Matthew 24 (NMV)
1 As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to point out the buildings of the temple.
2 He said to them, "Do you see all these things? Truly I tell you, not one stone will be left on another that will not be torn down."
3 While He was sitting on 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 Your coming and of the end of the age?"
4 Jesus replied to them, "Be careful that no one deceives you.
5 For many will come in My name, claiming, 'I am the Anointed One,' and they will deceive many.
6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must happen, but the end is not yet.
7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are only the beginning of birth pains.
9 Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
10 At that time many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another.
11 Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But the one who remains faithful to the end will be saved.
14 And this good news about 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 the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
16 then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
17 A man on the housetop must not come down to take anything out of his house.
18 And a man in the field must not go back to get his coat.
19 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!
20 Pray that your escape will not take place in winter or on a Sabbath.
21 For then there will be great suffering, unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, and never will happen again.
22 If those days were not cut short, no one would survive. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.
23 If anyone tells you then, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There He is!', do not believe it.
24 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the chosen ones.
25 Listen, I have told you ahead of time.
26 So if they say to you, 'Look, He's in the wilderness!', don't go out. Or 'Look, He's in the inner rooms!', don't believe it.
27 For just as lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28 Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.
29 Immediately after the suffering 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.'
30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His chosen ones 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 sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near.
33 In the same way, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door.
34 Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.
35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
36 Now concerning that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven nor the Son, except the Father alone.
37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For in those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark.
39 They didn't understand until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.
41 Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill; one will be taken and one left.
42 Therefore be alert, because you do not know what day your Lord is coming.
43 But understand this: If the homeowner had known what time the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into.
44 This is why you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
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 Blessed is 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 if that wicked servant says in his heart, 'My master is delayed,'
49 and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards,
50 that servant's master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know.
51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and the grinding of teeth from unbearable torment.