Matthew 24
24
The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times
1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ # 24:15
Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11 spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29 “Immediately after the distress of those days
“ ‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ # 24:29
Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth # 24:30 Or the tribes of the land will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.#24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it#24:33 Or he is near, right at the door. 34Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Day and Hour Unknown
36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, # 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son. but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Matthew 24: NIV
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The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by Permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.
Matthew 24
24
Jesus Speaks of the Destruction of the Temple
(Mk 13.1–2; Lk 21.5–6)
1Jesus left and was going away from the Temple when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2“Yes,” he said, “you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down.”
Troubles and Persecutions
(Mk 13.3–13; Lk 21.7–19)
3As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us when all this will be,” they asked, “and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age.”
4Jesus answered, “Be on your guard, and do not let anyone deceive you. 5Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will deceive many people. 6You are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away; but do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. 7Countries will fight each other, kingdoms will attack one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere. 8All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.
9 #
Mt 10.22
“Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death. All nations will hate you because of me. 10Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another. 11Then many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Such will be the spread of evil that many people's love will grow cold. 13#Mt 10.22But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. 14And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all nations; and then the end will come.
The Awful Horror
(Mk 13.14–23; Lk 21.20–24)
15 #
Dan 9.27; 11.31; 12.11 “You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place.” (Note to the reader: be sure to understand what this means!) 16“Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills. 17#Lk 17.31Someone who is on the roof of his house must not take the time to go down and get his belongings from the house. 18Someone who is in the field must not go back to get his cloak. 19How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for mothers with little babies! 20Pray to God that you will not have to run away during the winter or on a Sabbath! 21#Dan 12.1; Rev 7.14For the trouble at that time will be far more terrible than any there has ever been, from the beginning of the world to this very day. Nor will there ever be anything like it again. 22But God has already reduced the number of days; had he not done so, nobody would survive. For the sake of his chosen people, however, God will reduce the days.
23 “Then, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ — do not believe it. 24For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible. 25Listen! I have told you this before the time comes.
26 #
Lk 17.23–24
“Or, if people should tell you, ‘Look, he is out in the desert!’ — don't go there; or if they say, ‘Look, he is hiding here!’ — don't believe it. 27For the Son of Man will come like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west.
28 #
Lk 17.37
“Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.
The Coming of the Son of Man
(Mk 13.24–27; Lk 21.25–28)
29 #
Is 13.10; 34.4; Ezek 32.7; Joel 2.10, 31; 3.15; Rev 6.12–13 “Soon after the trouble of those days, the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses. 30#Dan 7.13; Zech 12.10–14; Rev 1.7Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
(Mk 13.28–31; Lk 21.29–33)
32 “Let the fig tree teach you a lesson. When its branches become green and tender and it starts putting out leaves, you know that summer is near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things, you will know that the time is near, ready to begin.#24.33 the time is near, ready to begin; or he is near, ready to come. 34Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
No One Knows the Day and Hour
(Mk 13.32–37; Lk 17.26–30, 34–36)
36 “No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come — neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; # 24.36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son . the Father alone knows. 37#Gen 6.5–8The coming of the Son of Man will be like what happened in the time of Noah. 38In the days before the flood people ate and drank, men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat; 39#Gen 7.6–24yet they did not realize what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40At that time two men will be working in a field: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind. 41Two women will be at a mill grinding meal: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind.
42 “Be on your guard, then, because you do not know what day your Lord will come. 43#Lk 12.39–40If the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, you can be sure that he would stay awake and not let the thief break into his house. 44So then, you also must always be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant
(Lk 12.41–48)
45 “Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant? It is the one that his master has placed in charge of the other servants to give them their food at the proper time. 46How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! 47Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property. 48But if he is a bad servant, he will tell himself that his master will not come back for a long time, 49and he will begin to beat his fellow-servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50Then that servant's master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. 51The master will cut him in pieces#24.51 cut him in pieces; or throw him out. and make him share the fate of the hypocrites. There he will cry and grind his teeth.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.