And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

So, while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came up to him privately and said: "Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign of your Coming, and of the close of the age."

And Jesus answering said to them, See that no one mislead you.

because many will come in my name and say, "I'm the Messiah,' and they will deceive many people.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

and because of the prevalent disregard of God's law the love of the great majority will grow cold;

And this good news concerning the kingdom [of heaven] will be preached to people throughout the world as a testimony [of God's message] to all nations. Then, [after that] the end [i.e., of Jerusalem, the Temple, etc.] will come.

When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Anyone who's on the housetop must not come down to get what is in his house,

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

And say a prayer that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.

for the desolation will be so dreadful, the like was never seen since the beginning of the world, no, nor ever shall be again.

And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Listen carefully, I have told you in advance.

Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Wherever there's a corpse, there the vultures will gather.

"But immediately after the terrible trouble of those days, [i.e., the next major event on God's calendar], the sun will become dark, and [therefore] the moon will not [be able to] shed its [reflected] light. The stars will fall from the sky and the forces of the heavens will be shaken [Note: From the description of these same events in Luke 21:25-26, it is possible that this is figurative language for great calamities happening on the earth].

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

And He will send out His angels [i.e., as messengers] with the sound of a great trumpet [See I Thess. 4:16] to gather His elect [i.e., God's people] from all directions, [even] from throughout the whole world. [Note: See Mark 13:27, which suggests this thought by its use of 'earth' and 'sky']

Now learn a parable from the fig-tree: when it's branch is tender and bringeth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh;

So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

[Although] the sky and the earth will pass away [See II Pet. 3:10], my words will not pass away [i.e., they will certainly come true].

But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

At that time there will be two men [working] in a field; one will be taken [i.e., to be with the Lord. See I Thess. 4:17], while the other one will be left [i.e., to be punished by the Lord. See II Thess. 1:7-9].

"So keep on watching, because you don't know on what day your Lord is coming.

But you should know this: if the owner of a house had known when a thief was coming, he would have been watching so as not to allow his house to be broken into.

So you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you are not expecting."

Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know.

"Then the kingdom of heaven will be similar to ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the [bride and] groom. [Note: The picture here is that of a newly married couple returning from a festive reception to the groom's home where they continued celebrating and were welcomed by a late evening wedding party]

The bridegroom was a long time in coming, so that meanwhile they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

“In the middle of the night there was a shout: ‘Here’s the groom! Come out to meet him.’

But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.

"So they went to buy. But meanwhile the bridegroom came; those bridesmaids who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet; and the door was shut.

But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

So keep on watching, because you don't know the day or the hour."

"For the kingdom of heaven is similar to a man who planned to go on a trip to a distant country, so called his servants and entrusted to each of them a large sum of money [Note: The narrative that follows suggests that the man was turning over some of his assets to financial managers to invest for him].

He gave one servant five talents [Note: This 'talent' was a large sum of money in the form of a certain weight of silver. It was the equivalent of sixty years of a farm laborer's wages, or about $750,000 in income]. He gave two talents to another servant and one talent to another. He gave to each one an amount in keeping with his ability [to invest it wisely], and then left on his trip.

So, too, the man who had received the twelve hundred pounds made another twelve hundred.

But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money.

And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’

And the one [who had] the two talents also came up [and] said, 'Master, you handed over to me two talents. See, I have gained two talents more!'

“His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’

And he also that had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man, reaping where thou didst not sow, and gathering where thou didst not scatter;

So I was afraid [to lose the talent], and I went and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is your own.’

'And his lord answering said to him, Evil servant, and slothful, thou hadst known that I reap where I did not sow, and I gather whence I did not scatter!

Your duty then was to deposit my money in some bank, and so when I came I should have got back my property with interest.

So take the talent away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

“For to everyone who has [and values his blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], more will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away.

So when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon his glorious throne:

Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me [with help and ministering care]; I was in prison, and you came to Me [ignoring personal danger].’

Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

Here's why: I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink.

Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.

So they shall depart to eternal punishment, and the just to eternal life."

"You know that the Passover Festival will be celebrated in two more days [Note: This was the annual Jewish festival commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egyptian bondage under Moses' leadership], and the Son of man will be turned over to be crucified."

And they consulted so that they might take Jesus by guile and kill Him.

But they were saying, "Not during the feast, so that there will not be an uproar among the people."

But Jesus being in Bethany, in Simon the leper's house,

a woman with an alabaster [i.e., stone] jar of very expensive perfume came to Him and poured it on His head as He reclined at the dinner table. [Note: See Matt. 23:6]

But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?

But Jesus was aware [of what they were up to], so said, "Why are you bothering this woman? For she has done a kind deed to me.

For, she, pouring this perfume upon my body, so as to prepare me for burial, did it.

Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be told for a memorial of her.

[and] said, "What are you willing to give me if I in turn deliver him to you?" So they set out for him thirty silver coins.

So, from then on Judas looked for a [good] opportunity to turn Jesus over [to the Jewish leaders].

On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare the Passover so You may eat it?”

And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.

So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.

When the evening was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they ate he said, Verily I say to you, One of you will betray me.

And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I?

The Son of man goes, even as the Writings say of him: but a curse is on that man through whom the Son of man is given up; it would have been well for that man if he had never come into the world.

Then Judas, who was going to betray him, asked, "Rabbi, I'm not the one, am I?" Jesus told him, "You have said so."

And as they were eating, Jesus took a [small] loaf of bread, asked God's blessing on it, then broke it and gave pieces to His disciples and said, "Take some and eat it; this is [i.e., represents] my [physical] body."

But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.

So they sang the hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them, "You will all desert me tonight, for the Scriptures say, 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.'

Peter replied to Him, “Though they all fall away because of You [and doubt and disown You], I will never fall away!”

Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

Peter says to him, Even if I am put to death with you, I will not be false to you. So said all the disciples.

And he took Peter and Zebedee's two sons with him, and he began to show grief and distress of mind.

Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and stay awake and keep watch with Me.”

Then He walked on a few steps and threw Himself upon His face, and in this attitude continued to pray, and say, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass by me; and yet, I pray, not what I want but what you want."

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them sleeping, and he saith to Peter, 'So! ye were not able one hour to watch with me!