May he strengthen your hearts so that you’ll be holy and blameless in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.
May God himself, the God of peace, make you holy and complete. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes.
Up to this point you’ve only understood some of the things we’ve said. But I hope you’ll come to understand us completely. Then you’ll realize that you can be just as proud of us as we will be of you on the day when the Lord Jesus returns.
But this will happen in a particular order. Christ is the first of those who rise from the dead. When he comes back, those who belong to him will be raised.
“Look! He’s coming with the clouds!” “Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him.” All the nations of the earth “will mourn because of him.” This will happen! Amen.
and he’ll give relief to you who are troubled and to us as well. All this will happen when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
So don’t judge anything before the appointed time. Wait until the Lord returns, and he will bring what’s now hidden in the dark out into the light. He’ll show the real reasons why people do what they do. At that time God will give each person the praise they deserve.
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
Brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord returns. See how the farmer waits for the land to produce its rich crop, being patient until the fall and spring rains come.
When we told you about the time our Lord Jesus Christ came with power, we weren’t trying to fool you by making up stories. We saw him in all his majesty with our own eyes.
They’ll say, “Where is this ‘return’ he promised? Ever since our ancestors died, everything has been going on in the same way it has since the beginning of creation.”