Beginning
Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple(A)
24 After Jesus had left the Temple and was walking away, his disciples came up to him to point out to him the Temple buildings. 2 But in reply he responded to them, “You see all these things, don’t you? I tell all of you[a] with certainty, not even a single stone here will be left standing on top of another that won’t be completely demolished.”
Cults, Revolutions, Famines, and Earthquakes(B)
3 Now while Jesus[b] was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
4 In reply, Jesus told them, “See to it that no one deceives you, 5 because many will come in my name, proclaiming, ‘I’m the Messiah,’[c] and they will deceive many people. 6 You’ll begin to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See to it that you don’t panic. These things must take place, but the end won’t have come yet, 7 because nation will rise up in arms against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are only a beginning of agonies.”
Future Persecution, Apostasy, and Evangelism(C)
9 “Then they’ll hand you over to suffer[d] and will kill you, and you’ll be hated by all the nations[e] on account of my name. 10 Then many people will fall away, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Many false prophets will appear and deceive many people, 12 and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many people will grow cold. 13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the inhabited world as a testimony to all nations,[f] and then the end will come.”
Signs of the End(D)
15 “So when you see the destructive desecration, mentioned by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader take note),[g] 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 Anyone who’s on the housetop must not come down to get what is in his house, 18 and anyone who’s in the field must not turn back to get his coat.
19 “How terrible it will be for women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days! 20 Pray that it may not be in winter or on a Sabbath when you flee, 21 because at that time there will be great suffering,[h] the kind that hasn’t happened from the beginning of the world until now and certainly won’t ever happen again. 22 If those days hadn’t been shortened, no one[i] would survive. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.
23 “At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look here! The Messiah!’[j] or ‘There he is!’,[k] don’t believe it, 24 because false messiahs[l] and false prophets will have arisen and will produce great signs and startling demonstrations so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 Remember, I’ve told you beforehand. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Look! He’s in the wilderness,’ don’t go out looking for him.[m] And if they say, ‘Look! He’s in the storeroom,’ don’t believe it, 27 because just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there’s a corpse, there the vultures[n] will gather.
The Coming of the Son of Man(E)
29 “Now immediately after the troubles[o] of those days,
‘The sun will be darkened,
the moon will not reflect its light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers from the heavens will be disrupted.’[p]
30 Then the sign that is the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all ‘the tribes of the land[q] will mourn’[r] as they see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’[s] with power and great glory. 31 He’ll send out his angels with a loud trumpet blast, and they’ll gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to another.”
The Lesson from the Fig Tree(F)
32 “Now learn a lesson[t] from the fig tree. When its branches become tender and it produces leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you’ll know that the Son of Man[u] is near, right at the door. 34 I tell all of you[v] with certainty, this generation won’t disappear until these things take place. 35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”
The Unknown Day and Hour of Messiah’s Return(G)
36 “No one knows when that day and hour will come[w]—neither the heavenly angels nor the Son,[x] but only the Father, 37 because just as it was in Noah’s time, so it will be when the Son of Man comes. 38 In those days before the flood, people[y] were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. 39 They were unaware of what was happening[z] until the flood came and swept all of them away. That’s how it will be when the Son of Man appears. 40 At that time, two people will be in the field. One will be taken, and one will be left behind. 41 Two women will be grinding grain[aa] at the mill. One will be taken, and one will be left behind.
42 “So keep on watching, because you don’t know on what day your Lord is coming. 43 But be sure of this: if the owner of the house had known when during[ab] the night the thief would be coming, he would have stayed awake and not allowed his house to be broken into. 44 So you, too, must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you are not expecting.”
The Faithful or the Wicked Servant(H)
45 “Who, then, is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give the others[ac] their food at the right time? 46 How blessed is that servant whom his master finds doing this when he comes! 47 I tell all of you[ad] with certainty, he will put him in charge of all his property.
48 “But if that wicked servant says to himself,[ae] ‘My master has been delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eat and drink with the drunks, 50 that servant’s master will come on a day when he doesn’t expect him and at an hour that he doesn’t know. 51 Then his master[af] will punish him severely[ag] and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”[ah]
The Parable about the Ten Bridesmaids
25 “At that time, the kingdom from[ai] heaven will be comparable to ten bridesmaids[aj] who took their oil lamps and went out to meet the groom.[ak] 2 Now five of them were foolish, and five were wise, 3 because when the foolish ones took their lamps, they didn’t take any oil with them. 4 But the wise ones took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 Since the groom was late, all of them became sleepy and lay down. 6 But at midnight there came a shout: ‘The groom is here! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all the bridesmaids[al] woke up and got their lamps ready.
8 “But the foolish ones told the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, because our lamps are going out!’
9 “But the wise ones replied, ‘No! There will never be enough for us and for you. You’d better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “While they were away buying it, the groom arrived. Those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet, and the door was closed. 11 Later, the other bridesmaids[am] arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘I tell all of you[an] with certainty, I don’t know you!’ 13 So keep on watching, because you don’t know the day or the hour.”[ao]
The Parable about the Talents
14 “Similarly, it is like a man going on a trip, who called his servants and turned his money over to them. 15 To one man he gave five talents,[ap] to another two, and to another one, based on their ability. Then he went on his trip.
16 “The one who received five talents[aq] went out at once and invested them and earned five more. 17 In the same way, the one who had two talents[ar] earned two more. 18 But the one who received one talent[as] went off, dug a hole in the ground, and buried his master’s money.
19 “After a long time, the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The one who had received five talents came up and brought five more talents. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you gave me five talents. See, I’ve earned five more talents.’
21 “His master told him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant! Since you’ve been trustworthy with a small amount, I’ll put you in charge of a large amount. Come and share your master’s joy!’
22 “The one with two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I’ve earned two more talents.
23 “His master told him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant! Since you’ve been trustworthy with a small amount, I’ll put you in charge of a large amount. Come and share your master’s joy!’
24 “Then the one who had received one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew that you were a hard man, harvesting where you haven’t planted and gathering where you haven’t scattered any seed. 25 Since I was afraid, I went off and hid your talent in the ground. Here, take what’s yours!’
26 “His master answered him, ‘You evil and lazy servant! So you knew that I harvested where I haven’t planted and gathered where I haven’t scattered any seed? 27 Then you should’ve invested my money with the bankers. When I returned, I would’ve received my money back with interest.’ 28 Then the master said,[at] ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the man who has the ten talents, 29 because to everyone who has something, more will be given, and he’ll have more than enough. But from the person who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away from him. 30 Throw this useless servant into the darkness outside! In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”[au]
The Judgment of the Nations
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels are with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be assembled in front of him, and he will cull them out, one from another, like a shepherd separates sheep from goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right but the goats on his left.
34 “Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who have been blessed by my Father! Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, 35 because I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me. 36 I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you took care of me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
37 “Then the righteous will say to him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and give you something to eat, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you, or see you naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’
40 The king will answer them, ‘I tell all of you[av] with certainty, since you did it for one of the least important of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Get away from me, you who are accursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the Devil and his angels! 42 Here’s why: 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 didn’t welcome me. I was naked, and you didn’t clothe me. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or as a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and didn’t help you?’
45 Then he will say to them, ‘I tell all of you[aw] with certainty, since you didn’t do it for one of the least important of these, you didn’t do it for me.’ 46 These people will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go[ax] into eternal life.”
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