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"You will see 'the destroying terror' standing where it should not be." (You who read this should understand what it means.) "At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains.
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If people are on the roof of their houses, they must not go down or go inside to get anything out of their houses.
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If people are in the fields, they must not go back to get their coats.
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At that time, how terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies!
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Pray that these things will not happen in winter,
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because those days will be full of trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning, when God made the world, until now, and nothing as bad will ever happen again.
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God has decided to make that terrible time short. Otherwise, no one would go on living. But God will make that time short to help the people he has chosen.
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At that time, someone might say to you, 'Look, there is the Christ!' Or another person might say, 'There he is!' But don't believe them.
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False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will try to fool even the people God has chosen, if that is possible.
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So be careful. I have warned you about all this before it happens.
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"During the days after this trouble comes, 'the sun will grow dark, and the moon will not give its light.