^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.

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.”

⁷ For ^(A)the mystery of lawlessness ^(B)is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. ⁸ And then ^(C)the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus ^(D)will kill with ^(E)the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by ^(F)the appearance of his coming. ⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan ^(G)with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰ and with all wicked deception for ^(H)those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹ Therefore ^(I)God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe ^(J)what is false, ¹² in order that all may be condemned ^(K)who did not believe the truth but ^(L)had pleasure in unrighteousness.