Chapter 13

¹As he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, see what kind of stones and what kind of buildings!”

²Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down.”

³As he sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, ⁴“Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign that these things are all about to be fulfilled?”

⁵Jesus, answering, began to tell them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. ⁶For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!¹⁵²¹⁵²Literally, “I AM!”’ and will lead many astray.

⁷“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be troubled. For those must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁸For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places. There will be famines and troubles. These things are the beginning of birth pains. ⁹But watch yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them. ¹⁰The Good News must first be preached to all the nations. ¹¹When they lead you away and deliver you up, don’t be anxious beforehand, or premeditate what you will say, but say whatever will be given you in that hour. For it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.

¹²“Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death. ¹³You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake, but he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. ¹⁴But when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, ¹⁵and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house. ¹⁶Let him who is in the field not return back to take his cloak. ¹⁷But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babies in those days! ¹⁸Pray that your flight won’t be in the winter. ¹⁹For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will be. ²⁰Unless the Lord had shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the chosen ones, whom he picked out, he shortened the days. ²¹Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t believe it. ²²For there will arise false christs and false prophets, and will show signs and wonders, that they may lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. ²³But you watch.

“Behold, I have told you all things beforehand. ²⁴But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, ²⁵the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶Then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the sky.

²⁸“Now from the fig tree, learn this parable. When the branch has now become tender, and puts forth its leaves, you know that the summer is near; ²⁹even so you also, when you see these things coming to pass, know that it is near, at the doors. ³⁰Most assuredly I say to you, this generation¹⁵³¹⁵³The word translated “generation” (genea) could also be translated “race,” “family,” or “people.” will not pass away until all these things happen. ³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. ³²But of that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. ³³Watch, keep alert, and pray; for you don’t know when the time is.

³⁴“It is like a man, traveling to another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch. ³⁵Watch therefore, for you don’t know when the lord of the house is coming, whether at evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning; ³⁶lest coming suddenly he might find you sleeping. ³⁷What I tell you, I tell all: Watch.”