1   As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples exclaimed, ‘Look, Master, what huge stones! 2   What fine buildings!’ Jesus said to him, ‘You see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’

3   When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives facing the temple he was questioned privately by Peter, James, John, and Andrew. 4   ‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen? What will be the sign when the fulfilment of all this is at hand?’

5    6   Jesus began: ‘Take care that no one misleads you. Many will come claiming my name, and saying, “I am he”; and many will be misled by them.

7   ‘When you hear the noise of battle near at hand and the news of battles far away, do not be alarmed. Such things are bound to happen; but the end is still to come. 8   For nation will make war upon nation, kingdom upon kingdom; there will be earthquakes in many places; there will be famines. With these things the birthpangs of the new age begin.

9   ‘As for you, be on your guard. You will be handed over to the courts. You will be flogged in synagogues. You will be summoned to appear before governors and kings on my account to testify in their presence. 10   But before the end the Gospel must be proclaimed to all nations. 11   So when you are arrested and taken away, do not worry beforehand about what you will say, but when the time comes say whatever is given you to say; for it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 12   Brother will betray brother to death, and the father his child; children will turn against their

Challenge to Jerusalem parents and send them to their death. 13   All will hate you for your allegiance to me; but the man who holds out to the end will be saved.

14   ‘But when you see “the abomination of desolation” usurping a place which is not his (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judaea must take to the hills. 15   If a man is on the roof, he must not come down into the house to fetch anything out; 16   if in the field, he must not turn back for his coat. 17   Alas for women with child in those days, and for those who have children at the breast! 18    19   Pray that it may not come in winter. For those days will bring distress such as never has been until now since the beginning of the world which God created—and will never be again. 20   If the Lord had not cut short that time of troubles, no living thing could survive. However, for the sake of his own, whom he has chosen, he has cut short the time.

21   ‘Then, if anyone says to you, “Look, here is the Messiah”, or, “Look, there he is”, do not believe it. 22   Impostors will come claiming to be messiahs or prophets, and they will produce signs and wonders to mislead God's chosen, if such a thing were possible. 23   But you be on your guard; I have forewarned you of it all.

24   ‘But in those days, after that distress, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give her light; 25   the stars will come falling from the sky, the celestial powers will be shaken. 26   Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory, 27   and he will send out the angels and gather his chosen from the four winds, from the farthest bounds of earth to the farthest bounds of heaven.

28   ‘Learn a lesson from the fig-tree. When its tender shoots appear and are breaking into leaf, you know that summer is near. 29   In the same way, when you see all this happening, you may know that the end is near, ^note at the very door. 30   I tell you this: the present generation will live to see it all. 31   Heaven and earth will pass away; my words will never pass away.

32   ‘But about that day or that hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, not even the Son; only the Father.

33   ‘Be alert, be wakeful. ^noteYou do not know when the moment comes. 34   It is like a man away from home: he has left his house and put his servants in charge, each with his own work to do, and he has

Challenge to Jerusalem ordered the door-keeper to stay awake. 35   Keep awake, then, for you do not know when the master of the house is coming. Evening or midnight, 36   cock-crow or early dawn—if he comes suddenly, he must not find you asleep. 37   And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Keep awake.’

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