Mark 13:1-23

Legacy Standard Bible

Signs of Christ’s Return

13 ^(A)And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, behold ^[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 And as He was sitting on ^(C)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^(D)Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the ^[c]sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(E)I am He!’ and will mislead many. ⁷ And 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 merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “But see to yourselves; for they will ^(F)deliver you to the ^[d]courts, and you will be beaten ^(G)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a witness to them. ^10 (H)And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations. ^11 (I)And when they lead you away, delivering you up, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, 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 ^[e]have them put to death. ^13 (J)And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

¹⁴ “But ^(K)when you see the ^(L)abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^15 (M)And the one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house; ¹⁶ and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. ¹⁷ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ But pray that it may not happen in the winter. ¹⁹ For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred ^(N)since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. ²⁰ And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no ^[f]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the ^[g]elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. ²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[h]Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him; ²² for false christs and ^(O)false prophets will arise, and will show ^[i](P)signs and ^(Q)wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. ²³ But as for you, see! I have told you everything in advance.