Montgomery - Matthew - 24

24:1  Then Jesus left the Temple courts and was walking away, when his disciples came to point out to him the Temple buildings.

24:2  "You see all these buildings?" he answered them; "I tell you solemnly that there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be torn down."

24:3  When he had seated himself on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?"

24:4  "Take care," Jesus answered, "that no one mislead you;

24:5  "for many will come in my name saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.

24:6  "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see to it that you are not afraid. Such things must happen, but the end is not yet.

24:7  "Such things must happen, nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

24:8  "All these things are the beginning of birth-pangs.

24:9  "Then they will deliver you up to suffer affliction, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.

24:10  "And then many will stumble and fall, and will betray one another, and hate one another.

24:11  "Many false prophets will rise up and mislead many;

24:12  "and because of the increase of iniquity the love of the majority will grow cold;

24:13  "but he who endures to the end will be saved.

24:14  "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed throughout the whole inhabited earth, for a testimony to the Gentiles, and then will come the end.

24:15  "So when you see the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place let the reader take note of this,

24:16  "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains;

24:17  "let him who is upon the housetop not go down to get the things in his house,

24:18  "and the man in the field not turn back to get his cloak.

24:19  "Alas for thee women who are with child, and for the nursing mothers in those days!

24:20  "But pray that your flight may not be in the winter; nor on a Sabbath;

24:21  "for then shall be a time of great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never shall be again.

24:22  "And if these days had not been shortened, no flesh would have been saved; but for the elect’s sake these days will be cut short.

24:23  "If at that time any one should say to you, ‘See, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ believe him not.

24:24  "For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will work great signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if it were possible, the very elect.

24:25  "See, I have forewarned you! So if they say to you,

24:26  "‘See, He is in the desert,’ do not go out there. "‘See, He is in the inner room,’ do not believe it.

24:27  "For just as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west; so will be the coming of the Son of man.

24:28  "Wherever the corpse lies, there will the vultures flock together.

24:29  "But immediately after the tribulation of those days, "The sun will be darkened, The moon will not shed her light, The stars will fall from the sky, And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

24:30  "Then the signs of the Son of man will appear in the sky; and then all the tribes of the earth will lament, when they see the Son of man coming upon the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

24:31  "And he will send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather his elect together from the four winds, from utmost heaven to utmost earth.

24:32  "Learn from the fig tree, her parable; when her branches are become soft, and put forth leaves, you know that summer is near;

24:33  "so you also, when you see these signs, know that He is near, at the very doors.

24:34  "I tell you in solemn truth, that the present generation shall not pass away till all these things happen.

24:35  "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

24:36  "But no one knows about that day and hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

24:37  "And as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man.

24:38  "For just as in the days before the deluge they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the very day when Noah entered the ark,

24:40  "At that time there will be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left.

24:41  "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and the other left.

24:42  "Keep guard then, for you do not know the day on which your Master is coming.

24:43  "But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch the thief was coming, he would have been on his guard, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

24:44  "Therefore you also must be ready, for in an hour when you do not expect him, the Son of man is coming.

24:45  "Who, then, is the faithful and prudent slave, to whom his master has entrusted his household, to give them their food in due season?

24:46  "Blessed is that slave whom his Master, when he comes, shall find so doing.

24:47  "In solemn truth I tell you that he will set him over all his property.

24:48  "But if, because he is a bad slave, he should say to himself, ‘My Master is a long time in coming,’

24:49  "and if he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and to eat or drink with the drunkards,

24:50  "on a day when he is not expecting him, and at an hour which he does not know, the Master of that servant will arrive

24:51  "and will scourge him severely, and allot him a place among hypocrites, where will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."