24Matthew 24

Jesus Speaks of the Destruction of the Temple

1Jesus left and was going away from the Temple when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings.Select Matthew 24:1

2“Yes,” he said, “you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down.”Select Matthew 24:2

Troubles and Persecutions

3As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us when all this will be,” they asked, “and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age.”Select Matthew 24:3

4Jesus answered, “Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you.Select Matthew 24:4

5Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will fool many people.Select Matthew 24:5

6You are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away; but do not be troubled. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come.Select Matthew 24:6

7Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attack one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere.Select Matthew 24:7

8All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.Select Matthew 24:8

9“Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death. Everyone will hate you because of me.Select Matthew 24:9

10Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another.Select Matthew 24:10

11Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people.Select Matthew 24:11

12Such will be the spread of evil that many people's love will grow cold.Select Matthew 24:12

13But whoever holds out to the end will be saved.Select Matthew 24:13

14And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all people; and then the end will come.Select Matthew 24:14

The Awful Horror

15“You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ of which the prophet Daniel spoke. It will be standing in the holy place.” (Note to the reader: understand what this means!)Select Matthew 24:15

16“Then those who are in Judea must run away to the hills.Select Matthew 24:16

17Someone who is on the roof of a house must not take the time to go down and get any belongings from the house.Select Matthew 24:17

18Someone who is in the field must not go back to get a cloak.Select Matthew 24:18

19How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for mothers with little babies!Select Matthew 24:19

20Pray to God that you will not have to run away during the winter or on a Sabbath!Select Matthew 24:20

21For the trouble at that time will be far more terrible than any there has ever been, from the beginning of the world to this very day. Nor will there ever be anything like it again.Select Matthew 24:21

22But God has already reduced the number of days; had he not done so, nobody would survive. For the sake of his chosen people, however, God will reduce the days.Select Matthew 24:22

23“Then, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it.Select Matthew 24:23

24For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God's chosen people, if possible.Select Matthew 24:24

25Listen! I have told you this ahead of time.Select Matthew 24:25

26“Or, if people should tell you, ‘Look, he is out in the desert!’—don't go there; or if they say, ‘Look, he is hiding here!’—don't believe it.Select Matthew 24:26

27For the Son of Man will come like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west.Select Matthew 24:27

28“Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.Select Matthew 24:28

The Coming of the Son of Man

29“Soon after the trouble of those days, the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses.Select Matthew 24:29

30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.Select Matthew 24:30

31The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.Select Matthew 24:31

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

32“Let the fig tree teach you a lesson. When its branches become green and tender and it starts putting out leaves, you know that summer is near.Select Matthew 24:32

33In the same way, when you see all these things, you will know that the time is near, ready to begin.Select Matthew 24:33

34Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died.Select Matthew 24:34

35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. (; Luke 17.26-30,34-36)Select Matthew 24:35

No One Knows the Day and Hour

36“No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come—neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows.Select Matthew 24:36

37The coming of the Son of Man will be like what happened in the time of Noah.Select Matthew 24:37

38In the days before the flood people ate and drank, men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat;Select Matthew 24:38

39yet they did not realize what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes.Select Matthew 24:39

40At that time two men will be working in a field: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind.Select Matthew 24:40

41Two women will be at a mill grinding meal: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind.Select Matthew 24:41

42Watch out, then, because you do not know what day your Lord will come.Select Matthew 24:42

43If the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, you can be sure that he would stay awake and not let the thief break into his house.Select Matthew 24:43

44So then, you also must always be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.Select Matthew 24:44

The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant

45“Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant? It is the one that his master has placed in charge of the other servants to give them their food at the proper time.Select Matthew 24:45

46How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home!Select Matthew 24:46

47Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property.Select Matthew 24:47

48But if he is a bad servant, he will tell himself that his master will not come back for a long time,Select Matthew 24:48

49and he will begin to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.Select Matthew 24:49

50Then that servant's master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know.Select Matthew 24:50

51The master will cut him in pieces and make him share the fate of the hypocrites. There he will cry and gnash his teeth.Select Matthew 24:51