Journal

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Bible Text:

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

¹ Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. ² For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³ While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴ But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. ⁵ For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. ⁶ So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. ⁸ But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. ¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

Reflection & Application

1 Thessalonians 5:3

“While the phrase “peace and safety” (or “security”) has partial Old Testament antecedents, its more likely context is a political one, inasmuch as pax et securitas was a popular slogan of the imperial Roman propaganda machine. The promise of peace and security was what Rome offered to those peoples who submitted (willingly or unwillingly) to Roman rule and military power; it was seen as Rome’s gift to those it conquered, virtually equivalent to an offer of deliverance or “salvation” from turmoil and danger.” [1]

• What in this world promises “peace and security”?
• What effect do these things have on a person’s attitude toward the “day of the Lord”?
• Are there some ways in which I take a false sense of comfort in things that are ultimately insecure, causing me to lose sight of spiritual realities?

1 Thessalonians 5:4-8

• What affirmative stance does Apostle Paul call the Thessalonians to in contrast to a focus on dates and times, and in contrast to the surrounding culture?
• Why is to “keep awake and be sober” the appropriate stance for those who are already “children of the light”?

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11

“For believers, the Day of the Lord is a cause of anticipation, not apprehension. At least some of the Thessalonians appear to have felt a degree of apprehension about the return of Jesus. There may be those today who share this sense of apprehension regarding the Parousia, perhaps because they associate it primarily with wrath, destruction, and judgment. Paul goes out of his way, however, to emphasize that it really ought to be a cause of anticipation. … It means that as believers we will be with the Lord forever. That is, the coming of Jesus will mean a transition to an even higher level of fellowship and life together with our risen Lord.” [2] 

• What did Jesus accomplish through his death?  
• How does this knowledge enable us to “encourage one another and build one another up” in the present? 

[1] Holmes, Michael W. “, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: 1 and 2 Thessalonians. By Michael W. Holmes, 47. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 1998

[2] Holmes, Michael W. “, NIV Application Commentary, New Testament: 1 and 2 Thessalonians. By Michael W. Holmes, 51. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, © 1998

Prayer