Matthew 24
24
The Temple Will Be Destroyed
1As Jesus left the Temple and was walking away, his followers came up to show him the Temple’s buildings. 2Jesus asked, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground.”
3Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his followers came to be alone with him. They said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that it is time for you to come again and for this age to end?”
4Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one fools you. 5Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will fool many people. 6You will hear about wars and stories of wars that are coming, but don’t be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes. 7Nations will fight against other nations; kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be times when there is no food for people to eat, and there will be earthquakes in different places. 8These things are like the first pains when something new is about to be born.
9“Then people will arrest you, hand you over to be hurt, and kill you. They will hate you because you believe in me. 10At that time, many will lose their faith, and they will turn against each other and hate each other. 11Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe lies. 12There will be more and more evil in the world, so most people will stop showing their love for each other. 13But those people who keep their faith until the end will be saved. 14The Good News about God’s kingdom will be preached in all the world, to every nation. Then the end will come.
15“Daniel the prophet spoke about ‘a blasphemous object that brings destruction.’ You will see this standing in the holy place.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) 16“At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. 17If people are on the roofs of their houses, they must not go down to get anything out of their houses. 18If people are in the fields, they must not go back to get their coats. 19At that time, how terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or have nursing babies! 20Pray that it will not be winter or a Sabbath day when these things happen and you have to run away, 21because at that time there will be much trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning of the world until now, and nothing as bad will ever happen again. 22God 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. 23At 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. 24False 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. 25Now I have warned you about this before it happens.
26“If people tell you, ‘The Christ is in the desert,’ don’t go there. If they say, ‘The Christ is in the inner room,’ don’t believe it. 27When the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by everyone, like lightning flashing from the east to the west. 28Wherever the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.
29“Soon after the trouble of those days,
‘the sun will grow dark,
and the moon will not give its light.
The stars will fall from the sky.
And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ #Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
30“At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the peoples of the world will cry. They will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky with great power and glory. 31He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from every part of the world.
32“Learn a lesson from the fig tree: When its branches become green and soft and new leaves appear, you know summer is near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is near, ready to come. 34I tell you the truth, all these things will happen while the people of this time are still living. 35Earth and sky will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed.
When Will Jesus Come Again?
36“No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. 37When the Son of Man comes, it will be like what happened during Noah’s time. 38In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children to be married, until the day Noah entered the boat. 39They knew nothing about what was happening until the flood came and destroyed them. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 40Two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and the other will be left. 41Two women will be grinding grain with a mill. One will be taken, and the other will be left.
42“So always be ready, because you don’t know the day your Lord will come. 43Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time of night a thief was coming, the owner would watch and not let the thief break in. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time you don’t expect him.
45“Who is the wise and loyal servant that the master trusts to give the other servants their food at the right time? 46When the master comes and finds the servant doing his work, the servant will be blessed. 47I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. 48But suppose that evil servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ 49and he begins to beat the other servants and eat and get drunk with others like him? 50The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. 51Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the hypocrites, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.
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Matthew 24: NCV
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Matthew 24
24
The Destruction of the Temple Predicted
1 And as Jesus went out of the temple courts#*Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself he was going along, and his disciples came up to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2But he answered and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left here on another stone that will not be thrown down!”
Signs of the End of the Age
3And as#*Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was sitting”) he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4And Jesus answered and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you! 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many. 6And you are going to hear about wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is not yet. 7For nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.#Or “in place after place” 8But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Persecution of Disciples Predicted
9“Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations#Or “Gentiles”; the same Greek word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context because of my name. 10And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another, 11and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many, 12and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. 13But the one who endures to the end—this person will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations,#Or “Gentiles”; the same Greek word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context and then the end will come.
The Abomination of Desolation
15“So when you see the abomination of desolation#An allusion to Dan 9:27 spoken about by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place” (let the one who reads understand), 16“then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! 17The one who is on his#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun housetop must not come down to take things out of his house, 18and the one who is in the field must not turn back to pick up his cloak. 19And woe to those who are pregnant#Literally “who have in the womb” and to those who are nursing their babies#*The words “their babies” are not in the Greek text but are supplied as a necessary clarification in those days! 20But pray that your flight may not happen in winter or on a Sabbath. 21For at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will happen. 22And unless those days had been shortened, no human being would be saved.#Literally “every flesh would not be saved” But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.
23“At that time if anyone should say to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘Here he is,’ do not believe him!#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation 24For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25Behold, I have told you ahead of time! 26Therefore if they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or#*Here “or” is supplied because of English style ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it!#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation 27For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 28Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
The Arrival of the Son of Man
29“And immediately after the tribulation of those days,
‘the sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of heaven will be shaken.’#A quotation from Isa 13:10; 34:4
30And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,#Or “the sky” and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven#Or “the sky” with power and great glory. 31And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect together from the four winds, from one end of heaven#Or “of the sky” to the other end of it.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun leaves, you know that summer is near. 33So also you, when you see all these things, know#Or “you know” that he is near, at the door. 34Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Unknown Day and Hour
36“But concerning that day and hour no one knows—not even the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone. 37For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38For as in the days#Some manuscripts have “those days” before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. 39And they did not know anything#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation until the deluge came and swept them#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation all away. So also the coming of the Son of Man will be. 40Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42Therefore be on the alert, because you do not know what day your Lord is coming! 43But understand this: that if the master of the house had known what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44For this reason you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will come.#*The words “he will come” are not in the Greek text but are implied
A Faithful Slave and an Unfaithful Slave
45“Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun food at the right time? 46Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“comes back”) which is understood as temporal comes back. 47Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But if that evil slave should say to himself,#Literally “in his heart” ‘My master is staying away for a long time,’ 49and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, 51and will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
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