Mark 13

1Jesus was on his way out of the temple when one of his disciples exclaimed to him, “Teacher, look! Such stones! Such buildings!” 2Jesus replied, “You see these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left resting on another. Every one will be pulled down.”

3Then, while he sat on the Mount of Olives facing the temple, four of them, Peter, James, John and Andrew, put a question to him in private: 4“Tell us, when will these things take place? And what sign will there be when all of them are about to reach their completion?” 5Jesus began to speak to them: “Be on your guard, so that nobody leads you astray. 6Many will come using my name and saying, ‘I am he,’ and they will lead many astray. 7When you hear of wars, and news of wars far away, do not be shaken. These things have to come, but that is not yet the end. 8Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. Earthquakes will strike in one place after another, and there will be famines. All this is only the first of the birth pains. 9As for you, be on your guard. People will hand you over to the councils, and you will be flogged in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness to them. 10And first the gospel has to be proclaimed to all the nations. 11When they take you away to hand you over, do not be anxious in advance about what you will say. Whatever words are given to you in that hour, speak them. It will not be you who are speaking. It will be the Holy Spirit. 12Brothers will hand their brothers over to be killed, and fathers their children. Children will rise up against their parents and send them to their deaths. 13Everyone will hate you because of my name. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved.

14But when you see the abomination that brings ruin standing where he has no right to be (let the reader take note), then those who are in Judea must escape to the hills. 15Anyone who is on the roof must not go down into the house to fetch anything out of it. 16Anyone who is out in the field must not go back for a cloak. 17How terrible it will be in those days for women who are expecting a child or nursing a baby! 18Pray that this does not come in winter. 19For those days will bring distress unlike any there has been from the beginning, when God created the world, until now, or ever will be again. 20If the Lord had not cut those days short, no one at all would survive. But because of the chosen, those he chose for himself, he has cut the days short. 21At that time, if anyone tells you, ‘See, here is Christ!’ or ‘See, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22For false christs and false prophets will rise up and do signs and wonders, so as to lead the chosen ones astray, if that could be done. 23So you must be on your guard. I have told you all of it in advance.

24But in those days, after that time of distress, the sun will grow dark and the moon will give no light. 25Stars will come falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26Then people will see the Son of Man come in clouds, with great power and glory. 27And then he will send out the angels and gather the chosen ones from all four winds, from the farthest edge of the earth to the farthest edge of the sky.

28Learn this parable from the fig tree. Once its branch turns soft and its leaves sprout, you know summer is close. 29So too with you: when you see these things happening, be sure that it is near, right at the door. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away before all these things take place. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, yet my words will never pass away.

32As for that day or hour, nobody knows it, neither the angels in heaven nor the Son. Only the Father knows. 33Be on your guard and stay alert, because you do not know when the time will come. 34It is like a man who goes away from home. He leaves his house, puts his servants in charge, each with a task to do, and orders the doorkeeper to keep watch. 35So keep watch, since you cannot know when the master of the house is coming: in the evening, at midnight, at the crowing of the rooster, or at dawn. 36Otherwise he may arrive suddenly and find you asleep. 37What I tell you, I tell everyone: Keep watch!”