Signs of Christ’s Return

24 ^(A)And coming ^(B)out from the temple, Jesus was going along, and His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. ² And He answered 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 Now 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 ^[a]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(F)See to it that no one deceives you. ⁵ For ^(G)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[b]Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you are going to hear 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 in various places there will be ^(J)famines and earthquakes. ^8 (K)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

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 And at that time many will ^[c](N)fall away and will ^[d]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many ^(O)false prophets will arise and will deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness is multiplied, ^[e]most people’s love will grow cold. ^13 (P)But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. ¹⁴ And this ^(Q)gospel of the kingdom ^(R)shall be proclaimed in the whole ^[f](S)world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

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 [g]Whoever is on ^(W)the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. ¹⁸ And ^[h]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. 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 And unless those days had been cut short, no ^[i]life would have been saved; but for ^(Z)the sake of the ^[j]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (AA)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[k]Christ,’ or ‘^[l]There He is,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and ^(AB)false prophets will arise and will ^[m]show great ^[n](AC)signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even ^(AD)the ^[o]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ Therefore, 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 appears even to the west, so will the ^(AF)coming of the ^(AG)Son of Man be. ^28 (AH)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[p]vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

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 ^[q]the sky, and the powers of ^[r]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 ^[s](AP)elect from ^(AQ)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the ^[t]other.

The 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 ^(AV)just as the days of Noah were, so the ^(AW)coming of the Son of Man will be. 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 ^[y]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 in the field; one ^[z]will be taken, and one ^[aa]will be left. ^41 (BA)Two women will be grinding grain at the ^[ab](BB)mill; one ^[ac]will be taken and one ^[ad]will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴² “Therefore ^(BC)stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But ^[ae]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 stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be ^[af]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)prudent slave whom his ^[ag]master ^(BK)put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his ^[ah]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 ^[ai]master ^[aj]is not coming for a long time,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; ⁵⁰ the ^[ak]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 ^[al]cut him in pieces and ^[am]assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^(BM)weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Signs of Christ’s Return

13 ^(A)And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, behold ^[a]what wonderful stones and ^[b]what wonderful buildings!” ² And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? ^(B)Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”

³ And as He was sitting on ^(C)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, ^(D)Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, ⁴ “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the ^[c]sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” ⁵ And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. ⁶ Many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(E)I am He!’ and will mislead many. ⁷ And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. ⁸ For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “But see to yourselves; for they will ^(F)deliver you to the ^[d]courts, and you will be beaten ^(G)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a witness to them. ^10 (H)And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations. ^11 (I)And when they lead you away, delivering you up, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. ¹² And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and ^[e]have them put to death. ^13 (J)And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.

The Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

¹⁴ “But ^(K)when you see the ^(L)abomination of desolation standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^15 (M)And the one who is on the housetop must not go down, or go in to get anything out of his house; ¹⁶ and the one who is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. ¹⁷ But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ¹⁸ But pray that it may not happen in the winter. ¹⁹ For those days will be a time of tribulation such as has not occurred ^(N)since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. ²⁰ And unless the Lord had shortened those days, no ^[f]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the ^[g]elect, whom He chose, He shortened the days. ²¹ And then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[h]Christ’; or, ‘Behold, He is there’; do not believe him; ²² for false christs and ^(O)false prophets will arise, and will show ^[i](P)signs and ^(Q)wonders, in order to lead astray, if possible, the elect. ²³ But as for you, see! I have told you everything in advance.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁴ “But in those days, after that tribulation, ^(R)the sun will be darkened and the moon will not give its light, ^25 (S)and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in ^[j]the heavens will be shaken. ²⁶ And then they will see ^(T)the Son of Man ^(U)coming in clouds with great power and glory. ²⁷ And then He will send forth the angels, and ^(V)will gather together His ^[k]elect from the four winds, ^(W)from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

²⁸ “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. ²⁹ Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, ^[l]recognize that ^[m]He is near, right at the ^[n]door. ³⁰ Truly I say to you, this ^[o]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ³¹ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. ^32 (X)But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

³³ “See to it, ^(Y)keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time ^[p]will come. ^34 (Z)It is like a man away on a journey, who, leaving his house and giving authority to his slaves—each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay awake. ³⁵ Therefore, ^(AA)stay awake—for you do not know when the ^[q]master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or ^(AB)when the rooster crows, or ^(AC)in the morning— ³⁶ lest he come suddenly and find you ^(AD)sleeping. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all, ‘^(AE)Stay awake!’”

^5 (A)And while some were talking about the temple, that it had been adorned with beautiful stones and dedicated 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 So 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 deceived; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘^(C)I am He,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ ^(D)Do not go after them. ⁹ And 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.”

Signs of Christ’s Return

¹⁰ Then He continued saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, ¹¹ and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; 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 result in ^[d]an opportunity for your testimony. ^14 (G)So set in your hearts not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; ¹⁵ for ^(H)I will give you a mouth 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 perseverance you will gain your ^[e]lives.

²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem ^(K)surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. ²¹ Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of ^[f]the city must leave, and ^(L)those who are in the countryside must not enter ^[g]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 ^[h]land and wrath against 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.

When Christ Returns

²⁵ “And there will be ^[i]signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish 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 ^[j]world; for the powers of ^[k]the heavens will be shaken. ^27 (S)And 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.”

The Parable of the Fig Tree

²⁹ Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰ as soon as they put forth leaves and you see it for yourselves, ^(V)know that summer is now near. ³¹ So you also, when you see these things happening, know that ^(W)the kingdom of God is near. ³² Truly I say to you, this ^[l]generation will not pass away until all things take place. ^33 (X)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

³⁴ “^(Y)But be on guard, so that your hearts will not be overcome 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 inhabit the face of all the earth. ³⁶ But ^(Z)keep on the alert at all times, praying earnestly 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.”