Chapter 13

   As He was leaving the Temple, one of His disciples exclaimed, 'Look, Rabbi, what wonderful stones! what wonderful buildings!'  

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   'You see all these great buildings?' Jesus replied; 'not one stone will be left here upon another--not thrown down.'  

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   He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite to the Temple, when Peter, James, John, and Andrew, apart from the others asked Him,  

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   'Tell us, When will these things be? and what will be the sign when all these predictions are on the point of being fulfilled?'  

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   So Jesus began to say to them: 'Take care that no one misleads you.  

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   Many will come assuming my name and saying, 'I am He;' and they will mislead many.  

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   But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed: come they must, but the End is not yet.  

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   For nation will rise in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. These miseries are but like the early pains of childbirth.  

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   'You yourselves must be on your guard. They will deliver you up to Sanhedrins; you will be brought into synagogues and cruelly beaten; and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to be witnesses to them for me.  

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   But the proclamation of the Good News must be carried to all the Gentiles before the End comes.  

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   When however they are marching you along under arrest, do not be anxious beforehand about what you are to say, but speak what is given you when the time comes; for it will not be you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.  

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   'Brother will betray brother to be killed, and fathers will betray children; and children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.  

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   You will be objects of universal hatred because you are called by my name, but those who stand firm to the End will be saved.  

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   'As soon, however, as you see the Abomination of Desolation standing where he ought not' --let the reader observe these words--'then let those in Judaea escape to the hills;  

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   let him who is on the roof not come down and enter the house to fetch anything out of it;  

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   and let not him who is in the field turn back to pick up his outer garment.  

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   And alas for the women who at that time are with child or have infants!  

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   'But pray that it may not come in the winter.  

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   For those will be times of suffering the like of which has never been from the first creation of God's world until now, and assuredly never will be again;  

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   and but for the fact that the Lord has cut short those days, no one would escape; but for the sake of His own People whom He has chosen for Himself He has cut short the days.  

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   'At that time if any one says to you, 'See, here is the Christ!' or 'See, He is there!' do not believe it.  

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   For there will rise up false Christs and false prophets, displaying signs and prodigies with a view to lead astray--if indeed that were possible--even God's own People.  

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   But as for yourselves, be on your guard: I have forewarned you of everything.  

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   'At that time, however, after that distress, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not shed her light;  

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   the stars will be seen falling from the firmament, and the forces which are in the heavens will be disordered and disturbed.  

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   And then will they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.  

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   Then He will send forth the angels and gather together His chosen People from north, south, east and west, from the remotest parts of the earth and the sky.  

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   'Learn from the fig-tree the lesson it teaches. As soon as its branch has become soft and it is bursting into leaf, you know that summer is near.  

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   So also do you, when you see these things happening, be sure that He is near, at your very door.  

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   I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place.  

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   Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my words will not pass away.  

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   'But as to that day or the exact time no one knows--not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.  

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   Take care, be on the alert, and pray; for you do not know when it will happen.  

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   It is like a man living abroad who has left his house, and given the management to his servants--to each one his special duty--and has ordered the porter to keep awake.  

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   Be wakeful therefore, for you know not when the master of the house is coming--in the evening, at midnight, at cock-crow, or at dawn.  

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   Beware lest He should arrive unexpectedly and find you asleep.  

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   Moreover, what I say to you I say to all--Be wakeful!'  

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