snatching away living victims but Christ snatching away from death those who belong to God. The scene culminates in the astonishing claim: “and so we will be with the Lord forever.” In this context of the crisis at Thessalonica, Paul offers profound consolation. To be “with the Lord” is to be safe, as is clear in the parallel statement in 5:9–10 (compare Rom. 8:31–39). To be with the Lord is to be beyond the reach of evil, remote from the touch of pain. This is also a further claim about the Lord’s
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