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Signs of Christ’s Return 
1  Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. 
2 And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” 
3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” 
4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “ See to it that no one misleads you. 
5   “For  many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the  Christ,’ and will mislead many. 
6   “You will be hearing of  wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. 
7   “For  nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be  famines and earthquakes. 
8   “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs. 
9  “ Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. 
10   “At that time many will   fall away and will  betray one another and hate one another. 
11   “Many  false prophets will arise and will mislead many. 
12   “Because lawlessness is increased,  most people’s love will grow cold. 
13   “But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. 
14   “This  gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole   world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. 
Perilous Times 
15  “Therefore when you see the  ᴀʙoᴍɪɴᴀᴛɪoɴ oꜰ ᴅᴇsoʟᴀᴛɪoɴ which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 
16   then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 
17   “ Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 
18   “ Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 
19   “But  woe 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  great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 
22   “Unless those days had been cut short, no  life would have been saved; but for the sake of the  elect those days will be cut short. 
23   “ Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the  Christ,’ or ‘ There He is,’ do not believe him. 
24   “For false Christs and  false prophets will arise and will  show great   signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the  elect. 
25   “Behold, I have told you in advance. 
26   “So 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   “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the  coming of the  Son of Man be. 
28   “ Wherever the corpse is, there the  vultures will gather. 
The Glorious Return 
29  “But immediately after the  tribulation of those days ᴛʜᴇ sᴜɴ wɪʟʟ ʙᴇ ᴅᴀʀᴋᴇɴᴇᴅ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴍooɴ wɪʟʟ ɴoᴛ ɢɪvᴇ ɪᴛs ʟɪɢʜᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ sᴛᴀʀs wɪʟʟ ꜰᴀʟʟ from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 
30   “And then the 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 the Soɴ oꜰ Mᴀɴ coᴍɪɴɢ oɴ ᴛʜᴇ cʟoᴜᴅs oꜰ ᴛʜᴇ sᴋʏ with power and great glory. 
31   “And He will send forth His angels with ᴀ ɢʀᴇᴀᴛ ᴛʀᴜᴍᴘᴇᴛ and ᴛʜᴇʏ wɪʟʟ ɢᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ᴛoɢᴇᴛʜᴇʀ His   elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. 
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,  recognize that He is near, right at the  door. 
34   “Truly I say to you,  this  generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 
35   “ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 
36  “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 
37   “For the  coming of the Son of Man will be  just like the days of Noah. 
38   “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking,  marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that  Noah entered the ark, 
39  and they did not  understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the  coming of the Son of Man be. 
40   “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. 
41   “ Two women will be grinding at the   mill; one will be taken and one will be left. 
Be Ready for His Coming 
42  “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. 
43   “But be sure of this, that  if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be  broken into. 
44   “For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will. 
45  “ Who then is the  faithful and  sensible slave whom his  master  put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? 
46   “Blessed is that slave whom his  master finds so doing when he comes. 
47   “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 
48   “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My  master is not coming for a long time,’ 
49  and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; 
50  the  master 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  cut him in pieces and  assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be  weeping and gnashing of teeth.