Study Desk

"What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed.

As a result, you will be held responsible for the murder of all godly people of all time—from the murder of righteous Abel to the murder of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you killed in the Temple between the sanctuary and the altar.

For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord !'"

for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.' They will deceive many.

How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for nursing mothers in those days.

For there will be greater anguish than at any time since the world began. And it will never be so great again.

In fact, unless that time of calamity is shortened, not a single person will survive. But it will be shortened for the sake of God's chosen ones.

For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform great signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones.

For as the lightning flashes in the east and shines to the west, so it will be when the Son of Man comes.

"So you, too, must keep watch! For you don't know what day your Lord is coming.

You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.

But what if the servant is evil and thinks, ‘My master won't be back for a while,'

The five who were foolish didn't take enough olive oil for their lamps,

"But the others replied, ‘We don't have enough for all of us. Go to a shop and buy some for yourselves.'

Later, when the other five bridesmaids returned, they stood outside, calling, ‘Lord! Lord! Open the door for us!'

"So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.

"Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world.

For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.

I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.'

"Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.