Mark 13:1-20

As Jesus was leaving the Temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Teacher, look at these massive stones and magnificent buildings!” “You see all these great buildings?” Jesus replied. “Not one stone will be left on top of another. Everything will be torn down.” As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives overlooking the Temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked him in private, “Tell us: When this will happen? What's the sign that all this is about to be fulfilled?” Jesus began telling them, “Make sure no one deceives you. Many will come in my name claiming, ‘I am the Christ.’ They will deceive many people. Don't be troubled when you hear of wars nearby and wars far away. These things must happen but this is not the end. Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines too. These are the beginnings of the world's birth pains. Watch out for yourselves! They will hand you over to the courts to be tried. You will be beaten in synagogues. Because of me you will have to stand before governors and kings, and you will be witnesses to them. The good news must first be announced in every nation. When they come to arrest you and put you on trial, don't worry about what to say. Just say what you're told at that time, because it's not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father will betray his child. Children will turn against their parents and have them condemned to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but whoever endures until the end will be saved. But when you see the ‘idolatry that causes devastation’ standing where it shouldn't be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea should run to the mountains. Those who are on the roof—don't go back inside the house to get anything. Those who are out in the fields—don't go home to get a coat. How hard it will be for those who are pregnant or nursing at that time! Pray that this won't happen during the winter. For these will be days of trouble like never before since the beginning of God's creation until now, and they won't ever come again. If God doesn't cut short these days, no one will survive. However, for the sake of those God has chosen, he has cut them short.