Man of Lawlessness

2 Now we request you, ^(A)brethren, with regard to the ^[a](B)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our ^(C)gathering together to Him, ² that you not be quickly shaken from your ^[b]composure or be disturbed either by a ^(D)spirit or a ^[c](E)message or a ^(F)letter as if from us, to the effect that ^(G)the day of the Lord ^(H)has come. ^3 (I)Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the ^[d](J)apostasy comes first, and the ^(K)man of lawlessness is revealed, the ^(L)son of destruction, ⁴ who opposes and exalts himself above ^[e](M)every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, ^(N)displaying himself as being God. ⁵ Do you not remember that ^(O)while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? ⁶ And you know ^(P)what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. ⁷ For ^(Q)the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only ^(R)he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.

The Coming of Christ

¹¹ And I saw ^(A)heaven opened, and behold, a ^(B)white horse, and He who sat on it is called ^(C)Faithful and True, and in ^(D)righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His ^(E)eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many ^(F)diadems; and He has a ^(G)name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a ^(H)robe dipped in blood, and His name is called ^(I)The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in ^(J)fine linen, ^(K)white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ^15 (L)From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that ^(M)with it He may strike down the nations, and He will ^[a](N)rule them with a rod of iron; and ^(O)He treads the ^[b]wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has ^(P)a name written, “^(Q)KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

¹⁷ Then I saw ^[c]an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to ^(R)all the birds which fly in ^(S)midheaven, “^(T)Come, assemble for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may ^(U)eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of ^[d]commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, ^(V)both free men and slaves, and ^(W)small and great.”

¹⁹ And I saw ^(X)the beast and ^(Y)the kings of the earth and their armies assembled to make war against Him who ^(Z)sat on the horse and against His army.

Doom of the Beast and False Prophet

²⁰ And the beast was seized, and with him the ^(AA)false prophet who ^(AB)performed the signs ^[e](AC)in his presence, by which he ^(AD)deceived those who had received the ^(AE)mark of the beast and those who ^(AF)worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the ^(AG)lake of ^(AH)fire which burns with ^[f]brimstone. ²¹ And the rest were killed with the sword which ^(AI)came from the mouth of Him who ^(AJ)sat on the horse, and ^(AK)all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Satan Bound

20 Then I saw ^(AL)an angel coming down from heaven, holding the ^(AM)key of the abyss and a great chain ^[g]in his hand. ² And he laid hold of the ^(AN)dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and ^(AO)bound him for a thousand years; ³ and he threw him into the ^(AP)abyss, and shut it and ^(AQ)sealed it over him, so that he would ^(AR)not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

⁴ Then I saw ^(AS)thrones, and ^(AT)they sat on them, and ^(AU)judgment was given to them. And I saw ^(AV)the souls of those who had been beheaded because of ^[h]their ^(AW)testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not ^(AX)worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the ^(AY)mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they ^(AZ)came to life and ^(BA)reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵ The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. ^(BB)This is the first resurrection. ^6 (BC)Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the ^(BD)second death has no power, but they will be ^(BE)priests of God and of Christ and will ^(BF)reign with Him for a thousand years.

Satan Freed, Doomed

⁷ When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be ^(BG)released from his prison, ⁸ and will come out to ^(BH)deceive the nations which are in the ^(BI)four corners of the earth, ^(BJ)Gog and Magog, to ^(BK)gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the ^(BL)sand of the ^[i]seashore. ⁹ And they ^(BM)came up on the ^[j]broad plain of the earth and surrounded the ^(BN)camp of the ^[k]saints and the ^(BO)beloved city, and ^(BP)fire came down from heaven and devoured them. ¹⁰ And ^(BQ)the devil who ^(BR)deceived them was thrown into the ^(BS)lake of fire and ^[l]brimstone, where the ^(BT)beast and the ^(BU)false prophet are also; and they will be ^(BV)tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment at the Throne of God

¹¹ Then I saw a great white ^(BW)throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose ^[m]presence ^(BX)earth and heaven fled away, and ^(BY)no place was found for them. ¹² And I saw the dead, the ^(BZ)great and the small, standing before the throne, and ^[n](CA)books were opened; and another ^[o]book was opened, which is ^(CB)the book of life; and the dead ^(CC)were judged from the things which were written in the ^[p]books, ^(CD)according to their deeds. ¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and ^(CE)death and Hades ^(CF)gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them ^(CG)according to their deeds. ¹⁴ Then ^(CH)death and Hades were thrown into ^(CI)the lake of fire. This is the ^(CJ)second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵ And if ^[q]anyone’s name was not found written in ^(CK)the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Purpose of This Letter

3 This is now, ^(A)beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am ^(B)stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, ² that you should ^(C)remember the words spoken beforehand by ^(D)the holy prophets and ^(E)the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.

The Coming Day of the Lord

^3 (F)Know this first of all, that ^(G)in the last days ^(H)mockers will come with their mocking, ^(I)following after their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “^(J)Where is the promise of His ^(K)coming? For ever since the fathers ^(L)fell asleep, all continues just as it was ^(M)from the beginning of creation.” ⁵ For ^[a]when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that ^(N)by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was ^(O)formed out of water and by water, ⁶ through which ^(P)the world at that time was ^(Q)destroyed, being flooded with water. ⁷ But by His word ^(R)the present heavens and earth are being reserved for ^(S)fire, kept for ^(T)the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

⁸ But do not let this one fact escape your notice, ^(U)beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and ^(V)a thousand years like one day. ^9 (W)The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but ^(X)is patient toward you, ^(Y)not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

A New Heaven and Earth

¹⁰ But ^(Z)the day of the Lord ^(AA)will come like a thief, in which ^(AB)the heavens ^(AC)will pass away with a roar and the ^(AD)elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and ^(AE)the earth and ^[b]its works will be ^[c]burned up.

¹¹ Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, ^12 (AF)looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which ^(AG)the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the ^(AH)elements will melt with intense heat! ¹³ But according to His ^(AI)promise we are looking for ^(AJ)new heavens and a new earth, ^(AK)in which righteousness dwells.

^14 (AL)Therefore, ^(AM)beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be ^(AN)found by Him in peace, ^(AO)spotless and blameless, ¹⁵ and regard the ^(AP)patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also ^(AQ)our beloved brother Paul, ^(AR)according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of ^(AS)these things, ^(AT)in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and ^(AU)unstable distort, as they do also ^(AV)the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. ¹⁷ You therefore, ^(AW)beloved, knowing this beforehand, ^(AX)be on your guard so that you are not carried away by ^(AY)the error of ^(AZ)unprincipled men and ^(BA)fall from your own steadfastness, ¹⁸ but grow in the grace and ^(BB)knowledge of our ^(BC)Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ^(BD)To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.