- 1Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, [ so] ye would abound more and more.
- 2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.
- 3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
- 4That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
- 5Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
- 6That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
- 7For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.
- 8He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.
- 9But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
- 10And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;
- 11And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;
- 12That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
- 13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
- 14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
- 15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
- 16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
- 17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
- 18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
KING JAMES VERSION
1 THESSALONIANS 4
Read the chapter, follow a linked verse, and continue into related Watchman 33 teaching.
CHAPTER VISUAL
1 Thessalonians 4 — Believers are called to holiness, quiet love, and honest work, and comfort one another with the hope of resurrection and reunion with Christ.
About this illustration
The workshop, mourners, opened tombs, risen saints, and descending Christ combine the chapter’s ethical instruction and promised comfort. The resurrection is shown modestly and non-graphically, without modern vanishing-person imagery.
Scripture basis: 1 Thessalonians 4:1–18King James Version · Standardized 1769 text with Strong’s numbering · Public domain outside the United Kingdom
EXPLORE THE MESSAGE
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Related Watchman 33 Resources
Archaeological Evidence
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
3rd Century
Papyrus P30: 1 Thessalonians 5:3 in a Greek Witness
P30, P.Oxy. XIII 1598 in Ghent, comprises several third-century fragments from a Pauline codex preserving portions of both Thessalonian letters, including resurrection hope and watchfulness.
1 Thessalonians 4:12–13 · 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 · 1 Thessalonians 5:3
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
9th century AD
Codex Boernerianus: Interlinear Greek-Latin Paul
A compact Pauline codex with Latin equivalents written above the Greek words, held by the SLUB Dresden. Its unusual interlinear format and relationship with Augiensis and Claromontanus illuminate bilingual transmission of Paul's letters.
Galatians 2:15–21 · Philippians 2:5–11 · 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
ARCHAEOLOGY EVIDENCEManuscript
Fifth century AD
Uncial 0226: Resurrection Hope in 1 Thessalonians
Uncial 0226: Resurrection Hope in 1 Thessalonians is the independently registered Greek New Testament witness GA 0226, controlled by its manuscript number, present shelfmark, physical form, and surviving biblical contents.
1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 · 1 Thessalonians 5:1–5
Sermons
The Garden and the Deceiver
Pastor Dean Odle uses the Garden of Eden to warn that the deceiver’s oldest lie still promises that sin carries no final consequence. Moving through Genesis 3, Titus 2, Hebrews 10, Jude, and other passages, he argues that salvation is God’s unearned gift while believers remain responsible to obey Christ, reject habitual sin, and continue in sound doctrine. He contrasts the Spirit’s transforming grace with teachings that excuse lawlessness, addresses contemporary religious deception and disputed end-times claims, and urges listeners to stay in Scripture, prayer, humility, and fellowship with Jesus. The message closes with a call to step away from the tree of sin, repent when one falls, and keep choosing Christ to the end.
Doctrine and DiscernmentChristian LivingApostasy and Deception
View sermon The Runaway Train to the Tribulation
Pastor Dean Odle warns that artificial intelligence, surveillance, economic instability, war, and spiritual deception are accelerating the world toward the tribulation described in Scripture. Moving from Matthew 24 and Revelation to the prophets and epistles, he argues that Christians should expect to endure tribulation rather than escape through a pre-tribulation rapture. He calls believers to reject lukewarmness, bring every thought into obedience to Christ, resist the mark of the beast, prepare wisely for disruption, and strengthen themselves through God’s Word. The sermon closes by urging repentance, perseverance, and an unwavering commitment to spend eternity with Jesus.
Bible ProphecyApostasy and DeceptionChristian LivingDoctrine and DiscernmentSpiritual Warfare
View sermon The Reshaping of Christianity
In “The Reshaping of Christianity,” Pastor Dean Odle warns that Christianity can be counterfeited when biblical authority and personal devotion to Jesus Christ are replaced by religious ritual, institutional loyalty, political identity, occult spirituality, or a universalized “Christ” acceptable to every religion. Beginning with Israel’s golden calf in Exodus 31-32, he argues that people may retain the language of worship while fashioning a god from their own culture and imagination. He connects that pattern with Paul’s warning about “another Jesus,” “another spirit,” and “another gospel” in 2 Corinthians 11 and Galatians 1.
Apostasy and DeceptionRoman Catholicism and the PapacyMystery BabylonBible Prophecy
View sermon Showing 1–3 of 6 sermons
Teachings
01The Seven Trumpets
A Scripture-centered guide to Revelation’s seven trumpets, the historical fulfillments proposed by Watchman 33, the future war at the Euphrates, and the last trumpet that announces Christ’s kingdom.
Read the study02After the Tribulation
A Scripture-by-Scripture study of Christ’s visible return, the resurrection at the last trumpet, and the gathering of the elect after tribulation, drawing upon the related sermons.
Read the studyMusic
After the Tribulation
Music built around the sequence described by Jesus in Matthew 24 and the questions it asks every reader to examine.
Leave the Tree Alone
A forceful Christian hip-hop warning rooted in Eden’s forbidden tree: reject the serpent’s lie that sin is safe, receive salvation as God’s gift, and walk in repentance, obedience, and the Spirit rather than turning grace into permission to rebel.
The Seven Trumpets
A cinematic journey toward the trumpet passages of Revelation and a deeper reading of their biblical context.
Believe It Not
An examination of hidden-return and past-millennium claims through the public signs Jesus and the apostles gave: cosmic upheaval, resurrection, gathering, judgment, and the visible reign of Christ. Context—not fascination—must govern prophecy.