Jesus Warns About the Future^(A)

13 Jesus was leaving the Temple area. One of his followers said to him, “Teacher, look how big those stones are! What beautiful buildings!”

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

³ Later, Jesus was sitting at a place on the Mount of Olives. He was alone with Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They could all see the Temple, and they said to Jesus, ⁴ “Tell us when these things will happen. And what will show us it is time for them to happen?”

⁵ Jesus said to them, “Be careful! Don’t let anyone fool you. ⁶ Many people will come and use my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah,^[a]’ and they will fool many people. ⁷ You will hear about wars that are being fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. 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 only the beginning of troubles, like the first pains of a woman giving birth.

⁹ “You must be careful! There are people who will arrest you and take you to be judged for being my followers. They will beat you in their synagogues. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors. You will tell them about me. ¹⁰ Before the end comes, the Good News must be told to all nations. ¹¹ Even when you are arrested and put on trial, don’t worry about what you will say. Say whatever God tells you at the time. It will not really be you speaking. It will be the Holy Spirit.

¹² “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and hand them over to be killed. Fathers will hand over their own children to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and have them killed. ¹³ All people will hate you because you follow me. But those who remain faithful to the end will be saved.

¹⁴ “You will see ‘the terrible thing that causes destruction.’^[b] You will see this thing standing in the place where it should not be.” (Reader, I trust you understand what this means.) “Everyone in Judea at that time should run away to the mountains. ¹⁵ They should run away without wasting time to stop for anything. If someone is on the roof of their house, they must not go down to take things out of the house. ¹⁶ If someone is in the field, they must not go back to get a coat.

¹⁷ “During that time it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have small babies. ¹⁸ Pray that these things will not happen in winter, ¹⁹ because those days will be full of trouble. There will be more trouble than has ever happened since the beginning, when God made the world. And nothing that bad will ever happen again. ²⁰ But the Lord has decided to make that terrible time short. If it were not made short, no one could survive. But the Lord will make that time short to help the special people he has chosen.

²¹ “Someone might say to you at that time, ‘Look, there is the Messiah!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. ²² False messiahs and false prophets will come and do miracles and wonders,^[c] trying to fool the people God has chosen, if that is possible. ²³ So be careful. Now I have warned you about all this before it happens.

When Jesus, the Son of Man, Comes Again^(B)

²⁴ “During the days following that time of trouble,

²⁶ “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ He 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 very near. ²⁹ In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time^[e] is very near, already present. ³⁰ I assure you that all these things will happen while some of the people of this time are still living. ³¹ The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever.

Jesus Warns About the Future^(A)

⁵ Some of the followers were talking about the Temple. They said, “This is a beautiful Temple, built with the best stones. Look at the many good gifts that have been offered to God.”

⁶ But Jesus said, “The time will come when all that you see here will be destroyed. Every stone of these buildings 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 these things to happen?”

⁸ Jesus said, “Be careful! Don’t be fooled. Many people will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah^[a]’ 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 Jesus said to them, “Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. ¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, sicknesses, and other bad things in many places. In some places there will be no food for the people to eat. Terrible things will happen, and amazing things will come from heaven to warn people.

¹² “But before all these things happen, people will arrest you and do bad things to you. 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 Decide now not to worry about what you will say. ¹⁵ I will give you the wisdom to say things that none of your enemies can answer. ¹⁶ Even your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will turn against you. They will have some of you killed. ¹⁷ Everyone 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.

The Destruction of Jerusalem^(B)

²⁰ “You will see armies all around Jerusalem. Then you will know that the time for its destruction has come. ²¹ The people in Judea at that time should run away to the mountains. The people in Jerusalem must leave quickly. If you are near the city, don’t go in! ²² The prophets wrote many things about the time when God will punish his people. The time I am talking about is when all these things must happen. ²³ During that time it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have small babies, because very bad times will come to this land. God will be angry with these people. ²⁴ Some of the people will be killed by soldiers. Others will be made prisoners and taken to all the different countries. The holy city of Jerusalem will be under the control of foreigners until their time is completed.

Don’t Fear^(C)

²⁵ “Amazing things will happen to the sun, moon, and stars. And people all over the earth will be upset and confused by the noise of the sea and its crashing waves. ²⁶ They will be afraid and worried about what will happen to the 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, stand up tall and don’t be afraid. Know that it is almost time for God to free you!”

My Words Will Live Forever^(D)

²⁹ Then Jesus told this story: “Look at all the trees. The fig tree is a good example. ³⁰ When it turns green, you know that summer is very near. ³¹ In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that God’s kingdom is very near.

³² “I assure you that all these things will happen while some of the people of this time are still living. ³³ The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever.