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"Soon after the trouble of those days, the sun will grow dark, the moon will no longer shine, the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers in space will be driven from their courses.
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Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky; and all the peoples of earth will weep as they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
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The great trumpet will sound, and he will send out his angels to the four corners of the earth, and they will gather his chosen people from one end of the world to the other.
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"Let the fig tree teach you a lesson. When its branches become green and tender and it starts putting out leaves, you know that summer is near.
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In the same way, when you see all these things, you will know that the time is near, ready to begin.
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Remember that all these things will happen before the people now living have all died.
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Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
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"No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come - neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows.
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The coming of the Son of Man will be like what happened in the time of Noah.
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In the days before the flood people ate and drank, men and women married, up to the very day Noah went into the boat;
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yet they did not realize what was happening until the flood came and swept them all away. That is how it will be when the Son of Man comes.
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At that time two men will be working in a field: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind.
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Two women will be at a mill grinding meal: one will be taken away, the other will be left behind.
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Watch out, then, because you do not know what day your Lord will come.
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If the owner of a house knew the time when the thief would come, you can be sure that he would stay awake and not let the thief break into his house.
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So then, you also must always be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him.
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"Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant? It is the one that his master has placed in charge of the other servants to give them their food at the proper time.
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How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home!
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Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property.
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But if he is a bad servant, he will tell himself that his master will not come back for a long time,
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and he will begin to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.
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Then that servant's master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know.
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The master will cut him in pieces and make him share the fate of the hypocrites. There he will cry and gnash his teeth.