1 Thessalonians part 6
The Welcomed Thief | 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
I begin with a confession. I am not much of a fan of the Lord of the Rings. I should be. It’s a harrowing story of good vs. evil. It has orcs, elves, knights, and wizards—all the makings of a great story. But Tolkien’s writing is arduous. He goes into great detail over matters which need far less attention. Now, I would be a fool to say it is not a great epic, possibly the greatest of the modern era. But it’s a difficult read that I have never finished. Now, that said, the movies were pretty good. More importantly though, the books have some of the greatest inspirational quotes you will ever find in a fiction series.
For example,
“If by my life or death I can protect you, I will.”
“I would rather share one lifetime with you than face all the ages of this world alone”
But, one of my favorites comes from Samwise, Frodo’s most faithful partner in his quest to destroy the ring. He says,
I know. It’s all wrong. By rights we shouldn’t even be here. But we are. It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stores had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn’t. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
He makes this hopeful statement as everything seems lost. Evil forces have surrounded them. Their fellowship has broken by both outward forces and inward fighting. They are on the brink of death when Samwise provides this hope for the passing darkness.
Christians, we will face an ever-consuming darkness in this world. There will be times when we cannot see the light and will wonder, “how could the end be happy?” How can the world return to Eden’s Paradise when so much bad has happened? Because even darkness must pass.
We are continuing in 1 Thessalonians, and in this last half of the letter, Paul urges us to walk this life in a manner pleasing to God, just as we have been doing, but more and more. We come to a short description of how we can live knowing the impending disaster that is to come to this age. Dark times may lay ahead, but Paul calls us to remain vigilant and sober as the Day approaches.
1-3 : the day of the lord will come quickly
Paul has no need to write on this occasion, because the Thessalonians already know the day of the Lord will come “like a thief in the night.” We cannot overemphasize the point Paul has made. Jesus said Himself, “No one knows the day or hour, not even the Son” (Matt 24:36).
We do not know the time of Jesus’ Return, nor will we.
Now, the ‘thief’ analogy has garnered much attention from popular Christianity, however as Dr. Martin notes in his commentary (NAC 1, 2 Thessalonians), the analogy of a pregnant woman deserves its share of attention. In fact, if we take these analogies together, we will be less likely to say something Paul is not saying. The idea of a ‘thief in the night’ is to emphasize the unknown hour, after all, thieves rarely announce their presence or timing. But, the analogy of pregnancy reminds us that it should not be a shock when it happens. A woman who has been with child for 9 months is not unaware what is about to happen when the labor pains kick in.
These analogies drive our attention to following points in verses 4-11, but before we continue reading, let’s consider this phrase, ‘Day of the Lord.’ To what is Paul referring? What will happen when Jesus returns? For that, consider the phrase’s long history in the Old Testament.
The Day of the Lord is a day of judgement against evil—in both Israel and the nations.
Amos 5:18-20
Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, and not light,
as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
Amos warns Israel they should not look forward to the day of the Lord, because it will be a day of judgement. It is a dark day, not light. It is running from a lion only to find a bear. The similes Amos uses emphasizes the inevitable outcome of the Day of the Lord.
Isaiah 13:6-8, 13
Wail, for the day of the Lord is near;
as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
Therefore all hands will be feeble,
and every human heart will melt.
They will be dismayed:
pangs and agony will seize them;
they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.
...
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken out of its place,
at the wrath of the Lord of hosts
in the day of his fierce anger.
When Isaiah was given a vision of the coming Day, he describes a situation where both the heavens and the earth are shaken out of place. It is a cruel day for sinners as the Lord’s anger burns against a rebellious world.
Obadiah 15
For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head
Obadiah points out the day of the Lord is a reckoning for nations who have done evil. The wrath that comes upon them is a result of their own evil. It is noteworthy that God’s wrath is always consistent in its response. God gives the sinner over to the ramifications of their sin. The Day of the Lord will be the culmination of God’s judgement against a fallen world. It is a just day, because as Obadiah says, “[their] deeds shall return on [their] own head.”
Joel 1:13-15
Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests;
wail, O ministers of the altar.
Go in, pass the night in sackcloth,
O ministers of my God!
Because grain offering and drink offering
are withheld from the house of your God.
Consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders
and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God,
and cry out to the Lord.
Alas for the day!
For the day of the Lord is near,
and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.
Last, Joel gives warning to the priests of Israel. It is telling that God’s deepest warnings are against the priests of God. They, above all people, should know what God wills for His people. The priests and elders are called to gather the people to cry out to God, because the Day draws near.
But, there is Good News. Though the Day of the Lord is judgement against evil, it is a day of deliverance for the righteous.
The Day of the Lord is a day of deliverance for the righteous.
Joel 2:31-32
The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the Lord has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the Lord calls.
Notice Joel uses similar imagery as Isaiah, the heavens are shaken, but “it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” There is hope, because the Lord will call out survivors. Some will call on the Lord, and then the Lord will call them to deliverance.
Zechariah 14:9-11
And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.
The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction. Jerusalem shall dwell in security.
Zechariah describes the day of the Lord (and the events surrounding it) in some detail, but I have pulled these verses to note the inversion Zechariah describes. Jerusalem and Israel has always had nations around it which harassed them. Whether looking at its Old Testament heyday, its New Testament subjugation to Rome, or its modern day fight against Islamic neighbors, Israel is a nation which exists in adversity. On the Day of the Lord, however, the earth around Jerusalem will be laid flat and the hill on which Jerusalem sits will extend higher. Now, we can almost certainly takes these as figures of speech (though a literal interpretation isn’t far-fetched), but this description helps us understand what will happen on the Day of the Lord. The nations will go from warring against God’s people to being subjugated to God’s nation. The following verses continue this point. The emphasis needed here is simply verse 11, “Jerusalem shall dwell in security.” After the Day of the Lord, God’s people will finally have security against destruction.
It is important that we give time to these Old Testament verses, because as Christians this far removed from Christ, we tend to forget that the Jewish people already had an understanding of God’s coming judgement. This was not a new teaching from Christ. Much like every other doctrine He taught, He expanded our understanding of what God spoke through the prophets.
In fact, it is in the New Testament that we read Jesus is the Lord whom God has appointed to bring His Day. It is the role of the Messiah to execute God’s plan for redemption of the righteous and judgement for the wicked. Jesus’ first Coming was to set in place the opportunity for salvation of all nations. His Second Coming will be to receive the saved and cast out the lost.
The Day of the Lord in the Old Testament becomes synonymous with Jesus’ Return in the New Testament.
Now, to return to Paul’s metaphors, look again at verse 3. The attitude of the people will be “peace, security.” It is not necessarily that the world will achieve peace. It is simply that the world will not be ready for the sudden destruction that is to come, nor will there be any way to escape it. Paul is emphasizing the suddenness of the Day of the Lord and the inevitability of its outcome. When the time comes, the thief will be there ready or not, the baby is coming ready or not, and when Christ returns, judgement follows—ready or not.
How then do we live? : 4-11
Paul says we are not children of the night but of the day. The Day of the Lord should come as no surprise to us. The world will remain ignorant of the coming day, because they have rejected Christ. But the Christian lives in the day knowing the Day of the Lord is coming. Paul again uses two metaphors to emphasize his point.
The first metaphor is Christians are to remain awake.
As the world sleeps, unaware of the impending disaster that is going to come upon them, Christians are to be alert. We keep watch, fulfilling our duty as God’s people to continue the ministry He has given us.
The second is Christians are to remain sober.
Now, Baptists and Puritans have traditionally taken this to its literal conclusion, which is fine in terms of advocating for self-control, but it’s not Paul’s point. To be sober is to be in control of your mental capacities. It is a self-awareness that comes from conducting yourself with honor and vigilance. The drunkard loses his ability to think clearly, and then blames his behavior on the alcohol. Christians are called to remain thoughtful of their actions and daily life knowing that the Day of the Lord is on its way. I once had a pastor who challenged the congregation to ask themselves, “If Jesus returned right now, would He find me serving Him well, or in sin.”
Christians are called to be vigilant and right-headed in the time leading to the Day of the Lord.
We can expect the world to be “asleep” and “drunk.” They are going to be caught unaware at that day, and their sin has put them in a spiritual drunken state as they continue further into their sin.
Now, in verse 8, Paul summarizes our vigilant state as “sober,” but then adds yet another metaphor—that of spiritual armor. Many are familiar with Ephesians 6 in which Paul describes “the whole armor of God,” and here, he uses the same metaphor. But let’s look closely.
Faith and Love will protect our hearts.
Paul says to put on the breastplate of faith and love. The breastplate protected the soldier’s chest and heart. We tend to only think of two—the head and heart, or using our brain versus using our emotions. But, there was a French theologian, Alain de Lille, who argued there were three—the head, the heart, and the chest. The head, of course, provides our reason and logic in a given situation. The heart provides the emotion needed for empathy. But if one of these overpowers the other, it can lead to either paralyzing fear or a cold response. It takes the chest to bridge the two. C.S. Lewis picked up where Alain left off in his essay, “Men Without Chests,” arguing the prevailing academics of the 20th century would lead to raising a generation without the capacity to control either logic or emotion. I tend to agree with Lewis as we see a generation who lack the ability to curtail their passions and selfishness in order to fulfill their duties in life. It can make Christians lose heart in their fight against sin, but Paul says to strap your faith and your love around you as a breastplate to protect your heart.
Do not lose heart in the struggle against sin. Remember your faith in the One who overcame death and sin, and remember His love for this world. It is our faith and love that will provide the Christian grit to continue the fight.
The hope of our salvation protects our head.
Next Paul says to put on the helmet of the hope of salvation. Allow the hope of our salvation to protect your thinking. With our Christian grit in place, we remember this world is passing away. When our priorities are in place, we can make the right decisions. So, as we remember Jesus is returning, as we strap our faith and love around our hearts, we can then think clearly “redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Eph 5:16 KJV).
Finally, Paul summarizes this hope. God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ. The Day of the Lord was an ominous day for the Old Testament prophets. As they surveyed the coming end of this age, they were in dread for the destruction that was to come. But as they looked and saw the coming Messiah who would set the captives free and bring salvation from that coming day, they stood in awe.
Therefore, Paul once again says to “encourage one another and build one another up.” This is one more example of the great reversal that happens in Christ. The Day of the Lord should be terrifying causing us to mourn the impending disaster. And yet, in Christ, it is the Day of Salvation. When Jesus returns, we will be gathered with Him, and as John saw in Revelation, “every tear will be wiped away from [our] eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning , nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4).
So do not be caught asleep. Make yourself ready for the coming day. Turn to Jesus for cleansing of sin and eternal life while you still can. Once the Day of the Lord arrives, there will be no more time for preparation. The labor pains of this world will give way to a new Heaven and new Earth in which only those who have called on the Name of the Lord will inhabit.