Mark 13

1And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!

2And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,

4Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?

5And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:

6For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

7And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

8For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

9But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them.

10And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

11But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.

12Now the brother shall betray the brother to death, and the father the son; and children shall rise up against their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.

13And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

14But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judæa flee to the mountains:

15And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house:

16And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.

17But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

18And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.

19For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.

20And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.

21And then if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ; or, lo, he is there; believe him not:

22For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.

23But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

24But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light,

25And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

26And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

27And then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.

28Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

29So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors.

30Verily I say unto you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

31Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

32But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.

33Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.

34For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch.

35Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning:

36Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.

37And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.

Temple Destruction and Other Signs

1As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look at the magnificent stones and buildings!”

2“Do you see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, 4“Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to be fulfilled?”

5Jesus began by telling them, “See to it that no one deceives you. 6Many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am He,’ and will deceive many. 7When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come. 8Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, as well as famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

Witnessing to All Nations

9So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations. 11But when they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand what to say. Instead, speak whatever you are given at that time, for it will not be you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

12Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against their parents and have them put to death. 13You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation

14So when you see the abomination of desolationfootnote a standing where it should not befootnote b (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from his house. 16And let no one in the field return for his cloak.

17How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! 18Pray that this will not occur in the winter. 19For those will be days of tribulation unseen from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and never to be seen again. 20If the Lord had not cut short those days, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has cut them short.

21At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. 22For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. 23So be on your guard; I have told you everything in advance.

The Return of the Son of Man

24But in those days, after that tribulation:‘The sun will be darkened,and the moon will not give its light; 25the stars will fall from the sky,and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’footnote c

26At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.footnote d 27And He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

28Now learn this lessonfootnote e from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. 29So also, when you see these things happening, know that He is near,footnote f right at the door. 30Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. 31Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

Readiness at Any Hour

32No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33Be on your guard and stay alert!footnote g For you do not know when the appointed time will come.

34It is like a man going on a journey who left his house, put each servant in charge of his own task, and instructed the doorkeeper to keep watch. 35Therefore keep watch, because you do not know when the master of the house will return—whether in the evening, at midnight, when the rooster crows, or in the morning. 36Otherwise, he may arrive without notice and find you sleeping. 37And what I say to you, I say to everyone: Keep watch!”