Mark 13:14-37 ▼

14 |So when you see the destructive desecration standing where it should not be (let the reader take note), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

15 The one who is on his housetop must not come down and go into his house to take anything out of it,

16 and the one who's in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

17 |How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days!

18 Pray that it may not be in winter,

19 because those days will be a time of suffering, a kind that has not happened from the beginning of God's creation until now, and certainly will never happen again.

20 If the Lord had not shortened those days, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect whom he has chosen, he has shortened those days.

21 |At that time, if anyone says to you, 'Look! Here is the Messiah!', or, 'Look! There he is!' don't believe it,

22 because false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and omens to deceive, if possible, the elect.

23 So be on your guard! I've told you everything before it happens.|

24 |But after the suffering of those days, 'The sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light,

25 the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken loose.'

26 Then people will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds' with great power and glory.

27 He'll send out his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.|

28 |Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches become tender and it produces leaves, you know that summer is near.

29 In the same way, when you see these things taking place, you will know that the Son of Man is near, right at the door.

30 I tell all of you with certainty, this generation will not disappear until all these things take place.

31 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.|

32 |No one knows when that day or hour will come —not the angels in heaven, not the Son, but only the Father.

33 Be careful! Watch out! Because you don't know when the time will come.

34 It's like a man who went on a trip. As he left home, he put his servants in charge, each with his own work, and he ordered the doorkeeper to be alert.

35 So keep on watching, because you don't know when the master of the house is coming—whether in the evening, at three o'clock in the morning, or at dawn.

36 Otherwise, he may come suddenly and find you asleep.

37 I'm telling you what I'm telling everyone: Be alert!|