New Testament in a Year

Instructions for the Coming of the Kingdom^[a]

Chapter 24

The Time of the End^[b]

Jesus Announces the Destruction of the Temple.^{[c] 1} As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, his disciples came up to him to call his attention to the buildings of the temple. ² He thereupon said to them, “Do you see all these? Amen, I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another; every one will be thrown down.”

The End Has Not Yet Come.^{[d] 3} As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached and spoke to him when they were alone. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

⁴ Jesus answered them, “Take care that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶ You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Do not be alarmed, for those things are bound to happen, but the end is still to come. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are only the beginning of the labor pains.

⁹ “Then you will be handed over to be tortured and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. ¹⁰ At that time, many will fall away from the faith; they will betray and hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will appear and lead many astray, ¹² and with the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But whoever endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And the good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the entire world as a testimony offered to all the nations. And then the end will come.

¹⁵ The Great Trial.^[e]“Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation, about which the prophet Daniel spoke, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, ¹⁷ the one who is standing on the roof must not come down to collect what is in his house, ¹⁸ and someone who is in the field must not turn back to retrieve his coat.

¹⁹ “Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that you will not have to take flight in the winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For at that time there will be great suffering that has not been equaled since the beginning of the world until now, and will never again be duplicated. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect they will be shortened.

²³ False Messiahs and False Prophets.“Therefore, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or ‘There he is,’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For false christs and false prophets will arise, and they will perform great signs and wonders that are impressive enough to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

²⁵ “Remember, I have forewarned you about this. ²⁶ So if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there. If they say, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷ For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even in the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.^[f]