In fact, let everything that stands before the Lord sing praises, for he is coming, coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with fairness, and the nations with his truth.
At that time his people will say, “Look! This is our God; we have trusted in him and he has saved us! This is the Lord we have been looking for. Now we can be happy and celebrate the salvation he brings!”
That servant's master will return unexpectedly one day at a time he didn't anticipate, and will punish him severely, treating him as totally untrustworthy.
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the cry of the archangel, and with the sound of God's trumpet, and those who have died in Christ will rise first.
However, the day of the Lord will come, unexpectedly like a thief. The heavens will explode with a thunderous roar, and the elements will be destroyed as they are burned up. The earth and everything in it will vanish.
(Pay attention! I will come like a thief. Blessed are those who keep watch, and have their clothes ready so that they don't have to go out naked and be embarrassed.)