Matthew 24

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

2 But 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.”

3 As 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?”

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

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

6 You 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.

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

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

9 “Then 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.

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

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

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

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

14 This 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),

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

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

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

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

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

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

22 Unless 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.

24 For false christs and false prophets will arise, 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.

26 “If 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.

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.

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

29 “But 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;

30 and 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.

31 He 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.

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

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

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

36 “But 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.

38 For 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,

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

40 Then two men will be 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.

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

43 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.

44 Therefore 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?

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

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

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

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

50 the 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,

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

Around Matthew 24

Book context

MatthewEditorial draft

Matthew opens by presenting Jesus as “the son of David, the son of Abraham” (1:1) and keeps connecting his life to the Hebrew Scriptures. Its teaching centres on the Kingdom of Heaven (4:17), gathers long blocks of Jesus’ teaching such as the Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5 to 7), and closes with the commission to make disciples of all nations (28:19). The book does not name its author; early church tradition attributes it to the apostle Matthew. Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897) dates it around AD 60 to 65 and holds that it was the first Gospel written. Many later scholars think Mark came first, so the order of the Gospels is debated.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · debated · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

Matthew 24 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Jesus is walking out of the temple when his disciples stop to show him its buildings. He answers with a shock: not one stone will be left on another. Later, sitting on the Mount of Olives, they come to him privately and ask when, and what the sign of his coming will be.

His first word is a warning. Be careful that no one leads you astray. Many will come saying, “I am the Christ,” and there will be wars, famines and earthquakes, and he calls all of it the beginning of birth pains. His followers will be hated, many will stumble, and the Good News will be preached to all nations before the end.

He speaks of the abomination of desolation that Daniel spoke of, and tells those in Judea to flee. Great suffering, false christs. Then the Son of Man will come like lightning and gather his chosen ones. No one knows the day or hour, so he asks them to watch, with the days of Noah, a thief in the night and a faithful servant as his pictures.

Background

The temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70, and many scholars think this event is partly in view in the first part of the chapter. Christians differ widely on how to read the rest, especially on timing, the meaning of this generation in verse 34, and the sequence of events at the end. The abomination of desolation comes from Daniel 9, 11 and 12. The taken and the left behind in verses 40 and 41 are also read in different ways. This chapter is part of the fifth and last of the long speeches in Matthew.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 25 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes