⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, ^(A)he was lifted up, and ^(B)a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, ^(C)two ^(D)men stood by them in ^(E)white robes, ¹¹ and said, ^(F)“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, ^(G)will ^(H)come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

The Coming of the Lord

¹³ But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, ^(A)that you may not grieve as others do ^(B)who have no hope. ¹⁴ For ^(C)since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him ^(D)those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵ For this we declare to you ^(E)by a word from the Lord,^[a] that ^(F)we who are alive, who are left until ^(G)the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For ^(H)the Lord himself will descend ^(I)from heaven ^(J)with a cry of command, with the voice of ^(K)an archangel, and ^(L)with the sound of the trumpet of God. And ^(M)the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ Then we who are alive, who are left, will be ^(N)caught up together with them ^(O)in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so ^(P)we will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.

⁶ since indeed God considers it ^(A)just ^(B)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, ⁷ and to grant ^(C)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when ^(D)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven ^(E)with his mighty angels ^8 (F)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those ^(G)who do not know God and on those who ^(H)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the punishment of ^(I)eternal destruction, ^(J)away from^[a] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, ^10 (K)when he comes on ^(L)that day ^(M)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our ^(N)testimony to you ^(O)was believed.