Diatessaron (Harmony) of the Olivet Discourse by Section.
Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, in Original Order
RCW, Edited 2024.06-25. From my own translations.
- Jesus was leaving the Temple and some of His disciples were admiring the beauty and perfection of the Temple stones and buildings, and the adornments given as gifts. They pointed this out to Jesus. One said, “Rabbi, Look! What country did these stones and buildings come from?” Jesus responded by saying, “I tell you the truth. Everything that you see now will be thrown down, not a single stone will be left one on top of another.”
- Later, as Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, facing the Temple, four disciples, Peter, James, John and Andrew, came to Him privately and asked: “Master, tell us when all this will happen. What warning signs will precede these events, to indicate that it is about to happen? And what is the sign of Your arrival and the conclusion of the eon?”
- Jesus answered, “Be alert! Let no one deceive you. Many will come in My name, saying ‘I am the Messiah! I am here and the season is almost here.’ They will deceive many. Do not follow them. You will soon hear of wars and revolts, do not allow yourselves to be alarmed or even worried. These things must happen first, but the conclusion comes later. Race will be aroused against race, and nation will rise up against nation. There will be large earthquakes in different places, and famines and pestilences. There will be frightening sights and great signs in the sky. All these things are like the beginnings of the contractions of childbirth.”
- But before all these things, you will be persecuted, betrayed, and arrested and delivered into intense distress. You will be taken before councils, condemned, and whipped in synagogues. You will be accused and led before kings and legal authorities on account of Me. You will be a testimony to them. Many will be entrapped. They will betray each other and hate each other. They will kill some of you. You will be betrayed by parents and brothers and relatives and friends. Brother will betray brother to death. Father will betray son; children will rise up and cause their parents to be put to death. You will be hated by all races because of My name. When they arrest you, do not think about what you will say in your own defense. Determine in your hearts that you will not prepare for your defense. Speak only what is given to you to say for it will be the Holy Spirit speaking, not you. For I will place in your mouth words of wisdom which those opposing you cannot contradict or deny. Many fake prophets will arise, and they will deceive many. And because lawlessness will be multiplied, many will lose the ability to love. And you will be hated by everyone because of My name, yet not one hair of your head will perish. By patience you will be acquiring possession of your souls. The one who endures to the end will be rescued. It is necessary that the Gospel be proclaimed in all inhabited lands, as a witness to all races, first; then the conclusion will come.
- When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by war camps, know that her desolation has come. You will know this because you will see the ‘Abomination of the Desolation’, the one having stood in the holy place where it should not be, as mentioned by Daniel. Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those in Jerusalem must flee to the wilderness. Those outside of the city must not enter the city. The one on the roof should leave immediately, without taking any time to retrieve anything from his house. The one in the field should leave immediately without going back to get his clothes. Woe to those who are pregnant, and to those still nursing infants in those days. Pray that you will not have to flee in winter or on a Sabbath. These are days of vengeance, and all of the things written about this will be fulfilled. There will be great need in the land and great wrath against the Jewish people. Wherever the carcass is, the eagles will be gathered. There will be very intense affliction, unprecedented in all history, worse than any that has ever occurred since the Creation, and it will not be surpassed in the future. And if the Lord does not limit those days, no flesh would be spared; but for the sake of His chosen ones, He will limit those days. The Jews will be killed by sword, taken captive into all the peoples, and Jerusalem will be trampled by the races until the season of the races is fulfilled.
- “If anyone says, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ Do not believe it. For fake Messiahs and fake prophets will rise up, and they will perform great signs and miracles so that they might possibly deceive even the chosen ones. Be Alert! Look! I have told you all this before it will happen. If they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness’, do not go out to them. Or, ‘Look! He is in the storage rooms’, do not believe it.
- Immediately after the intense affliction of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will give no moonbeams and the stars will fall from the sky. The powers of the heavens will be shaken. On the land there will be distress among the nations and anxious confusion, for the waves of the sea will roar. Men will die of fear and be full of apprehension about the things about to happen to the inhabited lands, because the powers of the heavens were shaken. Like lightning coming from the east and crossing over to the west, the Son of Man will arrive.
- Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the families of the earth will grieve. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with much power and glory. He will send His angels with a loud trumpet blast and they will assemble His chosen ones from the four directions to the very extreme ends of land and sky. When these things begin to come to pass, straighten up! Lift up your heads because your freedom is approaching!
- Then Jesus told them a parable. “Consider this parable of the fig tree. Notice the fig tree, and all the trees. When their branches are tender and leaves are all budding, you know that summer is approaching. So, you also, when you notice these things beginning to occur, you will know that Jesus is almost here, right at the door, and the Kingdom of God is about to commence. I am telling you the truth. This generation alive right now will not pass away until all these things begin to happen. The sky and the land will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But concerning that day and hour, no one is aware. Not the angels in heaven nor even the Son, only the Father. Be alert! Be vigilant! Be praying! You cannot perceive when that season will arrive.
- Stay alert! Otherwise, when your hearts are burdened with drunkenness and hangovers and concerns of this life’s needs, you will be unaware when that day comes. Everyone on the planet will suddenly be trapped with no possibility of escape. So, watch diligently, always praying that you will be considered worthy to escape the things about to occur, and to stand safely in the presence of the Son of Man.