Matthew 24:3–26:2

Signs of the End of the Age

³As he sat on ^vthe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him ^wprivately, saying, “Tell us, ^xwhen will these things be, and what will be the sign of your ^ycoming and of ^zthe end of the age?” ⁴And Jesus answered them, ^a“See that no one leads you astray. ⁵For ^bmany will come in my name, saying, ‘I am ^cthe Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. ⁶And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you ^dare not alarmed, for this ^emust take place, but the end is not yet. ⁷For ^fnation will rise against nation, and ^gkingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^hfamines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All these are but the beginning of ⁱthe birth pains.

⁹“Then ^jthey will deliver you up ^kto tribulation and ^lput you to death, and ^myou will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. ¹⁰And then many will fall away¹ and ⁿbetray one another and hate one another. ¹¹And many ^ofalse prophets will arise ^pand lead many astray. ¹²And because lawlessness will be increased, ^qthe love of many will grow cold. ^13rBut the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴And this gospel of the kingdom ^swill be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^tas a testimony ^uto all nations, and ^vthen the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵“So when you see the abomination of desolation ^wspoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^xthe holy place (^ylet the reader understand), ¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ^17zLet the one who is on ^athe housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁹And ^balas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹For then there will be ^cgreat tribulation, ^dsuch as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²²And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^ethe sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ^23fThen if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴For ^gfalse christs and ^hfalse prophets will arise and ⁱperform great signs and wonders, ^hso as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵See, ^jI have told you beforehand. ²⁶So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^khe is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ^27lFor as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^mthe coming of the Son of Man. ²⁸ⁿWherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹“Immediately after ^othe tribulation of those days ^pthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^qthe stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰Then ^rwill appear in heaven ^sthe sign of the Son of Man, and then ^tall the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^uthey will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^vwith power and great glory. ³¹And ^whe will send out his angels with a loud ^xtrumpet call, and they will ^ygather ^zhis elect from ^athe four winds, ^bfrom one end of heaven to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

³²“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, ^cat the very gates. ^34dTruly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ^35eHeaven and earth will pass away, but ^fmy words will not pass away.

No One Knows That Day and Hour

³⁶“But concerning that day and hour ^gno one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^hnor the Son,^{2 i}but the Father only. ^37jFor as were the days of Noah, ^kso will be the coming of the Son of Man. ^38jFor as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^lmarrying and giving in marriage, until ^mthe day when Noah entered the ark, ³⁹and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, ^kso will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹ⁿTwo women will be grinding ^oat the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴²Therefore, ^pstay awake, for you do not know on what day ^qyour Lord is coming. ^43rBut know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night ^sthe thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴Therefore you also must be ^tready, for ^uthe Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

⁴⁵“Who then is ^vthe faithful and ^wwise servant,³ whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? ^46xBlessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. ⁴⁷Truly, I say to you, ^yhe will set him over all his possessions. ⁴⁸But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master ^zis delayed,’ ⁴⁹and begins to beat his fellow servants⁴ and eats and drinks with ^adrunkards, ⁵⁰the master of that servant will come ^bon a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know ⁵¹and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place ^cthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins

25“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ^dten virgins who took their lamps¹ and went to meet ^ethe bridegroom.^{2 2}Five of them were foolish, and five were ^wwise. ³For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. ⁵As the bridegroom ^fwas delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶But ^gat midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷Then all those virgins rose and ^htrimmed their lamps. ⁸And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and ⁱthose who were ready went in with him to ^jthe marriage feast, and ^kthe door was shut. ¹¹Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ^l‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ^12lBut he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, ^mI do not know you.’ ¹³ⁿWatch therefore, for you ^oknow neither the day nor the hour.

The Parable of the Talents

^14p“For ^qit will be like a man ^rgoing on a journey, who called his servants³ and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵To one he gave five ^stalents,⁴ to another two, to another one, ^tto each according to his ability. Then he ^rwent away. ¹⁶He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸But he who had received the one talent went and ^udug in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹Now ^vafter a long time the master of those servants came and ^wsettled accounts with them. ²⁰And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ ²¹His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and ^xfaithful servant.^{5 y}You have been faithful over a little; ^zI will set you over much. Enter into ^athe joy of your master.’ ²²And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ ²³His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be ^ba hard man, reaping ^cwhere you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, ^dyou have what is yours.’ ²⁶But his master answered him, ‘You ^ewicked and ^eslothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. ^29fFor to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰And ^gcast ^hthe worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place ^gthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The Final Judgment

³¹ⁱ“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, ^jthen he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²Before him ^kwill be gathered ^lall the nations, and ^mhe will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates ⁿthe sheep from the goats. ³³And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴Then ^othe King will say to ^pthose on his right, ‘Come, you ^qwho are blessed by my Father, ^rinherit ^sthe kingdom ^tprepared for you ^ufrom the foundation of the world. ³⁵For ^vI was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you ^wgave me drink, ^xI was a stranger and you welcomed me, ^36vI was naked and you clothed me, ^yI was sick and you ^zvisited me, ^aI was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰And ^bthe King will answer them, ^c‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these ^dmy brothers,⁶ you did it to me.’

⁴¹“Then he will say to those on his left, ^e‘Depart from me, you ^fcursed, into ^gthe eternal fire prepared for ^hthe devil and his angels. ⁴²For ⁱI was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you…