¹⁵ And count ^(A)the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as ^(B)our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you ^(C)according to the wisdom given him, ¹⁶ as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. ^(D)There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, ^(E)as they do the other Scriptures.

¹¹ Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^(A)to wake from sleep. ^(B)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ^12 (C)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^(D)cast off ^(E)the works of darkness and ^(F)put on the armor of light. ^13 (G)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, ^(H)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^(I)not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴ But ^(J)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^(K)to gratify its desires.

^10 (A)According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled^[a] master builder I laid a ^(B)foundation, and ^(C)someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. ¹¹ For no one can lay a ^(D)foundation other ^(E)than that which is laid, ^(F)which is Jesus Christ. ¹² Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— ^13 (G)each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed ^(H)by fire, and ^(I)the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. ¹⁴ If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, ^(J)he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, ^(K)but only as through fire.

⁵ Therefore ^(A)do not pronounce judgment before the time, ^(B)before the Lord comes, ^(C)who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. ^(D)Then each one will receive his commendation from God.

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.

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Now concerning ^(A)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our ^(B)being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,^{[a] 2} not to be quickly shaken in mind or ^(C)alarmed, either ^(D)by a spirit or a ^(E)spoken word, or ^(F)a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that ^(G)the day of the Lord has come. ^3 (H)Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, ^(I)unless the rebellion comes first, and ^(J)the man of lawlessness^[b] is revealed, ^(K)the son of destruction,^{[c] 4} who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, ^(L)proclaiming himself to be God.