27
Then He will send forth the angels and gather together His chosen People from north, south, east and west, from the remotest parts of the earth and the sky.
28
"Learn from the fig-tree the lesson it teaches. As soon as its branch has become soft and it is bursting into leaf, you know that summer is near.
29
So also do you, when you see these things happening, be sure that He is near, at your very door.
30
I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place.
31
Earth and sky will pass away, but it is certain that my words will not pass away.
32
"But as to that day or the exact time no one knows--not even the angels in Heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
33
Take care, be on the alert, and pray; for you do not know when it will happen.
34
It is like a man living abroad who has left his house, and given the management to his servants--to each one his special duty--and has ordered the porter to keep awake.
35
Be wakeful therefore, for you know not when the master of the house is coming--in the evening, at midnight, at cock-crow, or at dawn.
36
Beware lest He should arrive unexpectedly and find you asleep.
37
Moreover, what I say to you I say to all--Be wakeful!"