^13 (A)waiting for our blessed ^(B)hope, the ^(C)appearing of the glory of our great ^(D)God and Savior Jesus Christ,

¹⁰ and ^(A)to wait for his Son ^(B)from heaven, ^(C)whom he raised from the dead, Jesus ^(D)who delivers us from ^(E)the wrath to come.

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.

⁴ But you ^(A)are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. ⁵ For you are all ^(B)children^[a] of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. ⁶ So then ^(C)let us not sleep, as others do, but let us ^(D)keep awake and ^(E)be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, ^(F)are drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, ^(G)having put on the breastplate of ^(H)faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not destined us for ^(I)wrath, but ^(J)to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ^10 (K)who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him.

I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life

14 ^(A)“Let not your hearts be troubled. ^(B)Believe in God;^[a] believe also in me. ² In ^(C)my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that ^(D)I go to prepare a place for you?^{[b] 3} And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you ^(E)to myself, that ^(F)where I am you may be also.

⁸ All these are but the beginning of ^(A)the birth pains.

⁹ “Then ^(B)they will deliver you up ^(C)to tribulation and ^(D)put you to death, and ^(E)you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. ¹⁰ And then many will fall away^[a] and ^(F)betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ And many ^(G)false prophets will arise ^(H)and lead many astray. ¹² And because lawlessness will be increased, ^(I)the love of many will grow cold. ^13 (J)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom ^(K)will be proclaimed throughout the whole world ^(L)as a testimony ^(M)to all nations, and ^(N)then the end will come.

The Abomination of Desolation

¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation ^(O)spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in ^(P)the holy place (^(Q)let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. ^17 (R)Let the one who is on ^(S)the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, ¹⁸ and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. ¹⁹ And ^(T)alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! ²⁰ Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. ²¹ For then there will be ^(U)great tribulation, ^(V)such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. ²² And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for ^(W)the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. ^23 (X)Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. ²⁴ For ^(Y)false christs and ^(Z)false prophets will arise and ^(AA)perform great signs and wonders, ^(AB)so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. ²⁵ See, ^(AC)I have told you beforehand. ²⁶ So, if they say to you, ‘Look, ^(AD)he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. ^27 (AE)For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be ^(AF)the coming of the Son of Man. ^28 (AG)Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

The Coming of the Son of Man

²⁹ “Immediately after ^(AH)the tribulation of those days ^(AI)the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and ^(AJ)the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then ^(AK)will appear in heaven ^(AL)the sign of the Son of Man, and then ^(AM)all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and ^(AN)they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven ^(AO)with power and great glory. ³¹ And ^(AP)he will send out his angels with a loud ^(AQ)trumpet call, and they will ^(AR)gather ^(AS)his elect from ^(AT)the four winds, ^(AU)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.”

The New Heaven and the New Earth

21 Then I saw ^(A)a new heaven and a new earth, for ^(B)the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw ^(C)the holy city, ^(D)new Jerusalem, ^(E)coming down out of heaven from God, ^(F)prepared ^(G)as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, ^(H)the dwelling place^[a] of God is with man. He will ^(I)dwell with them, and they will be his people,^[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.^{[c] 4 (J)}He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and ^(K)death shall be no more, ^(L)neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

⁵ And ^(M)he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I ^(N)am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for ^(O)these words are trustworthy and true.” ⁶ And he said to me, ^(P)“It is done! ^(Q)I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. ^(R)To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. ^7 (S)The one who conquers will have this heritage, and ^(T)I will be his God and ^(U)he will be my son. ^8 (V)But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, ^(W)their portion will be in ^(X)the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is ^(Y)the second death.”