24
The Destruction of the Temple Foretold
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came to Him to point out to Him the buildings of the temple. 2 But Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly I say to you, by no means will a stone be left here upon a stone, which shall not be thrown down.”
Signs of the End of the Age
3 And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not disturbed; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation shall rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and they will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations, on account of My name. 10 And then many will fall away, and they will betray one another, and they will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will be raised up, and they will deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
The Great Tribulation
15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are in Judea flee upon the mountains. 17 Let the one on the housetop not go down to take the things out of his house. 18 And let the one in the field not turn back to take his clothes. 19 But woe to those women who are pregnant, and to the women nursing a baby in those days! 20 But pray that your flight may not take place in winter, nor on the Sabbath. 21 For then there shall be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until now, nor by any means shall be. 22 And unless those days were cut short, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake, those days will be cut short.
23 “Then if someone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will be raised up, and they will show great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you in advance.
26 “Therefore if they should say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes out from the east and flashes to the west, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 For wherever the carcass may be, there the eagles will be gathered together.
The Coming of the Son of Man
29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light; and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. 30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Now learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch already becomes tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 So you also, whenever you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! 34 Assuredly I say to you, this generation shall by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall by no means pass away.
The Necessity for Watchfulness
36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But just as the days of Noah were, so also shall be the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For just as they were in the days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they didn't know a thing until the flood came and took them all away, so also shall be the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Then two will be in the field: one will be taken, and one will be left. 41 Two will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken, and one will be left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know in what hour your Lord is coming. 43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have kept watch, and he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 44 For this reason you also must be ready, for at an hour that you think not, the Son of Man comes.
The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant
45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master appointed over his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. 47 Assuredly I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his possessions. 48 But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My master is delaying to come,’ 49 and should begin to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day which he does not expect, and in an hour which he does not know, 51 and he will cut him in two, and will appoint his share with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.