Luke 21:22-32

22 This is Vengeance Day - everything written about it will come to a head.
23 Pregnant and nursing mothers will have it especially hard. Incredible misery! Torrential rage!
24 People dropping like flies; people dragged off to prisons; Jerusalem under the boot of barbarians until the nations finish what was given them to do.
25 "It will seem like all hell has broken loose - sun, moon, stars, earth, sea,
26 in an uproar and everyone all over the world in a panic, the wind knocked out of them by the threat of doom, the powers-that-be quaking.
27 "And then - then! - they'll see the Son of Man welcomed in grand style - a glorious welcome!
28 When all this starts to happen, up on your feet. Stand tall with your heads high. Help is on the way!"
29 He told them a story. "Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter.
30 When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner.
31 The same here - when you see these things happen, you know God's kingdom is about here.
32 Don't brush this off: I'm not just saying this for some future generation, but for this one, too - these things will happen.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.