Matthew 24:15–28

¹⁵“So when you see standing in the holy place^v ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’^aw spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—¹⁶then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷Let no one on the housetop^x go down to take anything out of the house. ¹⁸Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. ¹⁹How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!^{y 20}Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.^z

²²“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect^a those days will be shortened. ²³At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.^{b 24}For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders^c to deceive, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵See, I have told you ahead of time.

²⁶“So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ²⁷For as lightning^d that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming^e of the Son of Man.^{f 28}Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.^g