The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after ^(A)the tribulation of those days ^(B)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(C)the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then ^(D)will appear in heaven ^(E)the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^(F)all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^(G)they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^(H)with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(I)he will send out his angels with a loud ^(J)trumpet call, and they will ^(K)gather ^(L)his elect from ^(M)the four winds, ^(N)from one end of heaven to the other.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁵ “And ^(A)there will be signs in sun and moon ^(B)and stars, and on the earth ^(C)distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, ²⁶ people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For ^(D)the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ²⁷ And then they will see ^(E)the Son of Man coming in a cloud ^(F)with power and great glory. ²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and ^(G)raise your heads, because ^(H)your redemption is drawing near.”

The Day of the Lord Will Come

3 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them ^(A)I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ^2 (B)that you should remember the predictions of ^(C)the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, ³ knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come ^(D)in the last days with scoffing, ^(E)following their own sinful desires. ^4 (F)They will say, “Where is the promise of ^(G)his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth ^(H)was formed out of water and through water ^(I)by the word of God, ⁶ and that by means of these the world that then existed ^(J)was deluged with water and ^(K)perished. ⁷ But by the same word ^(L)the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and ^(M)destruction of the ungodly.

⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ^(N)a thousand years as one day. ^9 (O)The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise ^(P)as some count slowness, but ^(Q)is patient toward you,^{[a] (R)}not wishing that any should perish, but ^(S)that all should reach repentance. ¹⁰ But ^(T)the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then ^(U)the heavens will pass away with a roar, and ^(V)the heavenly bodies^[b] will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.^[c]

¹¹ Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, ^(W)what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, ^12 (X)waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and ^(Y)the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! ¹³ But according to his promise we are waiting for ^(Z)new heavens and a new earth ^(AA)in which righteousness dwells.

Greeting to the Seven Churches

⁴ John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from ^(A)him ^(B)who is and ^(C)who was and who is to come, and from ^(D)the seven spirits who are before his throne, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ ^(E)the faithful witness, ^(F)the firstborn of the dead, and ^(G)the ruler of kings on earth.

To ^(H)him who loves us and ^(I)has freed us from our sins by his blood ⁶ and made us ^(J)a kingdom, ^(K)priests to ^(L)his God and Father, to him be ^(M)glory and ^(N)dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷ Behold, ^(O)he is coming with the clouds, and ^(P)every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail^[a] on account of him. Even so. Amen.

^8 (Q)“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, ^(R)“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

⁶ So we are always of good courage. We know that ^(A)while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, ⁷ for ^(B)we walk by faith, not ^(C)by sight. ⁸ Yes, we are of good courage, and we ^(D)would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to ^(E)please him. ¹⁰ For ^(F)we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, ^(G)so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

No One Knows That Day or Hour

³² “But concerning that day or that hour, ^(A)no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, ^(B)nor the Son, ^(C)but only the Father. ^33 (D)Be on guard, ^(E)keep awake.^[a] For you do not know when the time will come. ^34 (F)It is like a man ^(G)going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants^[b] in charge, ^(H)each with his work, and commands ^(I)the doorkeeper to stay awake. ^35 (J)Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, ^(K)in the evening, or ^(L)at midnight, or ^(M)when the rooster crows,^[c] or ^(N)in the morning— ³⁶ lest ^(O)he come suddenly and ^(P)find you asleep. ³⁷ And what I say to you I say to all: ^(Q)Stay awake.”

²⁴ For Christ has entered, not into holy places ^(A)made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God ^(B)on our behalf. ²⁵ Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as ^(C)the high priest enters ^(D)the holy places every year with blood not his own, ²⁶ for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, ^(E)he has appeared ^(F)once for all ^(G)at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ And just as ^(H)it is appointed for man to die once, and ^(I)after that comes judgment, ²⁸ so Christ, having been offered once ^(J)to bear the sins of ^(K)many, will appear ^(L)a second time, ^(M)not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly ^(N)waiting for him.