Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(A)Jesus ^(B)left the temple area and was going on His way ^[a]when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² But He responded and 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 And 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 ^[c]misleads you. ⁵ For ^(G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[d]Christ,’ and they will ^[e]mislead many people. ⁶ And you will be hearing of ^(H)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, 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 there will be ^(J)famines and earthquakes in various places. ^8 (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “^(L)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and ^(M)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And at that time many will ^[f](N)fall away, and they will ^[g]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many ^(O)false prophets will rise up and ^[h]mislead many people. ¹² And because lawlessness is increased, ^[i]most people’s love will become cold. ^13 (P)But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. ¹⁴ This ^(Q)gospel of the kingdom ^(R)shall be preached in the whole ^[j](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—^[k](V)let the ^[l]reader understand— ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [m]Whoever is on ^(W)the ^[n]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. ¹⁸ And ^[o]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(X)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ Moreover, pray that ^[p]when you flee, it 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 again. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no ^[q]life would have been saved; but for ^(Z)the sake of the ^[r]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[s]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and ^(AB)false prophets will arise and will provide great ^[t](AC)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(AD)the ^[u]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 as far as the west, so will the ^(AF)coming of the ^(AG)Son of Man ^[v]be. ^28 (AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[w]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 the sky, and the powers of 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 blast, and they will gather together His ^[x](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: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near; ³³ so you too, when you see all these things, ^[y]recognize that ^[z]He is near, right ^(AR)at the ^[aa]door. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, ^(AS)this 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)about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. ³⁷ For ^[ab]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 ^[ac]understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^(AZ)coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ At that time there will be two men in the field; one ^[ad]will be taken and one ^[ae]will be left. ^41 (BA)Two women will be grinding at the ^[af](BB)mill; one ^[ag]will be taken and one ^[ah]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 ^[ai]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 broken into. ⁴⁴ For this reason ^(BF)you must be ready as well; 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 ^[aj]master ^(BK)put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his ^[ak]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 ^[al]master ^[am]is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk; ⁵⁰ then the ^[an]master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know, ⁵¹ and he will ^[ao]cut him in two and assign ^[ap]him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^(BM)weeping and gnashing of teeth.

^5 (A)And while some were talking about the temple, that it was decorated with beautiful stones and ^[a]vowed gifts, He said, ⁶ “As for these things which you are observing, the days will come when ^(B)there will not be left one stone upon ^[b]another, which will not be torn down.”

⁷ They asked Him questions, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the ^[c]sign when these things are about to take place?” ⁸ And He said, “See to it that you are not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(C)I am He,’ and, ‘The time is near.’ ^(D)Do not go after them. ⁹ And when you hear of wars and revolts, do not be alarmed; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”

Things to Come

¹⁰ Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, ¹¹ and there will be ^[d]massive earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrible sights and great ^[e]signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all these things, ^(E)they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, turning you over to the synagogues and prisons, ^[f]bringing you before kings and governors on account of My name. ^13 (F)It will lead to ^[g]an opportunity for your testimony. ^14 (G)So ^[h]make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; ¹⁵ for ^(H)I will provide you ^[i]eloquence and wisdom which none of your adversaries will be able to oppose or refute. ¹⁶ But you will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, ¹⁷ and you will be hated by all people because of My name. ¹⁸ And yet ^(I)not a hair of your head will perish. ^19 (J)By your endurance you will gain your ^[j]lives.

²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem ^(K)surrounded by armies, then ^[k]recognize that her desolation is near. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside ^[l]the city must leave, and ^(L)those who are in the country must not enter ^[m]the city; ²² because these are ^(M)days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled. ²³ Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for ^(N)there will be great distress upon the ^[n]land, and wrath to this people; ²⁴ and they will fall by ^(O)the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and ^(P)Jerusalem will be ^(Q)trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until ^(R)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Return of Christ

²⁵ “There will be ^[o]signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the ^[p]world; for the powers of ^[q]the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ And ^(S)then they will see ^(T)the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. ²⁸ But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because ^(U)your redemption is drawing near.”

²⁹ And He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees: ³⁰ as soon as they put forth leaves, you see for yourselves and ^(V)know that summer is now near. ³¹ So you too, when you see these things happening, ^[r]recognize that ^(W)the kingdom of God is near. ³² Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place. ^33 (X)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁴ “But ^(Y)be on your guard, so that your hearts will not be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that ^[s]this day will not come on you suddenly, like a trap; ³⁵ for it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth. ³⁶ But ^(Z)stay alert at all times, praying that you will have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to ^(AA)stand before the Son of Man.”