²⁹"Soon after the trouble of those days, this will happen: 'The sun will become dark, and the moon will not give light. The stars will fall from the sky, and everything in the sky will be changed.' Isaiah 13:10; 34:4

³⁰"At that time, there will be something in the sky that shows the Son of Man* coming. All the people of the world will cry. All the people will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky. The Son of Man will come with power and great glory. ³¹The Son of Man will use a loud trumpet to send his angels all around the earth. The angels will gather his chosen people from every part of the earth. ³²"The fig tree teaches us a lesson: When the fig tree's branches become green and soft, and new leaves begin to grow, then you know that summer is near. ³³It is the same with these things that I told you would happen. When you see all these things happening, you will know that the time* is near, ready to come. ³⁴I tell you the truth. All these things will happen while the people of this time* are still living! ³⁵The whole world, earth and sky, will be destroyed, but the words I have said will never be destroyed!

Only God Knows When the Time Will Be (Mk. 13:32-37; Lk. 17:26-30, 34-36)

³⁶"No person knows when that day or time will be. The Son and the angels in heaven don't know when that day or time will be. Only the Father knows. ³⁷When the Son of Man* comes, it will be the same as the thing that happened during Noah's time. ³⁸In those days before the flood, people were eating and drinking. People were marrying and giving their children to be married. The people were still doing those things until the day Noah entered the boat. ³⁹Those people knew nothing about what was happening. But then the flood came and all those people were destroyed. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes. ⁴⁰Two men will be working together in the field. One man will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding grain with a mill.* One woman will be taken and the other woman will be left. ⁴²"So always be ready. You don't know the day your Lord will come. ⁴³Remember this: If the owner of the house knew what time the thief was coming, then the owner would be ready for him. The owner would watch and not let the thief enter his house. ⁴⁴So you also must be ready. The Son of Man* will come at a time when you don't expect him.

Good Servants and Bad Servants (Lk. 12:41-48)

⁴⁵"Who is the wise and trusted servant? The master trusts one servant to give the other servants their food at the right time. Who is the servant that the master trusts to do that work? ⁴⁶When the master comes and finds that servant doing the work he gave him, the servant will be very happy. ⁴⁷I tell you the truth. The master will choose that servant to take care of everything the master owns. ⁴⁸But what will happen if the servant is evil and thinks his master will not come back soon? ⁴⁹Then that servant will begin to beat the other servants. That servant will eat the food and get drunk with other people like him. ⁵⁰Then the master of that servant will come when the servant is not ready. It will be a time when the servant is not expecting the master. ⁵¹Then the master will punish that servant. The master will send him away to be with the hypocrites.* And in that place people will cry and grind their teeth [with pain].

Son of Man A name Jesus used for himself. In Dan. 7:13-14, this is the name for the Messiah, the one God chose to save his people. time The time Jesus has been talking about when a very important thing will happen. In Luke Jesus says that it is the time for God's kingdom to come (Lk. 21:31). the people of this time Or, "the people of this nation." mill Two large, flat rocks used for grinding grain to make flour. hypocrites Bad people that act like they are good.