The Destruction of the Temple
Matthew 24Jesus left the temple and was going away when his disciples came to him to point out the temple buildings. But he answered them, “Y’all see all of these things? Not one stone here will be left on another. Every one will be thrown down.”
As he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen? What is the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
Jesus answered them, “Y’all be careful that no one leads y’all astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. Y’all will hear of wars and rumors of wars. But y’all see to it that you* aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but that is not yet the end. One ethnic group will be raised against another ethnic group, and empire against empire. There will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
“Then they will deliver y’all to oppression and will kill y’all. Y’all will be hated by all the ethnic groups because of my name. At that time many will be led to stumble, betray one another, and hate one another. Many false prophets will appear, and they will lead many people astray. Because lawlessness will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. This gospel of the empire will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the ethnic groups, and then the end will come.
“Therefore, when you see the abomination of desolation,+Dan 9:11 which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. The one on the housetop must not go down to take anything out of their house. The one in the field must not return back to get their cloak. But woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! Y’all should pray that your* flight will not be in the winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great oppression, such as has not happened from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will be. If those days had not been cut short, no life would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.
“At that time if anyone tells y’all, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ don’t believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear, and they will perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.
“See, I have told y’all beforehand.
“If they tell y’all, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t y’all go out; or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t y’all believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Humanity. For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures will gather.
“But immediately after the oppression of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.+Isa 13:4 Then the sign of the Son of Humanity will appear in the sky, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Humanity coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a great trumpet call, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
“Now from the fig tree y’all are to learn this parable: When its branch becomes tender and produces its leaves, y’all know that the summer is near. Even so, when y’all see all these things, y’all should recognize that he is near, right at the door. Truly I tell y’all, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Be Ready for His Coming
“But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Humanity. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark. They didn’t understand until the flood came and took them all. It will be the same way at the coming of the Son of Humanity. At that time, two men will be in the field: one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, y’all must stay alert, for y’all don’t know on what day your* Lord is coming. But y’all must understand this: if the homeowner had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, they would have watched, and would not have allowed their house to be broken into. Therefore y’all must also be ready, because the Son of Humanity is coming at an hour when y’all don’t expect him.
“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has set over the household, to give them their food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom the master finds at work when they return. Truly I tell y’all the master will set that servant over all that their possession. But if an evil slave says in their heart, ‘My master is staying away for a long time,’ and begins to beat their fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come in a day when they doesn’t expect it and in an hour when they don’t know it, and will cut them in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.