The Gospel According to St. Matthew

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 24 -

(Mark 13:1–8; Luke 21:5–9)

And Jesus being come out of the temple, went away. And his disciples came to shew him the buildings of the temple.

And he answering, said to them: Do you see all these things? Amen I say to you there shall not be left here a stone upon a stone that shall not be destroyed.

And when he was sitting on mount Olivet, the disciples came to him privately, saying: Tell us when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the consummation of the world?

And Jesus answering, said to them: Take heed that no man seduce you:

For many will come in my name saying, I am Christ: and they will seduce many.

And you shall hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that ye be not troubled. For these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be pestilences, and famines, and earthquakes in places:

Now all these are the beginnings of sorrows.

Witnessing to All Nations

(Mark 13:9–13; Luke 21:10–19)

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for my name’s sake.

And then shall many be scandalized: and shall betray one another: and shall hate one another.

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall seduce many.

And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold.

But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom, shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations, and then shall the consummation come.

The Abomination of Desolation

(Mark 13:14–23; Luke 21:20–24)

When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place: he that readeth let him understand.

Then they that are in Judea, let them flee to the mountains:

And he that is on the housetop, let him not come down to take any thing out of his house:

And he that is in the field, let him not go back to take his coat.

And woe to them that are with child, and that give suck in those days.

But pray that your flight be not in the winter, or on the sabbath.

For there shall be then great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, neither shall be.

And unless those days had been shortened, no flesh should be saved: but for the sake of the elect those days shall be shortened.

Then if any man shall say to you: Lo here is Christ, or there, do not believe him.

For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch as to deceive (if possible) even the elect.

Behold I have told it to you, beforehand.

The Return of the Son of Man

(Mark 13:24–27; Luke 21:25–28)

If therefore they shall say to you: Behold he is in the desert, go ye not out: Behold he is in the closets, believe it not.

For as lightning cometh out of the east, and appeareth even into the west: so shall the coming of the Son of man be.

Wheresoever the body shall be, there shall the eagles also be gathered together.

And immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be moved:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn: and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with much power and majesty.

And he shall send his angels with a trumpet, and a great voice: and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the farthest parts of the heavens to the utmost bounds of them.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

(Mark 13:28–31; Luke 21:29–33)

And from the fig tree learn a parable: When the branch thereof is now tender, and the leaves come forth, you know that summer is nigh.

So you also, when you shall see all these things, know ye that it is nigh, even at the doors.

Amen I say to you, that this generation shall not pass, till all these things be done.

Heaven and earth shall pass, but my words shall not pass.

Readiness at Any Hour

(Genesis 6:1–7; Mark 13:32–37; Luke 12:35–48)

But of that day and hour no one knoweth, not the angels of heaven, but the Father alone.

And as in the days of Noe, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, even till that day in which Noe entered into the ark,

And they knew not till the flood came, and took them all away; so also shall the coming of the Son of man be.

Then two shall be in the field: one shall be taken, and one shall be left.

Two women shall be grinding at the mill: one shall be taken, and one shall be left.

Watch ye therefore, because ye know not what hour your Lord will come.

But know this ye, that if the goodman of the house knew at what hour the thief would come, he would certainly watch, and would not suffer his house to be broken open.

Wherefore be you also ready, because at what hour you know not the Son of man will come.

Who, thinkest thou, is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath appointed over his family, to give them meat in season.

Blessed is that servant, whom when his lord shall come he shall find so doing.

Amen I say to you, he shall place him over all his goods.

But if that evil servant shall say in his heart: My lord is long a coming:

And shall begin to strike his fellow servants, and shall eat and drink with drunkards:

The lord of that servant shall come in a day that he hopeth not, and at an hour that he knoweth not:

And shall separate him, and appoint his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(Mark 13:1–8; Luke 21:5–9)

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.

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.”

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?”

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.

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.

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

But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.

Witnessing to All Nations

(Mark 13:9–13; Luke 21:10–19)

“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.

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

Many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray.

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

But he who endures to the end will be saved.

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.

The Abomination of Desolation

(Mark 13:14–23; Luke 21:20–24)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

“Behold, I have told you beforehand.

The Return of the Son of Man

(Mark 13:24–27; Luke 21:25–28)

“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.

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.

For wherever the carcass is, that is where the vultures (c) gather together.

“But immediately after the suffering (d) 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; (e)

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.

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.

The Lesson of the Fig Tree

(Mark 13:28–31; Luke 21:29–33)

“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.

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

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

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

Readiness at Any Hour

(Genesis 6:1–7; Mark 13:32–37; Luke 12:35–48)

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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,

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

Footnotes

(a)24:15 ℘ Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11

(b)24:21 or, oppression

(d)24:29 or, oppression

(e)24:29 ℘ Isaiah 13:10; 34:4

(f)24:34 The word for “generation” (genea) can also be translated as “race.”

(g)24:36 NU adds “nor the son”