21. because at that time there will be much trouble. There will be more trouble than there has ever been since the beginning of the world until now, and nothing as bad will ever happen again.
22. God has decided to make that terrible time short. Otherwise, no one would go on living. But God will make that time short to help the people he has chosen.
23. 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.
24. False Christs and false prophets will come and perform great wonders and miracles. They will try to fool even the people God has chosen, if that is possible.
25. Now I have warned you about this before it happens.
26. “If people tell you, ‘The Christ is in the desert,’ don’t go there. If they say, ‘The Christ is in the inner room,’ don’t believe it.
27. When the Son of Man comes, he will be seen by everyone, like lightning flashing from the east to the west.
28. Wherever the dead body is, there the vultures will gather.
29. “Soon after the trouble of those days,‘the sun will grow dark,and the moon will not give its light.The stars will fall from the sky.And the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
30. “At that time, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. Then all the peoples of the world will cry. They will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky with great power and glory.
31. He will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from every part of the world.
32. “Learn a lesson from the fig tree: When its branches become green and soft and new leaves appear, you know summer is near.
33. In the same way, when you see all these things happening, you will know that the time is near, ready to come.
34. I tell you the truth, all these things will happen while the people of this time are still living.
35. Earth and sky will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed.
36. “No one knows when that day or time will be, not the angels in heaven, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.
37. When the Son of Man comes, it will be like what happened during Noah’s time.
38. In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving their children to be married, until the day Noah entered the boat.
39. They knew nothing about what was happening until the flood came and destroyed them. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes.