Matthew 24
The Destruction of the Temple
24:1 Now1 as Jesus was going out of the temple courts and walking away, his disciples came to show him the temple buildings.2 24:2 And he said to them,3 “Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth,4 not one stone will be left on another.5 All will be torn down!”6
Signs of the End of the Age
24:3 As7 he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things8 happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” 24:4 Jesus answered them,9 “Watch out10 that no one misleads you. 24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’11 and they will mislead many. 24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come.12 24:7 For nation will rise up in arms13 against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines14 and earthquakes15 in various places. 24:8 All16 these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Persecution of Disciples
24:9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations17 because of my name.18 24:10 Then many will be led into sin,19 and they will betray one another and hate one another. 24:11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive20 many, 24:12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold. 24:13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved.21 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations,22 and then the end will come.
The Abomination of Desolation
24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation23 – spoken about by Daniel the prophet – standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 24:16 then those in Judea must flee24 to the mountains. 24:17 The one on the roof25 must not come down26 to take anything out of his house, 24:18 and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 24:19 Woe27 to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days! 24:20 Pray28 that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 24:21 For then there will be great suffering29 unlike anything that has happened30 from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen. 24:22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 24:23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’31 or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him. 24:24 For false messiahs32 and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 24:25 Remember,33 I have told you ahead of time. 24:26 So then, if someone34 says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’35 do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him. 24:27 For just like the lightning36 comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 24:28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures37 will gather.38
The Arrival of the Son of Man
24:29 “Immediately39 after the suffering40 of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.41 24:30 Then42 the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,43 and44 all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They45 will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heaven46 with power and great glory. 24:31 And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven47 to the other.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
24:32 “Learn48 this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. 24:33 So also you, when you see all these things, know49 that he is near, right at the door. 24:34 I tell you the truth,50 this generation51 will not pass away until all these things take place. 24:35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.52
Be Ready!
24:36 “But as for that day and hour no one knows it – not even the angels in heaven53 – except the Father alone. 24:37 For just like the days of Noah54 were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 24:38 For in those days before the flood, people55 were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. 24:39 And they knew nothing until the flood came and took them all away.56 It will be the same at the coming of the Son of Man.57 24:40 Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left.58 24:41 There will be two women grinding grain with a mill;59 one will be taken and one left.
24:42 “Therefore stay alert, because you do not know on what day60 your Lord will come. 24:43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief61 was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into. 24:44 Therefore you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.62
The Faithful and Wise Slave
24:45 “Who then is the faithful and wise slave,63 whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the other slaves64 their food at the proper time? 24:46 Blessed is that slave whom the master finds at work65 when he comes. 24:47 I tell you the truth,66 the master67 will put him in charge of all his possessions. 24:48 But if68 that evil slave should say to himself,69 ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 24:49 and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and to eat and drink with drunkards, 24:50 then the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not foresee, 24:51 and will cut him in two,70 and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.