Matthew 24:4-28
24:4 Jesus answered them,
“Watch out
that no one misleads you.
24:5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’
and they will mislead many.
24:6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Make sure that you are not alarmed, for this must happen, but the end is still to come.
24:7 For nation will rise up in arms
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines
and earthquakes
in various places.
24:8 All
these things are the beginning of birth pains.
Persecution of Disciples
24:9 “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name.
24:10 Then many will be led into sin, and they will betray one another and hate one another.
24:11 And many false prophets will appear and deceive many,
24:12 and because lawlessness will increase so much, the love of many will grow cold.
24:13 But the person who endures to the end will be saved.
24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole inhabited earth as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
The Abomination of Desolation
24:15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation – spoken about by Daniel the prophet – standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),
24:16 then those in Judea must flee to the mountains.
24:17 The one on the roof must not come down to take anything out of his house,
24:18 and the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.
24:19 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing their babies in those days!
24:20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.
24:21 For then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen.
24:22 And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
24:23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe him.
24:24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
24:25 Remember, I have told you ahead of time.
24:26 So then, if someone says to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe him.
24:27 For just like the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so the coming of the Son of Man will be.
24:28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.