Matthew 24:15–31

THE GREAT TRIBULATION

¹⁵“So when you see the abomination of desolation,^C spoken of by the prophet Daniel,^aa standing in the holy place”^ab (let the reader understand), ¹⁶“then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. ¹⁷A man on the housetop^D must not come down to get things out of his house,^{ac 18}and a man in the field must not go back to get his coat. ¹⁹Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! ²⁰Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹For at that time there will be great distress,^ad the kind that hasn’t taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again. ²²Unless those days were cut short, no one would^F be saved. But those days will be cut short because of the elect.^ae

²³“If anyone tells you then, ‘See, here is the Messiah!’^a or, ‘Over here!’ do not believe it.^{b 24}For false messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray,^c if possible, even the elect. ²⁵Take note: I have told you in advance. ²⁶So if they tell you, ‘See, he’s in the wilderness!’ don’t go out; or, ‘See, he’s in the storerooms!’ do not believe it. ²⁷For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.^{d 28}Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures^G will gather.^e

THE COMING OF THE SON OF MAN

²⁹“Immediately after the distress^f of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the peoples of the earth^H will mourn;^I and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.^{g 31}He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet,^h and they will gather his elect from the four winds,ⁱ from one end of the sky to the other.