Mark
13
- As he was leaving the temple, one of his
disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent
buildings !"
- "Do you see all these great buildings?"
replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be
thrown down."
- As Jesus 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?
And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled
?"
- Jesus said to them: "Watch out that no one
deceives you.
- Many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am
he,' and will deceive many.
- When you hear of wars and rumors of wars,
do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.
- Nation will rise against nation, and
kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and
famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.
- "You must be on your guard. You will be
handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of
me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
- And the gospel must first be preached to
all nations.
- Whenever you are arrested and brought to
trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given
you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
- "Brother will betray brother to death, and
a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them
put to death.
- All men will hate you because of me, but he
who stands firm to the end will be saved.
- "When you see 'the abomination that causes
desolation' standing where it does not belong--let the reader understand--then
let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
- Let no one on the roof of his house go down
or enter the house to take anything out.
- Let no one in the field go back to get his
cloak.
- How dreadful it will be in those days for
pregnant women and nursing mothers !
- Pray that this will not take place in
winter,
- because those will be days of distress
unequaled from the beginning, when God created the world, until now--and never
to be equaled again.
- If the Lord had not cut short those days,
no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom he has chosen, he
has shortened them.
- At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look,
here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it.
- For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles
to deceive the elect--if that were possible.
- So be on your guard; I have told you
everything ahead of time.
- "But in those days, following that
distress, "'the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
- the stars will fall from the sky, and the
heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
- "At that time men will see the Son of Man
coming in clouds with great power and glory.
- And he will send his angels and gather his
elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the
heavens.
- "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree:
As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer
is near.
- Even so, when you see these things
happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.
- I tell you the truth, this generation will
certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
- Heaven and earth will pass away, but my
words will never pass away.
- "No one knows about that day or hour, not
even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
- Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when
that time will come.
- It's like a man going away: He leaves his
house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells
the one at the door to keep watch.
- "Therefore keep watch because you do not
know when the owner of the house will come back--whether in the evening, or at
midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.
- If he comes suddenly, do not let him find
you sleeping.
- What I say to you, I say to everyone:
'Watch !'"
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