Matthew
24:4-31
4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For
many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will
deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see
to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the
end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various
places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 9 "Then
you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you
will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many
will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,
11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.
12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will
grow cold, 13 but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world
as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. 15 "So
when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes
desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel--let the reader
understand-- 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17 Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything
out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get his
cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women
and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place
in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress,
unequaled from the beginning of the world until now--and never to
be equaled again. 22 If those days had not been cut short, no one
would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be
shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says
to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe
it. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will appear and
perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect--if that
were possible. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time. 26 "So
if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go
out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 27
For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the
west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there
is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29 "Immediately
after the distress of those days "'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the
sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.' 30 "At that time
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations
of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on
the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31 And he will
send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his
elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. |
