1 Thessalonians 5:1

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. — 1 Thessalonians 5:1–6

The day of the Lord falls as a thief upon the sleeping world—but the children of light are called to watch, wait, and work.

A Different View, Studied in Context

Two weeks ago, as we finished the fourth chapter, I mentioned that the view I hold on this passage in 1 Thessalonians 5 may differ from what you'd hear on the radio or in other evangelical churches. I make no apology for that, but I want to emphasize what we always teach here at Calvary Chapel: study things in context and consider what the passage actually says.

You have probably heard or been taught that the rapture of the church is going to come "as a thief in the night." How many have heard that teaching? It comes from this very passage. But that is not what this passage says.

"Of the Times and Seasons"

Paul writes, "Of the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you." Jesus said in Acts 1:7, just before He ascended, when His disciples asked if He would now restore the kingdom to Israel, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power." And three times in Matthew 24 and 25 Jesus said, "Of that day and hour knoweth no man, but my Father which is in heaven."

Why does Paul say he need not write of times and seasons? First, the Thessalonians and the first-century church believed they were already living in the time of Jesus' soon return. We saw that in chapter 4, where Paul wrote, "we which are alive and remain." Second, the Old Testament prophets and the teaching of Jesus reveal certain indications about those times—prophecies that are fulfilled regarding the end. Did you know there is more said about the second coming of Jesus than about His first?

In Luke 12:54, Jesus said to the crowds, "When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is." He rebuked them: "Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?" We should be able to discern the times—and that is why Paul says he need not write of them.

The Day of the Lord Is Not the Rapture

Paul continues: "for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." The common teaching is that the rapture comes like a thief in the night, but that is not what Paul said. Words are extremely important in Scripture; God has exalted His word above His name.

So we must ask: what is the day of the Lord? Is it the same as the rapture? No. The phrase appears in both Testaments—more in the Old—about 29 times, and every occurrence is a bad thing. Isaiah 2:12: "the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty... and he shall be brought low." Isaiah 13:6: "the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty." Isaiah 13:9: "the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger." Isaiah 34:8: "it is the day of the LORD'S vengeance." Jeremiah 46:10: "this is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance."

The day of the Lord is always a day of judgment, vengeance, and punishment—a day of terror, darkness, and shame upon the proud, the lofty, the sinners, the enemies and adversaries of God. It is clearly not the same as the rapture.

The rapture is a comforting thing. Jesus said in John 14, "Let not your heart be troubled... In my Father's house are many mansions... I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." That encourages the troubled heart. But wrath, vengeance, shame, and destruction are fearful things. Amos 5:18 says, "Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD!"—a day of great darkness and inescapable judgment.

Upon Whom Does It Come?

The day of the Lord comes suddenly and silently—but upon whom? Notice verse 3: "For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them... and they shall not escape." Circle the word "they." It comes upon the people saying everything is okay—those with a false sense of security, living at ease in foolishness. The day of God's wrath will come upon them swiftly and silently.

The Feast No Man Knows

Jesus three times said, "Of that day and hour knoweth no man," and the context is the day of judgment. Now, every culture has idioms that only its own people understand. Here in America we say, "He's a happy camper." Say that in Germany and they'll look at you and say, "Was?"—it makes no sense to them. Most of us here are Gentiles, non-Jews, and we understand little of Jewish history and culture.

It is very interesting that "the day or hour that no man knows" is a Jewish reference to the Feast of Trumpets. In Leviticus 23, God instituted seven feasts of the Lord—four in spring, three in fall. The Jews saw them as remembrances of what God had done, but God saw them as remembrances of what He was going to do, for Paul tells us they have their fulfillment in Christ.

Consider the spring feasts: Jesus was crucified on Passover, lay in the tomb on Unleavened Bread, was raised on Firstfruits—Paul calls Him "the firstfruits"—and the Holy Spirit was poured out on Pentecost. These significant events were fulfilled to the day. That should make us perk up.

The fall feasts are the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot). For many centuries, many in the body of Christ have believed that the day of the Lord—the day Jesus returns, not the rapture—will take place on the Feast of Trumpets. As the angels told the disciples in Acts 1, "this same Jesus... shall so come in like manner." Zechariah tells us He will set His feet on the Mount of Olives and begin that time of judgment—"multitudes in the valley of decision."

Why the Feast of Trumpets? It is the only one of the seven feasts that falls on the first day of the month. The Jewish calendar is lunar—thirty-day months, calculated by the new moon. In ancient times, before any computers, watchmen among the priests waited in Jerusalem, and when the new moon appeared they announced it by lighting torches on the hilltops—an ancient text message, their Twitter post. Because the precise day was uncertain until the new moon was sighted, the feast was observed over two days and was called the Hidden Feast, "the feast that no man knows the day or the hour." Could Jesus be saying He will bring this judgment on the Feast of Trumpets? Sir Isaac Newton—father of physics and also a serious theologian who spent his last twelve years studying Daniel—believed Jesus' second coming would be on the Feast of Trumpets.

The Thief in the Night

"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." The day of the Lord should not overtake you and me as a thief overtakes a man.

"The thief in the night" is another Jewish idiom. It refers to the captain of the temple. I'd encourage you to look at Alfred Edersheim's book, available free online at philologos.org. Edersheim, a nineteenth-century Christian scholar of Jewish history, writes that during the night the captain of the temple—also called the thief in the night—made his rounds among the 240-plus temple guards. As he approached, each guard had to rise and salute him, saying "Peace be with you." But if any guard was found asleep on duty, he was beaten, and his garments were set on fire. Edersheim notes this punishment was actually carried out, and applies it to us, who as it were are on temple guard: "Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments."

This is exactly what Jesus speaks of in Revelation 3. To the dead church at Sardis He says, "Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain... If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." To the lukewarm church at Laodicea He says in verse 18, "I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire... and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear." Who wore white linen? The priests. He tells these naked, ashamed priests to be clothed and to anoint their eyes that they may see.

In Revelation 16:15 Jesus says, "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." A guard whose clothes were set on fire would cast them off and be left naked and ashamed. Jesus says we ought not to be found that way.

Watch, Therefore

In Matthew 24:42, Jesus said, "Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched... Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Luke 12 says much the same: "Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching... Be ye therefore ready also."

The day of the Lord is not a good day—a day of wrath, vengeance, judgment, darkness, and dimness. Woe to those who desire it. It is certainly not good to be taken unaware as by a thief. Therefore we are told to watch.

Why are people not watching? Jesus' three parables in Matthew 24 and 25 give the reasons. Some are foolish, wicked servants who say, "My lord delayeth his coming," and give themselves to eating, drinking, and drunkenness. Others are at ease, saying all things continue as they were, asking, "Where is the sign of his coming?" Peter warns of this very danger.

Sadly, many in the church today have that mindset. They argue that Paul and Peter believed Jesus would return in their lifetime, and since twenty centuries have passed, He's not coming. There is a large movement, especially among those following Reformed theology, moving into preterist theology—believing all these prophecies are already fulfilled, so they are not looking for His coming. That is dangerous. Like the unwise virgins of Matthew 25, they have fallen asleep, are at ease, or are living in sin, and the Lord will come in an hour when they look not.

They Shall Not Escape

Paul says in verse 3 that "they shall not escape." Today is the day of salvation—the opportunity for the world to find refuge in Christ. But when God begins to pour out His wrath upon a Christ-rejecting world, many will try to flee, and it will be too late.

Amos continues after 5:18: it is "as if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house... and a serpent bit him." The day of the Lord is inescapable. You outrun the lion, the bear gets you; you escape the bear, the serpent bites you. Isaiah 24:17 says fear, the pit, and the snare are upon the earth—he who flees the fear falls into the pit, and he who climbs out of the pit is taken in the snare. Revelation 6:15 shows the kings, great men, and mighty men hiding in caves and rocks, crying for the mountains to fall on them and hide them "from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"

Children of Light

"But ye, brethren." After such a heavy message, verse 4 is a wonderful upturn. "But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day."

Are we ready when He comes? The three parables after Matthew 24 teach us. The wicked servant given to drunkenness—the point is be ready. The ten virgins, wise and unwise—the point is be watching. The talents, where the servant who hid his talent was judged—the point is be working. We are to be waiting, watching, and working until the Lord comes.

Why? Because at the end of Matthew 25 the Lord divides the sheep from the goats. To the sheep on His right He says, "Blessed are ye... when I was hungry, ye fed me; thirsty, ye gave me drink; naked, ye clothed me; in prison, ye visited me." When did we? "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these, ye have done it unto me." To the goats on His left He says, "Depart... for when I was hungry, ye gave me no meat." When did we not? "Inasmuch as ye did it not to the least of these, ye did it not to me." In Luke, Jesus says, "Occupy till I come." When He comes, those He finds watching, waiting, and working He will catch up to Himself, and we shall ever be with the Lord.

Let Us Watch and Be Sober

"Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." Paul echoes Romans 13:11: "now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light... not in rioting and drunkenness... but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ."

"For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night." We are children of the day, not those who have fallen asleep, not those given to drunkenness or the things of this world. Paul is referencing Jesus' parables. The sleeping speaks of the wise and unwise virgins of Matthew 25:5, where the bridegroom tarried and they all slumbered—but only those who were ready went in to the marriage, and the door was shut. "Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." The drunken speaks of the wicked servant of Matthew 24 who said, "My lord delayeth his coming," and ate and drank with the drunken—and the lord came in an hour he was not aware.

So Paul gives the application in verse 8: "let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation." He calls the church to watchfulness and sobriety—walking with our eyes wide open, ready for His coming.

Not Appointed to Wrath

We are also given great encouragement in verse 9: "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." What a blessed truth.

I do not believe tribulation and wrath are the same thing. Christians all around the world are experiencing tribulation. Jesus said in John 16, "In the world ye shall have tribulation." Paul said all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. The United States is an amazing anomaly. We think the liberty we enjoy as Christians is normal; it is not. For over 234 years we have enjoyed religious liberty without great tribulation or persecution. But around the world there is persecution, tribulation, and distress in the church, and that may come to our nation one day. It would not mean we've missed the rapture—it would mean we're experiencing the troubles the rest of the world endures. But we know for certain we are not appointed to wrath.

Why? Because Jesus bore the wrath for us. We obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, "who died for us" (verse 10). He took the wrath of God upon Himself. Scripture describes God's wrath as a cup; He drank it to the dregs. In Gethsemane Jesus prayed, "If it be possible, let this cup pass from me"—the cup of wrath. God has taken it from our hand and put it into His. And "whether we wake or sleep"—whether we live until He returns or die and are with Him in heaven—"we should live together with him." We will be with the Lord.

Comfort One Another

What is the application? Verse 11: "Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." Comfort one another and build one another up with this truth: we are not appointed to wrath. But we, the church, need to be ready. The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night upon those who are not watchful. For you and me, the Lord could come at any moment, and we should be watching so that we are ready when He comes. May we be so found—watching.

A Word and Prayer for Our Leaders

I don't generally speak politically from the pulpit, but I was stirred, and I think it's the Lord. At this very moment in Washington, D.C., there is a vote going on. The nation is divided; statistics say 70% are against this bill. There is a mixed multitude here, some for, some against—that's fine. What matters is that Scripture commands us to pray for those in authority. Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:1, "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." And in verse 8, "I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." Let us lift holy hands to God, praying that He would give wisdom to our leaders.

Closing Prayer

Father, we come before You. We thank You that we have lived in a nation with this republic, this form of government, where the voice of the people is heard and should be heeded. So, Lord, we pray for our leaders in our capital at this very moment that are voting. We pray for wisdom. As the Scriptures command, we lift our hands without wrath or doubting. We are not establishing a mob to march on Washington—we come before You, as Your word says, and pray for wisdom. Your wisdom that is from above is peaceable and good. We pray for the leaders gathered on Capitol Hill today, and we ask for Your direction. The heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord; would You direct? And, Father, we look forward to Your soon return, because Your word says when You come there will be no death, no sickness, no need for health care, and You will wipe away every tear. So we say, come quickly. You are our King. We praise You today. In Jesus' name. Amen.