Matthew 24:17-41

17Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things that are in his house [because there will not be enough time].

18Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

19And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

20Pray that your flight [from persecution and suffering] will not be in winter, or on a Sabbath [when Jewish laws prohibit travel].

21For at that time there will be a great tribulation (pressure, distress, oppression), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will [again].

22And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.

23Then if anyone says to you [during the great tribulation], ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe it.

24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).

25Listen carefully, I have told you in advance.

26So if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there, or, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms [of a house],’ do not believe it.

27For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming [in glory] of the Son of Man [everyone will see Him clearly].

28Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will flock together.

29“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not provide its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

30And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor].

31And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet and they will gather together His elect (God’s chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its young shoots become tender and it puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near;

33so you, too, when you see all these things [taking place], know for certain that He is near, right at the door.

34I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place.

35Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

36“But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone.

37For the coming of the Son of Man (the Messiah) will be just like the days of Noah.

38For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah entered the ark,

39and they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be [unexpected judgment].

40At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.

41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.