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.

^5 (A)And while some were talking about the temple, that it was adorned with beautiful stones and votive gifts, He said, ⁶ “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which ^(B)there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”

⁷ They questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the ^[a]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 When you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does 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 great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great ^[b]signs from heaven.

¹² “But before all these things, ^(E)they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, ^[c]bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. ^13 (F)It will lead to ^[d]an opportunity for your testimony. ^14 (G)So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; ¹⁵ for ^(H)I will give you ^[e]utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. ¹⁶ But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, ¹⁷ and you will be hated by all because of My name. ¹⁸ Yet ^(I)not a hair of your head will perish. ^19 (J)By your endurance you will gain your ^[f]lives.

²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem ^(K)surrounded by armies, then ^[g]recognize that her desolation is near. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of ^[h]the city must leave, and ^(L)those who are in the country must not enter ^[i]the city; ²² because these are ^(M)days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. ²³ Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for ^(N)there will be great distress upon the ^[j]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 under foot by the Gentiles until ^(R)the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Return of Christ

²⁵ “There will be ^[k]signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the ^[l]world; for the powers of ^[m]the heavens will be shaken. ^27 (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 Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰ as soon as they put forth leaves, you see it and ^(V)know for yourselves that summer is now near. ³¹ So you also, when you see these things happening, ^[n]recognize that ^(W)the kingdom of God is near. ³² Truly I say to you, this ^[o]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 “^(Y)Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; ³⁵ for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. ³⁶ But ^(Z)keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to ^(AA)stand before the Son of Man.”