Matthew 24
24
Destruction of the Temple Predicted
1As Jesus left and was going out of the temple,#Mk 13:1–37; Lk 21:5–36 his disciples#Mt 9:10; Mk 10:10; Lk 6:1; Jn 6:3; 12:16 came up and called his attention to its buildings. 2He replied to them, “Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down.”
Signs of the End of the Age
3While he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” #Mt 21:1; 24:27,37,39
4Jesus replied to them, “Watch out that no one deceives#Jr 29:8; Eph 5:6; Col 2:8; 2Th 2:3 you. 5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many.#Mt 1:17; Eph 5:2 6You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. 7For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines#24:7 Other mss add epidemics#Ac 11:28; Rv 6:8 and earthquakes in various places.#2Ch 15:6; Is 19:2 8All these events are the beginning of labor pains.#Lk 21:12–24
Persecutions Predicted
9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of my name. #
Mt 10:17,22; Jn 16:2 10Then many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another. 11Many false prophets#Is 44:25; Mt 7:15; 24:24; Mk 13:22; Lk 6:26; Ac 13:6; 2Pt 2:1; 1Jn 4:1 will rise up and deceive many. 12Because lawlessness#Mt 13:41; 2Th 2:3 will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. 13But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world#24:14 Or in all the inhabited earth as a testimony to all nations,#Mt 4:23; Rm 10:18; Col 1:6,23; 1Th 1:8 and then the end will come.#Lk 2:1; 4:5; Ac 11:28; 17:6; Rv 3:10; 16:14
The Great Tribulation
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation, # 24:15 Dn 9:27 spoken of by the prophet Daniel,#Dn 9:27; 11:31; 12:11; Mk 13:14; Lk 21:20 standing in the holy place”#Ac 6:13; 21:28 (let the reader understand), 16“then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17A man on the housetop#24:17 Or roof must not come down to get things out of his house,#1Sm 9:25; Mt 10:27; Lk 5:19; 12:3; 17:31; Ac 10:9 18and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat. 19Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! 20Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21For at that time there will be great distress,#24:21 Or tribulation, also in v. 29#Dn 12:1; Jl 2:2; Mt 24:29; Rv 7:14 the kind that hasn’t taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again. 22Unless those days were cut short, no one would#24:22 Lit short, all flesh would not be saved. But those days will be cut short because of the elect.#Mt 22:14; 24:24,31; Mk 13:20,22,27; 1Tm 5:21; 2Tm 2:10; Rv 17:14
23 “If anyone tells you then, ‘See, here is the Messiah!’ #Lk 17:3; 21:28 or, ‘Over here!’ do not believe it.#Mk 11:24; Jn 6:64 24For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray,#Dt 13:1–3; Mt 24:11; Ac 8:9; 2Th 2:9–11; Rv 13:13–14; 16:14; 19:20 if possible, even the elect. 25Take note: I have told you in advance. 26So if they tell you, ‘See, he’s in the wilderness! ’ don’t go out; or, ‘See, he’s in the storerooms! ’ do not believe it. 27For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.#Zch 9:14; Mt 8:20; 24:3,37,39; Lk 17:24 28Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures#24:28 Or eagles will gather.#Jb 39:30; Lk 17:37
The Coming of the Son of Man
29 “Immediately after the distress #
Is 13:10; 24:23; Ezk 32:7; Jl 2:10,31; 3:15; Zph 1:15; Rv 6:12–13 of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth#24:30 Or all the tribes of the land will mourn;#24:30 Lit will beat; that is, beat their chests and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.#Dn 7:13; Zch 12:12; Mt 24:3; Rv 1:7 31He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet,#Is 27:13; 1Co 15:52; 1Th 4:16; Rv 8:2; 11:15 and they will gather his elect from the four winds,#Dn 7:2; Zch 2:6; Rv 7:1 from one end of the sky to the other.
The Parable of the Fig Tree
32 “Learn this lesson #
Mt 13:3,34–36; 15:15; 21:33,45; 22:1 from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things, recognize#24:33 Or things, you know that he#24:33 Or it; that is, summer is near — at the door.#Jms 5:9; Rv 3:20 34Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.#Mt 10:23; 16:28; 23:36 35Heaven and earth will pass away,#Ps 102:26; Is 51:6; Mt 5:18; Heb 12:27; 2Pt 3:10 but my words will never pass away.#Ps 119:89; Is 40:8; Mk 13:31; Lk 21:33; 1Pt 1:23,25
No One Knows the Day or Hour
36 “Now concerning that day and hour no one knows — neither the angels of heaven nor the Son # 24:36 Other mss omit nor the Son — except the Father alone.#Zch 14:7; Mt 25:13; Mk 13:32; Ac 1:7; 1Th 5:1–2 37As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. 38For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark.#Gn 6:5; 7:6–23; Mt 22:30; Lk 17:26 39They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. This is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be. 40Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. 41Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill; one will be taken and one left.#Ex 11:5; Is 47:2; Lk 17:35 42Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day#24:42 Other mss read hour; = time your Lord is coming.#Mt 25:13; Lk 12:40; 21:36 43But know this: If the homeowner had known what time#24:43 Lit watch; a division of the night in ancient times the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into.#Lk 12:39; 1Th 5:2; Rv 3:3 44This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.#Mt 25:10; 1Th 5:6
Faithful Service to Christ
45 “Who then is a faithful and wise servant, #
Lk 12:42–46
whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time?#Mt 7:24; 10:16; 25:2,21 46Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.#Jn 13:17; Rv 16:15 47Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49and starts to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards,#Ac 2:15; 1Co 11:21; 1Th 5:7; Rv 17:6 50that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Matthew 24: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Matthew 24
24
When the Temple Will Be Destroyed and the Signs of the End
1Jesus left the temple. He was walking away when his disciples came up to him. They wanted to call his attention to the temple buildings. 2“Do you see all these things?” Jesus asked. “What I’m about to tell you is true. Not one stone here will be left on top of another. Every stone will be thrown down.”
3Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. There the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us,” they said. “When will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming? What will be the sign of the end?”
4Jesus answered, “Keep watch! Be careful that no one fools you. 5Many will come in my name. They will claim, ‘I am the Messiah!’ They will fool many people. 6You will hear about wars. You will also hear people talking about future wars. Don’t be alarmed. Those things must happen. But the end still isn’t here. 7Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. People will go hungry. There will be earthquakes in many places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9“Then people will hand you over to be treated badly and killed. All nations will hate you because of me. 10At that time, many will turn away from their faith. They will hate each other. They will hand each other over to their enemies. 11Many false prophets will appear. They will fool many people. 12Because evil will grow, most people’s love will grow cold. 13But the one who remains strong in the faith will be saved. 14This good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world. It will be a witness to all nations. Then the end will come.
15“The prophet Daniel spoke about ‘the hated thing that destroys.’ (Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Someday you will see it standing in the holy place. The reader should understand this. 16Then those who are in Judea should escape to the mountains. 17No one on the housetop should go down into the house to take anything out. 18No one in the field should go back to get their coat. 19How awful it will be in those days for pregnant women! How awful for nursing mothers! 20Pray that you will not have to escape in winter or on the Sabbath day. 21There will be terrible suffering in those days. It will be worse than any other from the beginning of the world until now. And there will never be anything like it again.
22“If the time had not been cut short, no one would live. But because of God’s chosen people, it will be shortened. 23At that time someone may say to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ Or, ‘There he is!’ Do not believe it. 24False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will do great signs and miracles. They will try to fool God’s chosen people if possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.
26“So if anyone tells you, ‘He is a long way out in the desert,’ do not go out there. Or if anyone says, ‘He is deep inside the house,’ do not believe it. 27Lightning that comes from the east can be seen in the west. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 28The vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.
29“Right after the terrible suffering of those days,
“ ‘The sun will be darkened.
The moon will not shine.
The stars will fall from the sky.
The heavenly bodies will be shaken.’ (Isaiah 13:10; 34:4)
30“Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven. At that time, all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. He will come with power and great glory. 31He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call. They will gather his chosen people from all four directions. They will bring them from one end of the heavens to the other.
32“Learn a lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you know that the end is near. It is right at the door. 34What I’m about to tell you is true. The people living now will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will never pass away.
The Day and Hour Are Not Known
36“But no one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows. 37Remember how it was in the days of Noah. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. 38In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking. They were getting married. They were giving their daughters to be married. They did all those things right up to the day Noah entered the ark. 39They knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes. 40Two men will be in the field. One will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill. One will be taken and the other left.
42“So keep watch. You do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43You must understand something. Suppose the owner of the house knew what time of night the robber was coming. Then he would have kept watch. He would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at an hour when you don’t expect him.
45“Suppose a master puts one of his slaves in charge of the other slaves in his house. The slave’s job is to give them their food at the right time. The master wants a faithful and wise slave for this. 46It will be good for the slave if the master finds him doing his job when the master returns. 47What I’m about to tell you is true. The master will put that slave in charge of everything he owns. 48But suppose that slave is evil. Suppose he says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time.’ 49Suppose he begins to beat the other slaves. And suppose he eats and drinks with those who drink too much. 50The master of that slave will come back on a day the slave doesn’t expect him. He will return at an hour the slave does not know. 51Then the master will cut him to pieces. He will send him to the place where pretenders go. There people will weep and grind their teeth.
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