‏ Matthew 24

1Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came up to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2But he answered them, "You see all these things, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down." 3Now as he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will this be? And what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?"

4And Jesus answered them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ, ‘and will deceive many. 6And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed; for all these things must come to pass, 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 are the beginning of birth pains. 9Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10And then many will fall away, and will betray one another, and hate one another. 11And many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12And because wickedness will increase, the love of most will grow cold. 13But he who endures to the end will be saved. 14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. 15"So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation, ‘spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand) 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19But woe for those who are pregnant and for those who are nursing babies in those days! 20Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22And if those days had not been shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23Then if any one says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24For false christs and false prophets will arise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25See, I have told you beforehand. 26So if they say to you, ‘There he is, out in the desert, ‘do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms, ‘do not believe it. 27For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together. 29"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, 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. 31And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

32"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33So also, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 36"But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. 37But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39and they did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 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. 42Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. 43But know this, that if the owner of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. 44Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 45"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing. 47Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48But if that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time, ‘ 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of, 51and he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.