Perilous Times

15 “Therefore when you see the aabomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in bthe holy place (clet the reader understand),

16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.

17 “1Whoever is on athe housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.

18 “1Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.

19 “But awoe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

20 “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.

21 “For then there will be a agreat tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.

22 “Unless those days had been cut short, no 1life would have been saved; but for athe sake of the 2elect those days will be cut short.

23 “aThen if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the 1Christ,’ or ‘2There He is,’ do not believe him.

24 “For false Christs and afalse prophets will arise and will 1show great 2bsigns and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even cthe 3elect.

25 “Behold, I have told you in advance.

26 “So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them.

27 “aFor just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the bcoming of the cSon of Man be.

28 “aWherever the corpse is, there the 1vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

29 “But immediately after the atribulation of those days bthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and cthe stars will fall from 1the sky, and the powers of 1the heavens will be shaken.

30 “And then athe sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see bthe Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

31 “And aHe will send forth His angels with ba great trumpet and they will gather together His 1celect from dthe four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.