Matthew 24
24
The Temple Will Be Destroyed
1Jesus left the Temple and was walking away. But his followers came to show him the Temple’s buildings. 2Jesus asked, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.”
3Later, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. His followers came to be alone with him. They said, “Tell us when these things will happen. And what will happen to show us that it is time for you to come again and for the world to end?”
4Jesus answered: “Be careful that no one fools you. 5Many people will come in my name. They will say, ‘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 men will arrest you and hand you over to be hurt and kill you. They will hate you because you believe in me. 10At that time, many who believe will lose their faith. They will turn against each other and hate each other. 11Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe false things. 12There will be more and more evil in the world. So most people will stop showing their love for each other. 13But the person who continues to be strong 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 ‘the horrible thing that destroys.’# Mentioned in Daniel 9:27; 12:11 (cf. Daniel 11:31). You will see this terrible thing 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 a person is on the roof# In Bible times houses were built with flat roofs. The roof was used for drying things such as flax and fruit. And it was used as an extra room, as a place for worship and as a place to sleep in the summer. of his house, he must not go down to get anything out of his house. 18If a person is in the field, he must not go back to get his coat. 19At that time, it will be hard 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. 21This is because at that time there will be much trouble. There will be more trouble than has ever happened since the beginning of the world. And nothing as bad as that will ever happen again. 22God has decided to make that terrible time short. If that time were not made short, then 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 things and miracles. They will do these things to the people God has chosen. They will fool them, 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. It will be like lightning flashing in the sky that can be seen everywhere. 28Wherever there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.
29“Soon after the trouble of those days, this will happen:
‘The sun will grow dark.
And the moon will not give its light.
The stars will fall from the sky.
And everything in the sky will be changed.’ Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
30“At that time, there will be something in the sky that shows the Son of Man is coming. All the peoples of the world will cry. They will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky. He will come with great power and glory. 31He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the world.
32“The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is near. 33So also, 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! 35The whole world, earth 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. Even the Son# Some Greek copies do not have this phrase. and the angels in heaven don’t know. Only the Father knows. 37When the Son of Man comes, it will be the same as what happened during Noah’s time. 38In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking. They were marrying and giving their children to be married. They were still doing those things until the day Noah entered the boat. 39They knew nothing about what was happening. But then the flood came, and all those people were destroyed. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 40Two men will be working together in the field. One man will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill.# Two large, round, flat rocks used for grinding grain to make flour. One woman will be taken and the other will be left.
42“So always be ready. You don’t know the day your Lord will come. 43Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time a thief was coming, then the owner would be ready for him. The owner would watch and not let the thief enter his house. 44So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time you don’t expect him.
45“Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant 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 very happy. 47I tell you the truth. The master will choose that servant to take care of everything the master owns. 48But what will happen if the servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon? 49Then that servant will begin to beat the other servants. He will feast and get drunk with others like him. 50And the master will come when the servant is not ready and is not expecting him. 51Then the master will punish that servant. He will send him away to be among the hypocrites. There people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.
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Matthew 24: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Matthew 24
24
The temple will be destroyed
(Mark 13.1,2; Luke 21.5,6)
1After Jesus left the temple, his disciples came over and said, “Look at all these buildings!”
2Jesus replied, “Do you see these buildings? They will certainly be torn down! Not one stone will be left in place.”
Warning about trouble
(Mark 13.3-13; Luke 21.7-19)
3Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him in private and asked, “When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?”
4Jesus answered:
Don't let anyone fool you. 5Many will come and claim to be me. They will say that they are the Messiah, and they will fool many people.
6You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. 7Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to death, and in some places there will be earthquakes. 8But this is just the beginning of troubles.
9You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations.#Mt 10.22. 10Many will give up and will betray and hate each other. 11Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. 12Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. 13But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved.#Mt 10.22. 14When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.
The Horrible Thing
(Mark 13.14-23; Luke 21.20-24)
Jesus continued:
15Some day you will see that “Horrible Thing” in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand!#Dn 9.27; 11.31; 12.11. 16If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. 17If you are on the roof#24.17 roof: In Palestine the houses usually had a flat roof. Stairs on the outside led up to the roof, which was made of beams and boards covered with packed earth. of your house, don't go inside to get anything.#Lk 17.31. 18If you are out in the field, don't go back for your coat. 19It will be a terrible time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children. 20And pray that you won't have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath.#24.20 in winter or on a Sabbath: In Palestine the winters are cold and rainy and make travel difficult. The Jewish people were not allowed to travel much more than a kilometre on the Sabbath. For these reasons it was hard for them to escape from their enemies in the winter or on a Sabbath. 21This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again.#Dn 12.1; Rev 7.14. 22If God doesn't make the time shorter, no one will be left alive. But because of God's chosen ones, he will make the time shorter.
23Someone may say, “Here is the Messiah!” or “There he is!” But don't believe it. 24False messiahs and false prophets will come and perform great miracles and signs. They will even try to fool God's chosen ones. 25But I have warned you beforehand. 26If you are told that the Messiah is out in the desert, don't go there! And if you are told that he is in some secret place, don't believe it!#Lk 17.23,24. 27The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west. 28Where there is a corpse, there will always be vultures.#24.28 Where there is a corpse, there will always be vultures: This saying may mean that when anything important happens, people soon know about it. Or the saying may mean that whenever something bad happens, curious people gather around and stare. But the word translated “vulture” also means “eagle” and may refer to the Roman army, which had an eagle as its symbol.#Lk 17.37.
When the Son of Man appears
(Mark 13.24-27; Luke 21.25-28)
Jesus continued:
29Straight after those days of suffering,#Is 13.10; Jl 2.10,31; 3.15; Rev 6.12; Is 13.10; Ez 32.7; Jl 2.10; 3.15; Is 34.4; Rev 6.13.
“The sun will become dark,
and the moon
will no longer shine.
The stars will fall,
and the powers in the sky#24.29 the powers in the sky: In ancient times people thought that the stars were spiritual powers.
will be shaken.”
30Then a sign will appear in the sky. And there will be the Son of Man.#24.30 And there will be the Son of Man: Or “And it will be the Son of Man.” All nations on earth will weep when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.#Dn 7.13; Zec 12.10-14; Rev 1.7. 31At the sound of a loud trumpet, he will send his angels to bring his chosen ones together from all over the earth.
A lesson from a fig tree
(Mark 13.28-31; Luke 21.29-33)
Jesus continued:
32Learn a lesson from a fig tree. When its branches sprout and start putting out leaves, you know that summer is near. 33So when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time has almost come.#24.33 the time has almost come: Or “he (that is, the Son of Man) will soon be here.” 34I can promise you that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens. 35The sky and the earth won't last for ever, but my words will.
No one knows the day or time
(Mark 13.32-37; Luke 17.26-30,34-36)
Jesus continued:
36No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don't know, and the Son himself doesn't know.#24.36 and the Son himself doesn't know: These words are not in some manuscripts. Only the Father knows. 37When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived.#Gn 6.5-8. 38People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day that the flood came and Noah went into the big boat. 39They didn't know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.#Gn 7.6-24.
40Two men will be in the same field, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. 41Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. 42So be on your guard! You don't know when your Lord will come. 43Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in.#Lk 12.39,40. 44Always be ready! You don't know when the Son of Man will come.
Faithful and unfaithful servants
(Luke 12.35-48)
Jesus continued:
45Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? 46Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job. 47You may be sure that a servant who is always faithful will be put in charge of everything the master owns. 48But suppose one of the servants thinks that the master won't return until late. 49Suppose that evil servant starts beating the other servants and eats and drinks with people who are drunk. 50If that happens, the master will come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him. 51That servant will then be punished and thrown out with the ones who only pretended to serve their master. There they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012