Matthew 24

Signs of Christ’s Return

1And coming out from the temple, Jesus was going along, and His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2And 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.”

3Now 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?”

4And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the
Messiah
Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6And 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. 7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. 8But 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. 10And at that time many will
Lit be caused to stumble
fall away and will
Or hand over
betray one another and hate one another.
11Many false prophets will arise and will deceive many. 12And because lawlessness is multiplied,
Lit the love of many
most people’s love will grow cold.
13But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14And 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), 16then 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.
18And
Lit He who
whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment.
19But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22And 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.
23Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the
Messiah
Christ,’ or ‘
Lit Here
There He is,’ do not believe him.
24For 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.
25Behold, I have told you in advance. 26Therefore, 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. 27For just as the lightning comes from the east and appears even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28Wherever 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.
30And 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. 31And 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; 33so, you too, when you see all these things,
Or know
recognize that
Or it
He is near, right at the
Lit doors
door.
34Truly I say to you, this
Or race
generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
35Heaven 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. 37For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38For 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, 39and 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.
40Then there will be two in the field; one
Lit is
will be taken, and one
Lit is
will be left.
41Two 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. 43But
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.
44For 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?
46Blessed is that slave whom his
Or lord
master finds so doing when he comes.
47Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My
Or lord
master
Lit lingers
is not coming for a long time,’
49and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50the
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,
51and 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.

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