The Destruction of the Temple
Mark 13As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look at these wonderful stones and buildings!”
Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left on another. Every one will be thrown down.”
As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him privately, “Tell us, when will these things happen? What is the sign that these things are about to be fulfilled?”
Jesus began to tell them, “Y’all be careful that no one leads y’all astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and will lead many astray.
“When y’all hear of wars and rumors of wars, y’all don’t be troubled. For those must happen, but this is not yet the end. For one ethnic group will rise up against another ethnic group, and empire against empire. There will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines. These things are the beginning of birth pains.
“But y’all must be on guard. For they will deliver y’all up to councils, and y’all will be beaten in synagogues. Y’all will stand before rulers and kings for my sake, as a witness to them. The gospel must first be preached to all the ethnic groups. When they arrest y’all and hand y’all over, y’all don’t worry beforehand about what to say, but y’all say whatever is given to y’all at that time. For it is not y’all who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
“Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. Y’all will be hated by everyone for my name’s sake, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.
“But when you see ‘the abomination of desolation,’+Dan 9:11 standing where it should not be, (let the reader understand) then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. The one on the housetop must not go down or go inside to take anything out of their house. The one in the field must not return to get their cloak. But woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! Y’all should pray that it doesn’t happen in the winter. For in those days there will be oppression, such as there has not been since the beginning of the creation that God created until now, and never will be. If the Lord had not shortened the days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days. Then if anyone says to y’all, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ don’t y’all believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will show signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. So y’all must be on guard.
“I have told y’all everything ahead of time. But in those days, after that oppression, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.+Isa 13:4 Then they will see the Son of Humanity coming in clouds with great power and glory. Then he will send out his angels, and will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.
“Y’all must learn the parable from the fig tree: when the branch becomes tender and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near; So also, when y’all see these things coming to pass, y’all know that it is near, at the doors. I say to y’all, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
“But of that day or that hour no one knows—not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Y’all must watch and stay alert! For y’all don’t know when the time will come.
“It is like a man traveling to another country, having left his house and given authority to his slaves, each assigned their work, and commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch. Y’all, therefore, must keep watch, for you don’t know when the lord of the house is coming—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning; otherwise, if he comes suddenly, he might find y’all sleeping. What I tell y’all, I tell everyone: Y’all stay alert!”