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¹ As He was leaving the Temple, one of His disciples exclaimed, "Look, Rabbi, what wonderful stones! what wonderful buildings!"² "You see all these great buildings?" Jesus replied; "not one stone will be left here upon another--not thrown down."³ He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite to the Temple, when Peter, James, John, and Andrew, apart from the others asked Him,⁴ "Tell us, When will these things be? and what will be the sign when all these predictions are on the point of being fulfilled?"

⁵ So Jesus began to say to them: "Take care that no one misleads you.⁶ Many will come assuming my name and saying, `I am He;' and they will mislead many.⁷ But when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed: come they must, but the End is not yet.⁸ 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.⁹ "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.¹⁰ But the proclamation of the Good News must be carried to all the Gentiles before the End comes.¹¹ 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.¹² "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.¹³ 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.

¹⁴ "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;¹⁵ let him who is on the roof not come down and enter the house to fetch anything out of it;¹⁶ and let not him who is in the field turn back to pick up his outer garment.¹⁷ And alas for the women who at that time are with child or have infants!¹⁸ "But pray that it may not come in the winter.¹⁹ 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;²⁰ 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.²¹ "At that time if any one says to you, `See, here is the Christ!' or `See, He is there!' do not believe it.²² 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.²³ But as for yourselves, be on your guard: I have forewarned you of everything.

²⁴ "At that time, however, after that distress, the sun will be darkened and the moon will not shed her light;²⁵ the stars will be seen falling from the firmament, and the forces which are in the heavens will be disordered and disturbed.²⁶ And then will they see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.²⁷ 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.

²⁸ "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.²⁹ So also do you, when you see these things happening, be sure that He is near, at your very door.³⁰ I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place.³¹ Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my words will not pass away.³² "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.³³ Take care, be on the alert, and pray; for you do not know when it will happen.³⁴ 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.³⁵ 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.³⁶ Beware lest He should arrive unexpectedly and find you asleep.³⁷ Moreover, what I say to you I say to all--Be wakeful!"