Matthew 24:1-51, Luke 21:5-36 - LSB - Legacy Standard Bible

Matthew 24:1-51

Signs of Christ’s Return

^aAnd coming ^bout from the temple, Jesus was going along, and His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 2 And He answered and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^anot one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
3 Now as He was sitting on ^athe Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of ^bYour coming and of the ¹end of the age?”
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “^aSee to it that no one deceives you. 5 For ^amany will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the ¹Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you are going to hear of ^awars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 7 For ^anation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be ^bfamines and earthquakes. 8 ^aBut all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
9 “^aThen they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and ^byou will be hated by all nations because of My name. 10 And at that time many will ¹^afall away and will ²betray one another and hate one another. 11 Many ^afalse prophets will arise and will deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness is multiplied, ¹most people’s love will grow cold. 13 ^aBut the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 14 And this ^agospel of the kingdom ^bshall be proclaimed in the whole ¹^cworld as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Abomination of Desolation and the Tribulation

15 “Therefore when you see the ^aabomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^bthe holy place (^clet the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 ¹Whoever is on ^athe housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 And ¹whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his garment. 19 But ^awoe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a ^agreat tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 And unless those days had been cut short, no ¹life would have been saved; but for ^athe sake of the ²elect those days will be cut short. 23 ^aThen if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the ¹Christ,’ or ‘²There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false christs and ^afalse prophets will arise and will ¹show great ²^bsigns and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even ^cthe ³elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 ^aFor just as the lightning comes from the east and appears even to the west, so will the ^bcoming of the ^cSon of Man be. 28 ^aWherever the corpse is, there the ¹vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

29 “But immediately after the ^atribulation of those days ^bthe sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^cthe stars will fall from ¹the sky, and the powers of ¹the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then ^athe sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ^bthe Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And ^aHe will send forth His angels with ^ba great trumpet and they will gather together His ¹^celect from ^dthe four winds, from one end of the sky to the ²other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

32 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; 33 so, you too, when you see all these things, ¹recognize that ²He is near, right ^aat the ³door. 34 Truly I say to you, ^athis ¹generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 35 ^aHeaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36 “But ^aof that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For ^ajust as the days of Noah were, so the ^bcoming of the Son of Man will be. 38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^amarrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^bNoah entered the ark, 39 and they did not ¹understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^acoming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then there will be two in the field; one ¹will be taken, and one ¹will be left. 41 ^aTwo women will be grinding grain at the ¹^bmill; one ²will be taken and one ²will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

42 “Therefore ^astay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 43 But ¹be sure of this, that ^aif the head of the house had known ^bat what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have allowed his house to be ²broken into. 44 For this reason ^ayou also must be ready; for ^bthe Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
45 “^aWho then is the ^bfaithful and ^cprudent slave whom his ¹master ^dput in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that slave whom his ¹master finds so doing when he comes. 47 Truly I say to you that ^ahe will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My ¹master ²is not coming for a long time,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 50 the ¹master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, 51 and will ¹cut him in pieces and ²assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^aweeping and gnashing of teeth.

Luke 21:5-36

5 ^aAnd while some were talking about the temple, that it had been adorned with beautiful stones and dedicated gifts, He said, 6 “As for these things which you are looking at, the days will come in which ^athere will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down.”
7 So they questioned Him, saying, “Teacher, when therefore will these things happen? And what will be the ¹sign when these things are about to take place?” 8 And He said, “See to it that you are not deceived; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘^aI am He,’ and, ‘The time is at hand.’ ^bDo not go after them. 9 And when you hear of wars and disturbances, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end does not follow immediately.”

Signs of Christ’s Return

10 Then He continued saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be terrors and great ¹signs from heaven.
12 “But before all these things, ^athey will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, ¹bringing you before kings and governors for My name’s sake. 13 ^aIt will result in ¹an opportunity for your testimony. 14 ^aSo set in your hearts not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves; 15 for ^aI will give you a mouth and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute. 16 But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death, 17 and you will be hated by all because of My name. 18 Yet ^anot a hair of your head will perish. 19 ^aBy your perseverance you will gain your ¹lives.
20 “But when you see Jerusalem ^asurrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of ¹the city must leave, and ^athose who are in the countryside must not enter ¹the city; 22 because these are ^adays of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. 23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for ^athere will be great distress upon the ¹land and wrath against this people, 24 and they will fall by ^athe edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations, and ^bJerusalem will be ^ctrampled under foot by the Gentiles until ^dthe times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

When Christ Returns

25 “And there will be ¹signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth anguish among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 men fainting from fear and the expectation of the things which are coming upon the ¹world; for the powers of ²the heavens will be shaken. 27 ^aAnd then they will see ^bthe Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because ^ayour redemption is drawing near.”

The Parable of the Fig Tree

29 Then He told them a parable: “Behold the fig tree and all the trees; 30 as soon as they put forth leaves and you see it for yourselves, ^aknow that summer is now near. 31 So you also, when you see these things happening, know that ^athe kingdom of God is near. 32 Truly I say to you, this ¹generation will not pass away until all things take place. 33 ^aHeaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
34 “^aBut be on guard, so that your hearts will not be overcome with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; 35 for it will come upon all those who inhabit the face of all the earth. 36 But ^akeep on the alert at all times, praying earnestly that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to ^bstand before the Son of Man.”