³⁷ “Where will this happen, Lord?”^[a] the disciples asked.

Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.”^[b]

²⁸ Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.^[a]

¹⁷ Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, shouting to the vultures flying high in the sky: “Come! Gather together for the great banquet God has prepared. ¹⁸ Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and strong warriors; of horses and their riders; and of all humanity, both free and slave, small and great.”

² I will gather all the nations to fight against Jerusalem. The city will be taken, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half the population will be taken into captivity, and the rest will be left among the ruins of the city.

A Vision of God at the Altar

9 Then I saw a vision of the Lord standing beside the altar. He said,

¹⁶ as they try to keep us from preaching the Good News of salvation to the Gentiles. By doing this, they continue to pile up their sins. But the anger of God has caught up with them at last.

²⁶ “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven,^[a] the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. ²⁷ The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven,^[b] but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds,^[c] he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration,^[d] until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”