When Jesus, the Son of Man, Comes Again^(A)

²² Then Jesus said to ·his followers [the disciples], “The time will come when you will ·want very much [long] to see one of the days of the Son of Man [^Cthe full revelation of the kingdom at Jesus’ return]. But you will not see it. ²³ People will say to you, ‘Look, ·there he is [or over there]!’ or, ‘Look, ·here he is [or over here]!’ ·Stay where you are [^LDon’t leave/go out]; don’t go away and ·search [pursue; chase after].

²⁴ “For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so ·it will be when the Son of Man comes again [^Lwill be the Son of Man in his day].^{[a] 25} But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by ·the people of this time [^Lthis generation]. ²⁶ Just as it was ·when Noah lived [^Lin the days of Noah; Gen. 6—9], so it will be ·when the Son of Man comes again [^Lin the days of the Son of Man]. ²⁷ People were eating, drinking, marrying, and ·giving their children to be married [or being given in marriage] until the day Noah entered the boat. Then the flood came and ·killed [destroyed] them all. ²⁸ It will be the same as ·during the time [^Lin the days] of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building. ²⁹ But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and ·sulfur [^Tbrimstone] rained down from ·the sky [heaven] and ·killed [destroyed] them all [Gen. 19]. ³⁰ This is how it will be ·when [^Lthe day] the Son of Man ·comes again [^Lis revealed].

³¹ “On that day, a person who is on the roof [^Croofs were typically flat and used as extra rooms] and whose belongings are in the house should not ·go inside [^Lcome down] to get them. A person who is in the field should not ·go back home [^Lturn back]. ³² Remember Lot’s wife [^Cwho was judged for longingly looking back at Sodom; Gen. 19:15–17, 26]. ³³ Those who try to ·keep [preserve; keep secure] their lives will lose them. But those who ·give up [lose; let go of] their lives will save them. ³⁴ I tell you, on that night two people will be sleeping in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left. ³⁵ There will be two women grinding grain together; one will be taken, and the other will be left. |³⁶ Two people will be in the field. One will be taken, and the other will be left.|”^[b]

³⁷ ·The followers [^LThey] asked Jesus, “·Where will this be [^LWhere], Lord?”

Jesus answered, “Where there is a ·dead body [corpse], there the vultures will gather [^Cthe carnage will make the place of judgment obvious to all].”

³⁹ Those who ·try to hold on to [cling to; seek to preserve; ^Lfind] their lives will ·give up true life [lose them]. Those who ·give up [lose] their lives for ·me [my sake] will ·hold on to true life [^Lfind them].

¹⁷ If people are on the roofs of their houses [^Croofs in Palestine were flat and used as spare rooms and for storage], they must not go down to get anything out of their houses. ¹⁸ If people are in the fields, they must not go back to get their ·coats [cloaks]. ¹⁹ At that time, ·how terrible it will be for [^Lwoe to] women who are pregnant or have nursing babies! ²⁰ Pray that it will not be ·winter [bad weather] or a Sabbath day when these things happen and you have to run away, ²¹ because at that time there will be much ·trouble [distress; ^Ttribulation]. There will be more ·trouble [distress; ^Ttribulation]. than there has ever been since the beginning of the world until now, and nothing as bad will ever happen again [Dan. 12:1]. ²² ·God has decided to make that terrible time short [^LIf those days had not been shortened (by God)…; ^Cthe passive verb implies God as subject]. Otherwise, no one would ·go on living [survive; ^Lbe saved]. But God will make that time short ·to help the people he has chosen [for the sake of the elect]. ²³ At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the ·Christ [Messiah]!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. ²⁴ False ·Christs [messiahs] and false prophets will ·come [appear; rise up] and perform great ·wonders [signs; miracles] and ·miracles [wonders; marvels]. They will try to ·fool [mislead; deceive] even the ·people God has chosen [elect], if that is possible. ²⁵ Now I have warned you about this before it happens.

²⁶ “If people tell you, ‘[^LLook,] ·the Christ [^Lhe] is in the ·desert [wilderness],’ don’t go there. If they say, ‘[^LLook,] he is ·in the inner room [or hiding here; in this secret place],’ don’t believe it. ²⁷ When the Son of Man comes [Dan. 7:13–14], he will be like lightning flashing from the east to the west [^Che will be seen by everyone]. ²⁸ Wherever the ·dead body [carcass] is, there the vultures will gather.

³⁷ When the Son of Man comes [Dan. 7:13–14], it will be like what happened during Noah’s time. ³⁸ [^LFor] In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children to be married, until the day Noah entered the boat. ³⁹ They ·knew [understood] nothing about what was happening until the flood came and ·destroyed them [^Ltook/swept them all away]. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. ⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field. One will be taken, and the other will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding grain with a ·mill [handmill; ^Ctwo large, round, flat rocks used for grinding grain to make flour]. One will be taken, and the other will be left.

¹⁴ “You will see ‘·a blasphemous object that brings destruction’ [^Tthe abomination of desolation; ^Ca phrase taken from Dan. 9:27; 11:31; 12:11, and originally referring to the desecration of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 bc] standing where ·it [or he] should not be.” (You who read this should understand what it means [^Cprobably a reference to the (soon-to-occur) destruction of Jerusalem in ad 70].) “At that time, the people in Judea should ·run away [flee] to the mountains. ¹⁵ If people are on the roofs of their houses [^Croofs in Palestine were flat and used as spare rooms and for storage], they must not go down or go inside to get anything out of their houses. ¹⁶ If people are in the fields, they must not go back to get their ·coats [cloaks]. ¹⁷ At that time, ·how terrible it will be for [^Lwoe to] women who are pregnant or have nursing babies! ¹⁸ Pray that these things will not happen in ·winter [bad weather], ¹⁹ because those days will be full of ·trouble [distress; ^Ttribulation]. There will be more ·trouble [distress; ^Ttribulation] than there has ever been since the beginning, when God made the world, until now, and nothing as bad will ever happen again [Dan. 12:1]. ²⁰ ·God has decided to make that terrible time short [^LIf the Lord had not shortened those days…]. Otherwise, no one would ·go on living [survive; ^Lbe saved]. But God will make that time short ·to help [for the sake of] ·the people [the elect] he has chosen. ²¹ At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the ·Christ [Messiah]!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them. ²² False ·Christs [Messiahs] and false prophets will ·come [appear; rise up] and perform ·great wonders [signs; miracles] and ·miracles [wonders; marvels]. They will try to ·fool [mislead; deceive] even the ·people God has chosen [elect], if that is possible. ²³ So ·be careful [watch out; be on guard]. I have warned you about all this before it happens.