The Bible — World English Bible

Matthew 24

In brief

Matthew 24 opens the great discourse of Jesus on the Mount of Olives. He announces the destruction of the temple, then answers the question about his return with warnings: deception, wars, persecutions, false prophets, love growing cold. He announces a great tribulation and then his visible return like lightning, whose day no one knows. The chapter calls us to stay watchful and to be faithful servants. Christians read the timeline of these events differently, but agree on watchfulness.

The chapter in 5 parts

  1. v. 1-14The disciples' question and the beginning of birth pains
  2. v. 15-28The great tribulation and the false christs
  3. v. 29-35The return of the Son of Man and the lesson of the fig tree
  4. v. 36-44No one knows the day: stay watchful
  5. v. 45-51The faithful servant and the unfaithful servant

1Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way. His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple.

2But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.”

3As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?”

4Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray.

5For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.

6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet.

7For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places.

8But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

9Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake.

10Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another.

11Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray.

12Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.

13But he who endures to the end will be saved.

14This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.

15“When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

17Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house.

18Let him who is in the field not return back to get his clothes.

19But woe to those who are with child and to nursing mothers in those days!

20Pray that your flight will not be in the winter, nor on a Sabbath,

21for then there will be great suffering, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.

22Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.

23“Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ,’ or, ‘There,’ don’t believe it.

24For there will arise false christs, and false prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones.

25“Behold, I have told you beforehand.

26If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe it.

27For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

28For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures gather together.

29But immediately after the suffering 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;

30and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.

31He will send out his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

32“Now from the fig tree learn this parable. When its branch has now become tender, and produces its leaves, you know that the summer is near.

33Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

34Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all these things are accomplished.

35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

36But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

37“As the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

38For as in those days which were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ship,

39and they didn’t know until the flood came, and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

40Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left.

41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left.

42Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes.

43But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

44Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.

45“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord has set over his household, to give them their food in due season?

46Blessed is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes.

47Most certainly I tell you that he will set him over all that he has.

48But if that evil servant should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’

49and begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards,

50the lord of that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it, and in an hour when he doesn’t know it,

51and will cut him in pieces, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.

Key verses

Verse 4-5
Jesus answered them, “Be careful that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray.

Jesus' first answer is not a date but a warning: be careful that no one leads you astray. The first danger is deception, even before disasters.

Verse 12-13
Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

Jesus announces that the love of many will grow cold, then promises salvation to the one who endures to the end. Endurance is presented as the answer to this weariness.

Verse 27
For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

The return of the Son of Man will be visible to everyone, like lightning that crosses the sky. There is nothing hidden about it, which lets us turn away those who announce a Christ in the desert or in inner rooms.

Verse 36
But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

The day and the hour are known to the Father alone. This verse calms date calculations and refocuses us on watchfulness, though Christian traditions do not all draw the same conclusions about the order of events.

Verse 42-44
Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t expect, the Son of Man will come.

The practical center of the chapter: watch, be ready. The image of the master of the house who does not know the hour of the thief invites us to live each day as if the return could be near.

Bible verses to meditate on

What the sermons say

Waiting for Christ's Return Without Falling AsleepStéphane Guillet meditates on Matthew 24:36-44 for the first Sunday of Advent. He shows that Christ comes at the unknown hour not to frighten us but to wake up the way we live our daily lives.Read the summary →After the Rapture: What Happens Next to the WorldPastor Jean-Claude Villa follows the calendar of the end according to his reading: Daniel's seven years, the tribulation, Armageddon, the return of the Lord and the millennium. His common thread comes down to three words: be ready.Read the summary →The Lamb, the Bridegroom, the King: The Three Comings of JesusStéphane Burgos presents Jesus who came as the Lamb and will return as the Bridegroom to take his church, then as King. He cites Matthew 24:22 and 24:27: the days will be shortened and the return will be visible like lightning.Read the summary →The Temptation to Give Up: God Says Stand FirmThe message calls for watchfulness and perseverance, citing Matthew 24:13. It examines the work of the tempter, what believers end up giving up and the reasons for giving up.Read the summary →Agape Love: The Spark That Reignites the ChurchFrom Matthew 24:12, the sermon recalls that love can grow cold when evil spreads. It invites us to agape love, patient with a brother who repeats the same mistakes.Read the summary →Living as a Faithful Steward (1)The message places the parable of the talents on the Mount of Olives, in the days before the crucifixion. It cites Matthew 24:42-44: Jesus will return, no one knows when, and this calls for the life of a faithful steward.Read the summary →

Frequently asked questions about Matthew 24

What does Matthew 24 say about the end times?

Jesus answers the disciples' question by describing wars, famines, persecutions, false prophets and a great tribulation, then his visible return like lightning. Above all he insists on watchfulness: no one knows the day or the hour. Christians differ on the precise order of events, but agree on the call to be ready.

What does it mean that no one knows the day or the hour in Matthew 24:36?

Jesus says that neither the angels nor the Son, but the Father alone, knows that moment. The text cuts short any date calculation and shifts attention to a way of living: watching, being ready and being faithful in daily life.

What does it mean that the love of many will grow cold in Matthew 24:12?

Jesus warns that, as lawlessness increases, the love of many will diminish. It is not inevitable: the next verse promises salvation to the one who endures to the end. Many see in it a call to keep love alive in the church.

What does one will be taken and the other left mean in Matthew 24:40?

Jesus illustrates with two ordinary scenes, a field and a mill, that his return will surprise people who live side by side. Christians do not all understand this passage the same way, some seeing the rapture of the church, others a judgment, but all read in it a call to be ready.

Articles quoting Matthew 24

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World English Bible translation — public domain.