21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.(A)

22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect(B) those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.(C) 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders(D) to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.

26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning(E) that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming(F) of the Son of Man.(G) 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.(H)

29 “Immediately after the distress of those days

“‘the sun will be darkened,
    and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
    and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[a](I)

30 “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth[b] will mourn(J) when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven,(K) with power and great glory.[c] 31 And he will send his angels(L) with a loud trumpet call,(M) and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:29 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
  2. Matthew 24:30 Or the tribes of the land
  3. Matthew 24:30 See Daniel 7:13-14.

21 For then there will be a (A)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 [a]life would have been saved; but for (B)the sake of the [b]elect those days will be cut short. 23 (C)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the [c]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and (D)false prophets will arise and will provide great [d](E)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even (F)the [e]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 (G)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the (H)coming of the (I)Son of Man [f]be. 28 (J)Wherever the corpse is, there the [g]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

29 “But immediately after the (K)tribulation of those days (L)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and (M)the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then (N)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 (O)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And (P)He will send forth His angels with (Q)a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His [h](R)elect from (S)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:22 Lit flesh
  2. Matthew 24:22 Or chosen ones
  3. Matthew 24:23 I.e., Messiah
  4. Matthew 24:24 I.e., confirming miracles
  5. Matthew 24:24 Or chosen ones
  6. Matthew 24:27 I.e., be visible everywhere
  7. Matthew 24:28 Or eagles
  8. Matthew 24:31 Or chosen ones

21 For [a]at that time there will be a great tribulation (pressure, distress, oppression), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will [again].(A) 22 And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened. 23 Then if anyone says to you [during the great tribulation], ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones). 25 Listen carefully, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there, or, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms [of a house],’ do not believe it. 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming [in glory] of the Son of Man [everyone will see Him clearly]. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the [b]vultures will flock together.(B)

The Glorious Return

29 “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not provide its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.(C) 30 And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor].(D) 31 And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and they will gather together His elect (God’s chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 24:21 The most obvious sign during the tribulation, prior to the second coming of Jesus, is when the abomination that causes desolation (the Antichrist) sets his image in the temple.
  2. Matthew 24:28 The Greek for “vultures” can also be translated “eagles,” but the reference is most likely to the vulture, which the Greek word includes with eagles as a class. The meaning of this much discussed verse is either that the corpse represents the returning Christ, whose appearance will attract the attention of the entire world, that is, the vultures; or that the corrupt world is the corpse, about to be judged by the returning Christ (Rev 19:18).

21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not.

24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

25 Behold, I have told you before.

26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.

27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.

29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

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21 (A) This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again. 22 If 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.

23 Someone may say, “Here is the Messiah!” or “There he is!” But don't believe it. 24 False messiahs and false prophets will come and work great miracles and signs. They will even try to fool God's chosen ones. 25 But I have warned you ahead of time. 26 (B) 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! 27 The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west. 28 (C) Where there is a corpse, there will always be vultures.[a]

When the Son of Man Appears

(Mark 13.24-27; Luke 21.25-28)

29 (D) 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[b]
    will be shaken.”

30 (E) Then a sign will appear in the sky. And there will be the Son of Man.[c] All nations on earth will weep when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 At the sound of a loud trumpet, he will send his angels to bring his chosen ones together from all over the earth.

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Footnotes

  1. 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.
  2. 24.29 the powers in the sky: In ancient times people thought that the stars were spiritual powers.
  3. 24.30 And there will be the Son of Man: Or “And it will be the Son of Man.”