23. It will be an awful time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children! Everywhere in the land people will suffer horribly and be punished.
24. Some of them will be killed by swords. Others will be carried off to foreign countries. Jerusalem will be overrun by foreign nations until their time comes to an end.
25. Strange things will happen to the sun, moon, and stars. The nations on earth will be afraid of the roaring sea and tides, and they won't know what to do.
26. People will be so frightened that they will faint because of what is happening to the world. Every power in the sky will be shaken.
27. Then the Son of Man will be seen, coming in a cloud with great power and glory.
28. When all this starts happening, stand up straight and be brave. You will soon be set free.
29. Then Jesus told them a story:When you see a fig tree or any other tree
30. putting out leaves, you know that summer will soon come.
31. So, when you see these things happening, you know that God's kingdom will soon be here.
32. You can be sure that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this takes place.
33. The sky and the earth won't last for ever, but my words will.