The Destruction of the Temple Foretold

13 As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!”

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold

24 As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.^{(A) 2} Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”^(B)

Signs of the End of the Age

³ When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” ⁴ Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray.^{(C) 5} For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’^[a] and they will lead many astray. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines^[b] and earthquakes in various places:^{(D) 8} all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.

Persecutions Foretold

⁹ “Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.^{(E) 10} Then many will fall away,^[c] and they will betray one another and hate one another.^{(F) 11} And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.^{(G) 12} And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end will be saved.^{(H) 14} And this good news^[d] of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.^(I)

The Desolating Sacrilege

¹⁵ “So when you see the desolating sacrilege, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),^{(J) 16} then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; ¹⁷ the one on the housetop must not go down to take things from the house; ¹⁸ the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. ¹⁹ Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.^{(K) 22} And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved, but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.^{(L) 23} Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’^[e] or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it.^{(M) 24} For false messiahs^[f] and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.^{(N) 25} Take note, I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.^{(O) 28} Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after the suffering of those days

³⁰ “Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory.^{(Q) 31} And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.^(R)

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³² “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So also, when you see all these things, you know that he^[g] is near, at the very gates. ³⁴ Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.^{(S) 35} Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.^(T)

The Necessity for Watchfulness

³⁶ “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,^[h] but only the Father. ³⁷ For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.^{(U) 38} For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so, too, will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two will be in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.^{(V) 41} Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴² Keep awake, therefore, for you do not know on what day^[i] your Lord is coming.^{(W) 43} But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.^{(X) 44} Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.^(Y)

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave

⁴⁵ “Who, then, is the faithful and wise slave whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves^[j] their allowance of food at the proper time?^{(Z) 46} Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives.^{(AA) 47} Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions.^{(AB) 48} But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. ⁵¹ He will cut him in pieces^[k] and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^(AC)

²² Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.^{(A) 23} And the glory of the Lord ascended from the middle of the city and stopped on the mountain east of the city.^(B)

The Destruction of the Temple Foretold

⁵ When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said,^{(A) 6} “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”^(B)

Signs and Persecutions

⁷ They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” ⁸ And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’^[a] and, ‘The time is near!’^[b] Do not go after them.^(C)

⁹ “When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom;^{(D) 11} there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues, and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.^{(E) 13} This will give you an opportunity to testify.^{(F) 14} So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance,^{(G) 15} for I will give you words^[c] and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.^{(H) 16} You will be betrayed even by parents and siblings, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death.^{(I) 17} You will be hated by all because of my name.^{(J) 18} But not a hair of your head will perish.^{(K) 19} By your endurance you will gain your souls.^(L)

The Destruction of Jerusalem Foretold

²⁰ “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.^{[d](M) 21} Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those inside the city must leave it, and those out in the country must not enter it,^{(N) 22} for these are days of vengeance, as a fulfillment of all that is written.^{(O) 23} Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress on the earth and wrath against this people; ²⁴ they will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken away as captives among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations, until the times of the nations are fulfilled.^(P)

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁵ “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves.^{(Q) 26} People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory.^{(R) 28} Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”^[e](S)

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

²⁹ Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰ as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.^{(T) 32} Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.^(U)

Exhortation to Watch

³⁴ “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life and that day does not catch you unexpectedly,^{(V) 35} like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”^(W)

The Coming Messenger

3 See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.^{(A) 2} But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like washers’ soap;^(B)

¹⁹ The cherubim lifted up their wings and rose up from the earth in my sight as they went out with the wheels beside them. They stopped at the entrance of the east gate of the house of the Lord, and the glory of the God of Israel was above them.^(A)

⁴ Then the glory of the Lord rose up from the cherub to the entryway of the temple; the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of the glory of the Lord.^(A)

⁶ He said to me, “Mortal, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? Yet you will see still greater abominations.”^(A)

²⁰ From their^[a] beautiful ornament, in which they took pride, they made their abominable images, their detestable things; therefore I will make of it an unclean thing to them.^(A)