13
“When Will These Things Take Place? And What Will Be the Sign When These Things Are About to Reach Their Culmination—All?”
1 As Jesus+ was leaving the temple complex, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look! What beautiful stones! What impressive buildings!”
2 “Do ˢyou see these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “No two stones here will be left standing together; all are doomed+ to be torn down!+”+
3 While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple complex, he was+ asked privately by Peter and James and John and Andrew,
4 “Please+ tell us, when+ will these things take place+? And what will be the sign when these things are about to reach their culmination+—+all?”
5 Jesus, then, began by saying to them, “Make sure that ᵖyou don’t let+ anyone deceive+ you!+
6 There+ will appear in my name many imposters,+ claiming, ‘ I+ am he!’, and they will deceive many, many+ people.
7 Now when ᵖyou hear of wars and rumors of wars, don’t be alarmed. These things must take place,+ but its end+ is still to come.
8 Nation will rise against nation and ‘kingdom against kingdom,’+ you see. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines.+ What will these events signal+?+ The beginning of birth pains.+
9 “Now, ᵖyou yourselves must be on your guard. People+ will hand ᵖyou over to the local sanhedrins, and you will be beaten in the synagogues.+ ᵖYou will be made to stand, too, even+ before rulers and kings because of me,+ as a witness before+ them;
10 the gospel must be proclaimed, first,+ before+ all the Gentiles.+
11 When people+ arrest ᵖyou, handing you over to be put on trial,+ don’t worry ahead of time about what you should say. Rather, whatever words are given to ᵖyou at that time,+ this is what ᵖyou are to speak.+ It is not+ ᵖyou who will be doing the speaking, you see, but the Holy Spirit.
12 A brother will hand his brother over to be put to death, as will a father his child, and children will turn against their parents and have them put to death,+
13 and ᵖyou will be hated by everyone because of my name. He who endures to the finish,+ however, will be saved.+
14 “Now, when ᵖyou see the ‘abomination that causes+ desolation’+ stationed+ where it+ should not be+ (let the reader take careful note+), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
15 If+ someone happens+ to be on the roof of his house, he must not come down and+ go inside to gather his belongings in the house.
16 Likewise, if+ someone happens to be out in his field, he must not turn back ‘toward the things behind,’+ even to get his precious+ cloak.+
17 How terrible it will be for pregnant+ women and nursing mothers at that time+!
18 Pray that this won’t take place in winter,
19 because that time+ will be a time of trial and distress such as has not occurred from the beginning of creation, when God created everything,+ until now, and will never occur again.+
20 In fact, if the Lord had not cut that time+ short, no one would survive. He will surely+ cut that time+ short,+ however,+ because of+ the chosen ones,+ whom he chose for himself.+
21 At that time, if anyone, to ᵖyou, says, ‘Look! The Messiah is over here+!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’, don’t believe it!+
22 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, the chosen ones.
23 ᵖYou, then, watch out! I have warned you of everything ahead of time.
24 “But at that+ time,+ after that trial and distress,
“ ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,’+
25 and ‘the stars will from heaven be falling,+
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken’+!
26 And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on+ the clouds’+ with great power and glory,+
27 and then he will send out his angels+ and have+ his chosen ones+ gathered from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.+
28 “Now learn this lesson+ from the fig tree+: As soon as its branches become tender+ and start sprouting leaves, ᵖyou recognize that summer is very+ near.
29 In the same way, ᵖyou, too, when you observe these things unfolding, recognize that he+ is very+ near—right at the door!+
30 Amen, I solemnly+ tell ᵖyou this: This generation will certainly not pass away until these+ things, all of them,+ take place.
31 It is+ heaven+ and the earth+ that will pass away!+ My words, however, will never pass away.
32 “Now in regard to that day and appointed time,+ no one knows it+—not the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.+
33 Keep alert! Stay awake!+ For ᵖyou don’t know when+ that appointed time will come.+
34 It is like a man away from home on a journey, who left his household and entrusted his slaves with authority+—each with his own assignment+—and to the doorkeeper gave orders to stay awake and be watchful.+
35 Stay awake and be watchful, therefore, since ᵖyou don’t know when+ the master of the household is going to come+—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.
36 Otherwise, he may come unexpectedly and find ᵖyou asleep.+
37 What I say to ᵖyou, moreover, I say to everyone+: Stay awake and be watchful!”