Matthew 24
24
The Signs of the End
1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him. They wanted him to admire the temple buildings. 2“Do you see all this?” Jesus asked. “Truly I tell you, there won’t be one stone left here on top of another. Every building will be torn down, to the last stone.”
3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and asked, “Tell us, when will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming? What will be the sign of the end of the age?”
4Jesus answered, “Don’t let anyone trick you! 5Many people will come claiming to be me and saying, ‘I’m the Messiah!’ They’ll get many people to follow them. 6You’ll hear about wars, and you’ll hear people saying there are going to be wars. Don’t be afraid. Those things will happen, but that won’t be the end. 7Nation will fight against nation, and kingdom will fight against kingdom. People won’t have enough food, and there will be earthquakes in many places. 8But all of this will be only the beginning of the birth pains.
9“Then people will hand you over to be oppressed and killed, and all nations will hate you because of me. 10At that time, many will turn away from the faith. They will hate one another and hand each other over to their enemies. 11Many false prophets will appear, and they will trick many people. 12Wickedness will increase and many people’s love will grow cold. 13But anyone who remains strong in the faith will be saved. 14This good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.
15“The prophet Daniel spoke about ‘the detestable thing that brings desolation.’ One day you’ll see it standing in the holy place.” (Let the one who reads this be sure to understand.) 16“When that happens, those who are in Judea should escape to the mountains. 17No one who’s on a housetop should go down into the house to take anything out. 18No one who’s out in the field should go back home to get their coat. 19How awful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that you won’t have to run away in the winter or on a Sabbath day. 21There will be terrible suffering in those days, worse than any other time from the beginning of the world until now, and there will never be anything like it again.
22“If that time were not cut short, no one would survive. But because of God’s chosen people, it will be shortened. 23At that time someone may say to you, ‘Look! Here’s the Messiah!’ Or, ‘He’s over there!’ Don’t believe it. 24False messiahs and false prophets will appear, and they’ll do great signs and miracles. They’ll even try to trick God’s chosen people if they can. 25See, I’ve told you ahead of time.
26“So if anyone tells you, ‘He’s out in the desert,’ don’t go out there. And if anyone says, ‘He’s deep inside the house,’ don’t believe it. 27Lightning that comes from the east can be seen in the west. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 28You know where a dead body is when you see vultures circling in the sky.
29“Right after the terrible suffering of those days,
“ ‘The sun will go dark,
the moon won’t shine,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the planets will be shaken.’
30“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. Then all the peoples of the earth will mourn, when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his chosen people from the north, south, east, and west—from one end of the sky to the other.
32“Learn a lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you’ll know that the end is near, right at the door. 34Truly I tell you, this generation will 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 Time Are Not Known
36“But no one knows what day or time this will happen. The angels in heaven don’t even know, and the Son doesn’t know either—only the Father knows. 37When the Son of Man comes, it will be the same as it was in the days of Noah. 38In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, getting married and arranging marriages, right up to the day when Noah entered the ark. 39They didn’t know anything about what was going to happen until the flood came and took them all away. That’s how it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken and the other will be spared. 41Two women will be grinding together with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other will be left.
42“So keep watch, because you don’t know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the robber was coming, he would have kept watch. He wouldn’t have let his house be broken into. 44So you must also be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time when you aren’t expecting him.
45“Suppose a master puts one of his slaves in charge of the other slaves and tells him to give them their food at the right time. The master would want to choose a faithful and wise slave to do that. 46It will be good for this slave if the master finds him doing his job when he returns. 47Truly I tell you, the master will put that slave in charge of everything he owns. 48But suppose the slave is a bad person and he says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time. I can do whatever I want.’ 49Suppose he then starts to beat the other slaves and to eat and drink with people who drink too much. 50The master of that slave will come back on a day when he isn’t expecting him and at a time when he isn’t watching. 51Then the master will cut him to pieces and send him to the same place where hypocrites go, where people will weep and grind their teeth.
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Matthew 24
24
Jesus Teaches His Disciples on the Mount of Olives
(Mark 13:1–31; Luke 21:5–33)
1As Jesus left the temple courtyard and was walking away, his disciples came to him. They proudly pointed out to him the temple buildings. 2Jesus said to them, “You see all these buildings, don’t you? I can guarantee this truth: Not one of these stones will be left on top of another. Each one will be torn down.”
3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will this happen? What will be the sign that you are coming again, and when will the world come to an end?”
4Jesus answered them, “Be careful not to let anyone deceive you. 5Many will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people.
6“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Don’t be alarmed! These things must happen, but they don’t mean that the end has come. 7Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All of these are only the beginning pains ⌞of the end⌟.
9“Then they will hand you over to those who will torture and kill you. All nations will hate you because you are committed to me. 10Then many will lose faith. They will betray and hate each other. 11Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12And because there will be more and more lawlessness, most people’s love will grow cold. 13But the person who endures to the end will be saved.
14“This Good News about the kingdom will be spread throughout the world as a testimony to all nations. Then the end will come.
15“The prophet Daniel said that the disgusting thing that will cause destruction will stand in the holy place. When you see this (let the reader take note), 16those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains. 17Those who are on the roof should not come down to get anything out of their houses. 18Those who are in the field should not turn back to get their coats.
19“How horrible it will be for the women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. 20Pray that it will not be winter or a day of rest—a holy day, when you flee. 21There will be a lot of misery at that time, a kind of misery that has not happened from the beginning of the world until now and will certainly never happen again. 22If God does not reduce the number of those days, no one will be saved. But those days will be reduced because of those whom God has chosen.
23“At that time don’t believe anyone who tells you, ‘Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ 24False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will work spectacular, miraculous signs and do wonderful things to deceive, if possible, even those whom God has chosen. 25Listen! I’ve told you this before it happens. 26So if someone tells you, ‘He’s in the desert!’ don’t go out ⌞looking for him⌟. And don’t believe anyone who says, ‘He’s in a secret place!’ 27The Son of Man will come again just as lightning flashes from east to west. 28Vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.
29“Immediately after the misery of those days, the sun will turn dark, the moon will not give light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the universe will be shaken.
30“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the people on earth will cry in agony when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky with power and great glory. 31He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and from every direction under the sky, they will gather those whom God has chosen.
32“Learn from the story of the fig tree. When its branch becomes tender and it sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the door.
34“I can guarantee this truth: This generation will not disappear until all these things take place. 35The earth and the heavens will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
No One Knows When the Son of Man Will Return
36“No one knows when that day or hour will come. Even the angels in heaven and the Son don’t know. Only the Father knows.
37“When the Son of Man comes again, it will be exactly like the days of Noah. 38In the days before the flood, people were eating, drinking, and getting married until the day that Noah went into the ship. 39They were not aware of what was happening until the flood came and swept all of them away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes again.
40“At that time two men will be working in the field. One will be taken, and the other one will be left. 41Two women will be working at a mill. One will be taken, and the other one will be left.
42“Therefore, be alert, because you don’t know on what day your Lord will return. 43You realize that if a homeowner had known at what time of the night a thief was coming, he would have stayed awake. He would not have let the thief break into his house. 44Therefore, you, too, must be ready because the Son of Man will return when you least expect him.
45“Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant? The master will put that person in charge of giving the other servants their food at the right time. 46That servant will be blessed if his master finds him doing this job when he comes. 47I can guarantee this truth: He will put that servant in charge of all his property. 48On the other hand, that servant, if he is wicked, may think that it will be a long time before his master comes. 49The servant may begin to beat the other servants and eat and drink with the drunks. 50His master will return unexpectedly. 51Then his master will severely punish him and assign him a place with the hypocrites. People will cry and be in extreme pain there.
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