The return of Christ

¹⁵ By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.

¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise.

¹⁷ After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

⁷ And by that same word, the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

⁸ Beloved, do not let this one thing escape your notice: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.

⁹ The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

¹⁰ But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.

¹¹ Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to conduct yourselves in holiness and godliness

¹² as you anticipate and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be destroyed by fire and the elements will melt in the heat.

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven.”

³⁵ Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning.

³⁶ Then you will be like servants waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks, they can open the door for him at once.

³⁷ Blessed are those servants whom the master finds on watch when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve and will have them recline at the table, and he himself will come and wait on them.

³⁸ Even if he comes in the second or third watch of the night and finds them alert, those servants will be blessed.

³⁹ But understand this: If the homeowner had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into.

⁴⁰ You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.”

²⁷ For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

²⁸ Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

²⁹ Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

³⁰ At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.

³¹ And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

³² Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.

Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

²⁴ But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;

²⁵ the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’

²⁶ At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

²⁷ And He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

²⁸ Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its branches become tender and sprout leaves, you know that summer is near.

²⁹ So also, when you see these things happening, know that He is near, right at the door.

“Behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of prophecy in this book.”

¹² It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

¹³ as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

⁵¹ Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—

⁵² in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

And now, little children, remain in Christ, so that when He appears, we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.

⁹ For they themselves report what kind of welcome you gave us, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

¹⁰ and to await His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus our deliverer from the coming wrath.

⁶ After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

⁷ and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels

⁸ in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

⁹ They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might,

¹⁰ on the day He comes to be glorified in His saints and regarded with wonder by all who have believed, including you who have believed our testimony.

²⁷ Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,

²⁸ so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.

⁷ Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.

⁸ You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.

²⁵ There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves.

²⁶ Men will faint from fear and anxiety over what is coming upon the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

²⁷ At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

²⁸ When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

³⁶ No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

³⁷ As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man.

⁴⁰ Two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.

⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.

⁴² Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day on which your Lord will come.

⁴³ But understand this: If the homeowner had known in which watch of the night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.

⁴⁴ For this reason, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour you do not expect.

¹⁹ I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.

²⁰ The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord.

While Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?”

For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark.

For I tell you that you will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

“You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and strike down all the sons of Sheth.