1Th 5:1-10 | EE | STEP | Friends, we do not need to write to you about the dates and times when these things will happen.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-10

We must be ready for Jesus to return

1 Friends, we do not need to write to you about the dates and times when these things will happen. 2 You know very well about how the day of the Lord’s return will happen. That day will surprise people very much, as when someone comes to rob people at night. 3 At that time, people will say, ‘We are safe and there is no trouble for us.’ But then, when they are not ready for it, a lot of trouble and pain will happen to them. That trouble will happen to them like the pains of a woman who is giving birth to a baby. And it will be impossible for anyone to get free from that trouble.

4 But you people, who are like brothers and sisters to us, you know about these things. So, you are not like people who live in the dark. And so the day when the Lord returns should not surprise you. That day will not surprise you as when someone comes to rob people. 5 All of you are people who are the Lord’s people. So, you belong to the light and to the day. We are not people who belong to the night or to the dark. 6 So, we should not be like other people. We should not be like people who are sleeping. Instead, we should be like people who continue to be awake. We should think clearly about what is happening.

7 It is at night that people sleep. It is at night that people are drunks. 8 But we belong to the day. So we should watch and we should think clearly. We must continue to believe God and to love him. So we will be like soldiers who put on breastplates. Also, we must continue to hope strongly that God will save us. So we will be like soldiers who put on metal hats to keep their heads safe.

9 God did not make us his people so that he could be angry with us. He has not chosen us so that he can punish us. Instead, he has chosen us so that he can save us. He saves us because of what our Lord Jesus Christ has done. 10 Jesus died for us so that we can live together with him. When he comes, we will live with him. Whether we are alive or dead at that time, there will not be any difference. We will all live with him.