Matthew 24
24
1As Jesus was leaving the Temple his disciples came to him, pointing proudly to the Temple buildings. 2But Jesus replied, “You see all these buildings? I tell you the truth: there won't be one stone left upon another. Every last one will come crashing down!”
3As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private, and asked, “Please tell us when this will happen. What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the world?”
4“Make sure no one misleads you,” Jesus replied. 5“Many will come claiming to be me, saying, ‘I'm the Messiah,’ and they will deceive many people. 6You'll hear about wars, and rumors about wars, but don't be anxious. These things have to happen, but this isn't the end. 7Nations will attack other nations, and kingdoms will fight against other kingdoms. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places, 8but all these things are just the beginnings of birth pains.
9Then they will arrest you, they will persecute you, and they will kill you. All people will hate you because of me. 10At that time many believers will give up believing. They will betray one another and hate one another. 11Many false prophets will come and deceive many people. 12The increasing evil will lead the love of many to grow cold, 13but those who hold out to the end will be saved. 14The good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed around the whole world so everyone will be able to hear it, and then the end will come.
15So when you see the ‘idolatry that causes devastation’#24:15. Or “desolating sacrilege,” referring back to Daniel 9:27, Daniel 11:31, Daniel 12:11. standing in the holy place that the prophet Daniel spoke about (those who read this please consider carefully), 16then the people living in Judea should run away to the mountains. 17Anyone who is on the housetop must not go down and fetch what's in the house. 18Anyone who is out in the fields must not go back to get a coat. 19How awful it will be for those who are pregnant, and those who are nursing babies at that time! 20Pray that you don't have to run away in winter, or on the Sabbath day. 21For at that time there will be terrible persecution—more terrible than anything that has happened from the beginning of the world up till now, and won't ever happen again. 22Unless those days are cut short, nobody will be saved, but for the sake of the chosen those days will be cut short.
23So if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here's the Messiah,’ or, ‘There he is,’ don't believe it. 24For false messiahs will appear, and false prophets too, and they will perform incredible signs and miracles in order to deceive the chosen, if that were possible. 25Notice that I've told you this before it even happens. 26So if they tell you, ‘Look, he's out in the desert,’ don't go looking there; or if they say, ‘Look, he's secretly here,’ don't believe it. 27For the coming of the Son of man will be like the lightning that flashes brightly from east to west. 28‘Vultures gather where the carcass is.’
29But right after those days of persecution the sun will be darkened, the moon will not shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. 30Then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and in brilliant glory.#24:30. See Daniel 7:13-14. 31With a blast from a trumpet he will send his angels to gather his chosen ones from every place, from one end of heaven and earth to the other.#24:31. Literally, “from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
32Learn an illustration from the fig tree. When its shoots become tender and leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is coming. 33In the same way when you see all these things happening, you know that his coming is near, in fact it's right at the door! 34I tell you the truth: this generation won't pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth may pass away, but my words won't pass away.
36But no one knows the day or hour when this will take place, not the angels in heaven, nor the Son. Only the Father knows. 37When the Son of man comes it will be like it was during the time of Noah. 38It will be as in the days before the flood, when they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, right up until the day that Noah went into the ark. 39They didn't realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That's how the coming of the Son of man will be.
40Two men will be working in the fields. One will be taken, the other left. 41Two women will be grinding grain with a mill. One will be taken, the other left. 42So stay alert, because you don't know what day your Lord is coming. 43But consider this: if the house-owner knew what time a thief was coming, he would keep watch. He would not allow his house to be broken into and robbed. 44You also need to be ready, because the Son of man is coming at a time when you're not expecting him.
45For who is the trustworthy and thoughtful servant? It's the one his master puts in charge of his household to provide them with food at the proper time. 46How good it will be for that servant to be found doing that when his master returns! 47I tell you the truth: the master will put that servant in charge over everything he has. 48But if he was evil, the servant would say to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time,’ 49and would start beating the other servants, feasting and drinking with the drunks. 50Then that servant's master will return when the man doesn't expect him, at a time he doesn't know. 51He'll cut him to pieces, and treat him in the same way as the hypocrites,#24:51. Those who claim to follow their Lord but in reality don't. sending him to a place where there's crying and gnashing of teeth.”
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Matthew 24: FBV
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com
Matthew 24
24
The Temple Will Be Destroyed
(Mark 13.1,2; Luke 21.5,6)
1After Jesus left the temple, his disciples came over and said, “Look at all these buildings!”
2Jesus replied, “Do you see these buildings? They will certainly be torn down! Not one stone will be left in place.”
Warning about Trouble
(Mark 13.3-13; Luke 21.7-19)
3 #
2 Esd 4.51—5.19. Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him in private and asked, “When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?”
4Jesus answered:
Don't let anyone fool you. 5Many will come and claim to be me. They will say they are the Messiah, and they will fool many people.
6You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. 7#2 Esd 13.31. Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to death, and in some places there will be earthquakes. 8But this is just the beginning of troubles.
9 #
Mt 10.22. You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations. 10Many will give up and will betray and hate each other. 11Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. 12Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. 13#Mt 10.22. But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved. 14When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.
The Horrible Thing
(Mark 13.14-23; Luke 21.20-24)
15 #
Dn 9.27; 11.31; 12.11; 1 Macc 1.54; 6.7. Someday you will see that “Horrible Thing” in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand! 16If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. 17#Lk 17.31. If you are on the roof#24.17 roof: In Palestine the houses usually had a flat roof. Stairs on the outside led up to the roof, which was made of beams and boards covered with packed earth. of your house, don't go inside to get anything. 18If you are out in the field, don't go back for your coat. 19It will be a terrible time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children. 20And pray that you won't have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath.#24.20 in winter or on a Sabbath: In Palestine the winters are cold and rainy and make travel difficult. The Jewish people were not allowed to travel much more than a kilometer on the Sabbath. For these reasons it was hard for them to escape from their enemies in the winter or on a Sabbath. 21#Dn 12.1; Rev 7.14. This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again. 22If God doesn't make the time shorter, no one will be left alive. But because of God's chosen ones, he will make the time shorter.
23Someone may say, “Here is the Messiah!” or “There he is!” But don't believe it. 24False messiahs and false prophets will come and work great miracles and signs. They will even try to fool God's chosen ones. 25But I have warned you ahead of time. 26#Lk 17.23,24. If you are told the Messiah is out in the desert, don't go there! And if you are told he is in some secret place, don't believe it! 27The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west. 28#Lk 17.37. Where there is a corpse, there will always be vultures.#24.28 Where there is a corpse, there will always be vultures: This saying may mean that when anything important happens, people soon know about it. Or the saying may mean that whenever something bad happens, curious people gather around and stare. But the word translated “vulture” also means “eagle” and may refer to the Roman army, which had an eagle as its symbol.
When the Son of Man Appears
(Mark 13.24-27; Luke 21.25-28)
29 #
Is 13.10; Jl 2.10; Jl 2.10,31; 3.15; Rev 6.12;
Is 13.10; Ez 32.7; Jl 2.10; 3.15;
Is 34.4; Rev 6.13. Right after those days of suffering,
“The sun will become dark,
and the moon
will no longer shine.
The stars will fall,
and the powers in the sky#24.29 the powers in the sky: In ancient times people thought that the stars were spiritual powers.
will be shaken.”
30 #
Dn 7.13; Zec 12.10-14; Rev 1.7. Then a sign will appear in the sky. And there will be the Son of Man.#24.30 And there will be the Son of Man: Or “And it will be the Son of Man.” All nations on earth will weep when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31At the sound of a loud trumpet, he will send his angels to bring his chosen ones together from all over the earth.
A Lesson from a Fig Tree
(Mark 13.28-31; Luke 21.29-33)
32Learn a lesson from a fig tree. When its branches sprout and start putting out leaves, you know summer is near. 33So when you see all these things happening, you will know the time has almost come.#24.33 the time has almost come: Or “he (that is, the Son of Man) will soon be here.” 34I can promise you that some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens. 35The sky and the earth won't last forever, but my words will.
No One Knows the Day or Time
(Mark 13.32-37; Luke 17.26-30,34-36)
36No one knows the day or hour. The angels in heaven don't know, and the Son himself doesn't know.#24.36 and the Son himself doesn't know: These words are not in some manuscripts. Only the Father knows. 37#Gn 6.5-8. When the Son of Man appears, things will be just as they were when Noah lived. 38People were eating, drinking, and getting married right up to the day the flood came and Noah went into the big boat. 39#Gn 7.5-24. They didn't know anything was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. This is how it will be when the Son of Man appears.
40Two men will be in the same field, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. 41Two women will be together grinding grain, but only one will be taken. The other will be left. 42So be on your guard! You don't know when your Lord will come. 43#Lk 12.39,40. Homeowners never know when a thief is coming, and they are always on guard to keep one from breaking in. 44Always be ready! You don't know when the Son of Man will come.
Faithful and Unfaithful Servants
(Luke 12.35-48)
45Who are faithful and wise servants? Who are the ones the master will put in charge of giving the other servants their food supplies at the proper time? 46Servants are fortunate if their master comes and finds them doing their job. 47You may be sure a servant who is always faithful will be put in charge of everything the master owns. 48But suppose one of the servants thinks the master won't return until late. 49Suppose this evil servant starts beating the other servants and eats and drinks with people who are drunk. 50If that happens, the master will surely come on a day and at a time when the servant least expects him. 51This servant will then be punished and thrown out with the ones who only pretended to serve their master. There they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.
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