Matthew 24:30–51

³⁰And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven,^h and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of heavenⁱ with power and great glory. ³¹And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect together from the four winds, from one end of heaven^j to the other end of it.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

³²“Now learn the parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch has already become tender and puts forth its^* leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³So also you, when you see all these things, know^k that he is near, at the door. ³⁴Truly I say to you that this generation will never pass away until all these things take place! ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Unknown Day and Hour

³⁶“But concerning that day and hour no one knows—not even the angels of heaven nor the Son—except the Father alone. ³⁷For just as the days of Noah were, so the coming of the Son of Man will be. ³⁸For as in the days^l before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered into the ark. ³⁹And they did not know anything^* until the deluge came and swept them^* all away. So also the coming of the Son of Man will be. ⁴⁰Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. ⁴²Therefore be on the alert, because you do not know what day your Lord is coming! ⁴³But understand this: that if the master of the house had known what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴For this reason you also must be ready, because the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not think he will come.^*

A Faithful Slave and an Unfaithful Slave

⁴⁵“Who then is the faithful and wise slave whom the master has put in charge of his household slaves to give them their^* food at the right time? ⁴⁶Blessed is that slave whom his master will find so doing when he^* comes back. ⁴⁷Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸But if that evil slave should say to himself,^m ‘My master is staying away for a long time,’ ⁴⁹and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰the master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect and at an hour that he does not know, ⁵¹and will cut him in two and assign his place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!