When the Temple Will Be Destroyed and the Signs of the End
1Jesus left the temple. He was walking away when his disciples came up to him. They wanted to call his attention to the temple buildings. 2“Do you see all these things?” Jesus asked. “What I’m about to tell you is true. Not one stone here will be left on top of another. Every stone will be thrown down.”
3Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. There the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us,” they said. “When will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming? What will be the sign of the end?”
4Jesus answered, “Keep watch! Be careful that no one fools you. 5Many will come in my name. They will claim, ‘I am the Messiah!’ They will fool many people. 6You will hear about wars. You will also hear people talking about future wars. Don’t be alarmed. Those things must happen. But the end still isn’t here. 7Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. People will go hungry. There will be earthquakes in many places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9“Then people will hand you over to be treated badly and killed. All nations will hate you because of me. 10At that time, many will turn away from their faith. They will hate each other. They will hand each other over to their enemies. 11Many false prophets will appear. They will fool many people. 12Because evil will grow, most people’s love will grow cold. 13But the one who remains strong in the faith will be saved. 14This good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world. It will be a witness to all nations. Then the end will come.
15“The prophet Daniel spoke about ‘the hated thing that destroys.’ (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Someday you will see it standing in the holy place. The reader should understand this. 16Then those who are in Judea should escape to the mountains. 17No one on the housetop should go down into the house to take anything out. 18No one in the field should go back to get their coat. 19How awful it will be in those days for pregnant women! How awful for nursing mothers! 20Pray that you will not have to escape in winter or on the Sabbath day. 21There will be terrible suffering in those days. It will be worse than any other from the beginning of the world until now. And there will never be anything like it again.
22“If the time had not been cut short, no one would live. But because of God’s chosen people, it will be shortened. 23At that time someone may say to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ Or, ‘There he is!’ Do not believe it. 24False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will do great signs and miracles. They will try to fool God’s chosen people if possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.
26“So if anyone tells you, ‘He is a long way out in the desert,’ do not go out there. Or if anyone says, ‘He is deep inside the house,’ do not believe it. 27Lightning that comes from the east can be seen in the west. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 28The vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.
29“Right after the terrible suffering of those days,
“ ‘The sun will be darkened.
The moon will not shine.
The stars will fall from the sky.
The heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ (Isaiah 13:10; 34:4)
30“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. At that time, all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. He will come with power and great glory. 31He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call. They will gather his chosen people from all four directions. They will bring them from one end of the heavens to the other.
32“Learn a lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you know that the end is near. It is right at the door. 34What I’m about to tell you is true. The people living now will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will never pass away.
The Day and Hour Are Not Known
36“But no one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows. 37Remember how it was in the days of Noah. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 38In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking. They were getting married. They were giving their daughters to be married. They did all those things right up to the day Noah entered the ark. 39They knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40Two men will be in the field. One will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill. One will be taken and the other left.
42“So keep watch. You do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43You must understand something. Suppose the owner of the house knew what time of night the robber was coming. Then he would have kept watch. He would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at an hour when you don’t expect him.
45“Suppose a master puts one of his slaves in charge of the other slaves in his house. The slave’s job is to give them their food at the right time. The master wants a faithful and wise slave for this. 46It will be good for the slave if the master finds him doing his job when the master returns. 47What I’m about to tell you is true. The master will put that slave in charge of everything he owns. 48But suppose that slave is evil. Suppose he says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time.’ 49Suppose he begins to beat the other slaves. And suppose he eats and drinks with those who drink too much. 50The master of that slave will come back on a day the slave doesn’t expect him. He will return at an hour the slave does not know. 51Then the master will cut him to pieces. He will send him to the place where pretenders go. There people will weep and grind their teeth.
預言聖殿被毀
1耶穌離開聖殿時，門徒上前把宏偉的聖殿指給祂看。 2耶穌對他們說：「你們看見這殿宇了嗎？我實在告訴你們，將來它要被完全拆毀，在這裡找不到兩塊疊在一起的石頭。」
世界末日的預兆
3耶穌正坐在橄欖山上，門徒私下來問祂：「請告訴我們，這事什麼時候會發生？你再來和世界末日的時候會有什麼預兆？」
4耶穌回答說：「你們要小心，免得被人迷惑。 5因為將來會有許多人冒我的名而來，說『我是基督』，欺騙許多人。 6你們聽見戰爭爆發、戰訊頻傳時，不要驚慌，因為這些事必然發生，只是末日還沒有到。 7民族將與民族互鬥，國家將與國家相爭，各處將有饑荒和地震。 8這些只是災難24·8 「災難」希臘文是「生產之痛」。的開始。
9「那時，你們將遭人迫害、殺害，並因我的名而被萬民憎恨。 10那時，許多人會放棄信仰，互相出賣，彼此憎恨。 11許多假先知也會出現，迷惑許多人。 12由於罪惡氾濫，許多人的愛逐漸冷淡。 13但堅忍到底的必定得救。 14這天國的福音將傳遍天下，讓萬民都聽見，然後末日才會來臨。
15「當你們看見但以理先知所說的『那帶來毀滅的可憎之物』站立在聖地的時候（讀者須會意）， 16住在猶太地區的人要趕快逃到山上去， 17在屋頂上的人不要下來進屋收拾行李， 18在田間工作的人也不要回家取外衣。 19那時，孕婦和哺育嬰兒的母親們可就遭殃了！ 20你們要祈求上帝，不要讓你們在冬天或安息日逃難， 21因為那時世上將有空前絕後的大災難。 22如果不縮短災期，恐怕沒有人能活命。但為了選民的緣故，災期必被縮短。
23「那時，如果有人對你們說，『看啊！基督在這裡』，或說，『基督在那裡』，你們不要相信。 24因為假基督和假先知將出現，行很大的神蹟奇事來迷惑人，如果可能，甚至要迷惑上帝揀選的子民。 25你們要記住，我已經預先告訴你們了。
26「因此，如果有人對你們說，『看啊！基督在曠野』，你們不要出去；或者說，『看啊！基督在屋裡』，你們也不要相信。 27人子降臨時的情形就像閃電從東方發出一直照到西方。 28屍體在哪裡，禿鷹就會聚集在哪裡。
29「當災難的日子一過，
『太陽變黑，
月亮無光，
眾星隕落，
天體震動。』
30「那時，天上會出現人子降臨的預兆，地上的萬族都要哀哭，他們將看見人子帶著能力和極大的榮耀駕著天上的雲降臨。 31在響亮的號聲中，祂將差遣天使從四面八方、天涯海角招聚祂揀選的人。
無花果樹的比喻
32「你們可以從無花果樹學個道理。當無花果樹發芽長葉的時候，你們就知道夏天快來了。 33同樣，當你們看見這一切事發生時，就知道人子快來了，就在門口。 34我實在告訴你們，這個世代還沒有過去，這一切都要發生。 35天地都要過去，但我的話永遠長存。
警醒準備
36「但沒有人知道那日子和時辰何時來到，連天上的天使也不知道，人子24·36 「人子」希臘文是「子」。也不知道，只有天父知道。 37人子降臨時的情形就像挪亞的時代。 38洪水來臨之前，人們吃吃喝喝，男婚女嫁，一直到挪亞進方舟那天； 39他們懵然不知，直到洪水來把他們全沖走了。人子降臨時的情形也是這樣。 40那時，兩個人在田裡，一個將被接去，一個將被撇下； 41兩個婦人推磨，一個將被接去，一個將被撇下。 42所以，你們要警醒，因為你們不知道你們的主會在哪一天來。 43你們都知道，如果一家的主人知道賊會在半夜幾點來，就必警醒，不讓賊入屋偷竊。 44同樣，你們也要做好準備，因為在你們意想不到的時候，人子就來了。
兩種奴僕
45「誰是那個受主人委託管理家中大小僕役、按時分糧食給他們、又忠心又精明的奴僕呢？ 46主人回家時，看見他盡忠職守，他就有福了。 47我實在告訴你們，主人一定會把所有產業都交給他管理。 48但如果奴僕邪惡，以為主人不會那麼快回來， 49就毆打同伴，跟醉漢一起吃喝玩樂， 50主人會在他想不到的日子、不知道的時辰回來， 51嚴厲地懲罰24·51 「嚴厲地懲罰」或作「腰斬」。他，判他和偽君子同樣的罪。他必在那裡哀哭切齒。
