Gospel of Luke Chapter Twenty-One

21:1 Then Jesus looked up and saw some wealthy people putting offerings into the Temple chests.
21:2 He then saw a poor widow offered two small copper coins.
21:3 He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow offered more than all of them.
21:4 For they all made offerings out of their surplus. But from her poverty she offered everything she had to live on.”
21:5 Then as some discussed how the Temple was decorated with beautiful stones and offerings, he said:
21:6 “With respect to what you see, the time will come when there won’t be one stone left upon another that won’t have been torn down.”
21:7 They asked him, “Teacher, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign indicating these things are about to happen?”
21:8 So he said, “See to it that you aren’t misled. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he, and the time is near.’ Don’t follow them.
21:9 When you hear of wars and uprisings, don’t be afraid. For these things must occur first, but the end isn’t immediate.”
21:10 Continuing, he said, “Tribe will rise against tribe and ruler against ruler.”
21:11 And there will be a great commotion, and in some places, plagues and famines. There will be terror and great signs from the sky.
21:12 But before any of these things, they will arrest you and persecute you. They will deliver you to the synagogues and prisons and bring you before chiefs and governors on account of me.
21:13 This will allow you the opportunity to give witness.
21:14 So keep this in mind – don’t prepare to defend yourselves beforehand.
21:15 Because I will give you the words and the wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute.
21:16 Yet you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends – and they will put some of you to death.
21:17 And you will be hated by everyone on account of me.
21:18 Yet not a hair of your head will perish.
21:19 By your determination you will gain your soul.
21:20 So when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her destruction is close.
21:21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains and those in the city should leave and those in the country mustn’t enter the city.
21:22 Because this is a time of consequences – so everything that is written will be fulfilled.
21:23 Woe to those who are pregnant – and to those nursing babies at that time. For there will be great distress within the region and terror to this nation.
21:24 Then they will fall by the sword and will be imprisoned by other nations. And Jerusalem will be crushed by the foreigners until the reign of the foreigners is completed.
21:25 There will be signs from the sun, moon and stars, and on the earth, and distress among the people, with confusion matching the roaring sea and waves.
21:26 People will faint from fear and the expectation of the things to come upon the empire – because the power of the heavens will be shaken.
21:27 Then they will see the Servant of Humanity appear in the spirit with power and great splendor.
21:28 So when these things start to happen, stand up and lift your heads, because your deliverance draws near.”
21:29 Then he told them an analogy: “Consider the fig tree and other trees:
21:30 As soon as they sprout leaves, you understand that summer is close.
21:31 Similarly, when you see these things occur, recognize that the sanctuary of God is readily available.
21:32 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things occur.
21:33 The sky and the earth will pass away, but my teachings will not pass away.
21:34 Be careful that your hearts will not be burdened with intoxication and drunkenness, and the anxieties of materialism – or that time will come upon you suddenly, like a trap.
21:35 Because it will come upon everyone who dwells on the face of the earth.
21:36 So stay on alert at all times, praying that you will have the strength to escape these things that will happen, so that you will remain in the presence of the Servant of Humanity.”
21:37 Thus during the day he taught in the Temple. But in the evening he would leave and spend the night on the hill called Mount of Olives.
21:38 And all the people got up early in the morning to come listen to him in the Temple.