²⁰ But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

²² Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns,^[a] but you won’t see it.

⁹ Then one of the seven angels who held the seven bowls containing the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

²⁷ I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

² For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride^[a] to one husband—Christ.

⁵ Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

²³ Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust.

² One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” ³ So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

²¹ For he must remain in heaven until the time for the final restoration of all things, as God promised long ago through his holy prophets.