2 Thessalonians 1
This letter is from Paul, Silvanus
(also called Silas), and Timotheus (also called Timothy). It is
written to the church in Thessaloniki. They are writing in the name
of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
[1] Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the
Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
We send grace and peace to you from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. First, we need to
thank God always for you brothers. We are thankful that your faith
is growing greatly and you are helping each other a lot.
[2] Grace unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
[3] We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it
is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the
charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth;
We are proud of you for your patience
and faith during all the trouble you have gone through.
[4] So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God
for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and
tribulations that ye endure:
God will use your suffering. He
will judge you worthy of the kingdom of God because of how you have
suffered. God knows you are right. He will punish the people
who have hurt you.
[5] Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of
God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which
ye also suffer:
[6] Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense
tribulation to them that trouble you;
Don't worry because when the Lord
Jesus comes back, He will give you peace. He will come back with His
mighty angels. He will have fire and will punish the people who do
not know God and who do not obey God's laws.
[7] And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
[8] In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not
God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
He will punish them forever.
They will be far away from the Lord. They will be far away from the
glory of His power.
[9] Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from
the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
This will happen when He comes back.
He will be praised and admired by the people who believe in Him. You
will be in that group because you believed what we told you.
[10] When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to
be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you
was believed) in that day.
We always pray for You. We pray that God
will see that you are doing what believers are supposed to do. We
pray you will do right and with power and faith in Jesus.
[11] Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God
would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good
pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:
We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ's
name will be glorified by what you do. We pray that you continue to have
faith in God and Jesus.
[12] That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified
in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the
Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2
We don't want you to be confused.
Some people are telling you that the Lord Jesus has already come
back. This is not true. Don't worry about what
some people have said. They are lying. They say they heard this from
the Holy Spirit or someone else. Some lie and say they read that in
some of our letters.
[1] Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
[2] That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled,
neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that
the day of Christ is at hand.
Don't let anyone trick you. The day that
the Lord Jesus comes back has not happened yet. There are
things that will happen before Jesus comes back. Before He
comes back, people will be against Him. There will be a man of
sin. He will be called a son of perdition. He will be against God.
He will tell everyone he is better than God. He will sit in God's
temple and pretend he is God.
[3] Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall
not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of
sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is
called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Don't you remember that I told you about this when I was there with
you?
[5] Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told
you these things?
Now you know why Jesus is waiting until
it is the right time. The things are already starting. Jesus
is letting them go, but when it is time, He will stop it.
[6] And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be
revealed in his time.
[7] For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he
who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
The wicked person will be revealed.
Then, the Lord will destroy him with His breath. When the Lord comes
back, it will be so bright that it will destroy the Wicked One.
[8] And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with
the brightness of his coming:
When the Wicked One comes, he will work
like Satan. He will use false signs and false miracles. He will lie.
People will die because they did not accept the truth.
[9] Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with
all power and signs and lying wonders,
[10] And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them
that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved.
God sends them a delusion so they will
believe a lie. The people who did not believe the truth and
broke the rules will be punished.
[11] And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,
that they should believe a lie:
[12] That they all might be damned who believed not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
But we should always thank God for you.
You are our brothers whom the Lord loves. God chose you from the
beginning. The Holy Spirit makes you clean, and you believe the
truth. He called you by our gospel. You will have the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
[13] But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you,
brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning
chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and
belief of the truth:
[14] Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining
of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So, brothers, be strong. Hold onto the
things you have learned from our words or this letter.
[15] Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions
which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
Our Lord Jesus Christ and God our Father
have loved us. He has comforted us forever. He has given us hope
through grace. We pray that He comforts your hearts and helps you in
your words and your work.
[16] Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our
Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting
consolation and good hope through grace,
[17] Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word
and work.
2 Thessalonians 3
Finally, brothers, pray for us. Pray that the Lord's word be taken
to many places. Pray that His word be glorified like it is with
you.
[1] Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord
may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you:
Pray that we will be
safe from evil people. There are people who do not have faith.
[2] And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked
men: for all men have not faith.
But God is faithful. He will guard
you. He will keep you safe from bad things.
[3] But the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and
keep you from evil.
We are confident that the Lord is helping
you do the things we told you to do. And we know you will do these
things in the future.
[4] And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye
both do and will do the things which we command you.
We pray for the Lord to guide your hearts
into God's love and patience to wait for Christ.
[5] And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and
into the patient waiting for Christ.
We order you, brothers, in the name of the
Lord Jesus Christ, that you stay away from brothers who do not obey
God's laws. They don't live the life that we told them
to live.
[6] Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw yourselves from every brother that
walketh disorderly, and not after the tradition which he received of
us.
You yourselves know how to follow us. We
showed you how to behave when we were there. We have always behaved well.
[7] For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we
behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
We did not eat anyone's food without paying
for it. We worked day and night to support ourselves so that
we were not a burden to you. We could have asked you for things, but
we wanted to show you how to be good examples and how to live.
[8] Neither did we eat any man's bread for nought; but
wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be
chargeable to any of you:
[9] Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an
ensample unto you to follow us.
Even when we were there with you, we told
you that people who don't work, don't eat.
[10] For even when we were with you, this we commanded you,
that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
We have heard that some of you are not
behaving. We heard some of you are not working and are getting into
other people's business.
[11] For we hear that there are some which walk among you
disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies.
We command those people in Jesus Christ's name to
start working and earning their own food.
[12] Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord
Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own
bread.
But, brothers, do not get tired of doing
the right things.
[13] But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing.
Watch to see if anyone does not obey what
we say in this letter. If anyone does not obey, don't be around him.
He should be ashamed of what he did. Don't treat him like an enemy,
but warn him like a brother.
[14] And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note
that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
[15] Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a
brother.
Now, we pray that the Lord of Peace himself will give you peace always in
every way. We pray that the Lord will be with all of you.
[16] Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by
all means. The Lord be with you all.
I am signing this letter myself. I make a
special mark on every letter I write. I pray that the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ will be with you all. Amen.
[17] The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the
token in every epistle: so I write.
[18] The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Amen.
|
Back to the previous chapters
To the next chapters