The Temple Will Not Stand
24 1 Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to point out to him the temple buildings. 2 "Do you see all these things?" he replied. "Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
4 Jesus answered, "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and they will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but don't be alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because lawlessness will increase, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who endures to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15 So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand 16 —then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the rooftop go down to take anything out of the house, 18 and let no one in the field go back to get a coat. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
23 At that time, if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There he is!' do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 So if they tell 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 that flashes from the east is seen as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29 Immediately after the tribulation 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 powers will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the peoples of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 In the same way, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Only the Father Knows
36 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. 42 Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.
45 Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that wicked servant says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' 49 and then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.