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Paul, Silas and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
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Grace and peace to you from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Thanksgiving and Prayer
We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.
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Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.
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All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.
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God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you
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and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels.
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He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
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They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might
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With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith.
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We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
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He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
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Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things?
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And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his coming.
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The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie,
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For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie
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Stand Firm
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as firstfruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
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May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,
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Request for Prayer
As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.
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May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
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For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you,
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nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.
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For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”
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Take special note of anyone who does not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed.
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Final Greetings
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
