Matthew 24:3-31

New American Standard Bible

³ And as He was sitting on ^(A)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 ^(B)Your coming, and of the ^[a]end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, “^(C)See to it that no one ^[b]misleads you. ⁵ For ^(D)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ^[c]Christ,’ and they will ^[d]mislead many people. ⁶ And you will be hearing of ^(E)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. ⁷ For ^(F)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(G)famines and earthquakes in various places. ^8 (H)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ “^(I)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and ^(J)you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And at that time many will ^[e](K)fall away, and they will ^[f]betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many ^(L)false prophets will rise up and ^[g]mislead many people. ¹² And because lawlessness is increased, ^[h]most people’s love will become cold. ^13 (M)But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. ¹⁴ This ^(N)gospel of the kingdom ^(O)shall be preached in the whole ^[i](P)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the ^(Q)abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(R)the holy place—^[j](S)let the ^[k]reader understand— ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ^17 [l]Whoever is on ^(T)the ^[m]housetop must not go down to get things out of his house. ¹⁸ And ^[n]whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. ¹⁹ But ^(U)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ Moreover, pray that ^[o]when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be a ^(V)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no ^[p]life would have been saved; but for ^(W)the sake of the ^[q]elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (X)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ^[r]Christ,’ or ‘He is over here,’ do not believe him. ²⁴ For false christs and ^(Y)false prophets will arise and will provide great ^[s](Z)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(AA)the ^[t]elect. ²⁵ Behold, I have told you in advance. ²⁶ So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. ^27 (AB)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the ^(AC)coming of the ^(AD)Son of Man ^[u]be. ^28 (AE)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^[v]vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

²⁹ “But immediately after the ^(AF)tribulation of those days ^(AG)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(AH)the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then ^(AI)the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ^(AJ)the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(AK)He will send forth His angels with ^(AL)a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His ^[w](AM)elect from ^(AN)the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.