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24 Jesus departed from the temple [a]area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to Him to call His attention to the buildings of the temple and point them out to Him.

But He answered them, Do you see all these? Truly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.

While He was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately and said, Tell us, when will this take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end (the completion, the consummation) of the age?

Jesus answered them, Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error].

For many will come in (on the strength of) My name [[b]appropriating the name which belongs to Me], saying, I am the Christ (the Messiah), and they will lead many astray.

And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not frightened or troubled, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in place after place;

All this is but the beginning [the early pains] of the [c]birth pangs [of the [d]intolerable anguish].

Then they will hand you over to suffer affliction and tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.

10 And then many will be offended and repelled and will [e]begin to distrust and desert [Him Whom they ought to trust and obey] and will stumble and fall away and betray one another and pursue one another with hatred.

11 And many false prophets will rise up and deceive and lead many into error.

12 And the love of [f]the great body of people will grow cold because of the multiplied lawlessness and iniquity,

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

14 And this good news of the kingdom (the Gospel) will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end.

15 So when you see the appalling sacrilege [the abomination that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place—let the reader take notice and [g]ponder and consider and heed [this]—(A)

16 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;

17 Let him who is on the housetop not come down and go into the house to take anything;

18 And let him who is in the field not turn back to get his overcoat.

19 And alas for the women who are pregnant and for those who have nursing babies in those days!

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

21 For then there will be great tribulation (affliction, distress, and oppression) such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now—no, and never will be [again].(B)

22 And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would endure and survive, but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.

23 If anyone says to you then, Behold, here is the Christ (the Messiah)! or, There He is!—do not believe it.

24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise, and they will show great signs and wonders so as to deceive and lead astray, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).

25 See, I have warned you beforehand.

26 So if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness (desert)—do not go out there; if they tell you, Behold, He is in the secret places or inner rooms—do not believe it.

27 For just as the lightning flashes from the east and shines and [h]is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

28 Wherever there is a fallen body (a corpse), there the vultures (or eagles) will flock together.(C)

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.(D)

30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and [i]beat their breasts and lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor].(E)

31 And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, [even] from one end of the [j]universe to the other.(F)

32 From the fig tree learn this lesson: as soon as its [k]young shoots become soft and tender and it puts out its leaves, you know [l]of a surety that summer is near.

33 So also when you see these signs, [m]all taken together, coming to pass, you may know [n]of a surety that He is near, at the very doors.

34 Truly I tell you, this generation ([o]the whole multitude of people living at the same time, [p]in a definite, [q]given period) will not pass away till all these things [r]taken together take place.

35 [s]Sky and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

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

37 As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

38 For just as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, [men] marrying and [women] being given in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah went into the ark,

39 And they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away—so will be the coming of the Son of Man.(G)

40 At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.

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

42 Watch therefore [[t]give strict attention, be cautious and active], for you do not know in what kind of a day [[u]whether a near or remote one] your Lord is coming.

43 But understand this: had the householder known in what [part of the night, whether in a [v]night or a morning] watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be [w]undermined and broken into.

44 You also must be ready therefore, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.

45 Who then is the faithful, thoughtful, and wise servant, whom his master has put in charge of his household to give to the others the food and supplies at the proper time?

46 Blessed (happy, fortunate, and [x]to be envied) is that servant whom, when his master comes, he will find so doing.

47 I solemnly declare to you, he will set him over all his possessions.

48 But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, My master is delayed and is going to be gone a long time,

49 And begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with the drunken,

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

51 And will punish him [[y]cut him up by scourging] and put him with the pretenders (hypocrites); there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:1 Richard Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament.
  2. Matthew 24:5 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  3. Matthew 24:8 Literal translation.
  4. Matthew 24:8 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  5. Matthew 24:10 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  6. Matthew 24:12 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  7. Matthew 24:15 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  8. Matthew 24:27 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  9. Matthew 24:30 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  10. Matthew 24:31 G. Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon.
  11. Matthew 24:32 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  12. Matthew 24:32 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  13. Matthew 24:33 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  14. Matthew 24:33 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  15. Matthew 24:34 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  16. Matthew 24:34 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological Lexicon.
  17. Matthew 24:34 G. Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon.
  18. Matthew 24:34 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  19. Matthew 24:35 James Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary.
  20. Matthew 24:42 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.
  21. Matthew 24:42 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  22. Matthew 24:43 Marvin Vincent, Word Studies.
  23. Matthew 24:43 John Wycliffe, The Wycliffe Bible.
  24. Matthew 24:46 Alexander Souter, Pocket Lexicon.
  25. Matthew 24:51 Joseph Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon.

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times(A)

24 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another;(B) every one will be thrown down.”

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives,(C) the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming(D) and of the end of the age?”(E)

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.(F) For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.(G) You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.(H) There will be famines(I) and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.

“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted(J) and put to death,(K) and you will be hated by all nations because of me.(L) 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets(M) will appear and deceive many people.(N) 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.(O) 14 And this gospel of the kingdom(P) will be preached in the whole world(Q) as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

15 “So when you see standing in the holy place(R) ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a](S) spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop(T) go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!(U) 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.(V)

22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect(W) those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.(X) 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders(Y) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning(Z) that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming(AA) of the Son of Man.(AB) 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.(AC)

29 “Immediately 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 heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[b](AD)

30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[c] will mourn(AE) when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven,(AF) with power and great glory.[d] 31 And he will send his angels(AG) with a loud trumpet call,(AH) and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[e] is near, right at the door.(AI) 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.(AJ) 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.(AK)

The Day and Hour Unknown(AL)(AM)

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father.(AN) 37 As it was in the days of Noah,(AO) so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,(AP) up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.(AQ) 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.(AR) 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.(AS)

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.(AT) 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming,(AU) he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready,(AV) because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant,(AW) whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.(AX) 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.(AY) 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.(AZ) 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(BA)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:15 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
  2. Matthew 24:29 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
  3. Matthew 24:30 Or the tribes of the land
  4. Matthew 24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14.
  5. Matthew 24:33 Or he
  6. Matthew 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son.