19. This is because those days will be full of trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning, when God made the world. And nothing as bad will ever happen again.
20. God has decided to make that terrible time short. If that time were not made short, then no one would go on living. But God will make that time short to help his special people whom he has chosen.
21. At that time, someone might say to you, ‘Look, there is the Christ!’ Or another person might say, ‘There he is!’ But don’t believe them.
22. False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will do these things to the people God has chosen. They will do these things to try to fool them, if that is possible.
23. So be careful. For I have warned you about all this before it happens.
24. “During the days after this trouble comes,‘The sun will grow dark.And the moon will not give its light.
25. The stars will fall from the sky.And everything in the sky will be changed.’ Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
26. “Then people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.
27. The Son of Man will send his angels all around the earth. They will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth.
28. “The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When its branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is near.
29. So also when you see all these things happening, then you will know that the time is near, ready to come.
30. I tell you the truth. All these things will happen while the people of this time are still living.
31. The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed.
32. “No one knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don’t know. Only the Father knows.
33. Be careful! Always be ready! You don’t know when that time will be.
34. It is like a man who goes on a trip. He leaves his house and lets his servants take care of it. He gives each servant a special job to do. One servant has the work of guarding the door. The man tells this servant always to be watchful. This is what I am now telling you.
35. You must always be ready. You don’t know when the owner of the house will come back. He might come in the evening, or at midnight, or in the early morning, or when the sun rises.
36. He might come back quickly. If you are always ready, then he will not find you sleeping.
37. I tell you this, and I say this to everyone: ‘Be ready!’”