1 As Jesus was walking out of the Temple
Courts, one of his disciples said to him:
“Teacher, look what fine stones and buildings
these are!”
2 “Do you see these great buildings?” asked
Jesus. “Not a single stone will be left here upon another,
which shall not be thrown down.”
3 When Jesus had sat down on the Mount of Olives, facing
the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew questioned him
privately:
4 “Tell us when this will be, and what will be the
sign when all this is drawing to its close.”
5 Then Jesus began:
6 “See that no one leads you astray. Many will take my
name, and come saying ‘I am He’, and will lead many
astray.
7 And, when you hear of wars and rumours of wars,
do not be alarmed; such things must occur; but the end is
not yet. note
8 For ‘nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom’; there will be earthquakes in various places;
there will be famines. This will be but the beginning of the
birth-pangs. note
9 See to yourselves! They will betray you to courts
of law; and you will be taken to Synagogues and beaten;
and you will be brought up before governors and kings for
my sake, that you may bear witness before them.
10 But the
Good News must first be proclaimed to every nation.
11 Whenever
they betray you and hand you over for trial, do not be
anxious beforehand as to what you shall say, but say whatever
is given you at the moment; for it will not be you who
-- --
speak, but the Holy Spirit.
12 Brother will betray brother
to death, and the father his child; and children will turn
against their parents, and cause them to be put to death; note
13 and
you will be hated by every one on account of my Name. Yet
the man that endures to the end shall be saved. ⪆⪆
14 As
soon, however, as you see ‘the Foul Desecration’ standing
where he ought not” (the reader must consider what this
means) “then those of you who are in Judaea must take refuge
in the mountains; note
15 and a man on the house-top must not go
down, or go in to get anything out of his house;
16 nor must
one who is on his farm turn back to get his cloak. note
17 And alas
for the women that are with child, and for those that are nursing
infants in those days!
18 Pray, too, that this may not occur in
winter.
19 For those days will be a time of distress, the like of
which has not occurred from the beginning of God's creation
until now—and never will again. note
20 And, had not the Lord put
a limit to those days, not a single soul would escape; but,
for the sake of God's own chosen People, he did limit
them. ⪆⪆
21 And at that time if any one should say to you
‘Look, here is the Christ!’ ‘Look, there he is!’, do not
believe it;
22 for false Christs and false Prophets will arise, and
display signs and marvels, to lead astray, were it possible,
even God's People. note
23 But see that you are on your guard! I
have told you all this beforehand. ⪆⪆
24 In those days, after
that time of distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon
will not give her light, note
25 the stars will be falling from the
heavens,’ and ‘the forces that are in the heavens will be
convulsed.’ note
26 Then will be seen the ‘Son of Man coming in
clouds’ with great power and glory; note
27 and then he will send
the angels, and gather his People from the four winds, from
one end of the world to the other.
note
note
28 Learn the lesson taught by the fig-tree. As
soon as its branches are full of sap, and it is
bursting into leaf, you know that summer is
near.
29 And so may you, as soon as you see these things happening,
know that he is at your doors.
30 I tell you that even
the present generation will not pass away, until all these
things have taken place.
31 The heavens and the earth will pass
away, but my words will not pass away. ⪆⪆
32 But about
‘That Day,’ or ‘The Hour,’ no one knows—not even the angels
in Heaven, nor yet the Son—but only the Father.
33 See
that you are on the watch; for you do not know when the
time will be.
34 It is like a man going on a journey, who leaves
his home, puts his servants in charge—each having his special
duty—and orders the porter to watch.
35 Therefore watch, for
you cannot be sure when the Master of the house is coming—
-- --
whether in the evening, at midnight, at daybreak, or in the
36 morning—lest he should come suddenly and find you asleep.
37 And what I say to you I say to all—Watch!”
Twentieth Century [1904], THE TWENTIETH CENTURY NEW TESTAMENT A TRANSLATION INTO MODERN ENGLISH Made from the Original Greek (Westcott & Hort's Text) (The Fleming H. Revell Company, NEW YORK & CHICAGO) [word count] [B14200].