Matthew 24:14–42

¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

¹⁵So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’^a spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), ¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house. ¹⁸And let no one in the field return for his cloak.

¹⁹How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! ²⁰Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹For at that time there will be great tribulation, unseen from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again. ²²If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.

²³At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. ²⁵See, I have told you in advance.

²⁶So if they tell you, ‘There He is, in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Here He is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷For 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. ²⁸Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹Immediately 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 powers of the heavens will be shaken.^b’

³⁰At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,^c and 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.^{d 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.

³²Now learn this lesson^e from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near,^f right at the door. ³⁴Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.

³⁶No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,^g but only the Father. ³⁷As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. ³⁹And they were oblivious until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

⁴²Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.