Now Jesus departed from the temple and went on His way. And as He was going forth, some spake of the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and offerings. And His disciples came to Him to direct His attention to the buildings of the temple, and one of them saith to Him, "Teacher, behold what manner of stones and what manner of buildings!' But He answered and saith to them, "See ye not all these things, these great buildings? As for these things which ye see, verily I say to you, the days will come in which there will not be left here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down."

And as He was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, opposite the temple, the disciples, Peter and James and John and Andrew, came to Him privately and asked Him, saying, "Teacher, tell us when shall these things be? Also what shall be the sign when these things are about to be accomplished? And what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them, "Take heed that no one lead you astray. For many shall come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and 'The time hath come,' and shall lead many astray; go not after them. But take ye heed to yourselves; for before all these things, they shall lay their hands upon you and persecute you, and deliver you up to tribulation and to councils and to synagogues and to prison; and ye shall stand before governors and kings for My name's sake, for a testimony to them. And ye shall be beaten in synagogues, and they shall kill you; but it shall turn out to you for a testimony. And when they lead you away to deliver you up, settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to make defense, nor be anxious what ye shall speak; but whatever may be given you in that hour, that speak ye; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to withstand or to answer: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit. And then shall many become offended, and shall deliver up one another, and hate one another. And ye shall be delivered up even by parents and brothers and kindred and friends; and some of you, they will put to death. Yea, brother shall deliver up brother to death, and father his child; and children shall rise up against parents and put them to death. And ye shall be hated of all men of all the nations for My name's sake. But not a hair from your head shall perish. In your patient endurance, ye shall gain your souls.

"But when ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, where it should not (let him that readeth understand), and when ye see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know then that her desolation hath come. Then let those in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those in her midst depart out; and let not those in the country enter into her; and let not him that is upon the house-top go down nor enter in to take anything out of his house; and he that is in the field, let him not turn back to take his garment.

For these are days of vengeance, that all things that are written may be fulfilled. But woe to them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days. And pray ye that your flight may not be in winter, nor on the Sabbath. For those days shall be a time of great tribulation, such as there hath not been the like from the beginning of the creation which God created until this time, nor ever shall be again. And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days.

"Also many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. And then if any one say to you, 'Lo, here is the Christ,' or 'Lo, there'; believe it not: for false Christs and false prophets shall arise and shall show great signs and wonders as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. If, therefore, they shall say to you, 'Behold, he is in the wilderness'; go not forth: 'Behold, he is in the private chambers;' believe it not. For as the lightning cometh forth from the east and is seen even unto the west, so shall be the coming of the Son of man.

"But take ye heed; behold, I have told you all beforehand. Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. For there shall be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down by the Gentiles, till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

"Now when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars and tumults, be not troubled nor terrified; for these things must first come to pass; but the end is not immediately. Verily the gospel must first be preached to all the nations."

Then He said to them, "Nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences; and there shall be terrible sights and great signs from heaven. Now all these are a beginning of calamities. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near. "Then, because lawlessness shall be increased, the love of the greater number will grow cold; but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole inhabited earth, for a testimony to all the nations; and then shall the end come.

"But immediately after the tribulation of those days, there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars: the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken. And upon the earth there shall be distress of nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the billows; men fainting from fear and expectation of the things that are coming on the inhabited earth. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth lament, and they shall see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And then He shall send forth His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the end of the earth, from one end of the heavens to the other."

And He spake a parable to them; "Behold the fig tree, and all the trees; and learn the parable from the fig tree. When her branch is already become tender and putteth forth leaves, seeing it, ye know of yourselves the summer is near. So also ye, when ye see all these things coming to pass; know ye that the kingdom of God is near, at the doors. Verily I say to you, this race shall not become extinct till all these things are accomplished. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away.

"But of that day or the hour knoweth no one, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so will it be at the coming of the Son of man. For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and they knew not till the flood came and took them all away; so will it be at the coming of the Son of man.

"Then two men shall be in the field, one is taken and one is left; two women grinding at the mill, one is taken and one is left. But take heed to yourselves, watch (and pray), lest perhaps your hearts be burdened with surfeiting and drunkenness and anxieties of life, and that day come upon you suddenly as a snare; for ye know not when the time is; for it shall come upon all that dwell upon the face of all the earth.

"As a man going abroad left his house and gave authority to his servants, to each one his work, and commanded the doorkeeper to watch, therefore watch ye, for ye know not on what day your Lord, the Master of the house, cometh, nor whether at evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly, He find you sleeping. And what I say to you, I say to all, Watch. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through. Therefore, be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not, the Son of man cometh.

"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath set over his household to give them their food in season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say to you, he will set him over all that he hath. But if that evil servant shall say in his heart, 'My lord delayeth,' and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he is not expecting him, and in an hour when he knoweth not, and shall cut him asunder and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be the weeping and gnashing of teeth!"