Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look! Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘Look! There he is!’ don’t believe them. 24 False messiahs will arise, you see, and false prophets too. They will provide great signs and portents, so as to deceive even God’s chosen ones, if that were possible. 25 Remember, I’m telling you this beforehand!
26 “So if someone says to you, ‘Look! He’s out in the wilderness,’ don’t go out. If they say, ‘Look, he’s in the inner room,’ don’t believe them. 27 You see, the royal appearing of the son of man will be like the lightning that comes from the East and flashes across to the West. 28 Where the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.”
The coming of the son of man
29 “Straight away,” Jesus continued, “after the suffering that those days will bring,
The sun will turn to darkness,
and the moon won’t give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven,
and the powers of heaven will shake.
30 “And then the sign of the son of man will appear in heaven; then all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see ‘the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. 31 He will send off his messengers with a great trumpet-blast, and they will collect his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
32 “Learn the hidden meaning from the fig tree. When its branch begins to sprout, and to push out its leaves, then you know that summer is nearly there. 33 So with you: when you see all these things, you will know that it is near, at the very gates. 34 I’m telling you the truth: this generation won’t be gone before all these things happen. 35 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never, ever disappear.”
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.