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
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
1As Jesus came out of the temple and was going away, his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2Then he asked them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
Signs of the End of the Age
3When he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4Jesus answered them, “Beware that no one leads you astray. 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah!’#24.5 Or the Christ and they will lead many astray. 6And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines#24.7 Other ancient authorities add and pestilences and earthquakes in various places: 8all this is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
Persecutions Foretold
9“Then they will hand you over to be tortured and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10Then many will fall away,#24.10 Or stumble and they will betray one another and hate one another. 11And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12And because of the increase of lawlessness, the love of many will grow cold. 13But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14And this good news#24.14 Or gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come.
The Desolating Sacrilege
15“So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place, as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16then those in Judea must flee to the mountains; 17the one on the housetop must not go down to take what is in the house; 18the one in the field must not turn back to get a coat. 19Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing infants in those days! 20Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath. 21For at that time there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’#24.23 Or the Christ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. 24For false messiahs#24.24 Or christs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25Take note, I have told you beforehand. 26So, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
The Coming of the Son of Man
29“Immediately after the suffering of those days
the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of heaven will be shaken.
30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. 31And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
The Lesson of the Fig Tree
32“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33So also, when you see all these things, you know that he#24.33 Or it is near, at the very gates. 34Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
The Necessity for Watchfulness
36“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,#24.36 Other ancient authorities lack nor the Son but only the Father. 37For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, 39and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. 40Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 41Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. 42Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day#24.42 Other ancient authorities read at what hour your Lord is coming. 43But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Slave
45“Who then is the faithful and wise slave, whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves#24.45 Gk to give them their allowance of food at the proper time? 46Blessed is that slave whom his master will find at work when he arrives. 47Truly I tell you, he will put that one in charge of all his possessions. 48But if that wicked slave says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour that he does not know. 51He will cut him in pieces#24.51 Or cut him off and put him with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.