Home Topics Index Download
Transcript 513E
Comments on I Thessalonians 5:1-11
HC: Good evening. Welcome to Open Forum.
CALLER: Yes. I wanted to comment on I Thessalonians 5:1-11. It seems like today a lot of people are really hung up about the Second Coming of Christ to such an extent that they I think sometimes forget the Good News of the first coming of Christ. And I was wondering if in your opinion Paul was in these first 11 verses of Chapter 5 telling those who are saved, don't get too obsessed about that. When the Lord decides to come, He'll come, and that's it. But perhaps the important thing is to be thankful that you're a child of the day, that you're saved. And as far as looking for events in the Middle East, or anywhere in the world, that's just superfluous, or completely unnecessary, that if we're really saved, we'll want to, through our faith in Christ, through the Spirit, live the right type of life. I was wondering if you could address that question.
HC: In I Thessalonians 5, God through the apostle Paul is speaking about the day of the Lord. And in doing this He is giving us some very important insights. In fact, one or two of them are not found anywhere else quite as clearly in the Bible. For example, He is indicating in this passage that Christ does not come as a thief in the night for the born again believers. We read in Matthew 24, in connection with the coming of Christ, that He comes as a thief in the night. We read in II Peter 3, where it says that the elements will melt with fervent heat, that He will be coming as a thief in the night, or as a thief. We read in Revelation 16, where it talks about satanic activity right up until the end and the Battle of Armageddon, that it talks about Christ coming as a thief. And if we look at only those references, we might obtain the conclusion that Christ is going to come silently, or He's going to slip up on us before we know it, and we will have no warning, that He'll come as a thief in the night for everyone.
But in I Thessalonians 5 God is giving us the very important truth, and it's been missed by a great many theologians, that insofar as this language of the Bible concerning Christ coming as a thief in the night is concerned, it does not apply to born again believers. Verse 4: "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. For ye are children of the light [that is, children of Christ – this is a double meaning here], you are children of the day [again it's got a double meaning, because the day again refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Day]." And therefore we are not surprised. We are ready for His coming.
And of course in that sense it is a warning to all who read the Bible, be sure that you are ready when He comes. Matthew 24 outlines the warning, where God again and again says, "Watch, watch, you don't know the time." And the only way you can be ready, that you really are watching, is to make sure that you are born again.
And so our caller is correct of course that God is saying the important thing is, be sure that you are ready. And then this day will not slip up on you. But on the other hand, He is also giving a very important truth, that Christ is coming as a thief in the night for the unsaved, and that when He does come it will be sudden destruction for them.
There are lots of people who I think, in their subconscious or even in their conscious brains, are hoping that when Christ comes, then they'll decide on the course of action that they will follow. They'll argue with God that their good deeds are greater than their bad deeds, and therefore God ought to have mercy on them. Or they'll plead for mercy. Or they'll see what most people are doing and follow their lead, or whatever.
But God is insisting here that when Christ comes, He will come as a thief in the night. That is, He will come altogether unexpectedly for the unsaved. They are not ready for His coming in any way. They are laden with their sins. They are not born again. And it will be a terrible day. Sudden destruction will come upon them. And there is no escape. Notice the language of verse 3: "And they shall not escape."
And so while on the one hand God is comforting the believers and telling them not to be too concerned about this, on the other hand He is warning the unbelievers in the congregation, or anyone else who is unsaved, who comes in the hearing of the Gospel, "Be careful now. When Christ comes, if you're not ready, it's too late. There's going to be sudden destruction upon you."
And then of course we also have the marvelous promise of verse 9: "For God hath not appointed us to wrath," that is, to stand for judgment and give an account of our sins and be removed into hell, because of course our sins have all been paid for by the Lord Jesus Christ, and we do not come into judgment, as John 5:24 teaches.
But then it goes on, "but to obtain salvation by Our Lord Jesus Christ." And it goes on with these comforting words, "who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep we shall live together with Him. But wherefore comfort yourselves together, edify one another, even as also ye do."
And so if we are saved, we don't focus on the end of time with any fear or apprehension. We know from the rest of the Bible that they will be difficult days for various reasons. We know that they will be days of great tribulation. The Bible indicates this very clearly. But we are ready. And the only apprehension we have is that we know of all the unsaved, friends and loved ones, who will not be ready and who will be caught in this snare of sudden destruction. That is, they will be cast into hell because of their sins.