Matthew 24
24
Chapter 24
Jesus talks about the temple
1Jesus left the temple. While he was leaving, his disciples came to him. They began to talk to him about the buildings of the temple. 2So Jesus said to them, ‘Yes, you can see all these beautiful buildings now. But I tell you this: Enemies will completely destroy them. #24:2 Jesus is talking about when the Romans would destroy Jerusalem in the year AD 70. Not even one stone will remain on top of another stone.’
3After that, Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. While he was alone, his disciples came to him. They said to him, ‘Please tell us when all these things will happen. Also tell us what will show us that you will soon return? What will show us that the world will soon end?’
4Jesus said, ‘You must be careful! Some people will tell you things that are not true. Do not believe them. 5Many people will say that they have come on my behalf. They will say, “I am the Messiah.” Many people will believe their false words. 6You will hear about wars. You will hear reports about wars in other places. But you must not be afraid. Those things must happen first, but it is not yet the end of everything. 7People in one country will attack the people in another country. Kings and their armies will fight against other kings and their armies. In some places, people will be hungry, with no food. The ground will shake in many different places. 8All those things will be like the first pains that a mother has before her baby is born.
9Then people will take hold of you and they will give you pain. They will even kill some of you. People in every country will hate you because you are my disciples. 10At that time, many people who believe in me will stop believing. They will put some of my disciples in the power of their rulers. They will hate each other. 11Also at that time, many people will say that they are prophets from God. Their message is false, but many people will believe them. 12More and more people everywhere will be doing very bad things. Because of this, many people will no longer love each other in the way that they did before. 13But God will save the person who remains strong until the end. 14People will tell the good news about God's kingdom to people all over the world. People in every country will hear the true message from God. Then God will cause the world to come to an end.
15Long ago, God's prophet Daniel wrote in the Bible about something that would happen. He said that one day people would put a disgusting thing that causes trouble in the temple. You will see it in the holy place. (When you read this, you must understand what it means.) 16At that time, people in Judea must run away to the hills to hide.
17A person who is on the roof of his house must not go down into his house. #24:17 At that time, people often sat on the roof of their house after they had finished their work. The roof was flat, and it was cool there. People told each other news across the roofs. There were steps outside the house up onto the roof. He must not stop to get anything from his home to take with him. 18People who are outside in their fields must not go back to their homes. They must not even go to fetch their coats. 19That will be a bad time for women who are soon to have a baby! It will also be a bad time for those women who have little babies! 20You must pray to God about this time when you have to run away quickly. Pray that this time of trouble will not happen in winter. Pray that it will not happen on your day of rest. 21Great troubles will happen to people at that time. Nothing as bad has ever happened before, since the beginning of the world. Nothing as bad will ever happen again. 22God will cause those days of great trouble to be not so many. If he did not do that, there would be nobody still alive. But God will cause those days to come to an end. He will do that to help the people that he has chosen. 23At that time, someone may say to you, “Look, here is the Messiah.” Or they may say, “There he is!” When they say that, do not believe them. 24Some people will say to you, “I am the Messiah!” Other people will say, “I am a prophet from God.” But their words will be false. They will do strange and powerful things for people to see. If possible, they would even deceive the people that God has chosen. 25So be careful! I have told you about these things before they happen.
26Some people may say to you, “Look, the Messiah is out there in the wilderness.” But do not go out to see who is there. Some people may say to you, “Look, the Messiah is hiding in that secret room.” You must not believe these people. 27Lightning shines quickly and it lights up the whole of the sky from one side to the other. It will be like that when the Son of Man returns. 28If the dead body of an animal is lying somewhere, vultures will come together in that place. #24:28 People know if there is a dead animal on the ground. When they see vultures flying in the sky, they know. In the same way, people will see the things happening that Jesus talked about. Then they will know that he will soon return.
29Then after all these bad things have happened,
“The sun will become dark.
The moon will not shine any more.
Stars will fall out of the sky.
And the powerful things in the sky will shake.” #24:29 See Isaiah 13:10; 34:4; Joel 2:10.
30Then people will see a powerful thing in the sky. This will show them that the Son of Man is coming. All the families of people in the world will cry because they are very sad. Then they will see the Son of Man. He will be riding on the clouds in the sky. He will have great power and bright glory. 31People will hear the sound of a loud trumpet. The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will go in every direction. They will bring together all the people that God has chosen from every part of the earth and from every part of the sky.’
Jesus tells a story about a fig tree
32‘Here is a lesson for you to learn about the fig tree. When the new branches on the tree start to grow, the leaves appear. Then you know that the summer will come soon. 33In the same way, you will see all these strange things happening. Then you will know that the Son of Man will come very soon. He will be like someone at the door who is ready to come in. 34I tell you this: The people who are alive now will not all die until all these things happen. 35One day, the earth and the sky will have an end. But my words will be there for ever.’
Nobody will know when the Son of Man will return
36Jesus then said, ‘Nobody knows the day or the hour when all these things will happen. Only God the Father knows when they will happen. The angels who are in heaven do not know. Even the Son does not know. 37Remember what happened when Noah was alive. #24:37 We can read the story about Noah in Genesis 6. God sent the flood very quickly when the people were not thinking about it. Jesus will also return quickly when people are not thinking about it. It will be like that when the Son of Man returns to the earth. 38In Noah's time, in the days before the flood, people were eating their meals every day. Men married women and women married men. They continued to do all these things until the day that Noah went into his big boat. 39The people did not know what would happen. Then rain fell for a long time and all these people died in the deep water. When the Son of Man returns, it will happen quickly in the same way. 40At that time, it will be like this: Two men will be working in a field. God will take one man away, but he will leave the other man behind. 41Two women will be preparing food together in the same place. God will take one of them away, but he will leave the other woman behind.
42So you must watch carefully! You do not know the day when your Master will come back. 43You can be sure about this. The master of a house does not know at what time of night a man would come to rob him. If he knew the time, he would watch his house more carefully. He would not let the robber come into his house and take away his things. 44So you must also be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time when you are not thinking about it.’
Jesus tells a story about two servants
45Jesus then said, ‘You should be like a wise servant. Be someone that the master can trust. The master will choose a man like that. He will say to him, “Rule over my house and all my other servants. Give everyone their food to eat at the right time.” 46That servant will be very happy when his master comes home. His master will see that he has done everything well. 47Yes, I tell you this: The master will give that servant authority to rule over everything in his house. 48But another servant might be bad. He might say to himself, “My master will not come yet.” 49Then he begins to hit the other servants. He eats too much and he drinks too much. He meets with other people who become drunk. 50Then the master of that servant will come home and he will surprise the servant. He did not think that his master would come home on that day or at that time. 51Then the master will punish him a lot. He will put the servant with those people who do not obey him. The people in that place will cry and they will bite their teeth together.’
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Matthew 24: EASY
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Matthew 24
24
Signs of Christ’s Return
1Jesus left the temple area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to Him to call His attention to the [magnificent and massive] #The massive size and polished surfaces of the fitted stones that formed the temple structure created a magnificent sight (cf Luke 21:5). The refurbishing of the temple was begun by Herod the Great in 20 b.c. and was completed in a.d. 64 by Herod Agrippa II. The rabbis had a saying: “Whoever has not seen the temple of Herod has never seen a beautiful building” (as quoted from the Talmud). They also said that Herod built it of yellow, white, and perhaps blue marble; and that he intended to cover it with gold, but the rabbis advised him not to because it was beautiful just as it was, looking like the waves of the sea.buildings of the temple. 2And He said to them, “Do you see all these things? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, not one stone here will be left on another, which will not be torn down.”
3While Jesus was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, and said, “Tell us, when will this [destruction of the temple] take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end (completion, consummation) of the age?”
4Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error]. 5For many will come in My name [misusing it, and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, ‘I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ and they will mislead many. 6You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age]. 7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble].
9 “Then they will hand you over to [endure] tribulation, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will fall away [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another. 11Many false prophets will appear and mislead many. 12Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold. 13But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved. 14This good news of the kingdom [the gospel] will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end [of the age] will come.
Perilous Times
15 “So when you see the # I.e. the Antichrist (2 Thess 2:4), “the prince who is to come” who will make a covenant with Israel, then break it in the middle of the tribulation (the seven-year period of Dan 9:27). abomination of desolation [the appalling sacrilege that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the #I.e. the reader of the book of Daniel (cf 24:15). Jesus is indicating that the final fulfillment of this prophecy is yet to come.reader understand), 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains [for refuge]. 17Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things that are in his house [because there will not be enough time]. 18Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his coat. 19And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20Pray that your flight [from persecution and suffering] will not be in winter, or on a Sabbath [when Jewish laws prohibit travel]. 21For #The most obvious sign during the tribulation, prior to the second coming of Jesus, is when the abomination that causes desolation (the Antichrist) sets his image in the temple.at that time there will be a great tribulation (pressure, distress, oppression), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will [again]. 22And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened. 23Then if anyone says to you [during the great tribulation], ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe it. 24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones). 25Listen carefully, I have told you in advance. 26So if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there, or, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms [of a house],’ do not believe it. 27For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming [in glory] of the Son of Man [everyone will see Him clearly]. 28Wherever the corpse is, there the #The Greek for “vultures” can also be translated “eagles,” but the reference is most likely to the vulture, which the Greek word includes with eagles as a class. The meaning of this much discussed verse is either that the corpse represents the returning Christ, whose appearance will attract the attention of the entire world, that is, the vultures; or that the corrupt world is the corpse, about to be judged by the returning Christ (Rev 19:18).vultures will flock together.
The Glorious Return
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not provide its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor]. 31And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and they will gather together His elect (God’s chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its young shoots become tender and it puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33so you, too, when you see all #I.e. false christs, wars, famines, earthquakes.these things [taking place], know for certain that He is near, right #I.e. the return of the Christ is imminent.at the door. 34I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place. 35Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36 “But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone. 37For the coming of the Son of Man (the Messiah) will be just like the days of Noah. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah entered the ark, 39and they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be [unexpected judgment]. 40At that time two men will be in the field; one will be #This is not the removal of the church described in 1 Thess 4:13-18 and Rev 3:10. The one taken is taken for judgment just as the wicked were taken by the flood in Noah’s day. The one left is left to enter the kingdom that Christ will establish.taken [for judgment] and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.
Be Ready for His Coming
42 “So be alert [give strict attention, be cautious and active in faith], for you do not know which day [whether near or far] your Lord is coming. 43But understand this: If the head of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44Therefore, you [who follow Me] must also be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give the others [in the house] their food and supplies at the proper time? 46Blessed is that [faithful] servant when his master returns and finds him doing so. 47I assure you and most solemnly say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But if that servant is evil and says in his heart, ‘My master is taking his time [he will not return for a long while],’ 49and 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 of which he is not aware, 51and will cut him in two and put him with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].
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