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Signs of Christ's Return

^1 (C1)Jesus ^(C2)left the temple area and was going on His way ^(F1)when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him.² But He responded and said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, ^(C1)not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down."

³ And as He was sitting on ^(C1)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 ^(C2)Your coming, and of the ^(F1)end of the age?"

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them, "^(C1)See to it that no one ^(F1)misleads you.⁵ "For ^(C1)many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the ^(F1)Christ,' and they will ^(F2)mislead many people.⁶ "And you will be hearing of ^(C1)wars 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 ^(C1)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be ^(C2)famines and earthquakes in various places.⁸ "^(C1)But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pains.

⁹ "^(C1)Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and ^(C2)you will be hated by all nations because of My name.¹⁰ "And at that time many will ^(F1)(C1)fall away, and they will ^(F2)betray one another and hate one another.¹¹ "And many ^(C1)false prophets will rise up and ^(F1)mislead many people.¹² "And because lawlessness is increased, ^(F1)most people's love will become cold.¹³ "^(C1)But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved.¹⁴ "This ^(C1)gospel of the kingdom ^(C2)shall be preached in the whole ^(F1)(C3)world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Perilous Times

¹⁵ "Therefore when you see the ^(C1)ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in ^(C2)the holy place—^(F1)(C3)let the ^(F2)reader understand—¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.¹⁷ "^(F1)Whoever is on ^(C1)the ^(F2)housetop must not go down to get things out of his house.¹⁸ "And ^(F1)whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.¹⁹ "But ^(C1)woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days!²⁰ "Moreover, pray that ^(F1)when you flee, it will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.²¹ "For then there will be a ^(C1)great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will again.²² "And if those days had not been cut short, no ^(F1)life would have been saved; but for ^(C1)the sake of the ^(F2)elect those days will be cut short.²³ "^(C1)Then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the ^(F1)Christ,' or 'He is over here,' do not believe him.²⁴ "For false christs and ^(C1)false prophets will arise and will provide great ^(F1)(C2)signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even ^(C3)the ^(F2)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 "^(C1)For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the ^(C2)coming of the ^(C3)Son of Man ^(F1)be.²⁸ "^(C1)Wherever the corpse is, there the ^(F1)vultures will gather.

The Glorious Return

²⁹ "But immediately after the ^(C1)tribulation of those days ^(C2)THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND ^(C3)THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.³⁰ "And then ^(C1)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 ^(C2)the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.³¹ "And ^(C1)He will send forth His angels with ^(C2)A GREAT TRUMPET BLAST, and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His ^(F1)(C3)elect from ^(C4)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: as soon as its branch has become tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near;³³ so you too, when you see all these things, ^(F1)recognize that ^(F2)He is near, right ^(C1)at the ^(F3)door.³⁴ "Truly I say to you, ^(C1)this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.³⁵ "^(C1)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

³⁶ "But ^(C1)about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.³⁷ "For ^(F1)the ^(C1)coming of the Son of Man will be ^(C2)just like the days of Noah.³⁸ "For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, ^(C1)marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that ^(C2)Noah entered the ark,³⁹ and they did not ^(F1)understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the ^(C1)coming of the Son of Man be.⁴⁰ "At that time there will be two men in the field; one ^(F1)will be taken and one ^(F1)will be left.⁴¹ "^(C1)Two women will be grinding at the ^(F1)(C2)mill; one ^(F2)will be taken and one ^(F2)will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

⁴² "Therefore ^(C1)be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.⁴³ "But ^(F1)be sure of this, that ^(C1)if the head of the house had known ^(C2)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 ^(C1)you must be ready as well; for ^(C2)the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.

⁴⁵ "^(C1)Who then is the ^(C2)faithful and ^(C3)sensible slave whom his ^(F1)master ^(C4)put in charge of his household slaves, to give them their food at the proper time?⁴⁶ "Blessed is that slave whom his ^(F1)master finds so doing when he comes.⁴⁷ "Truly I say to you that ^(C1)he will put him in charge of all his possessions.⁴⁸ "But if that evil slave says in his heart, 'My ^(F1)master ^(F2)is not coming for a long time,'⁴⁹ and he begins to beat his fellow slaves, and he eats and drinks with those habitually drunk;⁵⁰ then the ^(F1)master of that slave will come on a day that he does not expect, and at an hour that he does not know,⁵¹ and he will ^(F1)cut him in two and assign ^(F2)him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be ^(C1)weeping and gnashing of teeth.