13:1 As he left the temple compound, one of his disciples remarked, “Teacher, look! Such stones, such buildings!”

13:2 “See these magnificent buildings?” Jesus asked. “Not one stone will be left on another; they will all be demolished.”

13:3 And when he sat down on the Mount of Olives facing the temple compound, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him about this privately:

13:4 “When will this take place, and what sign will indicate that it’s all about to happen?”

13:5 Then Jesus began to tell them: “Beware, so you are not deceived!

13:6 Many will come in my name and say, ‘I am the one!’ and they will deceive many people.

13:7 But when you hear about battles near and far, don’t be alarmed; these things must happen but it is not yet the end.

13:8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famine. These are just the beginning of labor pains.

13:9 “Watch out! They will hand you over to face councils and you will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings on my account, as a testimony to them.

13:10 But first the Gospel must be proclaimed in all the nations.

13:11 And when they hand you over, don’t worry about what you will say, because the words will be given to you at that moment; it won’t be you talking but the Holy Spirit.

13:12 ”Siblings will hand each other over to be executed; fathers will hand over their own children to die, and children will do the same to their own parents.

13:13 Everyone will despise you on my account, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.

13:14 “Whenever you see ’the disgusting thing that completely ruins’ standing where it isn’t supposed to (the reader must be clear!), then those in Judea must run away into the mountains;

13:15 those on housetops must not go down into the houses to get anything out of them;

13:16 those out in the fields must not turn back to get their clothing.

13:17 But woe to those who are pregnant or nursing in those days!

13:18 And pray that this will not happen in winter.

13:19 “The suffering of those days will be unlike anything that has happened since God first created the world until now, and will never be again.

13:20 In fact, if the Master didn’t cut those days short, no living thing would survive. But those days will be cut short for the sake of his chosen ones.

13:21 And if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Anointed!’, don’t believe them.

13:22 For false anointed ones and false prophets will rise up and perform signs and miracles, to try and lure away the chosen ones— if that were possible.

13:23 But watch out! I have told you everything ahead of time.

13:24 “In the days following that suffering, ‘the sun will be darkened and the moon will give no light;

13:25 the stars will fall out of the sky, and the forces in the heavenly places will be shaken.’

13:26 Then they will see the Human coming in the clouds with power and majesty.

13:27 He will send out the Messengers to gather his chosen ones out from every direction, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

13:28 “Now learn a lesson from the fig tree: When its branches have become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near.

13:29 Likewise, when you see all these things happening, you know that they are near— right at the door!

13:30 I tell you truly that this generation will definitely not pass away until all of these things have come to pass.

13:31 Sky and earth will pass away, but not my words!

13:32 “But no one knows the day or hour; not even the Messengers in heaven nor the Human, but only the Father.

13:33 So watch and stay alert, since you don’t know when the time will come.

13:34 Think of it as when someone leaves home and puts their house under the care of managers, with each one being assigned a particular responsibility, including one to guard the door.

13:35 So be alert! You don’t know when the owner of the house will come; it may be in the evening, or maybe midnight, or at dawn, or in the morning.

13:36 Don’t let him come unexpectedly and find you sleeping!

13:37 What I say to you, I say to everyone: be alert!”