Matthew 24 :: Amplified Bible (AMP)

Signs of Christ’s Return

(Mar 13:1, 2; Luk 21:5, 6 )

Jesus left the temple area and was going on His way when His disciples came up to Him to call His attention to the [magnificent and massive] [fn]buildings of the temple.

Mat 24:2

Mat 24:2And He said to them, “Do you see all these things? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, not one stone here will be left on another, which will not be torn down.”

(Mar 13:3–13; Luk 21:7–19 )

Mat 24:3

While Jesus was seated on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, and said, “Tell us, when will this [destruction of the temple] take place, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end (completion, consummation) of the age?”

Mat 24:4

Jesus answered, “Be careful that no one misleads you [deceiving you and leading you into error].

Mat 24:5

Mat 24:5“For many will come in My name [misusing it, and appropriating the strength of the name which belongs to Me], saying, ‘I am the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed),’ and they will mislead many.

Mat 24:6

Mat 24:6“You will continually hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end [of the age].

Mat 24:7

Mat 24:7“For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

Mat 24:8

Mat 24:8“But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs [of the intolerable anguish and the time of unprecedented trouble].

Mat 24:9

“Then they will hand you over to [endure] tribulation, and will put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.

Mat 24:10

Mat 24:10“At that time many will be offended and repelled [by their association with Me] and will fall away [from the One whom they should trust] and will betray one another [handing over believers to their persecutors] and will hate one another.

Mat 24:11

Mat 24:11“Many false prophets will appear and mislead many.

Mat 24:12

Mat 24:12“Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold.

Mat 24:13

Mat 24:13“But the one who endures and bears up [under suffering] to the end will be saved.

Mat 24:14

Mat 24:14“This good news of the kingdom [the gospel] will be preached throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end [of the age] will come.

Perilous Times

(Mar 13:14–23; Luk 17:23, 24, 37; 21:20–24 )

Mat 24:15

“So when you see the [fn]ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION [the appalling sacrilege that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the [fn]reader understand),

Mat 24:16

Mat 24:16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains [for refuge].

Mat 24:17

Mat 24:17“Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things that are in his house [because there will not be enough time].

Mat 24:18

Mat 24:18“Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his coat.

Mat 24:19

Mat 24:19“And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!

Mat 24:20

Mat 24:20“Pray that your flight [from persecution and suffering] will not be in winter, or on a Sabbath [when Jewish laws prohibit travel].

Mat 24:21

Mat 24:21“For [fn]at that time there will be a great tribulation (pressure, distress, oppression), such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will [again].

Mat 24:22

Mat 24:22“And if those days [of tribulation] had not been cut short, no human life would be saved; but for the sake of the elect (God’s chosen ones) those days will be shortened.

Mat 24:23

Mat 24:23“Then if anyone says to you [during the great tribulation], ‘Look! Here is the Christ,’ or ‘There He is,’ do not believe it.

Mat 24:24

Mat 24:24“For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).

Mat 24:25

Mat 24:25“Listen carefully, I have told you in advance.

Mat 24:26

Mat 24:26“So if they say to you, ‘Look! He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there, or, ‘Look! He is in the inner rooms [of a house],’ do not believe it.

Mat 24:27

Mat 24:27“For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming [in glory] of the Son of Man [everyone will see Him clearly].

Mat 24:28

Mat 24:28“Wherever the corpse is, there the [fn]vultures will flock together.

The Glorious Return

(Mar 13:24–27; Luk 21:25–28 )

Mat 24:29

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT PROVIDE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Mat 24:30

Mat 24:30“And at that time the sign of the Son of Man [coming in His glory] will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth [and especially Israel] will mourn [regretting their rebellion and rejection of the Messiah], and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN with power and great glory [in brilliance and splendor].

Mat 24:31

Mat 24:31“And He will send His angels with A LOUD TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect (God’s chosen ones) from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

Parable of the Fig Tree

(Mar 13:28–31; Luk 21:29–33 )

Mat 24:32

“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its young shoots become tender and it puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near;

Mat 24:33

Mat 24:33so you, too, when you see all [fn]these things [taking place], know for certain that He is near, right [fn]at the door.

Mat 24:34

Mat 24:34“I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place.

Mat 24:35

Mat 24:35“Heaven and earth [as now known] will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

(Mar 13:32–37; Luk 17:26, 27, 34, 35; 21:34–36 )

Mat 24:36

“But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son [in His humanity], but the Father alone.

Mat 24:37

Mat 24:37“For the coming of the Son of Man (the Messiah) will be just like the days of Noah.

Mat 24:38

Mat 24:38“For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah entered the ark,

Mat 24:39

Mat 24:39and they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be [unexpected judgment].

Mat 24:40

Mat 24:40“At that time two men will be in the field; one will be [fn]taken [for judgment] and one will be left.

Mat 24:41

Mat 24:41“Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.

Be Ready for His Coming

Mat 24:42

“So be alert [give strict attention, be cautious and active in faith], for you do not know which day [whether near or far] your Lord is coming.

Mat 24:43

Mat 24:43“But understand this: If the head of the house had known what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Mat 24:44

Mat 24:44“Therefore, you [who follow Me] must also be ready; because the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not expect Him.

(Luk 12:41–48 )

Mat 24:45

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has put in charge of his household to give the others [in the house] their food and supplies at the proper time?

Mat 24:46

Mat 24:46“Blessed is that [faithful] servant when his master returns and finds him doing so.

Mat 24:47

Mat 24:47“I assure you and most solemnly say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

Mat 24:48

Mat 24:48“But if that servant is evil and says in his heart, ‘My master is taking his time [he will not return for a long while],’

Mat 24:49

Mat 24:49and begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards;

Mat 24:50

Mat 24:50the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour of which he is not aware,

Mat 24:51

Mat 24:51and will cut him in two and put him with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger].

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AMP Footnotes

(24:1)

The massive size and polished surfaces of the fitted stones that formed the temple structure created a magnificent sight (cf Luke 21:5). The refurbishing of the temple was begun by Herod the Great in 20 B.C. and was completed in A.D. 64 by Herod Agrippa II. The rabbis had a saying: “Whoever has not seen the temple of Herod has never seen a beautiful building” (as quoted from the Talmud). They also said that Herod built it of yellow, white, and perhaps blue marble; and that he intended to cover it with gold, but the rabbis advised him not to because it was beautiful just as it was, looking like the waves of the sea.

(24:15)

I.e. the Antichrist (2 Thess 2:4), “the prince who is to come” who will make a covenant with Israel, then break it in the middle of the tribulation (the seven-year period of Dan 9:27).

(24:15)

I.e. the reader of the book of Daniel (cf 24:15). Jesus is indicating that the final fulfillment of this prophecy is yet to come.

(24:21)

The most obvious sign during the tribulation, prior to the second coming of Jesus, is when the abomination that causes desolation (the Antichrist) sets his image in the temple.

(24:28)

The Greek for “vultures” can also be translated “eagles,” but the reference is most likely to the vulture, which the Greek word includes with eagles as a class. The meaning of this much discussed verse is either that the corpse represents the returning Christ, whose appearance will attract the attention of the entire world, that is, the vultures; or that the corrupt world is the corpse, about to be judged by the returning Christ (Rev 19:18).

(24:33)

I.e. false christs, wars, famines, earthquakes.

(24:33)

I.e. the return of the Christ is imminent.

(24:40)

This is not the removal of the church described in 1 Thess 4:13-18 and Rev 3:10. The one taken is taken for judgment just as the wicked were taken by the flood in Noah’s day. The one left is left to enter the kingdom that Christ will establish.

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