1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to point out the temple buildings.
2But he answered them, “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one deceives you.
5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many people.”
6You will hear about wars and rumors of wars. Don't be alarmed, for all these things must happen, but it is not yet the end.
7Nations will fight against nations, and kingdoms against kingdoms. There will also be famines, widespread diseases, and earthquakes in different places.
8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.
10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,
13but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.
14And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15“So when you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16then those in Judea should escape to the mountains.
17If you are on the roof of your house, don't go down to get anything out of your house.
18If you are in the field, don't go back to get your coat.
19But it will be terrible for pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!
20Pray that you won't have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath.
21Because at that time there will be great suffering, worse than anything that has happened since the beginning of the world until now, and nothing like it will ever happen again.
22If God did not shorten those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of his chosen people, those days will be shortened.
23“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ don’t believe it.
24Because false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen people.
25“Look, I have warned you ahead of time.
26So if they tell you, ‘Look, he’s in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Look, he’s in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it.
27Because just as lightning flashes from the east and is seen all the way to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
28Wherever there is a dead body, that’s where the vultures will gather.
29But immediately after the suffering of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shine, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the peoples of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
31He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his chosen people from everywhere on earth and in the sky.
32“Learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.
33In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you know that he is near, right at the door.
34I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.
35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
36But no one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels in heaven. Only my Father knows.
37The coming of the Son of Man will be like the time of Noah.
38In the days before the flood, people were eating, drinking, marrying, and getting married, right up until the day Noah entered the ark.
39They didn't realize what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. The coming of the Son of Man will be just like that.
40At that time, two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
41Two women will be grinding grain at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
42So stay awake, because you don't know what hour your Lord will come.
43But understand this: if the owner of a house had known what time of night a thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
44Therefore, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you don't expect him.
45“Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
46Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing his job when he returns.
47I tell you the truth, the master will put him in charge of everything he owns.
48But if that evil servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’
49and he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards,
50then the master of that servant will come on a day when he doesn't expect him and at an hour he doesn't know.
51The master will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth.