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 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 rumours 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, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now – and never to be equalled 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 in advance.
26 ‘So if anyone tells you, “There he is, out in the desert,” 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 become 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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The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
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