Matthew 24:23–34

²³“Then, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’—do not believe it. ²⁴For false Messiahs and false prophets will appear; they will perform great miracles and wonders in order to deceive even God’s chosen people, if possible. ²⁵Listen! I have told you this before the time comes.

^26*“Or, if people should tell you, ‘Look, he is out in the desert!’—don’t go there; or if they say, ‘Look, he is hiding here!’—don’t believe it. ^27*For the Son of Man will come like the lightning which flashes across the whole sky from the east to the west.

^28*“Wherever there is a dead body, the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

^29*“Soon after the trouble of those days, the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses. ^30*Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.

The Lesson of the Fig-Tree

³²“Let the fig tree teach you a lesson. When its branches become green and tender and it starts putting out leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³In the same way, when you see all these things, you will know that the time is near, ready to begin.^{x 34}Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died.