Temple Destruction Foretold

(Mark 13:1-9; Luke 21:5-9)

1And Jesus went forth and went away from the temple, and his disciples came to [him] to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2And he answering said to them, Do ye not see all these things? Verily I say to you, Not a stone shall be left here upon a stone which shall not be thrown down.

3And as he was sitting upon the mount of Olives the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be, and what is the sign of thy coming and [the] completion of the age?

4And Jesus answering said to them, See that no one mislead you.

False Christs

5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they shall mislead many. 6But ye will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that ye be not disturbed; for all [these things] must take place, but it is not yet the end. 7For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places. 8But all these [are the] beginning of throes.

Witnessing to All Nations

(Mark 13:10-13; Luke 21:10-19)

9Then shall they deliver you up to tribulation, and shall kill you; and ye will be hated of all the nations for my name's sake. 10And then will many be offended, and will deliver one another up, and hate one another; 11and many false prophets shall arise and shall mislead many; 12and because lawlessness shall prevail, the love of the most shall grow cold; 13but he that has endured to the end, he shall be saved. 14And these glad tidings of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole habitable earth, for a witness to all the nations, and then shall come the end.

The Abomination of Desolation

(Mark 13:14-23; Luke 21:20-24)

15When therefore ye shall see the abomination of desolation, which is spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in [what is a] holy place, (he that reads let him understand,) 16then let those who are in Judaea flee to the mountains; 17let not him that is on the house come down to take the things out of his house; 18and let not him that is in the field turn back to take his garment. 19But woe to those that are with child, and those that give suck in those days. 20But pray that your flight may not be in winter time nor on sabbath: 21for then shall there be great tribulation, such as has not been from [the] beginning of [the] world until now, nor ever shall be; 22and if those days had not been cut short, no flesh had been saved; but on account of the elect those days shall be cut short. 23Then if any one say to you, Behold, here is the Christ, or here, believe [it] not. 24For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall give great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the elect. 25Behold, I have told you beforehand.

The Return of the Son of Man

(Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-28)

26If therefore they say to you, Behold, he is in the desert, go not forth; behold, [he is] in the inner chambers, do not believe [it]. 27For as the lightning goes forth from the east and shines to the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of man. 28[For] wherever the carcase is, there will be gathered the eagles.

29But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the land lament, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31And he shall send his angels with a great sound of trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from [the one] extremity of [the] heavens to [the other] extremity of them.

The lesson of the Fig Tree

(Mark 13:28-31; Luke 21:29-33)

32But learn the parable from the fig-tree: When already its branch becomes tender and produces leaves, ye know that the summer is near. 33Thus also ye, when ye see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors. 34Verily I say to you, This generation will not have passed away until all these things shall have taken place. 35The heaven and the earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise pass away.

Be Ready at Any Hour

(Genesis 6:1-7; Mark 13:32-37; Luke 12:35-48)

36But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of the heavens, but [my] Father alone. 37But as the days of Noe, so also shall be the coming of the Son of man. 38For as they were in the days which were before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day on which Noe entered into the ark, 39and they knew not till the flood came and took all away; thus also shall be the coming of the Son of man. 40Then two shall be in the field, one is taken and one is left; 41two [women] grinding at the mill, one is taken and one is left.

42Watch therefore, for ye know not in what hour your Lord comes. 43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and not have suffered his house to be dug through [into]. 44Wherefore ye also, be ye ready, for in that hour that ye think not the Son of man comes.

45Who then is the faithful and prudent bondman whom his lord has set over his household, to give them food in season? 46Blessed is that bondman whom his lord on coming shall find doing thus. 47Verily I say unto you, that he will set him over all his substance. 48But if that evil bondman should say in his heart, My lord delays to come, 49and begin to beat his fellow-bondmen, and eat and drink with the drunken; 50the lord of that bondman shall come in a day when he does not expect it, and in an hour he knows not of, 51and shall cut him in two and appoint his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.