1 Thessalonians 4

1Finally, brothers and sisters, we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus: you learned from us how you ought to live to please God, and you are living that way. Now do so more and more. 2You know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. 3This is God’s will for you: that you be holy. Keep away from sexual immorality. 4Each of you should know how to keep your own body under control, with holiness and respect, 5not in lustful passion like the Gentiles, who do not know God. 6In this matter no one must cross the line and wrong a brother or sister, for the Lord avenges all such things, as we told you before and solemnly warned you. 7For God did not call us to be impure, but to live in holiness. 8So anyone who disregards this is setting aside not a human command but God himself, the God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

9About love for one another as brothers and sisters, you do not need us to write to you, because God himself has taught you to love each other. 10And in fact you do love all the brothers and sisters throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers and sisters, to love more and more. 11Be eager to live calmly, look after your own affairs and earn your living with your hands, as we instructed you, 12so that outsiders will see you live rightly, and you will not need to rely on anyone.

13We do not want you to be left in the dark, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve as others do who have no hope. 14We believe that Jesus died and rose again; and in the same way, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. 15On the Lord’s own authority we tell you this: those of us still living, who remain until the Lord comes, will in no way get there before those who have fallen asleep. 16The Lord himself will come down from heaven at a shout of command, at an archangel’s call and the sound of God’s trumpet, and the dead who belong to Christ will rise first. 17Then those of us still living, who are left, will be swept up with them into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. From then on we will be with the Lord always. 18So comfort one another with these words.