Jesus Foretells Destruction of the Temple
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1Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple.
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But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, 2there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down."
Signs of the Close of the Age
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As he sat on 3the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him 4privately, saying, "Tell us, 5when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your 6coming and of 7the close of the age?"
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And Jesus answered them, 8"See that no one leads you astray.
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And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you 11are not alarmed, for this 12must take place, but the end is not yet.
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For 13nation will rise against nation, and 14kingdom against kingdom, and there will be 15famines and earthquakes in various places.
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All these are but the beginning of 16the birth pains.
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"Then 17they will deliver you up 18to tribulation and 19put you to death, and 20you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
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And because lawlessness will be increased, 24the love of many will grow cold.
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25But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
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And this gospel of the kingdom 26will be proclaimed throughout the whole world 27as a testimony 28to all nations, and 29then the end will come.
The Abomination of Desolation
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"So when you see the abomination of desolation 30spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in 31the holy place (32let the reader understand),
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then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
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and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak.
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And 35alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days!
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Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
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For then there will be 36great tribulation, 37such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.
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And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for 38the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
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39Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it.
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For 40false christs and 41false prophets will arise and 42perform great signs and wonders, 43so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
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See, 44I have told you beforehand.
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So, if they say to you, 'Look, 45he is in the wilderness,' do not go out. If they say, 'Look, he is in the inner rooms,' do not believe it.
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46For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be 47the coming of the Son of Man.
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48Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
The Coming of the Son of Man
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"Immediately after 49the tribulation of those days 50the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and 51the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
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Then 52will appear in heaven 53the sign of the Son of Man, and then 54all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and 55they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven 56with power and great glory.
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And 57he will send out his angels with a loud 58trumpet call, and they will 59gather 60his elect from 61the four winds, 62from one end of heaven to the other.
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
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"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.
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So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, 63at the very gates.
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64Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
No One Knows That Day and Hour
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"But concerning that day and hour 67no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, 68nor the Son,b69but the Father only.
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72For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, 73marrying and giving in marriage, until 74the day when Noah entered the ark,
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and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, 75so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
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Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.
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80But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night 81the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
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"Who then is 84the faithful and 85wise servant,c whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time?
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86Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
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Truly, I say to you, 87he will set him over all his possessions.
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But if that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master 88is delayed,'
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the master of that servant will come 90on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know
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and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place 91there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)