Matthew 24

1Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to him to point out to him the buildings of the temple.

2But he answered them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4Jesus answered them, “Watch out that no one leads you astray.

5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will lead many astray.

6You will hear of wars and reports of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for these things must happen, but the end is not yet.

7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

8All these things are the beginning of the birth pains.

9Then they will hand you over to suffering and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name.

10Then many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another.

11Many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.

12Because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold.

13But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

14And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15So when you see the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

16then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.

17Whoever is on the roof must not go down to take anything out of his house,

18and whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.

19How terrible it will be in those days for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing babies!

20Pray that your flight will not be in winter or on a Sabbath.

21For then there will be great distress, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, and never will again.

22If those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the chosen, those days will be cut short.

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

24For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen.

25See, I have told you ahead of time.

26So if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

27For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

28Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

29Immediately after the distress of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the 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, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his chosen from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32Learn this lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

33In the same way, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.

34Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.

35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

36But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

37For just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah went into the ark,

39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

40Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.

41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42So stay awake, because you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.

43But understand this: if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.

44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect him.

45Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household to give them their food at the right time?

46Blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing so when he comes.

47Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time,’

49and he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.

50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know,

51and will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth there.