Matthew 24 - Disciples’ Literal New Testament (DLNT)

Jesus Tells His Disciples That The Temple Will Be Destroyed. They Ask, When?

24 And having departed from the temple, Jesus was proceeding. And His disciples came to Him to show Him the buildings of the temple. ² But the One, having responded, said to them, “Do you see all these things? Truly I say to you— a stone upon a stone will by no means be left here which will not be torn-down^[a]”. ³ And while He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us— when will these^[b] things happen? And what will be the sign of Your coming and the conclusion^[c] of the age?” ⁴ And having responded, Jesus said to them—

There Will Be Birthpangs, But The Gospel Will Reach The Whole World Before The End

“Be watching out that no one may deceive you. ⁵ For^[d] many will come on the basis of My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ’. And they will deceive many. ⁶ And you will-certainly^[e] hear-of wars and rumors of wars. See^[f] that you are not alarmed! For they must take place, but it is not yet the end. ⁷ For nation will arise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ But all these things are^[g] a beginning of birth-pains. ⁹ Then^[h] they will hand you over to affliction, and they will kill you. And you will be being hated by all the nations because of My name. ¹⁰ And then^[i] many will be caused-to-fall, and will hand one another over, and will hate one another. ¹¹ And many false-prophets will arise and deceive many. ¹² And the love of the majority will grow cold because of lawlessness being multiplied. ¹³ But the one having endured to the end^[j]— this one will be saved. ¹⁴ And this good-news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations. And then the end^[k] will come.

When You See Daniel’s Abomination, Flee. For There Will Be a Great Affliction

¹⁵ “Therefore when you see^[l] the abomination of desolation^[m]— the thing having been spoken through Daniel the prophet— standing in the holy place^[n] (let the one reading understand), ¹⁶ then let the ones in Judea be fleeing to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let the one upon the housetop not go down to take the things out of his house. ¹⁸ And let the one in the field not turn behind to take his cloak. ¹⁹ And woe to the ones having a child in the womb, and to the ones nursing in those days. ²⁰ And be praying that your flight may not take place in winter, nor on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then^[o] there will be a great affliction^[p] such as has not taken place since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will take place. ²² And if those days had not been shortened^[q], no^[r] flesh would have been saved. But those days will be shortened for the sake of the chosen ones.

Do Not Be Deceived. My Coming Will Be As Visible To All As Lightning

²³ Then^[s] if someone says to you, ‘Behold— here is the Christ,’ or ‘Here’, do not believe it. ²⁴ For false-christs and false-prophets will arise and give great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the chosen ones. ²⁵ Behold— I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ Therefore, if they say to you, ‘Behold— He is in the wilderness’, do not go out; ‘Behold— He is in the inner-rooms’, do not believe it. ²⁷ For just as the lightning comes out from the east and is visible^[t] as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸ Wherever the corpse^[u] may be, there the vultures will be gathered.

After That Affliction, The Powers Will Be Shaken. I Will Come On The Clouds In Glory

²⁹ “And immediately after the affliction of those days, the sun^[v] will be darkened, and the moon will not give its glow, and the stars will fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then^[w] the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heaven. And at-that-time all the tribes of the earth will beat-their-breasts. And they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send-out His angels with a loud trumpet. And they will gather together His chosen ones from the four winds, from the ends^[x] of the heavens to their [other] ends.

The Parable of The Fig Tree: When You See These Things, You Know I Am Near

³² “Now learn the parable from the fig-tree^[y]: when its branch already becomes tender and grows-out its leaves, you know that the summer is near. ³³ So also you— when you see all^[z] these things, you know^[aa] that He^[ab] is near, at the doors. ³⁴ Truly I say to you that this^[ac] generation will by no means pass away until all these things take place. ³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by-no-means pass away.

But No One Knows The Day And Hour, So Keep Watching And Be Prepared Always

³⁶ “But no one knows about that day and hour— not even the angels of the heavens, nor the Son— except the Father alone. ³⁷ For just as the days of Noah were, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving-in-marriage, until which day Noah entered into the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took-away everyone, so also^[ad] will the coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ At-that-time there will be two men in the field— one is taken, and one is left; ⁴¹ two women grinding at the mill— one is taken^[ae], and one is left. ⁴² Therefore keep-watching, because you do not know on which day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ And you know^[af] that saying, that if the house-master had known on which watch^[ag] the thief was coming, he would have kept-watch^[ah] and would not have allowed his house to be broken-into. ⁴⁴ For this reason you also be prepared ones— because the Son of Man is coming at an hour which you do not expect.

Wise Servants Found Working When The Master Returns Will Be Put In Charge of More

⁴⁵ “Who then^[ai] is the faithful and wise slave whom his master put-in-charge^[aj] over his body-of-servants^[ak] that he might give them their food at the proper-time? ⁴⁶ Blessed is that slave whom his master, having come, will find so doing. ⁴⁷ Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge over all his possessions. ⁴⁸ But if that bad slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying’, ⁴⁹ and begins to strike his fellow-slaves, and is eating and drinking with the ones being drunk— ⁵⁰ the master of that slave will come on a day which he does not expect, and at an hour which he does not know. ⁵¹ And he will cut him in two, and assign him his part^[al] with the hypocrites. In that place, there will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth.

Footnotes

1. Matthew 24:2 Or, destroyed, demolished, done away with.
2. Matthew 24:3 That is, the tearing down of the temple (24:3), the things coming upon this generation (23:34-36), the house being left desolate (23:38).
3. Matthew 24:3 Or, consummation, completion, finish, end.
4. Matthew 24:5 Some think v 5-14 refer to events prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70; others, to birth-pains that started in the apostles’ day and continue until the end, which begins in v 14b; others, that Jesus intended a double meaning, one for the apostles’ day and one for the end-time when these birth-pains will precede the end.
5. Matthew 24:6 Or, must hear, will hear.
6. Matthew 24:6 Or, Watch out! Do not be alarmed!
7. Matthew 24:8 Or, will be.
8. Matthew 24:9 That is, next in time (some amount of time after v 6-8); or, next in sequence without reference to time (Next, as the birth-pains continue). Or, At that time (at the time of the birth-pains). The meaning can be affected by which rendering is chosen. This word is also in 24:10, 14, 16, 21, 23, 30, 40; 25:1, 7, 31, 34, 37, 41, 44, 45.
9. Matthew 24:10 Or, at that time.
10. Matthew 24:13 That is, the end of his life, or the coming of Christ, whichever comes first.
11. Matthew 24:14 That is, the coming of Christ; or, the beginning of the end time.
12. Matthew 24:15 Some think that this is the sign of the destruction of Jerusalem, as in Lk 21:20-24; others, that it is the sign of the beginning of the end time, as in 2 Thes 2:3-4; others, both.
13. Matthew 24:15 That is, an act of sacrilege characterized by or consisting of or resulting in desolation. The term comes from Dan 9:27; 11:31; 12:11.
14. Matthew 24:15 This could refer to the a.d. 70 temple or an end-time temple of God, or to Jerusalem, or to Judea.
15. Matthew 24:21 Or, at that time.
16. Matthew 24:21 Or, distress, trouble, tribulation.
17. Matthew 24:22 Or, curtailed, cut short.
18. Matthew 24:22 Lit, all flesh would not have. Some think all flesh means all humanity; others, all those in Judea, v 16.
19. Matthew 24:23 Or, At that time.
20. Matthew 24:27 Or, shines.
21. Matthew 24:28 The corpses may be those killed at the return of Christ; both His coming and its aftermath will be unmistakable. Or, linking this with v 24, the false prophets (the vultures) will gather upon the spiritually dead (the corpses). Or, linking this with v 15-26, Jerusalem (the corpse) will attract the Roman ‘eagles’ (as ‘vultures’ can also be rendered). Or, this may be a general rule: As corpses attract vultures, so the spiritually dead will attract judgment.
22. Matthew 24:29 sun... moon... stars... powers. Some take these as literal end-time events; others, as symbolic of the fall of political rulers.
23. Matthew 24:30 Or, at that time.
24. Matthew 24:31 Or, extremities. That is, from horizon to horizon; or, from all earth (the four winds) and all heaven.
25. Matthew 24:32 Some think that this has reference to Israel; others, that it is simply an illustration for which any fruit tree would have worked, as in Lk 21:29.
26. Matthew 24:33 When you see all of v 5-29 or 15-29, you are seeing the tree leafed out.
27. Matthew 24:33 Or, know that (a command).
28. Matthew 24:33 Or, it, Christ’s coming.
29. Matthew 24:34 Some think Jesus means the apostles’ generation, which would see all these things (v 5 or 15 to v 28 or 29) fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem (compare 23:36). Since that day, He is at the door. Others think He means the generation alive to see all these things in the end-time. Others think ‘this generation’ refers to unbelieving Israel (as often in the Gospels). Such persons will continue until He returns.
30. Matthew 24:39 That is, life was going on as normal, and God suddenly and unexpectedly intervened into human history.
31. Matthew 24:41 Or, taken along... left behind. Some think believers are taken, referring either to protection on earth (as with Noah) or in heaven (through the rapture); unbelievers are left for judgment. Others think unbelievers are taken in judgment, believers are left on earth (like Noah).
32. Matthew 24:43 Or, know that ( a command to understand).
33. Matthew 24:43 That is, watch of the night. The night was divided into four watches.
34. Matthew 24:43 That is, he would have been prepared for the thief when he came. Since he does not know when the thief is coming, he must be prepared at all times.
35. Matthew 24:45 In view of the sudden nature of Christ’s return, who is the wise slave among those left to lead when the master left? The wise one is the one doing his will when he returns.
36. Matthew 24:45 Or, appointed, set.
37. Matthew 24:45 That is, the master’s group of servants which he left to do whatever tasks he had assigned to them.
38. Matthew 24:51 Or, share, place.