Matthew 24

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when His disciples came over to point out the temple buildings to Him.

Jesus said to them, “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth: not one stone here will be left standing on another. Every one of them will be torn down.”

Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, His disciples came to Him privately and asked, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”

Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one deceives you.

Many will come using My name and saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many people.

You will hear about wars and reports of wars. Do not be alarmed. These things must happen, but the end has not yet come.

Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places.

But all these things are only the beginning of the birth pains.

Then they will hand you over to suffering and kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name.

At that time many will fall away. They will betray one another and hate one another.

Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

And because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole inhabited world as a testimony to all nations. Then the end will come.

“So when you see ‘the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand—

then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

Anyone on the housetop must not go down to take anything out of his house.

Anyone working in the field must not turn back to get his clothes.

How terrible those days will be for women who are pregnant and for mothers nursing babies!

Pray that you will not have to flee during winter or on a Sabbath.

Because then there will be great tribulation unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now—and nothing like it will ever happen again.

If those days were not cut short, no one would survive. But for the sake of the chosen, those days will be cut short.

At that time, if anyone tells you, ‘Look! The Christ is here!’ or ‘He is over there!’ do not believe it.

False christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders, attempting to deceive—even the chosen, if that were possible.

Look—I have warned you beforehand.

So if people tell you, ‘Look, He is out in the wilderness!’ do not go out there. Or if they say, ‘Look, He is hidden inside the rooms!’ do not believe them.

Because just as lightning flashes from the east and can be seen all the way to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.

Wherever the dead body is, there the birds of prey will gather.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days, ‘the sun will be darkened, the moon will no longer give its light, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. All the peoples of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

He will send out His angels with the great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather His chosen people from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: when its branches become tender and begin putting out leaves, you know that summer is near.

In the same way, when you see all these things, know that it is near—right at the doors.

I tell you the truth: this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

But concerning that day and hour, no one knows—not even the angels of heaven—except My Father alone.

The coming of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah.

In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children in marriage, right up until the day Noah entered the ark.

They understood nothing until the flood came and swept them all away.

That is how the coming of the Son of Man will be.

Then two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left.

Two women will be grinding grain at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left.

So stay watchful, because you do not know at what hour your Lord is coming.

But understand this: if the homeowner had known when during the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and prevented his house from being broken into.

For that reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

“Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom his master placed over his household to give the others their food at the proper time?

Blessed is that servant whose master finds him faithfully doing his work when he returns.

I tell you the truth: the master will place that servant in charge of everything he owns.

But suppose that servant becomes evil and says in his heart, ‘My master is taking a long time to come.’

Then he begins beating his fellow servants and eating and drinking with drunkards.

That servant’s master will return on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know.

He will cut him down and assign him a place with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth.