The Temple Will Not Stand
Told the temple will be leveled, the disciples ask when. Jesus describes wars, betrayal, false messiahs, love gone cold, and a flight so urgent no one stops for a coat. The day itself no one knows — not the angels, not the Son, only the Father.
24 1Jesus was leaving the temple when his disciples came to show him its buildings.
2"Do you see all these?" he answered. "Truly I tell you: not one stone here will be left on another; all will be torn down."
3While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately: "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what sign marks your coming and the end of the age?"
4Jesus answered, "Watch out that no one deceives you.
5"For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and they will deceive many. 6You'll hear of wars and rumors of wars—don't be alarmed. This must happen, but the end isn't yet. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, with famines and earthquakes in place after place. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9Then they will hand you over to suffering and kill you, hated by all nations because of my name. 10At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because lawlessness will increase, the love of most will grow cold, 13but the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14This good news of the kingdom will be announced worldwide as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15So when you see the desolating abomination Daniel the prophet spoke of standing in the holy place—let the reader understand, 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17"Let no one on the rooftop go down to take anything out of the house, 18and let no one in the field go back to get a coat. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great suffering, unmatched from the world's beginning until now, and never to be matched again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive; but for the elect's sake, those days will be cut short.
23Then if anyone tells you, 'Look, here's the Christ,' or 'There he is,' don't believe it. 24False messiahs and false prophets will arise, performing great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.
26So if they say, 'Look, he's in the wilderness,' don't go out; 'Look, in the inner rooms,' don't believe it. 27For just as lightning flashes from the east and shows as far as the west, so will the Son of Man's coming be. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29Right after the suffering of those days, the sun will go dark, the moon will give no light, stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will shake. 30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all earth's peoples will mourn, seeing the Son of Man come on heaven's clouds with power and great glory. 31He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his chosen from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
32Learn this from the fig tree: as soon as its branch softens and leafs out, you know summer is near. 33So also, when you see all these things, know it is near, at the door. 34Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Only the Father Knows
36"No one knows that day or hour—not the angels in heaven, not the Son—only the Father. 37As in Noah's days, so will be the Son of Man's coming. 38For in the days before the flood, people ate and drank, married and gave in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how the coming of the Son of Man will be. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43Understand: had the homeowner known what watch of night the thief was coming, he'd have watched and kept his house from being broken into. 44So you too must be ready, because the Son of Man comes at an hour you don't expect.
45Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master put in charge of his household to give them food at the right time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' 49and then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50That servant's master will come on a day he doesn't expect, at an hour he doesn't know. 51He will cut him to pieces and place him with the hypocrites, where people weep and grind their teeth."
