Matthew 24:30–51

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.

THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE

³²“Learn this lesson^j from the fig tree: As soon as its branch becomes tender and sprouts leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³In the same way, when you see all these things, recognize^J that he^K is near—at the door.^{k 34}Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things take place.^{l 35}Heaven and earth will pass away,^m but my words will never pass away.ⁿ

NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY OR HOUR

³⁶“Now concerning that day and hour no one knows—neither the angels of heaven nor the Son^A—except the Father alone.^{o 37}As the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ³⁸For in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah boarded the ark.^{p 39}They didn’t know until the flood came and swept them all away. This is the way the coming of the Son of Man will be. ⁴⁰Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding grain with a hand mill; one will be taken and one left.^{q 42}Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day^B your Lord is coming.^{r 43}But know this: If the homeowner had known what time^C the thief was coming, he would have stayed alert and not let his house be broken into.^{s 44}This is why you are also to be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.^t

FAITHFUL SERVICE TO CHRIST

⁴⁵“Who then is a faithful and wise servant,^u whom his master has put in charge of his household, to give them food at the proper time?^{v 46}Blessed is that servant whom the master finds doing his job when he comes.^{w 47}Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸But if that wicked servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹and starts to beat his fellow servants, and eats and drinks with drunkards,^{x 50}that servant’s master will come on a day he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know. ⁵¹He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.