Matthew 24

And Jesus was going out of the Temple and going away, and his disciples came to him to draw his attention to the buildings of the Temple.

But he answered and said to them, “You see all these things, don’t you? Truly I say to you, there will absolutely not be one stone on top of another left here that will not be thrown down.”

And as he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and end of the age?”

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Watch out, so that no one leads you astray,

because many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will mislead many.

And you will hear wars nearby and reports of wars far away. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must come to pass, but it is not yet the end.

For group will rise against group, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

Then they will hand you over to be tortured, and will even kill you, and you will be hated by all the nations because of my name.

And then many will fall away, and will hand over one another, and will hate one another.

And many false prophets will arise and will mislead many.

And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of the many will grow cold.

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

And the good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed to the whole inhabited world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

“Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation that was spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand),

then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains,

the one who is on the roof must not go down into his house to take things out,

and the one who is in the field must not turn back to take his outer garment.

But how terrible it will be for those who are pregnant and for nursing mothers in those days!

And pray that your flight is not in the winter, nor on a Sabbath,

because at that time there will be great tribulation unlike anything that has happened since the beginning of the world until now, no, and it will never ever happen again.

And if those days were not shortened, no flesh would have been saved, but those days will be shortened for the sake of the chosen.

“At that time if someone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ Or, ‘Here he is,’ do not believe it,

because false Messiahs and false prophets will arise and will perform great signs and wonders in order to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen.

Pay attention! I have told you beforehand.

Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the desert,’ do not go out there. Or ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms of the Temple,’ do not believe it.

For as the lightning goes out from the east and shines even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will be gathered together.

“But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken,

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 great glory.

And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from the one end of heaven to the other end of it.

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near.

Likewise, you also, when you see all these things, know that he is near, right at the door.

Truly I say to you, this generation will absolutely not pass away until all these things have happened.

Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will absolutely not pass away.

“But no one knows about that day and hour, not the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father alone.

For as in the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

For as they were in those days that were before the flood—eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage—until the day that Noah entered the ark,

and they did not know what was coming until the flood came and took them all away, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man.

Then two men will be in the field; one is taken, and one is left.

Two women are grinding with a hand mill; one is taken, and one is left.

Therefore, watch, for you do not know on what day your Lord comes.

But know this, that if the head of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Therefore you be ready too, because the Son of Man will come at an hour that you do not expect.

“Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the lord has set over the slaves of his household to give them their food at the proper time?

Blessed is that slave whom his lord, when he comes, will find him so doing.

Truly I say to you, that he will set him over all his possessions.

But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My lord is not coming for a long time,’

and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and keeps on eating and drinking with the drunkards,

the lord of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know,

and will cut him in two, and assign him a place with the hypocrites; there will be sobbing and gnashing of teeth.