The Great Apostasy

2 Now, brethren, ^(A)concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ ^(B)and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ^2 (C)not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of ^[a]Christ had come. ³ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come ^(D)unless the falling away comes first, and ^(E)the man of ^[b]sin is revealed, ^(F)the son of perdition, ⁴ who opposes and ^(G)exalts himself ^(H)above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits ^[c]as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

⁵ Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? ⁶ And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. ⁷ For ^(I)the ^[d]mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only ^[e]He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. ⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, ^(J)whom the Lord will consume ^(K)with the breath of His mouth and destroy ^(L)with the brightness of His coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is ^(M)according to the working of Satan, with all power, ^(N)signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰ and with all unrighteous deception among ^(O)those who perish, because they did not receive ^(P)the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And ^(Q)for this reason God will send them strong delusion, ^(R)that they should believe the lie, ¹² that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but ^(S)had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Stand Fast

¹³ But we are ^[f]bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God ^(T)from the beginning ^(U)chose you for salvation ^(V)through ^[g]sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, ¹⁴ to which He called you by our gospel, for ^(W)the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ Therefore, brethren, ^(X)stand fast and hold ^(Y)the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our ^[h]epistle.

¹⁶ Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, ^(Z)who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and ^(AA)good hope by grace, ¹⁷ comfort your hearts ^(AB)and ^[i]establish you in every good word and work.

Satan Thrown Out of Heaven

⁷ And war broke out in heaven: ^(A)Michael and his angels fought ^(B)with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, ⁸ but they ^[a]did not prevail, nor was a place found for ^[b]them in heaven any longer. ⁹ So ^(C)the great dragon was cast out, ^(D)that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, ^(E)who deceives the whole world; ^(F)he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Satan Bound 1,000 Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, ^(A)having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ² He laid hold of ^(B)the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; ³ and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and ^(C)set a seal on him, ^(D)so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

¹⁸ And He said to them, ^(A)“I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. ¹⁹ Behold, ^(B)I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. ²⁰ Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but ^[a]rather rejoice because ^(C)your names are written in heaven.”

³⁷ He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ^38 (A)The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are ^(B)the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, ^(C)the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰ Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out His angels, ^(D)and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, ^42 (E)and will cast them into the furnace of fire. ^(F)There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (G)Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(H)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple^(A)

24 Then ^(B)Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. ² And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, ^(C)not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The Signs of the Times and the End of the Age^(D)

³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, ^(E)the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ^(F)“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: ^(G)“Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For ^(H)many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ ^(I)and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of ^(J)wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for ^[a]all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For ^(K)nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be ^(L)famines, ^[b]pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.

^9 (M)“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Then ^(N)many false prophets will rise up and ^(O)deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow ^(P)cold. ^13 (Q)But he who endures to the end shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this ^(R)gospel of the kingdom ^(S)will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

The Great Tribulation^(T)

^15 (U)“Therefore when you see the ^(V)‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” ^(W)(whoever reads, let him understand), ¹⁶ “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ¹⁷ Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. ¹⁸ And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. ¹⁹ But ^(X)woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! ²⁰ And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. ²¹ For ^(Y)then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; ^(Z)but for the ^[c]elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

^23 (AA)“Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For ^(AB)false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, ^(AC)if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, I have told you beforehand.

²⁶ “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it. ^27 (AD)For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ^28 (AE)For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.

The Coming of the Son of Man^(AF)

^29 (AG)“Immediately after the tribulation of those days ^(AH)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ^30 (AI)Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, ^(AJ)and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ^31 (AK)And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His ^[d]elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The Parable of the Fig Tree^(AL)

³² “Now learn ^(AM)this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. ³³ So you also, when you see all these things, know ^(AN)that ^[e]it is near—at the doors! ³⁴ Assuredly, I say to you, ^(AO)this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place. ^35 (AP)Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

No One Knows the Day or Hour^(AQ)

^36 (AR)“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of ^[f]heaven, ^(AS)but My Father only. ³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ^38 (AT)For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ^40 (AU)Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. ^42 (AV)Watch therefore, for you do not know what ^[g]hour your Lord is coming. ^43 (AW)But know this, that if the master of the house had known what ^[h]hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ^44 (AX)Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

The Faithful Servant and the Evil Servant^(AY)

^45 (AZ)“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food ^[i]in due season? ^46 (BA)Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. ⁴⁷ Assuredly, I say to you that ^(BB)he will make him ruler over all his goods. ⁴⁸ But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master ^(BC)is delaying ^[j]his coming,’ ⁴⁹ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is ^(BD)not aware of, ⁵¹ and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. ^(BE)There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Temptation and Fall of Man^(A)

3 Now ^(B)the serpent was ^(C)more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

¹⁴ So the Lord God said to the serpent: