Matthew 24:26-41

26“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!

27For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.

28Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.

29“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.

30And 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.

31And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

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

33In the same way, when you see all these things, you can know his return is very near, right at the door.

34I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things take place.

35Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.

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

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

38In those days before the flood, the people were enjoying banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat.

39People 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.

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

41Two women will be grinding flour at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.