Matthew 24

1 And Jesus went out from the temple and was going away, and his disciples came to him to point out to him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, “Do you not see all these things? Amen, I tell you, not one stone will be left here upon another that will not be thrown down.”

3 And as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what is the sign of your coming and of the completion of the age?” [a] 4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you are going to hear of wars and reports of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for it has to happen; but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. [b] 8 But all these are the beginning of birth pangs.

9 “Then they will hand you over to affliction and will kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my name. 10 And then many will be made to stumble, and they will hand one another over and will hate one another; 11 and many false prophets will rise up and will lead many astray; † 12 and because lawlessness is multiplied, the love of the many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end — this one will be saved. 14 And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole inhabited world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15 “So when you see the detestable thing of desolation, spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place — let the reader understand — [c] 16 then let those in Judea flee to the mountains; 17 the one on the housetop must not go down to take the things out of his house; 18 and the one in the field must not turn back to take his cloak. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those nursing in those days. 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.

21 “For then there will be great affliction, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. [d] 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no flesh would be saved; but because of the chosen ones those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ,’ or, ‘Here!’ do not trust it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will rise up and will give great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. 25 Look, I have told you beforehand.

26 “So if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not trust it. 27 For just as the lightning comes out from the east and shines as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the eagles will be gathered.

30 “And then 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 much glory. [f] 31 And he will send out his messengers with a great trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends of the heavens to their ends. [g]

32 “From the fig tree learn the parable: when its branch has already become tender and puts out leaves, you know that the summer is near. 33 So you too, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the doors. [h] 34 Amen, I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things happen. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 36 But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the messengers of the heavens, nor the Son, except the Father alone. [i] †

37 “For as the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as they were in those days before the flood, eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah went into the ark, 39 and they did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one is taken and one is left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one is taken and one is left.

42 “So stay awake, because you do not know on what day your Lord comes. 43 But know this: if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief comes, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. [j] 44 For this reason you too be ready, because the Son of Man comes at an hour you do not expect.

45 “Who then is the faithful and discerning slave whom the master set over his household, to give them their food at the right time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his master, when he comes, will find doing so. 47 Amen, I tell you, he will set him over all his possessions.

48 “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is taking his time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves, and eats and drinks with the drunkards, 50 the master of that slave will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know, 51 and will cut him in two and will put his portion with the hypocrites. There will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth.”