Luke 21:9-32

⁹When you hear of wars and revolutions, don't be frightened, because these things have to happen first, but the end won't come immediately.

¹⁰Nation will fight nation, and kingdom will fight kingdom,” he told them.

¹¹“There will be severe earthquakes, famines, and epidemic diseases in many lands, and extraordinary signs in the sky that are terrifying.

¹²But before all this, they will seize you and persecute you. They will drag you before synagogues and throw you into prison, and put you on trial before kings and governors on account of me.

¹³But this will provide you an opportunity to speak on my behalf before them.

¹⁴So make up your mind beforehand not to worry about how to defend yourselves,

¹⁵for I will give you words of wisdom that your enemies won't be able to dispute or contradict.

¹⁶You will be betrayed even by your parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will kill some of you.

¹⁷Everyone will hate you because of me.

¹⁸But not a single hair of your head will be lost.

¹⁹By standing firm you will gain your lives.

²⁰However, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you know that its destruction is near.

²¹Those who are in Judea should run away to the mountains, and those who are in Jerusalem should leave, and those who are the countryside shouldn't enter the city.

²²For these are days of punishment, fulfilling all that's written.

²³How hard it will be for those who are pregnant or nursing babies at that time! For terrible trouble is coming on the land and punishment against this people.

²⁴They will be killed by the sword and taken away as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trodden down by the foreign nations until their time is fulfilled.

²⁵There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars, and on the earth the nations will be in distress, confused by the sea's rolling and crashing.

²⁶People will be faint from fear, terrified about what is happening to the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken.

²⁷Then they'll see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

²⁸But when these things happen, stand up and look up, because you will soon be saved.”

²⁹Then he told them this story as an illustration. “Look at the fig tree, or any other kind of tree.

³⁰When you see new leaves appear, you don't need to be told that summer is near.

³¹In the same way, when you see these things happening, you don't need to be told that God's kingdom is near.

³²I tell you the truth, this generation won't come to an end before all this happens.