1) Some Key Dates (all approximate):
| 1 Thess 4:13-5:11
4:13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. 4:14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. 4:15 For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. 4:16 For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 4:17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. 4:18 Therefore encourage one another with these words. 5:1 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 5:2 For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 5:3 When they say, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no escape! 5:4 But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief; 5:5 for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness. 5:6 So then let us not fall asleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober; 5:7 for those who sleep sleep at night, and those who are drunk get drunk at night. 5:8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, and put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. 5:9 For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, 5:10 who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing. |
2 Thess 2:1-12
2:1 As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters,
2:2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by
word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the
Lord is already here. 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way; for
that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless
one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. 2:4 He opposes and
exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that
he
takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God.
2:5
Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with
you? 2:6 And you know what is now restraining him, so that he may be revealed
when his time comes. 2:7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work,
but only until the one who now restrains it is removed. 2:8 And then the
lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will destroy with the
breath of his mouth, annihilating him by the manifestation of his coming.
2:9 The coming of the lawless one is apparent in the working of Satan,
who uses all power, signs, lying wonders, 2:10 and every kind of wicked
deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the
truth and so be saved. 2:11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion,
leading them to believe what is false, 2:12 so that all who have not believed
the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness will be condemned.
|
1 Cor 15:51-57
15:50 What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is
this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable
inherit the imperishable. 15:51 Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We
will not all die, but we will all be changed, 15:52 in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,
and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 15:53
For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body
must put on immortality. 15:54 When this perishable body puts on imperishability,
and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written
will be fulfilled: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 15:55 "Where,
O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 15:56 The sting
of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 15:57 But thanks be to
God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Mark 13:1-37
13:1 As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples
said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!"
13:2 Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone
will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down." 13:3 When he
was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John,
and Andrew asked him privately, 13:4 "Tell us, when will this be, and
what will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?"
13:5 Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you
astray. 13:6 Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and they
will lead many astray. 13:7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars,
do not be alarmed; this must take place, but the end is still to come.
13:8 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom;
there will be earthquakes in various places; there will be famines. This
is but the beginning of the birthpangs. 13:9 "As for yourselves, beware;
for they will hand you over to councils; and you will be beaten in synagogues;
and you will stand before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony
to them. 13:10 And the good news must first be proclaimed to all nations.
13:11 When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand
about what you are to say; but say whatever is given you at that time,
for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. 13:12 Brother will betray
brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against
parents and have them put to death; 13:13 and you will be hated by all
because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
13:14 "But when you see the desolating sacrilege set up where it ought
not to be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to
the mountains; 13:15 the one on the housetop must not go down or enter
the house to take anything away; 13:16 the one in the field must not turn
back to get a coat. 13:17 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who
are nursing infants in those days! 13:18 Pray that it may not be in winter.
13:19 For in those days there will be suffering, such as has not been
from the beginning of the creation that God created until now, no, and
never will be. 13:20 And if the Lord had not cut short those days,
no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he
has cut short those days. 13:21 And if anyone says to you at that time,
'Look! Here is the Messiah!' or 'Look! There he is!' --do not believe it.
13:22 False messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce signs and
omens, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 13:23 But be alert; I have
already told you everything. 13:24 "But in those days, after that suffering,
the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 13:25 and
the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will
be shaken. 13:26 Then they will see 'the Son of Man coming in clouds'
with great power and glory. 13:27 Then he will send out the angels,
and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to
the ends of heaven. 13:28 "From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon
as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer
is near. 13:29 So also, when you see these things taking place, you know
that he is near, at the very gates. 13:30 Truly I tell you, this generation
will not pass away until all these things have taken place. 13:31 Heaven
and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. 13:32 "But
about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor
the Son, but only the Father. 13:33 Beware, keep alert; for you
do not know when the time will come. 13:34 It is like a man going on
a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with
his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 13:35 Therefore,
keep awake--for you do not know when the master of the house will come,
in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 13:36 or else
he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 13:37 And what I say
to you I say to all: Keep awake."
2 Peter 3:1-18
3:1 This is now, beloved, the second letter I am
writing to you; in them I am trying to arouse your sincere intention by
reminding you 3:2 that you should remember the words spoken in the past
by the holy prophets, and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken
through your apostles. 3:3 First of all you must understand this, that
in
the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own
lusts 3:4 and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? For ever
since our ancestors died, all things continue as they were from the beginning
of creation!" 3:5 They deliberately ignore this fact, that by the word
of God heavens existed long ago and an earth was formed out of water and
by means of water, 3:6 through which the world of that time was deluged
with water and perished. 3:7 But by the same word the present heavens and
earth have been reserved for fire, being kept until the day of judgment
and destruction of the godless. 3:8 But do not ignore this one fact,
beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand
years are like one day. 3:9 The Lord is not slow about his promise,
as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to
perish, but all to come to repentance. 3:10 But the day of the Lord
will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud
noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and
everything that is done on it will be disclosed. 3:11 Since all these
things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of persons ought you
to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, 3:12 waiting for and
hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will
be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? 3:13
But,
in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth,
where righteousness is at home. 3:14 Therefore, beloved, while you
are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without
spot or blemish; 3:15 and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.
So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given
him, 3:16 speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some
things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist
to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. 3:17 You therefore,
beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away
with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. 3:18 But grow
in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him
be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.
1 John 2:1-4:21
2:4 Whoever says, "I have come to know him," but does not obey his commandments, is a liar, and in such a person the truth does not exist; 2:5 but whoever obeys his word, truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. By this we may be sure that we are in him: 2:6 whoever says, "I abide in him," ought to walk just as he walked.
2:18 Children, it is the last hour! As you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. From this we know that it is the last hour. 2:19 They went out from us, but they did not belong to us; for if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us. But by going out they made it plain that none of them belongs to us. 2:20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and all of you have knowledge. 2:21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and you know that no lie comes from the truth. 2:22 Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. 2:23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; everyone who confesses the Son has the Father also. 2:24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you will abide in the Son and in the Father. 2:25 And this is what he has promised us, eternal life. 2:26 I write these things to you concerning those who would deceive you. 2:27 As for you, the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and so you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, abide in him.
3:1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 3:2 Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.
3:4 Everyone who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 3:5 You know that he was revealed to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 3:6 No one who abides in him sins; no one who sins has either seen him or known him. 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Everyone who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 3:8 Everyone who commits sin is a child of the devil; for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. 3:9 Those who have been born of God do not sin, because God's seed abides in them; they cannot sin, because they have been born of God. 3:10 The children of God and the children of the devil are revealed in this way: all who do not do what is right are not from God, nor are those who do not love their brothers and sisters.
3:13 Do not be astonished, brothers and sisters, that the world hates you. 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love one another. Whoever does not love abides in death. 3:15 All who hate a brother or sister are murderers, and you know that murderers do not have eternal life abiding in them. 3:16 We know love by this, that he laid down his life for us--and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 4:2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 4:3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. And this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming; and now it is already in the world. 4:4 Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 4:5 They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them. 4:6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
4:13 By this we know that we abide in him and he
in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 4:14 And we have seen and
do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world.
4:15 God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and
they abide in God. 4:16 So we have known and believe the love that
God has for us. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God,
and God abides in them. 4:17 Love has been perfected among us in this:
that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so
are we in this world. 4:18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love
casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has
not reached perfection in love. 4:19 We love because he first loved us.
4:20 Those who say, "I love God," and hate their brothers or sisters, are
liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen,
cannot love God whom they have not seen. 4:21 The commandment we have from
him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
| 2 John 7-11
7 Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist! 8 Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward. 9 Everyone who does not abide in the teaching of Christ, but goes beyond it, does not have God; whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 Do not receive into the house or welcome anyone who comes to you and does not bring this teaching; 11 for to welcome is to participate in the evil deeds of such a person. |
3 John 9-11
9 I have written something to the church; but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 1:10 So if I come, I will call attention to what he is doing in spreading false charges against us. And not content with those charges, he refuses to welcome the friends, and even prevents those who want to do so and expels them from the church. 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but imitate what is good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. |