1As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look at these massive stones and magnificent buildings!”
2“You see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone will be left on top of another. Everything will be torn down.”
3As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him in private,
4“Tell us: When this will happen? What's the sign that all this is about to be fulfilled?”
5Jesus began telling them, “Make sure no one deceives you.
6Many will come in my name claiming, ‘I am the Christ.’ They will deceive many people.
7Don't be troubled when you hear of wars nearby and wars far away. These things must happen but this is not the end.
8Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines too. These are the beginnings of the world's birth pains.
9Watch out for yourselves! They will hand you over to the courts to be tried. You will be beaten in synagogues. Because of me you will have to stand before governors and kings, and you will be witnesses to them.
10The good news must first be announced in every nation.
11When they come to arrest you and put you on trial, don't worry about what to say. Just say what you're told at that time, because it's not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12Brother will betray brother to death, and a father will betray his child. Children will turn against their parents and have them condemned to death.
13You will be hated by everyone because of me, but whoever endures until the end will be saved.
14But when you see the ‘idolatry that causes devastation’ standing where it shouldn't be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea should run to the mountains.
15Those who are on the roof—don't go back inside the house to get anything.
16Those who are out in the fields—don't go home to get a coat.
17How hard it will be for those who are pregnant or nursing at that time!
18Pray that this won't happen during the winter.
19For these will be days of trouble like never before since the beginning of God's creation until now, and they won't ever come again.
20If God doesn't cut short these days, no one will survive. However, for the sake of those God has chosen, he has cut them short.
21So if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘Look, there he is,’ don't believe it.
22For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear, and they will perform miraculous signs and wonders to deceive the chosen of God, if that were possible.
23Watch out! I've told you everything before it happens.
24This is what will happen after those troubles: ‘The sun will become dark, the moon won't shine,
25the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.’
26Then they will see the Son of man as he comes on the clouds, possessing great power and glory.
27He will send out the angels, and gather together all his chosen ones from wherever they are, from the most distant part of the earth to the farthest point of heaven.
28Learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches grow soft and send out leaves, you know that summer is near.
29In the same way, when you see these things happening, you know that it's near—right outside the door!
30I tell you the truth, this generation won't come to an end until all these things have happened.
31Heaven and earth will come to an end, but my teachings will not.
32No one knows the day or hour when this will happen—not even the angels in heaven, not even the Son; only the Father knows.
33Keep watch! Stay awake! For you don't know when this will happen.
34It's like a man who went away on a journey. He left his house, and gave each of his servants the authority to do what he told them. He told the doorkeeper to stay awake.
35So keep watch, because you don't know when the owner of the house is coming back. It may be in the evening, in the middle of the night, before dawn, or in the morning.
36You don't want to be caught sleeping if he returns unexpectedly.
37What I'm telling you, I'm telling everyone: Watch!”