^27 (A)For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^(B)the coming of the Son of Man. ^28 (C)Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

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

No One Knows That Day and Hour

³⁶ “But concerning that day and hour ^(A)no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, ^(B)nor the Son,^{[a] (C)}but the Father only.

The Final Judgment

^31 (A)“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, ^(B)then he will sit on his glorious throne. ³² Before him ^(C)will be gathered ^(D)all the nations, and ^(E)he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates ^(F)the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then ^(G)the King will say to ^(H)those on his right, ‘Come, you ^(I)who are blessed by my Father, ^(J)inherit ^(K)the kingdom ^(L)prepared for you ^(M)from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For ^(N)I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you ^(O)gave me drink, ^(P)I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ^36 (Q)I was naked and you clothed me, ^(R)I was sick and you ^(S)visited me, ^(T)I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? ³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And ^(U)the King will answer them, ^(V)‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these ^(W)my brothers,^[a] you did it to me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ^(X)‘Depart from me, you ^(Y)cursed, into ^(Z)the eternal fire prepared for ^(AA)the devil and his angels. ⁴² For ^(AB)I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ ⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, ^(AC)you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away ^(AD)into eternal punishment, but the righteous ^(AE)into ^(AF)eternal life.”

⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, ^(A)“You have said so. But I tell you, from now on ^(B)you will see the Son of Man ^(C)seated at the right hand of Power and ^(D)coming on the clouds of heaven.”

³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you ^(A)to myself, that ^(B)where I am you may be also.

¹¹ and said, ^(A)“Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, ^(B)will ^(C)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.

² For you yourselves are fully aware that ^(A)the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

Preach the Word

4 ^(A)I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, ^(B)who is to judge the living and the dead, and by ^(C)his appearing and his kingdom: