As a Thief in the Night
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Last week, we looked at the well-known passage of 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. This passage is in common use among students of prophecy, and many theories of “rapture” have emerged from this study. It is also commonly used at funeral to give comfort to the bereaved that their deceased brother or sister in Christ is with Christ, and that there will be a reunion with them one day. We also learned that this is not a blanket comfort as it is reserved for Christians only. It is the true hope of Christians, but it is a false hope if offered to non-Christians who will wake to eternal judgment. Therefore we must warn the unbeliever of their true future and challenge them to repent.
This week we pick up on the same theme of offering comfort. We see this in the last verse of the passage in 1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” Comfort comes from being reminded of the true state of affairs which is based upon the truth of Christian doctrine. In this way, comfort is seen in the light of admonition as well. What is important is that we live Christian truth. Doctrine has implications. It forms the basis of what we should or should not do. Comfort comes from the belief that Jesus shall return, we shall be reunited with our Christian brethren who have fallen asleep. We shall ever be with the Lord. But we also find admonition in that we must also check our conduct.
In this passage, Paul reminds us that Jesus shall return as a thief in the night. Jesus also talked much about the suddenness of His return in several places such as Revelation 22:12 and Matthew 24:44. As the return of Christ is what we hope for, we get a little impatient to see that day come. The eleven disciples asked Jesus before He ascended whether the Kingdom would be restored at the time the Holy Spirit fell upon them. They understood the time until Pentecost was short. they obviously expected the establishment of an earthly Messianic kingdom. But Jesus clearly teaches that this will not be the case and that the time of His return is based upon the will and timing of the Father (Acts 1:6-7).
The Thessalonians were also eager for the return of Jesus. All Christians should be. Paul addresses the idea that the return was imminent. The emphasis in Christian doctrine is the suddenness of His appearance. When Jesus says as we see in the Book of Revelation that He is coming quickly, it really emphasizes that when the proper time comes that it will come suddenly, or as Paul puts it in 1 Corinthians 15:52 it will be in “the twinkling of an eye. In Greek the word is literally “in an atom.” We understand that an atom is the smallest unit of an element that retains the property of the element. We now know there are sub-atomic particles such as protons, electrons, neutrons, quarks, and such, but none of these retain the elements properties. when we apply this idea to the realm of time, it refers to the tiniest division that time can be divided and still be time. There will be no time for repentance at that point.
Paul gives the Thessalonians a clue to those times. It will be a time in which people cry for peace and safety. It means that the times will be turbulent. But when in history has the world ever been safe and peaceful. there have been times of terrible war, plague, and famine throughout history. there have been massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, meteor strikes, hurricanes, and such. The bible teaches that at the end times that these things will increase. It seems that this time is quickly coming to the world today. After all, how much worse can it get. People are alarmed at moral decay, the forsaking of God, trans-humanism, climate change, fear of killer asteroids, nuclear war, and what pandemic might be coming next. The world senses catastrophe. It is easy for us to get swept away by these fears. this is why we must remember who God is, what Jesus has done for us, and the promise of His return lest our hearts fail us with fear. But is this the certain sign that He is coming in the immediate future? It may very well be, but things could get even worse. No one knows when He will return. This, too, is Christian truth. We must remember that the Lord apparently delays His coming in our eyes. Peter addressed this in 2 Peter 3-9. He is not willing anyone should perish. This is why He is long-suffering. We should also notice 2 Peter 3:10: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” So, we need to warn all unbelievers and urge them to repent and receive Christ. This is what we must do.
What else must we do? We are reminded that we already know that Jesus shall return as a thief in the night. the believer should not be overtaken or taken by surprise about this truth. We are the children of light and should not be overcome by the deeds of darkness. We are not to be like drunks in the night who are insensible to what is going on. We have heard the story of men who were given a “Mickey Finn” (strong alcoholic beverage), became insensibly drunk and woke up as a sailor in the Royal Navy. They were free until they were made drunk. Now they were slaves.
Jesus warns us about servants who are insensible to their master and their duties. He talks about a master who left his servant to run the plantation as he went on an extended journey. the servants were given their tasks and expected to be gainfully employed in them. But the time came that the servants grew weary and forgetful of the fact that the master was going to return and stopped living in this expectation. Some began to get drunk and others beat their fellow-servants. But one day, the master returned. Those whom he found busy and faithful to their tasks were rewarded. Those who were unfaithful would be cut in two and appointed to eternal punishment where there would be weeping and wailing of teeth. We should notice that these are servants of the household and not those of another household. This means us. Will some share in the judgment of the unbelievers and hypocrites? Jesus would not have warned if these things were not so. (see Matthew 24:44-51) Peter tells us to make our calling and election sure (2 Peter 1:10).
Paul admonishes us to put on the breastplate of faith and love as well as the helmet of hope and salvation. Paul is making a paraphrase of Isaiah 59:17 where it says the “breastplate of righteousness.” He also quotes it in Ephesians 6:10 and following in a more extended treatment of putting on the full armor of God. Here he just mentions the breastplate and helmet. Nevertheless, Paul teaches us that we need to be properly equipped for fighting the christian warfare. The fact that in Ephesians he tells us to put on the shield of faith and here includes it with the breastplate. He reminds us in 2 Corinthians 10:4 that we do night fight with carnal weapons but these mighty ones God has provided us. By this, we shall be ready to be good Christian witnesses.
Now we come to the place that Paul reminds us that we are not appointed to wrath but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord. These are words of true comfort. This is often quoted by those who hold to a pre-tribulation rapture to prove that we shall be raptured before the wrath of God is poured out upon the earth during the Great Tribulation. Even though this may be the case, I think we miss an important point. Just because we are not subject to the eternal wrath of God, this does not mean that we shall not be subjected to the wrath of man. Christians have suffered gruesome tribulation from the world ever since Jesus walked the earth. We might also add that Christians have suffered alongside the non-Christian the ravages of war. War, directly or indirectly, is the curse of God upon humanity. So our hope is not in some sort of escapism. If the return of Christ occurs mid-tribulation or even post tribulation, would we be ready? I think the fact that so many sincere Christians have differed on this as well as the scholars, perhaps we need to be a little more humble in making our pronouncements. The important thing to understand is that we shall not be subjected to the wrath of condemnation in the Great White throne judgment. Even if we suffer in this life or whether we suffer the rod of God’s correction in this life, our future is secure if we continue in the faith, which itself is God’s gift to us and not something which comes from us directly. there is comfort in knowing that the Lord fights our battles and wins the victory for us.
What I do know from the Bible in general and this scripture in particular is this. Our conduct is to be based upon Christian doctrine as we mentioned at the beginning. this means we are to live holy lives as ones who have been separated from the coming wrath of God unto the hope of eternal salvation. We know that we are called to witness to the world in the truth of the Gospel, first of all by our vocal profession, and then by how we live our lives, even when this produces times of tribulation for us in this world. We are called to be soldiers of the cross and please God and not ourselves. In this we take comfort as well as instruction. So let us not be overcome by fear of trouble from the world. Let us not be callous in looking to evade our responsibility to witness and be content in our salvation. If God is willing not any should perish, what are we doing about it. Paul suffered great tribulation in this life. I might also add that Paul caused great tribulation against the Christians before his conversion. Paul reminds the Thessalonians about the tribulations they suffered. And we should be reminded from this Scripture that “all who would live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12) But all will be made good by God in the Last Day.
We take comfort. We realize that we are frail. We all too often fail to live up to the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Our churches do not seem to be without spot or wrinkle either. We just don’t get it right. We are not consistent as we should be. this is why we must remind ourselves and each other of who and whose we are. This is when we must remember the Christian truths which Jesus and the Apostles taught us. We must remind ourselves to pray and to serve. out lives need to be entirely caught up in serving Christ in all we do. It is comforting to know a God who forgives our sin and applies correction to our faults. otherwise, we would have no hope. But what God wants us to do is to have hope. This serves as an antidote to our weakness.
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