1 O ur Lord Jesus Christ is coming again. We will be gathered together to meet Him. But we ask you, Christian brothers,

Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we ask you

2 d o not be troubled in mind or worried by the talk you hear. Some say that the Lord has already come. People may say that I wrote this in a letter or that a spirit told them.

not to be quickly shaken in your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by letter as from us, saying that the day of Christ had come.

3 D o not let anyone fool you. For the Lord will not come again until many people turn away from God. Then the leader of those who break the law will come. He is the man of sin.

Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the departure comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,

4 H e works against and puts himself above every kind of god that is worshiped. He will take his seat in the house of God and say that he himself is God.

he who opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshiped; so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself up as God.

5 D o you not remember that while I was with you, I told you this?

Don’t you remember that, when I was still with you, I told you these things?

6 Y ou know the power that is keeping the man of sin back now. The man of sin will come only when his time is ready.

Now you know what is restraining him, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.

7 F or the secret power of breaking the law is already at work in the world. But that secret power can only do so much until the One Who keeps back the man of sin is taken out of the way.

For the mystery of lawlessness already works. Only there is one who restrains now, until he is taken out of the way.

8 T hen this man of sin will come. The Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath of His mouth. The coming of Christ will put an end to him.

Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy by the manifestation of his coming;

9 S atan will use this man of sin. He will have Satan’s power. He will do strange things and many powerful works that will be false.

even he whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

10 T hose who are lost in sin will be fooled by the things he can do. They are lost in sin because they did not love the truth that would save them.

and with all deception of wickedness for those who are being lost, because they didn’t receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

11 F or this reason, God will allow them to follow false teaching so they will believe a lie.

Because of this, God sends them a working of error, that they should believe a lie;

12 T hey will all be guilty as they stand before God because they wanted to do what was wrong. You Belong to Those Who Believe the Truth

that they all might be judged who didn’t believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

13 C hristian brothers, the Lord loves you. We always thank God for you. It is because God has chosen you from the beginning to save you from the punishment of sin. He chose to make you holy by the Holy Spirit and to give you faith to believe the truth.

But we are bound to always give thanks to God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief in the truth;

14 I t was by our preaching the Good News that you were chosen. He chose you to share the shining-greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ.

to which he called you through our Good News, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

15 S o then, Christian brothers, keep a strong hold on what we have taught you by what we have said and by what we have written.

So then, brothers, stand firm, and hold the traditions which you were taught by us, whether by word, or by letter.

16 O ur Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father loves us. Through His loving-favor He gives us comfort and hope that lasts forever.

Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,

17 M ay He give your hearts comfort and strength to say and do every good thing.

comfort your hearts and establish you in every good work and word.