day on which your Lord is coming. 43But of this be assured, that if the master of the house had known the hour at which the robber was coming, he would have kept awake, and not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready; for it is at a time when you do not expect Him that the Son of Man will come.

45"Who therefore is the loyal and intelligent servant to whom his master has entrusted the control of his household to give them their rations at the appointed time? 46Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes shall find so doing! 47In solemn truth I tell you that he will give him the management of all his wealth. 48But if the man, being a bad servant, should say in his heart, 'My master is a long time in coming,' 49and should begin to beat his fellow servants, while he eats and drinks with drunkards; 50the master of that servant will arrive on a day when he is not expecting him and at an hour of which he has not been informed; 51he will treat him with the utmost severity and assign him a place among the hypocrites: there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.