They pointed to the temple stones.

He answered with a ruin they could not imagine.

Stone after stone would be thrown to the ground,

So on Olivet they asked when and how.

First came the warning: do not be deceived,

Many will borrow the name to mislead.

War in the distance and war drawing near,

Famine and shaking, but not yet the end.

Hatred for witness, betrayal from friends,

Cold hearts multiplying as lawlessness spreads.

Watch therefore. No clock has been given.

Stand when the earth feels divided and driven.

Endure through the darkness; do not lose the way.

The Master may come on an unmarked day.

The kingdom’s good news must go through the lands,

Then desecration will force urgent flight.

Trouble unmatched will press hard on the world,

False signs will glitter and false voices call.

His coming will not hide in chamber or field,

Lightning from east unto west will reveal.

Sun darkened over, stars falling from height,

The Son of man coming in glory and might.

Trumpet and angels will gather his own,

The fig tree will tell when the season has grown.

Yet day and the hour stay hidden from sight,

As flood came on people still living their lives.

Field and the mill show the sudden divide,

A thief at the house shows why sleepers must rise.

Blessed the servant still doing his charge,

Woe to the servant who thinks time is long.

Ten lamps were waiting; five carried oil.

The cry came at midnight and ended delay.

Talents were handed according to trust,

The master returned and required an account.

No waiting is empty, no stewardship small,

The hidden becomes what the Judge sees in all.

The Son takes the throne and the nations appear,

Sheep to the right and the goats separated.

Hungry and thirsty, the stranger, the poor,

Naked, imprisoned, the sick at the door.

What was done to the least is uncovered at last;

Mercy and neglect both survive the past.

Everlasting outcomes close what he said:

Watch while there’s daylight. Be ready instead.

The stones would fall.

His words would not.