Teaching on the Mount of Olives

¹Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him, pointing out the temple buildings. ²Jesus replied, "You see all of this, don't you? I tell you the truth — not one stone here will be left standing on another. Every one of them will be torn down." ³As he sat on 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 your coming and of the end of the world?" ⁴Jesus answered, "Be careful that no one deceives you. ⁵Many will come using my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and they will deceive many people. ⁶You'll hear about wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not troubled. These things must happen, but the end is not yet. ⁷Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸All of these are just the beginning of birth pains. ⁹Then they will hand you over to be afflicted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰At that time, many will be offended, and they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹Many false prophets will appear and deceive large numbers of people. ¹²Because iniquity will abound, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³But whoever endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to every nation, and then the end will come. ¹⁵So when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place — let the reader understand — ¹⁶then those in Judea should flee to the mountains. ¹⁷If you're on the roof of your house, don't go back inside to grab your belongings. ¹⁸If you're out in the field, don't go back for your coat. ¹⁹How terrible it will be for pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days! ²⁰Pray that your escape doesn't happen in winter or on the Sabbath, ²¹For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not happened since the beginning of the world until now — and never will again. ²²If those days were not shortened, no flesh would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened. ²³If anyone tells you then, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'He's over there!' — don't believe it. ²⁴False Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders, so much so that, if it were possible, they would deceive even the very elect. ²⁵Remember, I've warned you ahead of time. ²⁶So if someone says, 'He's out in the wilderness!' — don't go. Or if they say, 'He's hiding in a secret room!' — don't believe it. ²⁷For as lightning comes from the east and shines to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. ²⁸Wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will gather. ²⁹Immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will go dark, the moon will stop giving its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Every tribe on earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹He will send out his angels with a loud trumpet sound, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ³²Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: When its branches become tender and its leaves start to sprout, you know summer is near. ³³In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you'll know that the time is near — right at the door. ³⁴I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. ³⁵Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. ³⁶No one knows the day or the hour, not even the angels of heaven, but only my Father. ³⁷The coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah. ³⁸In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, getting married and giving their children in marriage, right up until the day Noah entered the ark. ³⁹They had no idea what was coming until the flood swept them all away. That's exactly how the coming of the Son of Man will be. ⁴⁰Two will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left behind. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding grain at the mill — one will be taken and the other left behind. ⁴²So stay alert, because you don't know what hour your Lord is coming. ⁴³Understand this: if a homeowner had known what time of night a thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So you must be ready too, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you don't expect. ⁴⁵Who then is the faithful and wise servant that the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the right time? ⁴⁶That servant is blessed if his master arrives and finds him doing his job. ⁴⁷I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of everything he owns. ⁴⁸But suppose that servant is wicked and thinks to himself, 'My master won't be back for a long time.' ⁴⁹Then he starts beating the other servants and eating and drinking with drunkards. ⁵⁰That servant's master will show up on a day he doesn't expect, at a time he doesn't know. ⁵¹The master will cut him to pieces and throw him in with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth." Chapter 25¹At that time, the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ²5 of them were foolish, and 5 were wise. ³The foolish ones took their lamps but did not bring any oil with them. ⁴The wise ones, however, brought jars of oil along with their lamps. ⁵While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. ⁶Then at midnight, someone shouted, "Look! The bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!" ⁷Then all those virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, because our lamps have gone out.” ⁹But the wise ones replied, 'No, there won't be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.' ¹⁰While they went to buy oil, the bridegroom arrived; and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut. ¹¹Later, the other virgins came back and called out, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' ¹²But he answered, "I tell you the truth — I don't know you." ¹³So stay alert, because you don't know the day or the hour when the Son of Man will come. ¹⁴Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a man about to leave on a long journey. He called his servants together and entrusted his goods to them. ¹⁵He gave 5 talents to one servant, 2 talents to another, and 1 talent to a third — each according to his ability. Then he left on his journey. ¹⁶The servant who received five talents went and traded with them, earning five more talents. ¹⁷The one with 2 talents did the same and earned 2 more. ¹⁸But the servant who received 1 talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and buried his master's money. ¹⁹After a long time, the master returned and settled accounts with them. ²⁰The servant who had received 5 talents came forward and presented 5 more, saying, "Master, you entrusted me with 5 talents. Look — I've earned 5 more." ²¹His master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your master!" ²²The servant with 2 talents also came forward and said, "Master, you entrusted me with 2 talents. Look — I've earned 2 more." ²³His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful over a few things; I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your master.' ²⁴Then the servant who had received 1 talent came forward and said, "Master, I knew you were a hard man. You harvest where you didn't plant and gather where you didn't scatter seed. ²⁵I was afraid, so I went and buried your talent in the ground. Here — you have what belongs to you." ²⁶His master replied, "You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I didn't plant and gather where I didn't scatter? ²⁷Then you should have at least deposited my money with the bankers so I would have gotten it back with interest when I returned. ²⁸Take the talent away from him and give it to the one who has 10. ²⁹For everyone who has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. But from the one who does not have, even what they have will be taken away. ³⁰Now throw this unprofitable servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. ³²All nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another, as a shepherd separates his sheep from the goats. ³³He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴Then the King will say to those on his right, "Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom that has been prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me in. ³⁶I was naked, and you gave me clothes. I was sick, and you looked after me. I was in prison, and you came to visit me." ³⁷The righteous will answer him, "Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you as a stranger and welcome you in, or naked and give you clothes? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and come to visit you?" ⁴⁰The King will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did for me.' ⁴¹Then he will say to those on his left, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels." ⁴²I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink. ⁴³I was a stranger, and you didn't welcome me. I was naked, and you didn't clothe me. I was sick and in prison, and you never came to see me." ⁴⁴They will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and not serve you?' ⁴⁵He will reply, "I tell you the truth — whatever you failed to do for one of the least of these, you failed to do for me." ⁴⁶Then they will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous will enter eternal life."