Luke 21

₁Jesus looked round and saw rich people dropping their gifts in the temple treasury, ₂and he also saw a very poor widow dropping in two little copper coins. ₃He said, “I tell you that this poor widow put in more than all the others. ₄For the others offered their gifts from what they had to spare of their riches; but she, poor as she is, gave all she had to live on.”

₅Some of the disciples were talking about the Temple, how beautiful it looked with its fine stones and the gifts offered to God. Jesus said, ₆“All this you see — the time will come when not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one will be thrown down.”

₇“Teacher,” they asked, “when will this be? And what will happen in order to show that the time has come for it to take place?”

₈Jesus said, “Be on guard; don't be deceived. Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time has come!’ But don't follow them. ₉Don't be afraid when you hear of wars and revolutions; such things must happen first, but they do not mean that the end is near.”

₁₀He went on to say, “Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. ₁₁There will be terrible earthquakes, famines, and plagues everywhere; there will be strange and terrifying things coming from the sky. ₁₂Before all these things take place, however, you will be arrested and persecuted; you will be handed over to be tried in synagogues and be put in prison; you will be brought before kings and rulers for my sake. ₁₃This will be your chance to tell the Good News. ₁₄Make up your minds beforehand not to worry about how you will defend yourselves, ₁₅because I will give you such words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to refute or contradict what you say. ₁₆You will be handed over by your parents, your brothers, your relatives, and your friends; and some of you will be put to death. ₁₇Everyone will hate you because of me. ₁₈But not a single hair from your heads will be lost. ₁₉Stand firm, and you will save yourselves.

₂₀“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that it will soon be destroyed. ₂₁Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills; those who are in the city must leave, and those who are out in the country must not go into the city. ₂₂For those will be ‘The Days of Punishment’, to make all that the Scriptures say come true. ₂₃How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for mothers with little babies! Terrible distress will come upon this land, and God's punishment will fall on this people. ₂₄Some will be killed by the sword, and others will be taken as prisoners to all countries; and the heathen will trample over Jerusalem until their time is up.

₂₅“There will be strange things happening to the sun, the moon, and the stars. On earth whole countries will be in despair, afraid of the roar of the sea and the raging tides. ₂₆People will faint from fear as they wait for what is coming over the whole earth, for the powers in space will be driven from their courses. ₂₇Then the Son of Man will appear, coming in a cloud with great power and glory. ₂₈When these things begin to happen, stand up and raise your heads, because your salvation is near.”

₂₉Then Jesus told them this parable: “Think of the fig tree and all the other trees. ₃₀When you see their leaves beginning to appear, you know that summer is near. ₃₁In the same way, when you see these things happening, you will know that the Kingdom of God is about to come.

₃₂“Remember that all these things will take place before the people now living have all died. ₃₃Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

₃₄“Be on your guard! Don't let yourselves become occupied with too much feasting and drinking and with the worries of this life, or that Day may suddenly catch you ₃₅like a trap. For it will come upon all people everywhere on earth. ₃₆Be on the alert and pray always that you will have the strength to go safely through all those things that will happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”

₃₇Jesus spent those days teaching in the Temple, and when evening came, he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives. ₃₈Early each morning all the people went to the Temple to listen to him.