Jesus Telling of Dark Days to Come
CHAPTER 81
JESUS WALKED across the Court of the Gentiles or Strangers, the large outer court of the Temple, toward the Mount of Olives. On that side of the court stood Solomon's Porch, a double row of pillars, having a roof above to shield it from the sun. Under this porch they stepped down a marble staircase to pass out of the Temple grounds through a gate called "The Golden Gate." As they drew near this gate the disciples called his attention to the great stones in the wall, the pillars and the splendid buildings around.
"Are you looking at these stones and buildings?" said Jesus. "I tell you now, that the time is coming, and not far away, when all of these stones shall be torn apart, and of these fine buildings not one stone shall be left standing in its place; all shall be thrown down!"
The disciples heard these words with alarm and sadness. They knew that their Lord spoke as a prophet; and whatever he said would be sure to come to pass. But they looked upon Jerusalem as the holy city, and upon the Temple as the house of God. To them, the fall of the city and the Temple seemed like the end of the whole world. They walked after Jesus in silence across the valley of the brook Kedron and up the steep sides of the Mount of Olives. On its top they sat down to rest, and looked over the valley at the city, its towers and roofs rising in their view. While they were sitting on the mountain, Peter and Andrew, with the brothers James and John, came to Jesus, and said to him:
"Tell us, Master, what your words mean, and when these terrible things will come to pass? Are you going away, and then coming back again? How may we know when to look for you?"
Then, sitting on the mountain, with the twelve disciples around him, Jesus gave a long talk about the things that were to come. He began by warning them against following after men claiming to be Christ, the King of Israel.
"Take care," he said, "that no one lead you astray. For many will come saying, 'I am Christ, the King of Israel,' and they will lead away many people. But do not follow any of these false Christs.
"You will hear of wars that have come, and reports of wars that are coming; but do not be frightened. These must come, but they are not the end. Nation shall make war with nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and you shall hear of earthquakes in many places; and times shall come when there will be no bread for the hungry to eat. But all these are only the beginnings of the trouble; and the worst is yet to come.
