"I am," replied Jesus, "and you and others will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the divine Power, and coming amid the clouds of the sky."

You however have remained with me amid my trials;

serving the Lord in all humility, and with tears, and amid trials which came upon me through the plotting of the Jews--

Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who has loved us.

I have great confidence in you: very loudly do I boast of you. I am filled with comfort: my heart overflows with joy amid all our affliction.

how, while passing through great trouble, their boundless joy even amid their deep poverty has overflowed to increase their generous liberality.

I have served Him by frequent travelling, amid dangers in crossing rivers, dangers from robbers; dangers from my own countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles; dangers in the city, dangers in the Desert, dangers by sea, dangers from spies in our midst;

I know both how to live in humble circumstances and how to live amid abundance. I am fully initiated into all the mysteries both of fulness and of hunger, of abundance and of want.

Now I can find joy amid my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my own person whatever is lacking in Christ's afflictions on behalf of His Body, the Church.

And you followed the pattern set you by us and by the Master, after you had received the Message amid severe persecution, and yet with the joy which the Holy Spirit gives,

But, as you will remember, after we had already met with suffering and outrage at Philippi, we summoned up boldness, by the help of our God, to tell you God's Good News amid much opposition.

Afterwards we who are alive and are still on earth will be caught up in their company amid clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

It so increases that we ourselves make honourable mention of you among the Churches of God because of your patience and faith amid all your persecutions and amid the afflictions which you are enduring.

This was partly through allowing yourselves to be made a public spectacle amid reproaches and persecutions, and partly through coming forward to share the sufferings of those who were thus treated.

Rejoice triumphantly in the prospect of this, even if now, for a short time, you are compelled to sorrow amid various trials.