< Matthew 24 >
1 So as Jesus was going out, departing from the temple, His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
2 But Jesus said to them: “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly I say to you, absolutely not a single stone here will be left upon another, that will not be thrown 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 be? And what will be the sign of Your coming and of the completion of the age?” (aiōn )
4 So in answer Jesus said to them: “Watch out, so that no one deceives you.
5 Because many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will deceive many.
6 You will be concerned when you hear of wars and rumors of wars; see to it that you not get worked up; for all of it has to happen, but the end is not yet.
7 For nation will be raised up against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and pestilences and earthquakes in various places;
8 but all these things are only a beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then they will hand you over to oppression and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake.
10 And then many will be offended, and they will betray one another and will hate one another.
11 And many false prophets will be raised up and they will deceive many.
12 And because of the increase of the lawlessness the love of the majority will grow cold.
13 So the one who perseveres to the end, he will be saved.
14 And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited earth as a witness to all the ethnic nations, and then the end will come.
15 “So then, when you (ye) see the ‘abomination of desolation’, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand),
16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17 Anyone on the housetop should not go down to take things out of his house,
18 and anyone in the field should not go back to get his cloak.
19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing a baby in those days!
20 And pray that your flight may not happen in winter or on a Sabbath.
21 Because then there will be a great tribulation, such as has never been since the beginning of the world until now, and never again will be.
22 And unless those days were cut short no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, the Messiah is here!’ or ‘there!’ do not believe him.
24 Because false christs and false prophets will be raised up, and they will give great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 So if they should say to you, ‘Look, He is in the wilderness!’ do not go out; ‘Look, in the secret rooms!’ do not believe it.
27 Because just as the lightning comes from east and shines to west, so also will be the coming of the Son of the Man;
28 for wherever the carcass may be there will be a gathering of vultures.
29 “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 the heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
30 And then the sign of the Son of the Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn—they will see the Son of the Man coming on the clouds of the heaven with power and great glory.
31 And He will send out His angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they will collect His elect from the four winds, from one extreme of the heavens to the other.
32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and it puts forth leaves, you know that the summer is near.
33 So you also, whenever you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors!
34 Assuredly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen.
35 The heaven and the earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
36 “But no one knows concerning that day and hour, not even the angels of the heavens, except my Father alone.
37 But just as were the days of Noah, so also will be the coming of the Son of the Man.
38 For just as they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, in the days before the flood until the day that Noah entered the ark,
39 and were not aware until the flood came and took all away, so also will be the coming of the Son of the Man.
40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and the other will be left.
42 So be watchful, because you (pl) do not know in what hour your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into.
44 Therefore you also be ready, because the Son of the Man is coming at an hour that you do not suppose.
45 “Who then is the faithful and prudent servant whom his lord placed over his corps of servants to give them food on schedule?
46 Blessed be that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find doing so.
47 Assuredly I say to you that he will place him over all his possessions.
48 But if that bad servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his return,’
49 and should begin to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards,
50 the lord of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour when he is not aware,
51 and will cut him in two and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
