True Giving

21 Jesus saw some rich people putting their gifts into the Temple money box.^{[a] 2} Then Jesus saw a poor widow. She put two small copper coins into the box. ³ He said, “I tell you the truth. This poor widow gave only two small coins. But she really gave more than all those rich people. ⁴ The rich have plenty; they gave only what they did not need. This woman is very poor, but she gave all she had. And she needed that money to live on.”

The Temple Will Be Destroyed

⁵ Some of the followers were talking about the Temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts offered to God.

⁶ But Jesus said, “The time will come when all that you see here will be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another!”

⁷ Some followers asked Jesus, “Teacher, when will these things happen? What will show us that it is time for them to take place?”

⁸ Jesus said, “Be careful! Don’t be fooled. Many people will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Christ’ and, ‘The right time has come!’ But don’t follow them. ⁹ When you hear about wars and riots, don’t be afraid. These things must happen first. Then the end will come later.”

¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, sicknesses, and other terrible things in many places. In some places there will be no food for the people to eat. Fearful events and great signs will come from heaven.

¹² “But before all these things happen, people will arrest you and treat you cruelly. They will judge you in their synagogues and put you in jail. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors. They will do all these things to you because you follow me. ¹³ But this will give you an opportunity to tell about me. ¹⁴ Don’t worry about what you will say. ¹⁵ I will give you the wisdom to say things so that none of your enemies will be able to show that you are wrong. ¹⁶ Even your parents, brothers, relatives and friends will turn against you. They will kill some of you. ¹⁷ All people will hate you because you follow me. ¹⁸ But none of these things can really harm you. ¹⁹ You will save yourselves by continuing strong in your faith through all these things.

Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed

²⁰ “When you see armies all around Jerusalem, then you will know that it will soon be destroyed. ²¹ At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. The people in Jerusalem must get out. If you are near the city, don’t go in! ²² These are the days of punishment to make come true all that is written in the Scriptures. ²³ At that time, it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies! Great trouble will come upon this land, and God will be angry with these people. ²⁴ Some will be killed by the sword and taken as prisoners to all nations. Jerusalem will be crushed by non-Jewish people until their time is over.

Don’t Fear

²⁵ “Amazing things will happen to the sun, moon, and stars. On earth, nations will be afraid because of the roar and fury of the sea. They will not know what to do. ²⁶ People will be so afraid they will faint. They will wonder what is happening to the whole world. Everything in the sky will be changed. ²⁷ Then people will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ When these things begin to happen, don’t fear. Look up and hold your heads high because the time when God will free you is near!”

My Words Will Live Forever

²⁹ Then Jesus told this story: “Look at the fig tree and all the other trees. ³⁰ When their leaves appear, you know that summer is near. ³¹ In the same way, when you see all these things happening, then you will know that God’s kingdom is coming very soon.

³² “I tell you the truth. All these things will happen while the people of this time are still living! ³³ The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed; but the words I have said will never be destroyed!

Be Ready All the Time

³⁴ “Be careful! Don’t spend your time feasting and drinking. Or don’t be too busy with worldly things. If you do that, you will not be able to think straight. And then that day might come when you are not ready. ³⁵ It will close like a trap on all people on earth. ³⁶ So be ready all the time. Pray that you will be strong enough to escape all these things that will happen. And pray that you will be able to stand before the Son of Man.”

³⁷ During the day, Jesus taught the people in the Temple. At night he went out of the city and stayed on the Mount of Olives. ³⁸ Every morning all the people got up early to go to the Temple to listen to him.

The Temple Will Be Destroyed

13 Jesus was leaving the Temple. One of his followers said to him, “Look, Teacher! This Temple has beautiful buildings with very big stones.”

² Jesus said, “Do you see all these great buildings? Every stone will be thrown to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.”

³ Later, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. He was alone with Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They could all see the Temple. They asked Jesus, ⁴ “Tell us, when will all these things happen? And what will show us that the time has come for them to happen?”

⁵ Jesus said to them: “Be careful that no one fools you. ⁶ Many people will come and use my name. They will say, ‘I am the One.’ And they will fool many. ⁷ You will hear about wars and stories of wars that are coming. But don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. ⁸ Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places. These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.

⁹ “You must be careful. People will arrest you and take you to court. They will beat you in their synagogues. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors, to tell them about me. This will happen to you because you follow me. ¹⁰ But before these things happen, the Good News must be told to all people. ¹¹ When you are arrested and judged, don’t worry about what you should say. Say the things God gives you to say at that time. It will not really be you speaking. It will be the Holy Spirit.

¹² “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and give them over to be killed. Fathers will turn against their own children and give them over to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and cause their parents to be killed. ¹³ All people will hate you because you follow me. But the person who continues to be strong until the end will be saved.

¹⁴ “You will see ‘the horrible thing that destroys.’^[a] You will see this thing standing in the place where it should not be.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) “At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. ¹⁵ If a person is on the roof^[b] of his house, he must not go down to take anything out of his house. ¹⁶ If a person is in the field, he must not go back to get his coat. ¹⁷ At that time, it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies. ¹⁸ Pray that these things will not happen in winter. ¹⁹ This is because those days will be full of trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning, when God made the world. And nothing as bad will ever happen again. ²⁰ God has decided to make that terrible time short. If that time were not made short, then no one would go on living. But God will make that time short to help his special people whom he has chosen. ²¹ At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the Christ!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. ²² False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will do these things to the people God has chosen. They will do these things to try to fool them, if that is possible. ²³ So be careful. For I have warned you about all this before it happens.

²⁴ “During the days after this trouble comes,

²⁶ “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ The Son of Man will send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth.

²⁸ “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So also when you see all these things happening, then you will know that the time is near, ready to come. ³⁰ I tell you the truth. All these things will happen while the people of this time are still living. ³¹ The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed.

³² “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know. Only the Father knows. ³³ Be careful! Always be ready!^[c] You don’t know when that time will be. ³⁴ It is like a man who goes on a trip. He leaves his house and lets his servants take care of it. He gives each servant a special job to do. One servant has the work of guarding the door. The man tells this servant always to be watchful. This is what I am now telling you. ³⁵ You must always be ready. You don’t know when the owner of the house will come back. He might come in the evening, or at midnight, or in the early morning, or when the sun rises. ³⁶ He might come back quickly. If you are always ready, then he will not find you sleeping. ³⁷ I tell you this, and I say this to everyone: ‘Be ready!’”

The Temple Will Be Destroyed

24 Jesus left the Temple and was walking away. But his followers came to show him the Temple’s buildings. ² Jesus asked, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.”

³ Later, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. His followers came to be alone with him. They said, “Tell us when these things will happen. And what will happen to show us that it is time for you to come again and for the world to end?”

⁴ Jesus answered: “Be careful that no one fools you. ⁵ Many people will come in my name. They will say, ‘I am the Christ.’ And they will fool many people. ⁶ You will hear about wars and stories of wars that are coming. But don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. ⁷ Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places. ⁸ These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.

⁹ “Then men will arrest you and hand you over to be hurt and kill you. They will hate you because you believe in me. ¹⁰ At that time, many who believe will lose their faith. They will turn against each other and hate each other. ¹¹ Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe false things. ¹² There will be more and more evil in the world. So most people will stop showing their love for each other. ¹³ But the person who continues to be strong until the end will be saved. ¹⁴ The Good News about God’s kingdom will be preached in all the world, to every nation. Then the end will come.

¹⁵ “Daniel the prophet spoke about ‘the horrible thing that destroys.’^[a] You will see this terrible thing standing in the holy place.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) ¹⁶ “At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. ¹⁷ If a person is on the roof^[b] of his house, he must not go down to get anything out of his house. ¹⁸ If a person is in the field, he must not go back to get his coat. ¹⁹ At that time, it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies! ²⁰ Pray that it will not be winter or a Sabbath day when these things happen and you have to run away. ²¹ This is because at that time there will be much trouble. There will be more trouble than has ever happened since the beginning of the world. And nothing as bad as that will ever happen again. ²² God has decided to make that terrible time short. If that time were not made short, then no one would go on living. But God will make that time short to help the people he has chosen. ²³ At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the Christ!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. ²⁴ False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great things and miracles. They will do these things to the people God has chosen. They will fool them, if that is possible. ²⁵ Now I have warned you about this before it happens.

²⁶ “If people tell you, ‘The Christ is in the desert’—don’t go there. If they say, ‘The Christ is in the inner room’—don’t believe it. ²⁷ When the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by everyone. It will be like lightning flashing in the sky that can be seen everywhere. ²⁸ Wherever there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹ “Soon after the trouble of those days, this will happen:

³⁰ “At that time, there will be something in the sky that shows the Son of Man is coming. All the peoples of the world will cry. They will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky. He will come with great power and glory. ³¹ He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the world.

³² “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is near, ready to come. ³⁴ I tell you the truth. All these things will happen while the people of this time are still living! ³⁵ The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed!

When Will Jesus Come Again?

³⁶ “No one knows when that day or time will be. Even the Son^[c] and the angels in heaven don’t know. Only the Father knows. ³⁷ When the Son of Man comes, it will be the same as what happened during Noah’s time. ³⁸ In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking. They were marrying and giving their children to be married. They were still doing those things until the day Noah entered the boat. ³⁹ They knew nothing about what was happening. But then the flood came, and all those people were destroyed. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. ⁴⁰ Two men will be working together in the field. One man will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill.^[d] One woman will be taken and the other will be left.

⁴² “So always be ready. You don’t know the day your Lord will come. ⁴³ Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, then the owner would be ready for him. The owner would watch and not let the thief enter his house. ⁴⁴ So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time you don’t expect him.

⁴⁵ “Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. ⁴⁶ When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be very happy. ⁴⁷ I tell you the truth. The master will choose that servant to take care of everything the master owns. ⁴⁸ But what will happen if the servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon? ⁴⁹ Then that servant will begin to beat the other servants. He will feast and get drunk with others like him. ⁵⁰ And the master will come when the servant is not ready and is not expecting him. ⁵¹ Then the master will punish that servant. He will send him away to be among the hypocrites. There people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.

The Last Days

3 Remember this! There will be many troubles in the last days. ² In those times people will love only themselves and money. They will brag and be proud. They will say evil things against others. They will not obey their parents. People will not be thankful or be the kind of people God wants. ³ They will not have love for others. They will refuse to forgive others and will speak bad things. They will not control themselves. They will be cruel and will hate what is good. ⁴ In the last days, people will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking. They will be conceited and proud. They will love pleasure. They will not love God. ⁵ They will continue to act as if they serve God, but they will not really serve God. Stay away from those people. ⁶ Some of them go into homes and get control of weak women who are full of sin. They are led to sin by the many evil desires they have. ⁷ Those women always try to learn new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth fully. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres were against Moses, these people are against the truth. They are people whose thinking has been confused. They have failed in trying to follow the faith. ⁹ But they will not be successful in what they do. Everyone will see that they are foolish. That is what happened to Jannes and Jambres.

Obey the Teachings

¹⁰ But you know all about me. You know what I teach and the way I live. You know my goal in life. You know my faith, my patience, and my love. You know that I never stop trying. ¹¹ You know how I have been hurt and have suffered. You know all that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know the hurts I suffered in those places. But the Lord saved me from all those troubles. ¹² Everyone who wants to live the way God wants, in Christ Jesus, will be persecuted. ¹³ People who are evil and cheat other people will go from bad to worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.

¹⁴ But you should continue following the teachings that you learned. You know that these teachings are true. And you know you can trust those who taught you. ¹⁵ You have known the Holy Scriptures since you were a child. The Scriptures are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching how to live right. ¹⁷ Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be ready and will have everything he needs to do every good work.