1 Thessalonians - The Day of The Lord - Part 2

If you want to be ready, then be watchful.

"But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to 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."

Now, there are four terms in these verses that we’ve been looking at. The first is the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is that time when God intervenes in history to judge His enemies, to deliver His people, and to establish His kingdom. Good and godly people have disagreed on their interpretations of prophecy; we don’t make it a test of spirituality or of fellowship. But the Day of the Lord is going to come. It is a specific event and it is a sure event. He talks about the times and the seasons. God has His times and God has His seasons. 

Matthew 24:42: "Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming." And so when somebody gets on the radio or writes a book or gets on television and says he or she knows exactly the day and the hour, don’t bother to listen. The Day of the Lord is a specific event. It is a sure event, but it is a secret event. He uses the phrase here labor pains, travail. Now, the Lord Jesus used a similar kind of language when He talked about future events, and in fact, this phrase travail—a woman in travail—is often used in the Old Testament as a picture of sudden judgment coming. 

Now, it’s also a secret event. He talks about the thief of verse 2. "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night." And so the Day of the Lord, the times and the seasons, the thief in the night, and the travail—these four terms tell us what the Day of the Lord is like. It is a specific event, it is a sure event, it's a sudden event, and it is a secret event. When people are in false security, then they are going to say peace and safety and then sudden destruction is going to come. It's going to catch people by surprise. 

Now, he says it’s not going to catch believers by surprise, because we know that these events are coming. We don’t know when, but we’re going to be prepared for them. You see, the problem in Thessalonica was that the people actually thought they were already in the Day of the Lord. 

2 Thessalonians 2:1: "Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him"—you see, that’s what we’re looking forward to, seeing Christ and being with Him—"we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter as from us, as though the day of the Lord had come." They thought they were already in the Day of the Lord. Paul goes on to explain that before the Day of the Lord can come, there has to be the great apostasy, the revelation of the man of sin. However, our Lord can return at any time according to Scripture, and therefore we are looking for Him to come. 

Knowledge in contrast to ignorance. Now, in verses 4 and 5, we have a second contrast, that’s a contrast between light and darkness. "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." The Bible says there's no gray area; you're either in the light or you're in the darkness. 

In Genesis 1:4, God divided the light from the darkness. And God's been dividing the light from the darkness ever since. We like to live in the shady areas. We say, "Well, I want enough light to see where I’m going, but just enough darkness to enjoy some of the things of the world." Paul said we don’t live like that. A series of contrasts here: light and darkness. 

For example, God is light. 1 John 1:5: "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all." This speaks of the holiness of God. God is light. Now, without light, there can be no life. If the light of the sun were to go out, we'd all die. God is light. Now, Satan is identified with darkness. In Luke 22:53, Jesus said, "This is your hour, and the power of darkness." Hell is identified with darkness. The devil always keeps his crowd in the dark. Judas went out, and it was night, and for Judas, it has still been night. God's people know what is going on. So God is light, Satan is identified with the darkness. 

Now, saved people are identified with light. 2 Corinthians 6:14, Paul asks the question, "What fellowship has light with darkness?" And the answer is none. If the darkness comes in, there's no light; if the light comes in, there's no darkness. I recall some years ago a pastor friend of mine illustrating this whole idea of separation. Now, he wasn’t talking about light and darkness, he was talking about poison and water. And he had two glasses in front of him. In one glass was pure clean water, as pure and clean as he could get in the city. And in the other glass, he had put some ink and some other things, and there was a glass full of a dark liquid. And he took a little dropper, a little eye dropper, and he took a few drops of the dark liquid and dropped it into the white liquid, into the pure clean liquid, and we couldn't even see it. But it was there. He said, "Now, how much does it take to defile this liquid?" Well, of course, the answer is just one drop will do it. 

Now, light and darkness are the same way. In Ephesians 5:8, Paul talks about this: "For you were once darkness"—not in darkness, but darkness—"but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." Verse 11: "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them." That doesn’t mean go around making a nuisance of yourself; it means reprove works of darkness when you see them. Light and darkness speak not only of God and Satan and the saved and the unsaved, but they are also symbols of holiness and of sin. This is the message that we give to you, that God is light, in Him is no darkness at all. 

In 1 John 1:6-7: "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, then we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." There's a contrast between holiness and sin. When you think of holiness, you think of the light; when you think of sin, you think of the darkness. 

There's also a contrast between the truth and lies. "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path," Psalm 119:105. This is truth; God's Word is truth. Lies are darkness. The light of the Word of God exposes the lies in the darkness. Notice 1 John 1:6: "If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth." So on the one hand, we have truth which is light; on the other hand, we have lies, that's darkness. 

There's also a contrast between love and hate. If we're walking in the light, there's going to be love; if we're not walking in the light, there's going to be hatred. 1 John 2:10: "He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes." You see, if we're in the light, we're going to be practicing love; if we're not in the light, we're going to be practicing hatred. 

Of course, light speaks of the glory of God and darkness speaks of the shame of sin. Paul said that in Ephesians 5:11, didn't he? "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness." It is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. Light speaks of life. "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness." Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." 

But darkness speaks of death, doesn't it? Wherever there is the light of God's truth, the light of God's Word, you're going to find life. Wherever there is the darkness of Satan's lies, you're going to find death. Sin is a killer. The wages of sin is death. And of course, ultimately, light speaks of heaven, darkness speaks of hell. Jesus compared hell to outer darkness. Jude 1:13: "For whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever." That's quite a statement, isn't it? Not just darkness, the blackness of darkness, and not just the blackness of darkness occasionally, but forever. That's hell. Hell is outer darkness. Now, heaven is light. I don't know how many times I have read at funeral services the statement in Revelation 21-22 about heaven: "And there shall be no night there; they need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign forever and ever." Oh, how wonderful it is to walk in the light.

"Now we've come to the third contrast in verse 6, the contrast between watching and sleeping. 'Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.' Now what does it mean to watch? The word means to be awake, to be like a watcher. Back in those days, they didn't have the police forces that we have and all the different things that we have for protection. And so they had watches. They had watchmen on the walls, on the towers, and they would watch; they would scan the horizon watching for the enemy. Well, they had to be awake. They had to be alert. 

You see, in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, the word sleep refers to death. But in chapter 5, the word sleep refers to a moral condition, the condition of those who have never trusted the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Lord Jesus is coming as a thief. He's not coming a thief; He's not a thief. Satan is the thief. But Jesus is coming as a thief. A thief does not send you an announcement telling you he's going to come and rob your house. The thief really comes when nobody's around, nobody's watching, and then he comes in and takes what he wants. Therefore, we must be watching. We must watch carefully because the Lord Jesus is coming as a thief in the night. 

But we must also watch joyfully. You remember in the parable of the bridesmaids, five of them went to sleep and when they woke up, they didn't have any oil for their lamp. It's a picture of being ready when the Bridegroom comes. We aren't simply watching for the Lord Jesus to come; we are watching for the Bridegroom to come and claim His bride. And so we watch carefully, alertly, joyfully, and obediently. We're working as we watch and we're watching as we work. And by the way, I can't think of anything that motivates us to do a better job for the Lord than the fact that He may come back at any time. 

This matter of watching is a secret of victory. It's a secret of victory over the flesh. Romans 13:11-14: 'And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. And let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in licentiousness and lewdness, not in strife and envy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.' 

You see, when you're watching for the Lord Jesus to come, it gives you victory over the world, it gives you victory over the flesh, and watching gives you victory over the devil. He likes us to go to sleep, doesn't he? Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil goes about as a roaring lion. There is a world out there that needs to be reached, and you and I are the ones God has chosen to reach it. Now what are we going to do? Are we going to sleep, or are we going to watch and be alert so that when He comes, He can say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant'? 

Now in verses 7 and 8, we have a fourth contrast between the outsiders and the believers, the others and those of us who are saved. Verses 7 and 8 contrast soberness and drunkenness: '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.' 

Soberness. He's talking here about an attitude of mind where we have clear thinking and controlled living. That's what soberness means. Just take a person who's drunk; he doesn't know how to think clearly. He thinks he sees all kinds of things and hears all kinds of things. He lives a life of illusion. He lacks sound judgment, and certainly, he lacks self-control. He can't walk straight, he can't drive. Therefore, the opposite of drunkenness is soberness, and that means clear thinking and controlled living. 

The problem was in Thessalonica that some of the Christians had gotten into a frenzy over the second coming of Jesus Christ. They'd gone off on the extremes in prophecy. And as a consequence, their lives were not what they ought to be. For example, some of them quit work. They said, 'Well, if Jesus is going to come back, there's no sense working, and we can spend our time praying and worshiping and perhaps doing some other things.' Paul had to warn them in 2 Thessalonians 3: 'Get back to work.' The best thing you can do when Jesus comes is to be faithful. 

Now the illustration is that of a soldier. He talks about the armor, doesn't he, in verse 8? 'Let those of us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.' He said live like a soldier. A soldier is always ready—always ready to move, always ready for a new command, always ready for danger, always ready for opportunity. And he reminds us that faith, hope, and love are the pieces of the armor that we put on. Now he expands this further in Ephesians 6. 

By the way, it's rather interesting; turn to 1 Peter. You take this word sober in 1 Peter and see how it relates to faith, hope, and love. 1 Peter 5:8-9: 'Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith.' Now 1 Peter 1:13: 'Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.' Soberness leads to faith, soberness encourages hope. 1 Peter 4:7-8: 'But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers, and above all things have fervent love for one another.' There's love. Sobriety is connected with these great Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love. When a person is living by faith, living in hope, living in love, he's going to have a sober, sensible, serious life. It's too bad that many Christians go off the deep end on these things and don't get sober and balanced. 

Well, we've looked at four contrasts between the believer and the unbeliever with reference to the Day of the Lord: Knowledge versus ignorance, light in contrast to darkness, watching contrasted to sleep, soberness contrasted to drunkenness. And now, verses 9 through 11: Salvation contrasted to wrath. 

'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'—that means encourage each other—'and edify one another, just as you also are doing.' 

The culmination of all of this is going to be salvation for the believer, condemnation, wrath for the unbeliever. Now, if you have never trusted Christ as your Savior, you are condemned already right now. He that believeth on the Son is not condemned; he that believes not is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And the Book of Revelation describes this awful day of judgment and wrath. 

Well, what are you going to do about it? If you know Jesus is your Savior, then you don't have to worry about it. God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we live or die, we should live together with Him. Whether we die and go home to be with the Lord and come with Him when He returns, whether we are alive at the coming of the Lord, it makes no difference; we're going to live together with Him. He died for us, and therefore we are not going to taste of the wrath of God. He lives for us. 

In 1 Thessalonians 1:10, we have our posture described: 'And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us'—present tense—'He is constantly delivering us from the wrath to come.' And so because Jesus died for us, and because Jesus lives for us, and because Jesus is coming for us, we are not going to taste of the wrath of God. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. That is the blessed hope. 

But what about the unsaved? Well, Peter has a word about that. Turn in your Bible to 2 Peter 3:9: 'But He is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.' The fact that the Lord is going to come ought to be a motivation for you to trust Jesus Christ as your Savior. The Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, says 2 Peter 3:10. Therefore, what manner of persons ought ye to be? The Lord Jesus shall come. What part of the verse are you in? The salvation part or the wrath part? Oh, I trust you have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, experienced His salvation in your heart."