Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(A)Jesus ^(B)left the temple area and was going on His way ^[a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^(C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ And as He was sitting on ^(D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^(E)Your coming, and of the ^[b]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(F)See to it that no one ^[c]misleads you. ⁵ For ^(G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[d]Christ,’ and they will ^[e]mislead many people. ⁶ And you will be hearing of ^(H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For ^(I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(J)famines and earthquakes in various places. ^8 (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “^(L)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and ^(M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And at that time many will ^[f](N)fall away, and they will ^[g]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many ^(O)false prophets will rise up and ^[h]mislead many people. ¹² And because lawlessness is increased, ^[i]most people’s love will become cold. ^13 (P)But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. ¹⁴ This ^(Q)gospel of the kingdom ^(R)shall be preached in the whole ^[j](S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(T)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(U)the holy place—^[k](V)let the ^[l]reader understand— ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [m]Whoever is on ^(W)the ^[n]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. ¹⁸ And ^[o]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(X)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ Moreover, pray that ^[p]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(Y)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no ^[q]life would have been saved; but for ^(Z)the sake of the ^[r]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[s]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and ^(AB)false prophets will arise and will provide great ^[t](AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(AD)the ^[u]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ^27 (AE)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the ^(AF)coming of the ^(AG)Son of Man ^[v]be. ^28 (AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[w]vultures will gather.

Things to Come

13 ^(A)As He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, look! ^[a]What wonderful stones and ^[b]what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^(B)Not one stone will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ As He was sitting on ^(C)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^(D)Peter, ^[c]James, John, and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things come about, and what will be the ^[d]sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one misleads you. ⁶ Many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(E)I am He!’ and they will mislead many. ⁷ When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. ⁸ For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are only the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “But ^[e]be on your guard; for they will ^(F)hand you over to the ^[f]courts, and you will be flogged ^(G)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. ^10 (H)And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. ^11 (I)And when they ^[g]arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time; for you are not the ones speaking, but it is the Holy Spirit. ¹² And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and ^[h]have them put to death. ¹³ And ^(J)you will be hated by everyone because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

¹⁴ “Now ^(K)when you see the ^(L)abomination of desolation standing where it should not be—^[i]let the ^[j]reader understand—then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^15 [k](M)Whoever is on the ^[l]housetop must not go down, nor go in to get anything out of his house. ¹⁶ And ^[m]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁷ But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ Moreover, pray that it will not happen in winter. ¹⁹ For those days will be such a time of tribulation as has not occurred ^(N)since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again. ²⁰ And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no ^[n]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the ^[o]elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. ²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the ^[p]Christ’; or, ‘Look, there He is’; do not believe it; ²² for false christs and ^(O)false prophets will arise, and will provide ^(P)signs and ^(Q)wonders, in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. ²³ But beware; I have told you everything in advance.

^5 (A)And while some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and ^[a]vowed gifts, He said, ⁶ “As for these things which you are observing, the days will come when ^(B)there will not be left one stone upon ^[b]another, which will not be torn down.”

⁷ They asked Him questions, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the ^[c]sign when these things are about to take place?” ⁸ And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(C)I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ ^(D)Do not go after them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and revolts, do not be alarmed; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”

Things to Come

¹⁰ Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, ¹¹ and there will be ^[d]massive earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrible sights and great ^[e]signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all these things, ^(E)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, ^[f]bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name. ^13 (F)It will lead to ^[g]an opportunity for your testimony. ^14 (G)So ^[h]make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; ¹⁵ for ^(H)I will provide you ^[i]eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute. ¹⁶ But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, ¹⁷ and you will be hated by all people because of My name. ¹⁸ And yet ^(I)not a hair of your head will perish. ^19 (J)By your endurance you will gain your ^[j]lives.

²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem ^(K)surrounded by armies, then ^[k]recognize that her desolation is near. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside ^[l]the city must leave, and ^(L)those who are in the country must not enter ^[m]the city; ²² because these are ^(M)days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled. ²³ Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for ^(N)there will be great distress upon the ^[n]land, and wrath to this people; ²⁴ and they will fall by ^(O)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and ^(P)Jerusalem will be ^(Q)trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until ^(R)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.