13 Of the destruction of Jerusalem. 9 Persecutions for the Gospel. 10 The Gospel must be preached to all nations. 26 Of Christ’s coming to judgment. 33 We must watch and pray.

(A)And [a]as he went out of the Temple, one of his disciples said unto him, Master, see what manner stones, and what manner buildings are here.

(B)Then Jesus answered and said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon a stone, that shall not be thrown down.

And as he sat on the mount of Olives, over against the Temple, Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew asked him secretly,

Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?

And Jesus answered them, and began to say, (C)Take heed lest any man deceive you.

For many shall come in my Name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many.

Furthermore when ye shall hear of wars, and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled, for such things must needs be: but the end shall not be yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there shall be earthquakes in divers quarters, and there shall be famine and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

But take ye heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to the Councils, and to the Synagogues: ye shall be beaten, and brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a [b]testimonial unto them.

10 And the Gospel must first be published among all nations.

11 (D)But when they lead you, and deliver you up, [c]be not careful before hand, [d]neither study what ye shall say: but what is given you at the same time, that speak: for it is not you that speak, but the holy Ghost.

12 Yea, and the brother shall deliver the brother to death, and the father the son, and the children shall rise against their parents, and shall cause them to die.

13 And ye shall be hated of all men [e]for my Name’s sake: but whosoever shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved.

14 (E)Moreover, when ye shall see the abomination of desolation (spoken of by (F)Daniel the Prophet) [f]set where it ought not, (let him that readeth, consider it) then let them that be in Judea, flee into the mountains.

15 And let him that is upon the house, not come down into the house, neither enter therein, to fetch anything out of his house.

16 And let him that is in the field, not turn back again to take his garment.

17 Then woe shall be to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days.

18 Pray therefore that your flight be not in the winter.

19 For [g]those days shall be such tribulation, as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, which he hath chosen, he hath shortened those days.

21 Then (G)if any man say to you, Lo, here is Christ, or lo, he is there, believe it not.

22 For false Christs shall rise, and false prophets, and shall show signs and wonders, to deceive if it were possible the very elect.

23 But take ye heed: behold, I have showed you all things before.

24 Moreover in those days, after that tribulation, (H)the sun shall wax dark, and the moon shall not give her light,

25 And the stars of heaven shall fall: and the powers which are in heaven, shall shake.

26 And then shall they see the Son of man, coming in the clouds, with great power and glory.

27 (I)And he shall then send his Angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, and from the utmost part of the earth to the utmost part of heaven.

28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When her bough is yet tender, and it bringeth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near.

29 So in like manner, when ye see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is near, even at the doors.

30 Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

31 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

32 [h]But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the Angels which are in heaven, neither the Son himself, but the Father.

33 (J)Take heed: watch, and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

34 For the Son of man is as a man going into a strange country, and leaveth his house, and giveth authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commandeth the porter to watch.

35 Watch ye therefore, (for ye know not when the master of the house will come, at even, or at midnight, at the cock crowing, or in the dawning,)

36 Lest if he come suddenly, he should find you sleeping.

37 And those things that I say unto you, I say unto all men, Watch.

Footnotes

  1. Mark 13:1 The destruction of the Temple, city, and whole nation is aforetold, and the troubles of the Church, but yet there are annexed many comforts, and last of all, the end of the world is described.
  2. Mark 13:9 The hearing of you preaching shall be a most evident witness against them, so that they shall not be able to pretend ignorance.
  3. Mark 13:11 We are not forbidden to think beforehand, but pensive carefulness whereby men discourage themselves, which proceedeth from distrust, and want of confidence and sure hope of God’s assistance: that carefulness we are willed to beware of, see also Matt. 6:27.
  4. Mark 13:11 By any kind of artificial and cunning kind of tale what to speak.
  5. Mark 13:13 For me.
  6. Mark 13:14 When the heathen and profane people shall not only enter into the Temple, and defile both it and the city, but also clean destroy it.
  7. Mark 13:19 This is a kind of speech which the Hebrews use, and it hath a great force in it, for it giveth us to understand that in all that time one misery shall so follow upon another, as if the time itself were very misery itself: So the Prophet Amos, 5:20 saith, that the day of the Lord shall be darkness.
  8. Mark 13:32 The latter day is not curiouly to be searched for which the Father alone knoweth: but let us rather take heed, that it come not upon us unaware.

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times(A)

13 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”

“Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”(B)

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives(C) opposite the temple, Peter, James, John(D) and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”

Jesus said to them: “Watch out that no one deceives you.(E) Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

“You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues.(F) On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10 And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. 11 Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.(G)

12 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.(H) 13 Everyone will hate you because of me,(I) but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.(J)

14 “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’[a](K) standing where it[b] does not belong—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 Let no one on the housetop go down or enter the house to take anything out. 16 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 17 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!(L) 18 Pray that this will not take place in winter, 19 because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world,(M) until now—and never to be equaled again.(N)

20 “If the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he has shortened them. 21 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it.(O) 22 For false messiahs and false prophets(P) will appear and perform signs and wonders(Q) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 23 So be on your guard;(R) I have told you everything ahead of time.

24 “But in those days, following that distress,

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
25 the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[c](S)

26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds(T) with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.(U)

28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it[d] is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation(V) will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.(W) 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.(X)

The Day and Hour Unknown

32 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.(Y) 33 Be on guard! Be alert[e]!(Z) You do not know when that time will come. 34 It’s like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants(AA) in charge, each with their assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

35 “Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. 36 If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. 37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: ‘Watch!’”(AB)

Footnotes

  1. Mark 13:14 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
  2. Mark 13:14 Or he
  3. Mark 13:25 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
  4. Mark 13:29 Or he
  5. Mark 13:33 Some manuscripts alert and pray