You are witnesses, and so is God, as to how holy and righteous and blameless our conduct was toward you who believe.

For you became imitators, brothers and sisters, of God's churches in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, because you too suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they in fact did from the Jews,

who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets and persecuted us severely. They are displeasing to God and are opposed to all people,

For you are our glory and joy!

so that no one would be shaken by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this.

For now we are alive again, if you stand firm in the Lord.

so that your hearts are strengthened in holiness to be blameless before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.

Finally then, brothers and sisters, we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received instruction from us about how you must live and please God (as you are in fact living) that you do so more and more.

Now on the topic of brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another.

And indeed you are practicing it toward all the brothers and sisters in all of Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,

Now we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve like the rest who have no hope.

For we tell you this by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not go ahead of those who have fallen asleep.

Then we who are alive, who are left, will be suddenly caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

Now when they are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape.

But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would.

For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness.

For those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk are drunk at night.

But since we are of the day, we must stay sober by putting on the breastplate of faith and love and as a helmet our hope for salvation.

He died for us so that whether we are alert or asleep we will come to life together with him.

Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, just as you are in fact doing.