Mark 13:18-21

13:18 Pray that it may not be in winter. 13:19 For in those days there will be suffering ¹  unlike anything that has happened ²  from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, or ever will happen. 13:20 And if the Lord had not cut short those days, no one would be saved. But because of the elect, whom he chose, he has cut them ³  short. 13:21 Then ⁴  if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ ⁵  or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe him.

¹ tn Traditionally, “tribulation.”

² sn Suffering unlike anything that has happened. Some refer this event to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. While the events of a.d. 70 may reflect somewhat the comments Jesus makes here, the reference to the scope and severity of this judgment strongly suggest that much more is in view. Most likely Jesus is referring to the great end-time judgment on Jerusalem in the great tribulation.

¹ tn Grk “the days.”

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² tn Or “the Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”