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Christ reveals to his disciples the destruction of the temple, the end of the world, and the signs of the latter days. He warns them to awake, for the world will suddenly perish.

24 And Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and his disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. Jesus said to them, Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another that will not be cast down.

And as he sat on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us when these things will be, and what sign will be of your coming, and of the end of the world.

And Jesus answered and said to them, Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name saying, I am Christ! and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and of the infamy of wars. But see that you be not troubled. For all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and realm against realm. And there will be pestilence, hunger, and earthquakes in all quarters. All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Then they will put you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then shall many fall into offence, and will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise, and will deceive many. 12 And because iniquity will have the upper hand, the love of many will abate.

13 But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. 14 And this glad tidings of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness to all nations; and then shall the end come.

15 When you therefore see the abomination that betokens desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place, let him who reads it, understand it. 16 Then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains. 17 And let him who is on the housetop not come down to fetch anything out of his house. 18 Neither let him who is in the field return back to fetch his clothes. 19 Woe shall be in those days to women that are with child, and to those who give suck. 20 But pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day. 21 For then will be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, nor will be. 22 Yea and unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the sake of the chosen, those days will be shortened.

23 Then if anyone says to you, See, here is Christ! or, There is Christ! – believe it not. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will do great miracles and wonders, insomuch that if it were possible, the very elect should be deceived. 25 Take heed, I have told you beforehand. 26 So if they say to you, Behold, he is in the desert! go not forth; or, Behold, he is in the secret places! believe it not. 27 For as the lightning comes out of the east and shines to the west, so will the coming of the Son of man be. 28 For wherever the dead body is, there will the eagles resort.

29 Immediately after the tribulations of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall move. 30 And then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. And then shall all the kindreds of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send his angels with the great voice of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen from the four winds, and from the one end of the world to the other.

32 Learn from a similitude of the fig tree: when its branches are yet tender and its leaves sprung, you know that summer is near. 33 So likewise you, when you see all these things, may be sure that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Truly I say to you that this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled.

35 Heaven and earth shall perish, but my words will abide. 36 But of that day and hour no man knows – no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 As the time of Noah was, so likewise will the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and were married, right up to the day that Noah entered into the ship, 39 and knew of nothing till the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of man be. 40 Then two will be in the fields; the one will be received, and the other will be refused. 41 Two will be grinding at the mill; the one will be received, and the other will be refused.

42 Watch therefore, because you do not know what hour your master will come. 43 Of this be sure: if the householder knew what hour the thief would come, he would surely watch, and not allow his house to be broken into. 44 Therefore you also be ready, because in the hour you think he would not, the Son of man will come.

45 If there be any servant faithful and wise, whom his master has appointed over his household, to give them food in due season, 46 happy is that servant whom his master (when he comes) finds so doing. 47 Truly I say to you, he will appoint him over all his goods. 48 But if the evil servant says in his heart, My master will defer his coming, 49 and begins to smite his fellow servants, yea and to eat and to drink with the drunken, 50 the servant’s master will come in a day when he is not expecting him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, 51 and will separate him, and give him his reward with the hypocrites. And there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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.