Matthew 24
24
The temple’s fate
1Now Jesus left the temple and was going away. His disciples came to point out to him the temple buildings. 2He responded, “Do you see all these things? I assure that no stone will be left on another. Everything will be demolished.”
Beginning of troubles
3Now while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?”
4Jesus replied, “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5Many will come in my name, saying, ‘I’m the Christ.’ They will deceive many people. 6You will hear about wars and reports of wars. Don’t be alarmed. These things must happen, but this isn’t the end yet. 7Nations and kingdoms will fight against each other, and there will be famines and earthquakes in all sorts of places. 8But all these things are just the beginning of the sufferings associated with the end. 9They will arrest you, abuse you, and they will kill you. All nations will hate you on account of my name. 10At that time many will fall away. They will betray each other and hate each other. 11Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12Because disobedience will expand, the love of many will grow cold. 13But the one who endures to the end will be delivered. 14This gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world as a testimony to all the nations. Then the end will come.
The great suffering
15 “When you see the disgusting and destructive thing that Daniel talked about standing in the holy place (the reader should understand this), 16then those in Judea must escape to the mountains. 17Those on the roof shouldn’t come down to grab things from their houses. 18Those in the field shouldn’t come back to grab their clothes. 19How terrible it will be at that time for women who are pregnant and for women who are nursing their children. 20Pray that it doesn’t happen in winter or on the Sabbath day. 21There will be great suffering such as the world has never before seen and will never again see. 22If that time weren’t shortened, nobody would be rescued. But for the sake of the ones whom God chose, that time will be cut short.
23 “Then if somebody says to you, ‘Look, here’s the Christ,’ or ‘He’s over here,’ don’t believe it. 24False christs and false prophets will appear, and they will offer great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even those whom God has chosen. 25Look, I’ve told you ahead of time. 26So if they say to you, ‘Look, he’s in the desert,’ don’t go out. And if they say, ‘Look, he’s in the rooms deep inside the house,’ don’t believe it. 27Just as the lightning flashes from the east to the west, so it will be with the coming of the Human One.#24.27 Or Son of Man 28The vultures gather wherever there’s a dead body.
Coming of the Human One
29 “Now immediately after the suffering of that time the sun will become dark, and the moon won’t give its light. The stars will fall from the sky and the planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken. 30Then the sign of the Human One#24.30 Or Son of Man will appear in the sky. At that time all the tribes of the earth will be full of sadness, and they will see the Human One#24.30 Or Son of Man coming in the heavenly clouds#24.30 Dan 7:13 I suddenly saw one like a human being (Aram kebar enash) coming with the heavenly clouds. with power and great splendor. 31He will send his angels with the sound of a great trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from the four corners of the earth, from one end of the sky to the other.
A lesson from the fig tree
32 “Learn this parable from the fig tree. After its branch becomes tender and it sprouts new leaves, you know that summer is near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things, you know that the Human One#24.33 Or Son of Man is near, at the door. 34I assure you that this generation won’t pass away until all these things happen. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will certainly not pass away.
Day and hour
36 “But nobody knows when that day or hour will come, not the heavenly angels and not the Son. Only the Father knows. 37As it was in the time of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Human One.#24.37 Or Son of Man 38In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. 39They didn’t know what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. The coming of the Human One#24.39 Or Son of Man will be like that. 40At that time there will be two men in the field. One will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill. One will be taken and the other left. 42Therefore, stay alert! You don’t know what day the Lord is coming. 43But you understand that if the head of the house knew at what time the thief would come, he would keep alert and wouldn’t allow the thief to break into his house. 44Therefore, you also should be prepared, because the Human One#24.44 Or Son of Man will come at a time you don’t know.
Faithful and unfaithful servants
45 “Who then are the faithful and wise servants whom their master puts in charge of giving food at the right time to those who live in his house? 46Happy are those servants whom the master finds fulfilling their responsibilities when he comes. 47I assure you that he will put them in charge of all his possessions. 48But suppose those bad servants should say to themselves, My master won’t come until later. 49And suppose they began to beat their fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunks? 50The master of those servants will come on a day when they are not expecting him, at a time they couldn’t predict. 51He will cut them in pieces and put them in a place with the hypocrites. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.
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Matthew 24: CEB
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2011 Common English Bible. All rights reserved.
Matthew 24
24
The Temple Will Be Destroyed
1As Jesus left the Temple and was walking away, his followers came up to show him the Temple’s buildings. 2Jesus asked, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, not one stone will be left on another. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground.”
3Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his followers came to be alone with him. They said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that it is time for you to come again and for this age to end?”
4Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one fools you. 5Many will come in my name, saying, ‘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 people will arrest you, hand you over to be hurt, and kill you. They will hate you because you believe in me. 10At that time, many will lose their faith, and they will turn against each other and hate each other. 11Many false prophets will come and cause many people to believe lies. 12There will be more and more evil in the world, so most people will stop showing their love for each other. 13But those people who keep their faith 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 ‘a blasphemous object that brings destruction.’ You will see this 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 people are on the roofs of their houses, they must not go down to get anything out of their houses. 18If people are in the fields, they must not go back to get their coats. 19At that time, how terrible it will be 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, 21because at that time there will be much trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning of the world until now, and nothing as bad will ever happen again. 22God has decided to make that terrible time short. Otherwise, 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 wonders and miracles. They will try to fool even the people God has chosen, 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, like lightning flashing from the east to the west. 28Wherever the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.
29“Soon after the trouble of those days,
‘the sun will grow dark,
and the moon will not give its light.
The stars will fall from the sky.
And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ #Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
30“At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the peoples of the world will cry. They will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky with great power and glory. 31He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from every part of the world.
32“Learn a lesson from the fig tree: When its branches become green and soft and new leaves appear, you know summer is near. 33In the same way, 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. 35Earth 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, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows. 37When the Son of Man comes, it will be like what happened during Noah’s time. 38In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children to be married, until the day Noah entered the boat. 39They knew nothing about what was happening until the flood came and destroyed them. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 40Two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and the other will be left. 41Two women will be grinding grain with a mill. One will be taken, and the other will be left.
42“So always be ready, because you don’t know the day your Lord will come. 43Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time of night a thief was coming, the owner would watch and not let the thief break in. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at a time you don’t expect him.
45“Who is the wise and loyal servant that the master trusts 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 blessed. 47I tell you the truth, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns. 48But suppose that evil servant thinks to himself, ‘My master will not come back soon,’ 49and he begins to beat the other servants and eat and get drunk with others like him? 50The master will come when that servant is not ready and is not expecting him. 51Then the master will cut him in pieces and send him away to be with the hypocrites, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.