New Living Translation

New International Version

Jesus Speaks about the Future

As Jesus was leaving the Temple grounds, his disciples pointed out to him the various Temple buildings.

1

The Destruction of the Temple and Signs of the End Times

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings.

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But he responded, “Do you see all these buildings? I tell you the truth, they will be completely demolished. Not one stone will be left on top of another!”

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“Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

3

Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world?a”

3

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

4

Jesus told them, “Don’t let anyone mislead you,

4

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.

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for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.

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For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many.

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And you will hear of wars and threats of wars, but don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place, but the end won’t follow immediately.

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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.

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Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.

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Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

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But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.

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All these are the beginning of birth pains.

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“Then you will be arrested, persecuted, and killed. You will be hated all over the world because you are my followers.b

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“Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me.

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And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other.

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At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other,

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And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people.

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and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

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Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold.

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Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,

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But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

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but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

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And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nationsc will hear it; and then the end will come.

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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

“The day is coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about — the sacrilegious object that causes desecrationd standing in the Holy Place.” (Reader, pay attention!)

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“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’a spoken of through the prophet Daniel — let the reader understand —

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“Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.

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then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

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A person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack.

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Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house.

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A person out in the field must not return even to get a coat.

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Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak.

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How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days.

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How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!

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And pray that your flight will not be in winter or on the Sabbath.

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Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.

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For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again.

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For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now — and never to be equaled again.

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In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God’s chosen ones.

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“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

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“Then if anyone tells you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah,’ or ‘There he is,’ don’t believe it.

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At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it.

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For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God’s chosen ones.

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For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

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See, I have warned you about this ahead of time.

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See, I have told you ahead of time.

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“So if someone tells you, ‘Look, the Messiah is out in the desert,’ don’t bother to go and look. Or, ‘Look, he is hiding here,’ don’t believe it!

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“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.

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For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Mane comes.

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For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

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Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.f

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Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

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“Immediately after the anguish of those days,
the sun will be darkened,
the moon will give no light,
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.g

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.’b

30

And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.h

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“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earthc will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.d

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And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the worldi — from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

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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.

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“Now learn a lesson from the fig tree. When its branches bud and its leaves begin to sprout, you know that summer is near.

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“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.

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In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.

33

Even so, when you see all these things, you know that ite is near, right at the door.

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I tell you the truth, this generationj will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.

34

Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.

35

Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

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Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

36

“However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.k Only the Father knows.

36

The Day and Hour Unknown

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,f but only the Father.

37

“When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.

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As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

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In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.

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For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;

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People didn’t realize what was going to happen until the flood came and swept them all away. That is the way it will be when the Son of Man comes.

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and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

40

“Two men will be working together in the field; one will be taken, the other left.

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Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.

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Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.

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Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

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“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming.

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“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.

43

Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into.

43

But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

44

You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

44

So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45

“A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them.

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“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?

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If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward.

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It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.

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I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns.

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Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

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But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’

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But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’

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and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk?

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and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.

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The master will return unannounced and unexpected,

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The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of.

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and he will cut the servant to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51

He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Parallel

New Living Translation

New International Version

Matthew 24

Matthew 24