30. "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky. All the nations on earth will be sad. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky. He will come with power and great glory.
31. He will send his angels with a loud trumpet call. They will gather his chosen people from all four directions. They will bring them from one end of the heavens to the other.
32. "Learn a lesson from the fig tree. As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
33. In the same way, when you see all those things happening, you know that the end is near. It is right at the door.
34. What I'm about to tell you is true. The people living at that time will certainly not pass away until all those things have happened.
35. Heaven and earth will pass away. But my words will never pass away.
36. "No one knows about that day or hour. Not even the angels in heaven know. The Son does not know. Only the Father knows.
37. "Remember how it was in the days of Noah. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes.
38. "In the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking. They were getting married. They were giving their daughters to be married. They did all those things right up to the day Noah entered the ark.
39. They knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes.
40. "Two men will be in the field. One will be taken and the other left.
41. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill. One will be taken and the other left.
42. "So keep watch. You do not know on what day your Lord will come.
43. You must understand something. Suppose the owner of the house knew what time of night the robber was coming. Then he would have kept watch. He would not have let his house be broken into.
44. So you also must be ready. The Son of Man will come at an hour when you don't expect him.
45. "Suppose a master puts one of his servants in charge of the other servants in his house. The servant's job is to give them their food at the right time. The master wants a faithful and wise servant for this.
46. It will be good for the servant if the master finds him doing his job when the master returns.