Matthew Chapter Twenty-Four Poem by Day Williams

1 Jesus departed from the temple and
Was walking off when his disciples came
And pointed out to him the temple buildings.2 "You

See all these, do you not? " he asked. "Believe
Me, not one stone here will be left upon
Another; everyone will be thrown down."

3 As Jesus sat upon the Mount of Olives,
His followers came privately to him,
And asked, "When will this happen, and what will

Be signs you're coming and the world will end? "
4 Jesus replied: "Watch out that nobody
Tricks you,5 for many will show up and claim,

‘I am the Christ, ' deceiving many.6 You
Will hear of wars and tales of wars, but see
To it that you are not alarmed. Such things

Must happen, but the end is still to come.
7 Nations and kingdoms on the earth will war
Against each other, and there will be famines

And earthquakes in a myriad of spots.
8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.
9 Then they'll deliver you to trouble and

Torture and death, and you'll be hated by
All nations due to me.10 Then many will
Turn from the faith and will betray and hate

Each other.11 Many crooked prophets will
Appear and mislead many people.12 Due
To evil's rise, the love of most will grow

Cold,13 but those who stand firm to the end-
They will be saved.14 This kingdom gospel will
Be preached throughout the world as testimony

To every nation, then the end will come.
15 When you see ‘the abomination of
Desolation' the prophet Daniel spoke

Of-let the reader understand- 16 those who
Are in Judea must escape to hills.
17 Let no one on his house's roof descend

To take a thing out of the house.18 Let no
One in the field go back to get his cloak.
19 How dreadful it will be in those days for

The pregnant women and the nursing mothers!
20 Pray that your flight will not occur in winter
Or on the Sabbath.21 For then there will be

Immense distress, unequaled from the world's
Beginning to the present−never to
Be matched again,22 and if those days had not

Been cut short, no one would survive. But for
The sake of the elect those days will be
Shortened.23 If anyone tells you then, ‘Look,

Here is the Christ! ' or, ‘There he is! ' do not
Believe a word,24 for false Christs and false prophets
Will come and do great signs and miracles,

So as to lead astray God's chosen ones,
If that were possible.25 See, I've warned you.
26 Therefore if anyone should say to you,

‘He's there, out in the desert, ' don't go out;
Or, ‘Look, he's in the inner rooms, ' do not
Believe it.27 For as lightning flashing from

The east shines even in the west, so will
The coming of the Son of Man be.28 Where
A carcass is, there will the vultures gather.

29 Instantly after those days of distress
‘The sun will be obscured; the moon won't give
Its light; the stars will plummet from the sky;

Heavenly bodies will be shaken; ' 30 then
The signal of the Son of Man will come
Forth in the sky, and all the nations of

The earth will mourn. They'll see the Son of Man
Coming upon the clouds of heaven with
Power and monumental glory; 31 he

Will send his angels with a trumpet blast,
And they will go out to the farthest ends
Of earth and heaven to gather his elect.

32 Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As
Soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves
Emerge, you know that summer's nearby.33 Even

So, when you see all of these things, you know
That it is near, right at the door.34 Believe
Me that this generation will not pass

Away until all these things have occurred.
35 Heaven and earth will disappear, and yet
My words will never disappear.36 No one

Knows of that day or hour, not even angels
In heaven, nor the Son, but just the Father.
37 As Noah's days were, so will it be at

The coming of the Son of Man.38 For in
The days before the flood, the people ate
And drank, got married, gave in marriage, up

Until the day that Noah entered in
The ark; 39 and they knew nothing of what would
Occur until the flood arrived and took

Them all away. That's how it will be at
The coming of the Son of Man.40 Two men
Will be out in the field; one will be taken;

The other will remain.41 Two women will
Be grinding with a hand mill; one will be
Taken; the other will remain,42 so keep

Watch, for you do not know what day your Lord
Will come.43 Just as a homeowner prevents
Thieves from causing trouble by keeping watch,

44 So you must stay prepared because the Son
Of Man will come when you expect him least.
45 Are you the wise and faithful servant, whom

I have put in charge of managing
My household and to feed my servants at
The proper time? 46 If I return and find

You faithfully performing work for me,
I will pour blessings out on you.47 Believe
Me, I will put such faithful ones in charge

Of everything I own,48 but let's suppose
That you are evil and you tell yourself,
‘My master won't be coming for a while, '

49 And you start beating up your fellow servants
And eat and drink with drunkards.50 I'll arrive
Upon a day when you do not expect

Me and an hour you're not aware of.51 I'll
Cut you to pieces and assign you to
An area with hypocrites beneath,

Where men and women weep and gnash their teeth.