1. Jesus was leaving the Temple. One of his followers said to him, “Look, Teacher! This Temple has beautiful buildings with very big stones.”
2. Jesus said, “Do you see all these great buildings? Every stone will be thrown to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.”
3. Later, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. He was alone with Peter, James, John, and Andrew. They could all see the Temple. They asked Jesus,
4. “Tell us, when will all these things happen? And what will show us that the time has come for them to happen?”
5. Jesus said to them: “Be careful that no one fools you.
6. Many people will come and use my name. They will say, ‘I am the One.’ And they will fool many.
7. You will hear about wars and stories of wars that are coming. But don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes.
8. Nations will fight against other nations. Kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat. And there will be earthquakes in different places. These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.
9. “You must be careful. People will arrest you and take you to court. They will beat you in their synagogues. You will be forced to stand before kings and governors, to tell them about me. This will happen to you because you follow me.
10. But before these things happen, the Good News must be told to all people.
11. When you are arrested and judged, don’t worry about what you should say. Say the things God gives you to say at that time. It will not really be you speaking. It will be the Holy Spirit.
12. “Brothers will turn against their own brothers and give them over to be killed. Fathers will turn against their own children and give them over to be killed. Children will fight against their own parents and cause their parents to be killed.
13. All people will hate you because you follow me. But the person who continues to be strong until the end will be saved.
14. “You will see ‘the horrible thing that destroys.’ You will see this thing standing in the place where it should not be.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) “At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains.