Signs of the End of the Age

JESUS left the temple and was walking away when HIS disciples came up to HIM to call HIS attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these things?" HE asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

       As JESUS was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to HIM privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of YOUR coming and of the end of the age?"

       JESUS answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in MY name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

       "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of ME. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

       "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader understand--then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time.

       "So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of THE SON OF MAN. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

       "Immediately after the distress of those days

       " 'the sun will be darkened,

          and the moon will not give its light;

       the stars will fall from the sky,

          and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

       "At that time the sign of THE SON OF MAN will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see THE SON OF MAN coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And HE will send HIS angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather HIS elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

       "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but MY words will never pass away.

Gospel of Matthew: chapter 24, verses 1 - 35

The Day and Hour Unknown

       "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor THE SON, but only THE FATHER. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of THE SON OF MAN. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of THE SON OF MAN. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

       "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your LORD will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because THE SON OF MAN will come at an hour when you do not expect HIM.

       "Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Gospel of Matthew: chapter 24, verses 36 - 51

Signs of the End of the Age

As HE was leaving the temple, one of HIS disciples said to HIM, "Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!"

       "Do you see all these great buildings?" replied JESUS. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

       As JESUS was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked HIM privately, "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?"

       JESUS said to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in MY name, claiming, 'I am he,' and will deceive many. When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains.

       "You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of ME you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations. Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but THE HOLY SPIRIT.

       "Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of ME, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

       "When you see 'the abomination that causes desolation' standing where it does not belong--let the reader understand--then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out. Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning, when GOD created the world, until now--and never to be equaled again. If THE LORD had not cut short those days, no one would survive. But for the sake of the elect, whom HE has chosen, HE has shortened them. At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'Look, there he is!' do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect--if that were possible. So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time.

       "But in those days, following that distress,

       " 'the sun will be darkened,

          and the moon will not give its light;

       the stars will fall from the sky,

          and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'

       "At that time men will see THE SON OF MAN coming in clouds with great power and glory. And HE will send HIS angels and gather HIS elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.

       "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but MY words will never pass away.

Gospel of Mark: chapter 13, verses 1 - 31

The Day and Hour Unknown

       "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor THE SON, but only THE FATHER. Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. It's like a man going away: He leaves his house and puts his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the door to keep watch.

       "Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back--whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you. I say to everyone: 'Watch!' "

Gospel of Mark: chapter 13, verses 32 - 37

Signs of the End of the Age

       Some of HIS disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to GOD. But JESUS said, "As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down."

       "TEACHER," they asked, "when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are about to take place?"

       HE replied: "Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in MY name, claiming, 'I am he,' and, 'The time is near!' Do not follow them. When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be frightened. These things must happen first, but the end will not come right away."

       Then HE said to them: "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.

       "But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of MY name. This will result in your being witnesses to them. But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. All men will hate you because of ME. But not a hair of your head will perish. By standing firm you will gain life.

       "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

       "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see THE SON OF MAN coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

       HE told them this parable: "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of GOD is near.

       "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but MY words will never pass away.

       "Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before THE SON OF MAN."

       Each day JESUS was teaching at the temple, and each evening HE went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives, and all the people came early in the morning to hear HIM at the temple.

Gospel of Luke: chapter 21, verses 5 - 38