Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(A)Jesus ^(B)came out from the temple and was going away ^[a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^(C)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”

³ As He was sitting on ^(D)the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^(E)Your coming, and of the ^[b]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(F)See to it that no one misleads you. ⁵ For ^(G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[c]Christ,’ and will mislead many. ⁶ You will be hearing of ^(H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For ^(I)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be ^(J)famines and earthquakes. ^8 (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.

⁹ “^(L)Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and ^(M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ At that time many will ^[d](N)fall away and will ^[e]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many ^(O)false prophets will arise and will mislead many. ¹² Because lawlessness is increased, ^[f]most people’s love will grow cold. ^13 (P)But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴ This ^(Q)gospel of the kingdom ^(R)shall be preached in the whole ^[g](S)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(T)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(U)the holy place (^(V)let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [h]Whoever is on ^(W)the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. ^18 [i]Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(X)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(Y)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. ²² Unless those days had been cut short, no ^[j]life would have been saved; but for ^(Z)the sake of the ^[k]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[l]Christ,’ or ‘^[m]There He is,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false Christs and ^(AB)false prophets will arise and will ^[n]show great ^[o](AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(AD)the ^[p]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ^27 (AE)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the ^(AF)coming of the ^(AG)Son of Man be. ^28 (AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[q]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

²⁹ “But immediately after the ^(AI)tribulation of those days ^(AJ)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(AK)the stars will fall from ^[r]the sky, and the powers of ^[s]the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then ^(AL)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ^(AM)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(AN)He will send forth His angels with ^(AO)a great trumpet and they will gather together His ^[t](AP)elect from ^(AQ)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³ so, you too, when you see all these things, ^[u]recognize that ^[v]He is near, right ^(AR)at the ^[w]door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, ^(AS)this ^[x]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35 (AT)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶ “But ^(AU)of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷ For ^[y]the ^(AV)coming of the Son of Man will be ^(AW)just like the days of Noah. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(AX)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^(AY)Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they did not ^[z]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^(AZ)coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ Then there will be two men in the field; one ^[aa]will be taken and one ^[ab]will be left. ^41 (BA)Two women will be grinding at the ^[ac](BB)mill; one ^[ad]will be taken and one ^[ae]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴² “Therefore ^(BC)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But ^[af]be sure of this, that ^(BD)if the head of the house had known ^(BE)at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be ^[ag]broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason ^(BF)you also must be ready; for ^(BG)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵ “^(BH)Who then is the ^(BI)faithful and ^(BJ)sensible slave whom his ^[ah]master ^(BK)put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his ^[ai]master finds so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that ^(BL)he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ^[aj]master ^[ak]is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; ⁵⁰ the ^[al]master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, ⁵¹ and will ^[am]cut him in pieces and ^[an]assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^(BM)weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Parable of Ten Virgins

25 “Then ^(A)the kingdom of heaven will be comparable to ten virgins, who took their ^(B)lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were ^(C)prudent. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the ^(D)prudent took oil in flasks along with their lamps. ⁵ Now while the bridegroom was delaying, they all got drowsy and began to sleep. ⁶ But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ The foolish said to the prudent, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the ^(E)prudent answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you too; go instead to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ^(F)ready went in with him to ^(G)the wedding feast; and ^(H)the door was shut. ¹¹ Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘^(I)Lord, lord, open up for us.’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’ ^13 (J)Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour.

Parable of the Talents

¹⁴ “^(K)For it is just like a man ^(L)about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them. ¹⁵ To one he gave five ^[a](M)talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he ^(N)went on his journey. ¹⁶ Immediately the one who had received the five ^(O)talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents. ¹⁷ In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more. ¹⁸ But he who received the one talent went away, and dug a hole in the ground and hid his ^[b]master’s money.

¹⁹ “Now after a long time the master of those slaves *came and *^(P)settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The one who had received the five ^(Q)talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^(R)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will ^(S)put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your ^[c]master.’

²² “Also the one who had received the two ^(T)talents came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained two more talents.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^(U)faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’

²⁴ “And the one also who had received the one ^(V)talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed. ²⁵ And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what is yours.’

²⁶ “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. ²⁷ Then you ought to have put my money ^[d]in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. ²⁸ Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’

²⁹ “^(W)For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. ³⁰ Throw out the worthless slave into ^(X)the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Judgment

³¹ “But when ^(Y)the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then ^(Z)He will sit on His glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be ^(AA)gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, ^(AB)as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³ and He will put the sheep ^(AC)on His right, and the goats ^(AD)on the left.

³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, ^(AE)inherit the kingdom prepared for you ^(AF)from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For ^(AG)I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; ^(AH)I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ^36 (AI)naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you ^(AJ)visited Me; ^(AK)I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸ And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹ When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ^40 (AL)The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, ^(AM)to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

⁴¹ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘^(AN)Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the ^(AO)eternal fire which has been prepared for ^(AP)the devil and his angels; ⁴² for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not ^[e]take care of You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ These will go away into ^(AQ)eternal punishment, but the righteous into ^(AR)eternal life.”