<t /><p class="bodytext">So be patient, brothers and sisters,<n id="1" /> until the Lord&#8217;s return.<n id="2" /> Think of how the farmer waits<n id="3" /> for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient<n id="4" /> for it until it receives the early and late rains.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Blessed be<n id="1" /> the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he gave us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

But set Christ<n id="1" /> apart<n id="2" /> as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.<n id="3" />

For if after they have escaped the filthy things<n id="1" /> of the world through the rich knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,<n id="2" /> they<n id="3" /> again get entangled in them and succumb to them,<n id="4" /> their last state has become worse for them than their first.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; when it comes,<n id="1" /> the heavens will disappear<n id="2" /> with a horrific noise,<n id="3" /> and the celestial bodies<n id="4" /> will melt away<n id="5" /> in a blaze,<n id="6" /> and the earth and every deed done on it<n id="7" /> will be laid bare.<n id="8" />

For certain men<n id="1" /> have secretly slipped in among you<n id="2" /> &#8211; men who long ago<n id="3" /> were marked out<n id="4" /> for the condemnation I am about to describe<n id="5" /> &#8211; ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil<n id="6" /> and who deny our only Master<n id="7" /> and Lord,<n id="8" /> Jesus Christ.p>

But even<n id="1" /> when Michael the archangel<n id="2" /> was arguing with the devil and debating with him<n id="3" /> concerning Moses&#8217; body, he did not dare to bring a slanderous judgment, but said, &#8220;May the Lord rebuke you!&#8221;

to the only God our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time, and now, and for all eternity. Amen.p>

<p class="poetry">&#8220;You are worthy, our Lord and God,p> <p class="poetry">to receive glory and honor and power,p> <p class="poetry">since you created all things,p> <p class="poetry">and because of your will they existed and were created!&#8221;<n id="1" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then<n id="1" /> the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;The kingdom of the worldp> <p class="poetry">has become the kingdom of our Lordp> <p class="poetry">and of his Christ,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">and he will reign for ever and ever.&#8221;p>

with these words:<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;We give you thanks, Lord God, the All-Powerful,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">the one who is and who was,p> <p class="poetry">because you have taken your great powerp> <p class="poetry">and begun to reign.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">Who will not fear you, O Lord,p> <p class="poetry">and glorify<n id="1" /> your name, because you alone are holy?<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">All nations<n id="3" /> will come and worship before youp> <p class="poetry">for your righteous acts<n id="4" /> have been revealed.&#8221;p>

For this reason, she will experience her plagues<n id="1" /> in a single day: disease,<n id="2" /> mourning,<n id="3" /> and famine, and she will be burned down<n id="4" /> with fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful!&#8221;p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then<n id="1" /> I heard what sounded like the voice of a vast throng, like the roar of many waters and like loud crashes of thunder. They were shouting:<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">&#8220;Hallelujah!p> <p class="poetry">For the Lord our God,<n id="3" /> the All-Powerful,<n id="4" /> reigns!p>

Night will be no more, and they will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then<n id="1" /> the angel<n id="2" /> said to me, &#8220;These words are reliable<n id="3" /> and true. The Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants<n id="4" /> what must happen soon.&#8221;p>

When he had contemplated this, an<n id="1" /> angel of the Lord<n id="2" /> appeared to him in a dream and said, &#8220;Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

<t /><p class="bodytext">After they had gone, an<n id="1" /> angel of the Lord<n id="2" /> appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, &#8220;Get up, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod<n id="3" /> is going to look for the child to kill him.&#8221;

They went out and proclaimed everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through the accompanying signs.]]p>

<p class="bodytext">When<n id="1" /> the angels left them and went back to heaven, the shepherds said to one another, &#8220;Let us go over to Bethlehem<n id="2" /> and see this thing that has taken place, that the Lord<n id="3" /> has made known to us.&#8221;