But concerning the times and the season, brethren,
you have no need that I should write you.
For you yourselves know perfectly
that the day of the Lord so comes
as a thief in the night.
For when they say, "Peace and safety!"
then sudden destruction comes upon them,
as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.
And they shall not escape.
But you, brethren, are not in darkness,
so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-4, NKJV
Just like the disciples, the Thessalonian believers wanted to know that all-engrossing question: WHEN? Jesus gave his disciples various signs to look for and told them, "When you see all these things, know that it is near--at the doors" and "When you see these things begin to happen, look up, lift up your head, your redemption is near." When they asked about the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, Jesus answered, "It is not for you to know times or season which the Father has put in his own authority." His answer to the question "when" is the same answer Jesus gave, so Paul is in good company when he answers enigmatically, "You have no need that I should write you about times and seasons. They will come upon you like a thief in the night, like the labor pains of a pregnant woman."
And here Paul introduces a well-known Old Testament concept into the Thessalonian vocabulary--The Day of the Lord. Peter used the term on the day of Pentecost when he was quoting the prophet Joel about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, and he will use it again in his second epistle when talking about the second coming of Christ, the renovation of the earth and heavens by fire, and the creation of the New Heavens and the New Earth. It is a phrase of prophetic significance that does not denote a twenty-four hour period, but rather covers the span of the Last Days--from the day Christ returns for his Church to the day he makes all things new, a time period at least 1007 years long.
The Prophet Joel, preaching in the mid-9th Century BC, was the first one to employ the term "Day of the Lord", and his usage shows that it was a time of judgment and wrath coming upon Israel for their disobedience to God. Other prophets took it up, adopted it in their own proclamations regarding the same, and now Paul is using it to expand upon the Old Testament thought with New Testament revelation. Like Jesus, Paul says, "You may not know the day nor the hour, but you can know the season by the signs of the times." And then he gives 16 more key facts regarding the Rapture, the Resurrection, and the Return of Jesus Christ.
20. The Day of the Lord--the day or time of judgment and fulfillment--will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. Jesus said if you knew what hour the thief was coming, you would be ready for him. Instead, he breaks in when least expected and breaks up whole households. In that day, some will be taken and others will be left.
21. The Day of the Lord will come when 'they' say "peace and safety". When the whole world seems to be on the verge of final, man-made peace and prosperity, that's when destruction will come.
22. The Day of the Lord will come like labor pains upon a pregnant woman. Jesus employed the same labor-and-delivery imagery in speaking of the signs of the times, "the beginning of sorrows" that signal the nearness of the birth. These labor pains are not unexpected, but they are unpredictable and unavoidable, and they will grow more and more intense until the day of the Lord is fulfilled.
23. The Day of the Lord will come, and 'they' will not escape. Those who weren't looking for it and watching the signs will not escape it.
24. The Day of the Lord will not surprise believers.
But you brethren, are not in darkness,
so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
You are all sons of light and sons of the day.
We are not of the night nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as others do,
but let us watch and be sober.
For those who sleep, sleep at night,
and those who get drunk are drunk at night.
But let us who are of the day be sober,
putting on the breastplate of faith and love,
and as a helmet the hope of salvation.
1 Thessalonians 5:4-8, NKJV
And why will the day of the Lord--the coming of Christ and the ensuing judgment--not surprise believers?
25. Believers are children of the light and of the day; we can see what's happening.
26. Believers are not children of the night or of the darkness.
27. Believers do not 'sleep' (or die) as unbelievers do; we die fully aware of what's coming.
28. Believers are alert and aware.
29. Believers do not let sleep, death or drunkenness dim our sight.
30. Believers wear their hope of salvation as a helmet. Our hope is in Jesus Christ, who will save, rescue and deliver us from the horrors of the Day of the Lord.
For God did not appoint us to wrath,
but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep,
we should live together with Him.
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another,
just as you also are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11, NKJV
31. Believers do not have an appointment with any part of God's wrath.
32. Believers do have an appointment with salvation, including physical rescue, through Jesus Christ.
33. It doesn't matter whether we live or die--we are always alive with Him.
And as is his oft-repeated pattern, Paul closes his letter with a prayer:
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely;
and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Thessalonians 5:23, NKJV
34. When Jesus comes back, every part of our being and existence will be preserved--body, soul & spirit.
35. When Jesus comes back, we will then be blameless because our salvation has been fulfilled.
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