that death presents to Christians: to live out their beliefs when it is most difficult to do so. (3) What we know and believe about the future ought to shape how we live in the present. While Paul’s subject was the fate of believers who had died, his audience was believers who were alive, and his last word is to them: “Therefore encourage each other with these words” (4:18). Paul clearly expects the information he has imparted to the Thessalonians to affect their attitudes and behavior. If the assumption