Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself
and God our Father,
who loved us and by his grace
gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope,
comfort you and strengthen you
in every good thing you do and say.

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven
with a commanding shout,
with the voice of the archangel,
and with the trumpet call of God.
First, the believers who have died
will rise from their graves.
Then, together with them,
we who are still alive and remain on the earth
will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
Then we will be with the Lord forever.