Old/New Testament

24 Jesus left the temple and was going away. His disciples came to him. They wanted to show him the different buildings that were a part of the temple.

² But Jesus answered them, `Do you see these buildings? I tell you the truth. Not one stone here will be left on top of another stone. They will all be thrown down!'

³ Jesus was sitting on the hill called the Mount of Olives. The disciples came to him alone. They said, `Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign to show you are coming and that it is the end of this world?'

⁴ Jesus answered them, `Take care. Do not let anyone fool you.

⁵ Many men will come in my name. They will say, "I am the Christ". They will fool many people.

⁶ You will hear about wars. You will hear that war is coming. But do not fear. These things must happen, but that is not yet the end.

⁷ One tribe will fight against another tribe. And one country will fight against another country. The people will have no food to eat. Many people will be sick. The earth will shake in many different places.

⁸ All these troubles are only the beginning of troubles that will come.

⁹ `Then people will trouble you and kill you. All nations will hate you because you are true to me.

¹⁰ Then many people will stop believing. They will give one another over to trouble. They will hate one another.

¹¹ Many people will come and say they are prophets of God. But they will not be true. They will fool many people.

¹² People will do more and more wrong things and many people will stop loving me.

¹³ But the person who keeps on being true to me until the end, that one will be saved.

¹⁴ This good news about the kingdom will be told in all the world. The people in all countries must know about it. And then the end will come.'

¹⁵ `Daniel the prophet said that people would put something very bad in the temple.' (Let the one who reads this understand it.)

¹⁶ `When that happens, the people in Judea must go quickly to the hills.

¹⁷ A person who is on the top of a house must not go down into the house to get things from the house.

¹⁸ A person who is working in the fields must not go back home to get his coat.

¹⁹ In those days it will be very hard for women who are to have a child. It will be very hard for mothers who have a baby.

²⁰ Ask God that you may not have to go in the cold time of the year or on the Sabbath day.

²¹ The trouble then will be bigger than any other trouble since God made the world. And there never will be any trouble as big as that.

²² No person would be saved if the Lord did not cut the time of trouble shorter. He will cut it shorter for the sake of his chosen people.

²³ `If anyone says to you then, "Look, here is the Christ!" or "There he is!" do not believe it.

²⁴ People will come and say they are the Christ. People will come and say they are prophets. But they are not true. They will show big signs and do wonderful things to fool people. They will fool God's chosen people if they can.

²⁵ Watch! I have told you these things before they happen.

²⁶ So if people say to you, "He is in the wilderness," do not go there. If they say, "He is hiding somewhere," do not believe it.

²⁷ When lightning shines in the east, it can be seen in the west. It will be like that when the Son of Man comes.

²⁸ The big birds that eat meat will all go to the place where the dead body is.'