God has honored you by selecting you to suffer for him. Still, the day will come when God will judge those who are causing you so much pain. He’ll give you rest, and they’ll suffer forever. Christ will come again with his angels, and with flaming fire he’ll take revenge on those who don’t obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They’ll be punished and removed forever from God’s presence and from his glory. 

We pray constantly that God will continue to find you worthy of this calling—that he’ll continue to show the world his goodness and power through your faith. Then the name of our Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified in you. 

Now I must talk to you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I understand you’ve become concerned—thinking that the Day of the Lord has already started. Let me make this clear. It isn’t true, and don’t let anyone tell you differently. 

Before that Day starts, these things have to happen first. A wicked man will rise in power, and he’ll organize the world against the God of Heaven. Oh, his forces are already at work in the world, but the Holy Spirit is holding him back. The day will come when the Spirit will step aside and allow this man to oppose everything that is holy. He’ll sit in God’s Temple and claim he’s God. He’ll work all kinds of miracles and impress people with many evil deeds. He’ll deceive the people who refuse to believe the truth. God will make sure they believe him. 

After that, Christ will come and destroy him with no effort at all. Remember I told you all of this when I was with you. But also remember that God loves you! He set you aside as someone special, because you belong to him; and he
has given you salvation by his Spirit. We’re just thankful that he allowed us a part in presenting the gospel to you. Stand firm in what you’ve been taught. 

So what should you do while you wait for his coming? Well first of all, pray for us. Pray that we can get this gospel out to as many people as possible. Pray that we’ll be able to work without fear of wicked people. But of course, the Lord has always given us strength during times of trial, just as he has done for you. 

The other thing you should do is stay away from a brother who refuses to work. Remember how hard we worked when we were with you? We didn’t loaf around and eat other people’s food. No, we worked—and we worked hard— night and day. We weren’t a financial burden on any of you. 

Of course it would’ve been proper if we had accepted support from you. But we didn’t because we wanted to be an example of diligence and hard work. 

Here’s the rule we taught you, “If a man doesn’t work, he doesn’t eat!” We’ve heard that there are those among you who not only refuse to work, but also interfere with the work of others. Now listen to what I say, and this is also from the Lord. Quietly do your own work, eat your own food, and don’t get tired of doing good. Avoid anyone who doesn’t follow this rule. 

Well, I’m asking the Lord of peace to stay close to you and give you his peace. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.