11. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky.
12. “Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name.
13. It will lead to your giving testimony.
14. Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand,
15. for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute.
16. You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death.
17. You will be hated by all because of my name,
18. but not a hair on your head will be destroyed.
19. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.
20. “When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand.
21. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city,
22. for these days are the time of punishment when all the scriptures are fulfilled.
23. Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people.
24. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
25. “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves.
26. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand.”
29. He taught them a lesson. “Consider the fig tree and all the other trees.