Paul, and Silvanus, and Timothy, unto the church
of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ;
Grace to you and peace from God the Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to give
thanks to God always to you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your
faith growth exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one
another aboundeth; so that we ourselves glory in
you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your
persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure;
which is a manifest token of the righteous
judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom
of God, for which ye also suffer: if so be that
it is righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that
afflict you, and to you that are afflicted rest
with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels
of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance
to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our
Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment,
even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the
glory of his might, when he shall come to be
glorified in his saints, and to be marvelled at in all them that believed
(because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day.
To which end we also pray always for you, that
our God may count you worthy of your calling, and fulfil every desire of
goodness and every work of faith, with power;
that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified
in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the coming
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him;
to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from
your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by word, or by
epistle as from us, as that the day of the Lord is just at hand;
let no man beguile you in any wise: for it
will not be, except the falling away come first, and the man of sin be
revealed, the son of perdition, he that opposeth
and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped;
so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I
told you these things? And now ye know that which
restraineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his own season.
For the mystery of lawlessness doth already work:
only there is one that restraineth now, until he be taken out of
the way. And then shall be revealed the lawless
one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth, and
bring to nought by the manifestation of his coming;
even he, whose coming is according to the
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
and with all deceit of unrighteousness for them
that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they
might be saved. And for this cause God sendeth
them a working of error, that they should believe a lie:
that they all might be judged who believed not
the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
But we are bound to give thanks to God always
for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, for that God chose you from the
beginning unto salvation in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the
truth: whereunto he called you through our
gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
So then, brethren, stand fast, and hold the
traditions which ye were taught, whether by word, or by epistle of ours.
Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our
Father who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through
grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in
every good work and word.
Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of
the Lord may run and be glorified, even as also it is with you;
and that we may be delivered from unreasonable
and evil men; for all have not faith. But the
Lord is faithful, who shall establish you, and guard you from the evil
one. And we have confidence in the Lord
touching you, that ye both do and will do the things which we command.
And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of
God, and into the patience of Christ. Now we
command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye
withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh disorderly, and not
after the tradition which they received of us.
For yourselves know how ye ought to imitate us:
for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you;
neither did we eat bread for nought at any man's
hand, but in labor and travail, working night and day, that we might not
burden any of you: not because we have not the
right, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you, that ye should imitate
us. For even when we were with you, this we
commanded you, If any will not work, neither let him eat.
For we hear of some that walk among you
disorderly, that work not at all, but are busybodies.
Now them that are such we command and exhort in
the Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own
bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in
well-doing. And if any man obeyeth not our word
by this epistle, note that man, that ye have no company with him, to the
end that he may be ashamed. And yet count
him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace at
all times in all ways. The Lord be with you all.
The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand,
which is the token in every epistle: so I write.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you
all.
HTML generated 21 September 2002.
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