But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. (2) For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. (3) 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. (4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. (5) You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. (6) Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober

In the first letter to the Thessalonians the apostle Paul continues with the major underlying theme of this letter: the second coming of Christ which is addressed in every chapter of the letter. The subject of the Lord’s return is common in the New Testament with allusions to it, directly or indirectly, found in 1 out of every 20 New Testament verses. In 1 Thessalonians the Day of the Lord is presented as absolutely certain; this is an Old Testament phrase which has been carried over to the New Testament and it refers to the fact that one day God will intervene in history for judgment on His enemies or deliverance for His people. The concept of the final day is repeated so frequently in Scripture it will certainly happen or God’s word is not true – we might as well throw out our bibles.

The Day of the Lord will be sudden, unexpected and inescapable for those in spiritual darkness. There will be no alternative at the end other than life with the Lord or eternal loss – one or the other is inevitable. We who are Christians and children of God are not sons and daughters of the night and, as those of the day, we who believe the gospel and belong to Christ are not to give way to a careless unconcerned state of mind. Paul warns us to be alert, watchful and sober.

Again closing with c.s.Lewis ( everybody seems to like his thoughts) – “For it will be infallible judgment. If it is favorable we shall have no fear, if unfavorable, no hope that it is wrong. We shall not only believe, we shall know, beyond doubt in every fiber of our appalled or delighted being, that as the Judge has said, so we are: neither more nor less nor other. We shall perhaps even realize that in some dim fashion we could have known it all along.”