26. So if they say to you, Behold, He is in the wilderness (desert)–do not go out there; if they tell you, Behold, He is in the secret places or inner rooms–do not believe it.
27. For just as the lightning flashes from the east and shines and is seen as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
28. Wherever there is a fallen body (a corpse), there the vultures (or eagles) will flock together. [Job 39:30.]
29. Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not shed its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. [Isa. 13:10; 34:4; Joel 2:10, 11; Zeph. 1:15.]
30. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn and beat their breasts and lament in anguish, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory [in brilliancy and splendor]. [Dan. 7:13; Rev. 1:7.]
31. And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect (His chosen ones) from the four winds, [even] from one end of the universe to the other. [Isa. 27:13; Zech. 9:14.]
32. From the fig tree learn this lesson: as soon as its young shoots become soft and tender and it puts out its leaves, you know of a surety that summer is near.
33. So also when you see these signs, all taken together, coming to pass, you may know of a surety that He is near, at the very doors.
34. Truly I tell you, this generation (the whole multitude of people living at the same time, in a definite, given period) will not pass away till all these things taken together take place.
35. Sky and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
36. But of that [exact] day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
37. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
38. For just as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, [men] marrying and [women] being given in marriage, until the [very] day when Noah went into the ark,
39. And they did not know or understand until the flood came and swept them all away–so will be the coming of the Son of Man. [Gen. 6:5-8; 7:6-24.]
40. At that time two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
41. Two women will be grinding at the hand mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
42. Watch therefore [give strict attention, be cautious and active], for you do not know in what kind of a day [whether a near or remote one] your Lord is coming.
43. But understand this: had the householder known in what [part of the night, whether in a night or a morning] watch the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have allowed his house to be undermined and broken into.