Things to Come

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

⁹ “But ^[e]be on your guard; for they will ^(F)hand you over to the ^[f]courts, and you will be flogged ^(G)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them. ^10 (H)And the gospel must first be preached to all the nations. ^11 (I)And when they ^[g]arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time; for you are not the ones speaking, 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 ^[h]have them put to death. ¹³ And ^(J)you will be hated by everyone because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.

¹⁴ “Now ^(K)when you see the ^(L)abomination of desolation standing where it should not be—^[i]let the ^[j]reader understand—then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^15 [k](M)Whoever is on the ^[l]housetop must not go down, nor go in to get anything out of his house. ¹⁶ And ^[m]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁷ But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ Moreover, pray that it will not happen in winter. ¹⁹ For those days will be such a time of tribulation as has not occurred ^(N)since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will again. ²⁰ And if the Lord had not shortened those days, no ^[n]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the ^[o]elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. ²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the ^[p]Christ’; or, ‘Look, there He is’; do not believe it; ²² for false christs and ^(O)false prophets will arise, and will provide ^(P)signs and ^(Q)wonders, in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. ²³ But beware; I have told you everything in advance.

The Return of Christ

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, ^(R)the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, ^25 (S)and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see ^(T)the Son of Man ^(U)coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then He will send forth the angels, and ^(V)will gather together His ^[q]elect from the four winds, ^(W)from the end of the earth to the end of heaven.

²⁸ “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near. ²⁹ So you too, when you see these things happening, ^[r]recognize that ^[s]He is near, right at the ^[t]door. ³⁰ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. ^32 (X)But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

³³ “Watch out, ^(Y)stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is. ^34 (Z)It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and ^[u]putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay alert. ³⁵ Therefore, ^(AA)stay alert—for you do not know when the ^[v]master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or ^(AB)when the rooster crows, or ^(AC)in the morning— ³⁶ so that he does not come suddenly and find you ^(AD)asleep. ³⁷ What I say to you I say to all: ‘^(AE)Stay alert!’”

^5 (A)And while some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and ^[a]vowed gifts, He said, ⁶ “As for these things which you are observing, the days will come when ^(B)there will not be left one stone upon ^[b]another, which will not be torn down.”

⁷ They asked Him questions, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the ^[c]sign when these things are about to take place?” ⁸ And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(C)I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ ^(D)Do not go after them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and revolts, do not be alarmed; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”

Things to Come

¹⁰ Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, ¹¹ and there will be ^[d]massive earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrible sights and great ^[e]signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all these things, ^(E)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, ^[f]bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name. ^13 (F)It will lead to ^[g]an opportunity for your testimony. ^14 (G)So ^[h]make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; ¹⁵ for ^(H)I will provide you ^[i]eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute. ¹⁶ But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, ¹⁷ and you will be hated by all people because of My name. ¹⁸ And yet ^(I)not a hair of your head will perish. ^19 (J)By your endurance you will gain your ^[j]lives.

²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem ^(K)surrounded by armies, then ^[k]recognize that her desolation is near. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside ^[l]the city must leave, and ^(L)those who are in the country must not enter ^[m]the city; ²² because these are ^(M)days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled. ²³ Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for ^(N)there will be great distress upon the ^[n]land, and wrath to this people; ²⁴ and they will fall by ^(O)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and ^(P)Jerusalem will be ^(Q)trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until ^(R)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Return of Christ

²⁵ “There will be ^[o]signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the ^[p]world; for the powers of ^[q]the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ And ^(S)then they will see ^(T)the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because ^(U)your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹ And He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees: ³⁰ as soon as they put forth leaves, you see for yourselves and ^(V)know that summer is now near. ³¹ So you too, when you see these things happening, ^[r]recognize that ^(W)the kingdom of God is near. ³² Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. ^33 (X)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁴ “But ^(Y)be on your guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that ^[s]this day will not come on you suddenly, like a trap; ³⁵ for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth. ³⁶ But ^(Z)stay alert at all times, praying that you will have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to ^(AA)stand before the Son of Man.”