Matthew 24
24
Jesus Warns About the Future
(Mk. 13:1–31; Lk. 21:5–33)
1Jesus left the Temple area and was walking away. But his followers came to him to show him the Temple’s buildings. 2He asked them, “Are you looking at these buildings? The fact is, they will be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another.”
3Later, Jesus was sitting at a place on the Mount of Olives. The followers came to be alone with him. They said, “Tell us when these things will happen. And what will happen to prepare us for your coming and the end of time?”
4Jesus answered, “Be careful! Don’t let anyone fool you. 5Many people will come and use my name. They will say, ‘I am the Messiah.’ And they will fool many people. 6You will hear about wars that are being fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. 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 only the beginning of troubles, like the first pains of a woman giving birth.
9“Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and killed. People all over the world will hate you because you believe in me. 10During that time many believers 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 things that are wrong. 12There will be so much more evil in the world that the love of most believers will grow cold. 13But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved. 14And the Good News I have shared about God’s kingdom will be told throughout the world. It will be spread to every nation. Then the end will come.
15“Daniel the prophet spoke about ‘the terrible thing that causes destruction.’#24:15 ‘the terrible thing … destruction’ See Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. You will see this terrible thing standing in the holy place.” (You who read this should understand what it means.) 16“The people in Judea at that time should run away to the mountains. 17They should run away without wasting time to stop for anything. If they are on the roof of their house, they must not go down to get anything out of the house. 18If they are in the field, they must not go back to get a coat.
19“During that time it will be hard for women who are pregnant or have small babies! 20Pray that it will not be winter or a Sabbath day when these things happen and you have to run away, 21because it will be a time of great 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.
22“But God has decided to make that terrible time short. If it were not made short, no one would continue living. But God will make that time short to help the people he has chosen.
23“Someone might say to you at that time, ‘Look, there is the Messiah!’ Or someone else might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. 24False messiahs and false prophets will come and do great miracles and wonders,#24:24 miracles and wonders Here, amazing acts done by Satan’s power. trying to fool the people God has chosen, if that is possible. 25Now I have warned you about this before it happens.
26“Someone might tell you, ‘The Messiah is there in the desert!’ But don’t go into the desert to look for him. Someone else might say, ‘There is the Messiah in that room!’ But don’t believe it. 27When the Son of Man comes, everyone will see him. It will be like lightning flashing in the sky that can be seen everywhere. 28It’s like looking for a dead body: You will find it where the vultures are gathering above.
29“Right after the trouble of those days, this will happen:
‘The sun will become dark,
and the moon will not give light.
The stars will fall from the sky,
and everything in the sky will be changed.’#24:29 See Isa. 13:10; 34:4.
30“Then there will be something in the sky that shows the Son of Man is coming. All the people of the world will cry. Everyone will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky. He will come with power and great 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 earth.
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 very near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time#24:33 time The time Jesus has been talking about when something important will happen. See Lk. 21:31, where Jesus says that this is the time for God’s kingdom to come. is very near, already present. 34I assure you that all these things will happen while some of the people of this time are still living. 35The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but my words will last forever.
Only God Knows When the Time Will Be
(Mk. 13:32–37; Lk. 17:26–30, 34–36)
36“No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know when it will be. Only the Father knows.
37“When 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, marrying and giving their children to be married right up to the day Noah entered the boat. 39They knew nothing about what was happening until the flood came and destroyed them all.
“It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 40Two men will be working together 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. You don’t know the day your Lord will come. 43What would a homeowner do if he knew when a thief was coming? You know he would be ready and not let the thief break in. 44So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at a time when you don’t expect him.
Good Servants and Bad Servants
(Lk. 12:41–48)
45“Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. Who is the one the master trusts to do that work? 46When the master comes and finds that servant doing the work he gave him, it will be a day of blessing for that servant. 47I can tell you without a doubt, the master will choose that servant to take care of everything he owns.
48“But what will happen if that servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon? 49He will begin to beat the other servants. He will eat and drink with others who are drunk. 50Then the master will come when the servant is not ready, at a time when the servant is not expecting him. 51Then the master will punish that servant. He will send him away to be with the hypocrites, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.
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Matthew 24: ERV
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Matthew 24
24
The Destruction of the Temple Predicted
1 And as Jesus went out of the temple courts#*Here “courts” is supplied to distinguish this area from the interior of the temple building itself he was going along, and his disciples came up to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2But he answered and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone will be left here on another stone that will not be thrown down!”
Signs of the End of the Age
3And as#*Here “as” is supplied as a component of the temporal genitive absolute participle (“was sitting”) he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came up to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 4And Jesus answered and#*Here “and” is supplied because the previous participle (“answered”) has been translated as a finite verb said to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you! 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many. 6And you are going to hear about wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is not yet. 7For nation will rise up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.#Or “in place after place” 8But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Persecution of Disciples Predicted
9“Then they will hand you over to persecution and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations#Or “Gentiles”; the same Greek word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context because of my name. 10And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another, 11and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many, 12and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. 13But the one who endures to the end—this person will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations,#Or “Gentiles”; the same Greek word can be translated “nations” or “Gentiles” depending on the context and then the end will come.
The Abomination of Desolation
15“So when you see the abomination of desolation#An allusion to Dan 9:27 spoken about by the prophet Daniel standing in the holy place” (let the one who reads understand), 16“then those in Judea must flee to the mountains! 17The one who is on his#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun housetop must not come down to take things out of his house, 18and the one who is in the field must not turn back to pick up his cloak. 19And woe to those who are pregnant#Literally “who have in the womb” and to those who are nursing their babies#*The words “their babies” are not in the Greek text but are supplied as a necessary clarification in those days! 20But pray that your flight may not happen in winter or on a Sabbath. 21For at that time there will be great tribulation, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will happen. 22And unless those days had been shortened, no human being would be saved.#Literally “every flesh would not be saved” But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.
23“At that time if anyone should say to you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or ‘Here he is,’ do not believe him!#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation 24For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, and will produce great signs and wonders in order to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25Behold, I have told you ahead of time! 26Therefore if they say to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or#*Here “or” is supplied because of English style ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it!#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation 27For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 28Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.
The Arrival of the Son of Man
29“And immediately after the tribulation of those days,
‘the sun will be darkened
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of heaven will be shaken.’#A quotation from Isa 13:10; 34:4
30And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,#Or “the sky” and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven#Or “the sky” with power and great glory. 31And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect together from the four winds, from one end of heaven#Or “of the sky” to the other end of it.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun leaves, you know that summer is near. 33So also you, when you see all these things, know#Or “you know” that he is near, at the door. 34Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
The Unknown Day and Hour
36“But concerning that day and hour no one knows—not even the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone. 37For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38For as in the days#Some manuscripts have “those days” before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. 39And they did not know anything#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation until the deluge came and swept them#*Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation all away. So also the coming of the Son of Man will be. 40Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. 42Therefore be on the alert, because you do not know what day your Lord is coming! 43But understand this: that if the master of the house had known what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. 44For this reason you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will come.#*The words “he will come” are not in the Greek text but are implied
A Faithful Slave and an Unfaithful Slave
45“Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their#*Literally “the”; the Greek article is used here as a possessive pronoun food at the right time? 46Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he#*Here “when” is supplied as a component of the participle (“comes back”) which is understood as temporal comes back. 47Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But if that evil slave should say to himself,#Literally “in his heart” ‘My master is staying away for a long time,’ 49and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, 51and will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!
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