Matthew 24:1-26:2

Devotionals, Articles, and Bible Study Resources on Matthew 24:1-26:2

1As Jesus left the temple and was walking away, His disciples came up to Him to point out its buildings.
2“Do you see all these things?” He replied. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
3While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”
4Jesus answered, “See to it that no one deceives you.
5For many will come in My name, claiming, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. These things must happen, but the end is still to come.
7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.
8All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.
10At that time many will fall away and will betray and hate one another,
11and many false prophets will arise and mislead many.
12Because of the multiplication of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.
13But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.
14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
15So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand),
16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.
18And let no one in the field return for his cloak.
19How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers!
20Pray that your flight will not occur in the winter or on the Sabbath.
21For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.
22If those days had not been cut short, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short.
23At that time, if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.
24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
25See, I have told you in advance.
26So if they tell you, ‘There He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.
27For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
29Immediately after the tribulation of those days:
‘The sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
30At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
32Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.
33So also, when you see all these things, you will know that He is near, right at the door.
34Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened.
35Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away.
36No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.
39And they were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away. So will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.
40Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
42Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.
43But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.
44For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.
45Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time?
46Blessed is that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.
47Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48But suppose that servant is wicked and says in his heart, ‘My master will be away a long time.’
49And he begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.
50The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate.
51Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
1“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
3The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil.
4But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps.
5When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9‘No,’ said the wise ones, ‘or there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet, and the door was shut.
11Later the other virgins arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us!’
12But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’
13Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
14For it is just like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his possessions.
15To one he gave five talents, to another two talents, and to another one talent — each according to his own ability. And he went on his journey.
16The servant who had received the five talents went at once and put them to work and gained five more.
17Likewise, the one with the two talents gained two more.
18But the servant who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master’s money.
19After a long time the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them.
20The servant who had received the five talents came and presented five more. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
22The servant who had received the two talents also came and said, ‘Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more.’
23His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!’
24Finally, the servant who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Master, I knew that you are a hard man, reaping where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, you have what belongs to you.’
26‘You wicked, lazy servant!’ replied his master. ‘You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed.
27Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest.
28Therefore take the talent from him and give it to the one who has ten talents.
29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
30And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
31When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
32All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the 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 prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in,
36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’
37Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?
38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’
40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’
41Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42For I 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 did not take Me in, I was naked and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44And they too will reply, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45Then the King will answer, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’
46And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
1When Jesus had finished saying all these things, He told His disciples,
2“You know that the Passover is two days away, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”
— Matthew 24:1-26:2

Related Resources from Heartlight

Make That Time Short!
Illustration of Matthew 24:15-22 NLT

Illustration of Matthew 24:15-22 NLT -- "Daniel the prophet spoke about 'the terrible thing that causes destruction.' You will see this terrible thing standing in the holy place (the temple)." (You that read this should understand what it means.) "At that time, the people in Judea should run away to the mountains. People should run away without wasting the time to stop for anything. If a person is on the roof of his house, he must not go down to get things out of his house. If a person is in the field, he must not go back to get his coat. At that time, it will be bad for women that are pregnant or have small babies! Pray that it will not be winter or a Sabbath day when these things happen and you have to run away. Why? Because at that time there will be much trouble. There will be more trouble than has ever happened since the beginning of the world. And nothing as bad as that will ever happen again. But God has decided to make that terrible time short. If that time were not made short, then no person would continue living. But God will make that time short to help the people he has chosen."

Keep Your Faith to the End!
Illustration of Matthew 24:9-14 NLT

Illustration of Matthew 24:9-14 NLT -- "Then people will treat you badly. People will give you {to the rulers} to be persecuted (hurt) and killed. All people will hate you. All these things will happen to you because you believe in me. At that time, many believers will lose their faith. They will turn against each other and hate each other. Many false prophets will come. They will cause many people to believe wrong things. There will be more and more evil in the world. So most believers will stop showing love. But the person that continues strong to the end will be saved. The Good News about {God's} kingdom will be told in the whole world. It will be told to every nation. Then the end will come."

To the Ground!
Illustration of Matthew 24:1-5 NLT

Illustration of Matthew 24:1-5 NLT -- Jesus left the temple area and was walking away. But his followers came to him to show him the temple's buildings. Jesus asked the followers, "Are you looking at these buildings? I tell you the truth. They will be destroyed. Every stone will be thrown down to the ground. Not one stone will be left on another." Later, Jesus was sitting at a place on the Mount of Olives. The followers came to be alone with Jesus. They said, "Tell us when these things will happen. And what will happen to show us that it is time for you to come again and time for the world to end?" Jesus answered: "Be careful! Don't let any person fool you. Many people will come and use my name. They will say, 'I am the Christ.' And they will fool many people."

The First Pains!
Illustration of Matthew 24:6-8 NLT

Illustration of Matthew 24:6-8 NLT -- You will hear about wars that are being fought. And you will hear stories about other wars beginning. But don't be afraid. These things must happen before the end comes.

Like Lightning!
Illustration of Matthew 24:23-28 NLT

Illustration of Matthew 24:23-28 NLT -- "At that time, some person might say to you, 'Look, there is the Christ!' Or another person might say, 'There he is!' But don't believe them. False Christs and false prophets will come and do great things and miracles. They will do these things to the people God has chosen. They will do these things to try to fool his people, if that is possible. Now I have warned you about this before it happens. "Some person might tell you, 'The Christ is there in the desert!' But don't go into the desert to look for the Christ. Another person might say, 'There is the Christ in that room!' But don't believe that. When the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by all people. It will be like lightning flashing in the sky that can be seen everywhere. {My coming will be clear, the same as} any time you see vultures gathering, you know there is a dead body."

Cross References for Matthew 24:1-26:2

Cross References Provided by Open Bible

The Berean Standard Bible

The Berean Standard Bible (BSB) is a modern, clear, and faithful translation based on the best available Greek and Hebrew manuscripts. Ideal for reading, study, and sharing, it entered the public domain in 2023. For more information, visit berean.bible.