Day of the Lord

Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but  to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing. I Thessalonians 5:1-1

“times”—kairos—occasion, proper time. “seasons”—same word, kairos, according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. Set occasion. Due time. The Thessalonians didn’t need Paul to write them about a timetable for the return of Jesus, because timetables don’t apply to the Church. Timetables are the program for Israel. Israel’s designated time as a priest nation to God was interrupted by Jesus’ atonement on the cross and His resurrection. The Church was born a new species and is growing into adulthood for an undisclosed period, known only to God. At His pleasure, the true Church will be suddenly snatched out of the earth, and Israel’s time will resume.

Paul reminded them that they had been thoroughly taught, concerning the day of the Lord, that it will come like a thief in the night. In the time of this epistle, thieves didn’t sneak in during the daytime, while everyone was at work. It was a different culture then, and the thieves would suddenly burst into a household in the middle of the night while everyone was sleeping, and take all their valuables in one swift raid. The illustration is about surprise. Suddenly, when the world has been lulled into a sense of security and no one suspects a change, the Church will be gone and the great tribulation will have begun. Notice Paul said “sudden destruction will come upon THEM (the unbelieving world), like a pregnant woman’s labor: sudden, sharp, painful judgment from God.

“Day of the Lord” – an extended period of time, beginning with the tribulation and including the events of the second coming of Christ and the millennial kingdom on earth. It will begin unexpectedly, like a thief in the night (Ryrie Study Bible note on ch. 5:2). So the “day of the Lord” will last at least 1,007 years—then come the final battle and final judgments.We, the Church, will be spectators to this, maybe even have some participation; but we will be in our eternal state. The day of the Lord is about Israel. 

This sudden judgment coming to the world will catch them unawares, but our time here may be short, so as children of the light we’ll do well to remain alert to our opportunities and responsibilities, taking full advantage of any time we have to present Christ to the world, and to warn the world of the coming judgment. Our spiritual breastplate is made of faith and love. Faith is what we know about our Lord and love is how we apply that knowledge in our circumstances of life. The breastplate protects the vital organs and keeps us from being mortally wounded by Satan’s fiery darts. Our helmet, which protects our thinking apparatus, is our hope (absolute, confident assurance) of our salvation IN CHRIST. Satan will try every trick to convince us we are hopeless, sinful losers whom Jesus has abandoned to the evil. That is Satan’s LIE. We who have believed in Jesus Christ are IN HIM for all eternity, and when He comes for His Bride, we are going with Him.

Verse 9 assures the Thessalonians and us we are not destined for God’s wrath, but to receive and realize the salvation that Jesus provided for us by His atoning death. This applies to Church-age believers who have died physically and it applies to Church-age believers who are physically alive at His coming. We are not the recipients of His wrath, but of His eternal life. Let’s keep one another reminded of this truth, encouraging each other as the time grows near.

Those of us who love the Lord and His precious, perfect Word know what it is to also love one another, because of that common bond. Even so, there is a lot of confusion between brethren about doctrines, especially the end-times prophecies. Paul made it clear to these Thessalonian believers that reading the “times” and looking for “signs” is not productive activity for the Church, because there just are not any schedules for us. We walk by faith, not by sight, and that means depending on God’s Word and God’s perfect provision for us day by day, as we live our lives in the devil’s world. No need to be looking for the “next event” that indicates Jesus’ soon return. The next event for the Church is our rapture. That could happen tonight. There will be no warning lights. We will just disappear. Doncha love it?