"When you see great armies encamped on these hills all around Jerusalem, then know that the time has come for the city and the Temple to be destroyed. Let this be a sign for everyone in Judea to hide among the mountains. If a man at that time is on the roof of his house, let him not go down to take anything out of his house; nor a man in the field go home after his cloak; but hasten away just as he is, with the clothes that are upon his back, and find a safe hiding-place. "If anyone tells you in such times as those, 'Here is Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it, for false Christs will come and false prophets will appear; and they will show signs and wonders, so as to lead astray even some of God's own people. I tell you truly that many who are now living shall see all these things come to pass." Jesus had already told his disciples that he was soon going away to leave them, but in his own time he would come again. He now spoke about his "coming again." "As to the coming of the Son of Man, no one knows about that day or hour; no man knows when it will be, nor the angels, nor even the Son himself, but only the Father. It will be then as it was in the days of Noah; they went on eating and drinking, marrying and being married, until the day Noah went into the ark; and they took no notice until the flood came and swept them all away. "So will it be when the Son of Man comes. Then there will be two men working together in the field; one shall be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain with the hand mill; one shall be taken and the other left. Keep on the watch then, for you never know what day the Lord will come. Be sure of this, if the owner of the house had known at what time in the night the thief would come, he would have been on the watch for him, and would never have allowed his house to be broken into. So be ready all the time, for when you least expect him, the Son of Man will come." The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids CHAPTER 82 AT THE CLOSE of a long talk with the disciples, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus gave three parables. The first parable was to show that his followers must watch and be ready for his sudden coming. It is "The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids." "The coming of the Lord in his kingdom," said Jesus, "will be as when ten girls, the bridesmaids at a wedding, took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom with his friends, and go with them to the house of the bride. Five of these girls were foolish and thoughtless, and five of them were wise. The foolish young women brought their lamps, but never thought that they would need more oil to fill their lamps again. But each of the five wise girls carried a small flask of oil to refill her lamp when needed. [Illustration: Oriental lamp]