Matthew 24

1As Jesus came out of the temple and went on his way, his disciples approached to point out its buildings to him. 2In answer he said to them, “You see all this, do you not? Truly I tell you, every stone here will be pulled down, until not one is left resting on another.”

3Later, while he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him by themselves and said, “Tell us when this will take place. And what sign will mark your coming and the close of the age?” 4Jesus replied, “Be on your guard, so that nobody leads you astray. 5Many will come and use my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6You are going to hear of wars, and of news of wars. Take care not to be shaken. These things have to happen, but that does not mean the end has come. 7Nation will go to war with nation, and kingdom with kingdom. In one place after another there will be famines and earthquakes. 8Yet all of this is only the start of the birth pains.

9Then they will hand you over for harsh treatment and kill you, and all the nations will hate you because of my name. 10Many will then fall away, handing each other over and hating each other. 11False prophets will rise up in great numbers, and they will lead many astray. 12As lawlessness spreads, most people’s love will cool. 13But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. 14This gospel of the kingdom will be announced throughout the world, so that every nation hears the witness, and only then will the end come.

15So when you see the abomination that brings ruin, of which the prophet Daniel spoke, standing in the holy place (let the reader take note), 16then those in Judea must escape to the hills. 17Anyone on the roof must not go down to fetch things from the house, 18and anyone in the field must not turn back for a cloak. 19Woe to women who are pregnant and to those nursing babies in those days! 20Pray that you will not have to escape in winter, or on a Sabbath day. 21For that will be a time of great distress, worse than anything that has happened since the world began, and nothing like it will ever happen again. 22Had those days not been cut short, not one person would come through alive. But for the sake of the chosen they will be cut short. 23If anyone says to you then, ‘Look, the Christ is here!’ or ‘He is here!’ refuse to believe it. 24People falsely claiming to be the Christ will rise up, and false prophets with them. They will work great signs and wonders, enough to lead astray even the chosen ones, if such a thing could be done. 25Mark this: I have warned you in advance. 26So if they tell you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ stay where you are. If they say, ‘Look, he is hidden indoors,’ do not believe it. 27The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that flashes in the east and lights up the sky all the way to the west. 28Where there is a dead body, that is where vultures flock.

29Right after the distress of those days the sun will turn dark and the moon will stop giving its light. Stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Every tribe on earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on heaven’s clouds, with power and great glory. 31As a great trumpet sounds, he will send out his angels. They will gather his chosen ones from the four winds, from the farthest edges of the heavens on every side.

32Take the fig tree as your lesson. When its branches turn soft and leaves start to sprout, you can tell that summer is not far off. 33So it is with you: once you see all these things, be sure that it is close, standing at the door. 34Truly I tell you, all these things will happen before this generation has passed away. 35Heaven and earth will pass away; my words never will.

36No one knows the day or the hour when that will come. The angels in heaven do not know it, and neither does the Son. Only the Father knows. 37The coming of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah. 38Before the flood, people carried on with their meals and their drinking, with weddings for themselves and their children, right up to the day Noah went into the ark. 39They had no idea what was coming until the flood came and swept every one of them away. The coming of the Son of Man will be like that too. 40Two people will then be working in the field: one is taken, and the other is left. 41Two women will be grinding grain at the mill: one is taken, and the other is left. 42So stay alert, since you do not know which day your Lord will come. 43Think about this. A homeowner who knew at what time of night a thief was coming would stay awake and not allow anyone to dig through the walls of his house. 44So you too must stay prepared: the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not imagine.

45Who, then, is the servant that is trustworthy and sensible, whom the master has put in charge of his household staff to give them their food when it is due? 46That servant will be blessed if, when his master comes, he finds him at that very work. 47Truly I tell you, the master will put him in charge of everything he owns. 48But that servant may be wicked. He may think to himself, ‘My master is a long time coming,’ 49and start to beat his fellow servants, while he eats and drinks with drunkards. 50If so, his master will come on a day he does not look for, at an hour he does not know. 51The master will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites, where people will weep and grind their teeth.