2 Thessalonians 1:5–2:12

5 All this is evidencej that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthyk of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just:l He will pay back trouble to those who trouble youm 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heavenn in blazing fireo with his powerful angels.p 8 He will punishq those who do not know Godr and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.s 9 They will be punished with everlasting destructiont and shut out from the presence of the Lordu and from the glory of his mightv 10 on the dayw he comes to be glorifiedx in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.y

11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you,z that our God may make you worthya of his calling,b and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodnessc and your every deed prompted by faith.d 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you,e and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.c

The Man of Lawlessness

2 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christf and our being gathered to him,g we ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letterh—asserting that the day of the Lordi has already come.j 3 Don’t let anyone deceive youk in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellionl occurs and the man of lawlessnessa is revealed,m the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called Godn or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.o

5 Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?p 6 And now you know what is holding him back,q so that he may be revealed at the proper time. 7 For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it backr will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed,s whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his moutht and destroy by the splendor of his coming.u 9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satanv works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wondersw that serve the lie, 10 and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing.x They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.y 11 For this reason God sends themz a powerful delusiona so that they will believe the lieb 12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.c