Mat 24 | LSB | STEP | And coming out from the temple, Jesus was going along, and His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.

‏ Matthew 24

Signs of Christ’s Return

1 And coming out from the temple, Jesus was going along, and His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 And He answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

3 Now as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the ^{▼▼Or consummation}end of the age?”

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^{▼▼Messiah}Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will ^{▼▼Lit be caused to stumble}fall away and will ^{▼▼Or hand over}betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will arise and will deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness is multiplied, ^{▼▼Lit the love of many}most people’s love will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole ^{▼▼Lit inhabited earth}world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 ^{▼▼Lit He who}Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 And ^{▼▼Lit He who}whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 And unless those days had been cut short, no ^{▼▼Lit flesh}life would have been saved; but for the sake of the ^{▼▼Or chosen ones}elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^{▼▼Messiah}Christ,’ or ‘ ^{▼▼Lit Here}There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and will ^{▼▼Lit give}show great ^{▼▼Or attesting miracles}signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the ^{▼▼Or chosen ones}elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and appears even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the ^{▼▼Or eagles}vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “But 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 ^{▼▼ Or heaven} the sky, and the powers of ^{▼▼ Or heaven} the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His ^{▼▼Or chosen ones}elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the ^{▼▼Lit their end}other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, ^{▼▼Or know}recognize that ^{▼▼Or it}He is near, right at the ^{▼▼Lit doors}door. 34 Truly I say to you, this ^{▼▼Or race}generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and they did not ^{▼▼Lit know}understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then there will be two in the field; one ^{▼▼Lit is}will be taken, and one ^{▼▼Lit is}will be left. 41 Two women will be grinding grain at the ^{▼▼Handmill}mill; one ^{▼▼Lit is}will be taken and one ^{▼▼Lit is}will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

42 “Therefore stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But ^{▼▼Lit know this}be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be ^{▼▼Lit dug through}broken into. 44 For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

45 “Who then is the faithful and prudent slave whom his ^{▼▼ Or lord} master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his ^{▼▼Or lord}master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ^{▼▼Or lord}master ^{▼▼Lit lingers}is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the ^{▼▼Or lord}master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and will ^{▼▼Or severely scourge him}cut him in pieces and ^{▼▼Lit appoint his portion}assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.