1 Thessalonians 5:1–11

Original Meaning

“Times and Dates” (5:1–2)

THE STARTING POINT in this passage is the issue of when the Lord will return. As in 4:13, Paul appears to be responding to a Thessalonian question. It cannot be determined, however, what prompted it. It is often suggested that the question about the timing of the Day of the Lord arose out of an intense (perhaps even overheated) interest in or curiosity about when that Day would come, and that Paul was trying to moderate or control this “eschatological fervor.”

But in view of (1) the way in which Paul goes out of his way to assure the Thessalonians of what they are (children “of the light” and “of the day,” 5:4, 8), (2) his reminder that “God did not appoint us to suffer wrath” (5:9; cf. 1:10), and (3) the way he encourages them to encourage one another (5:11), it is possible that the Thessalonians’ question was prompted not by curiosity but rather fear and concern about the fate of the living believers at the time of the Parousia. That is, the question here may closely parallel the question behind 4:13–18. There the concern was for the fate of deceased believers at the Parousia (would they miss it?), while here the concern is for the fate of living believers at the Parousia (who apparently did not want to be caught unprepared for the coming wrath that would accompany it; cf. 1:10).2

The words translated as “times” and “dates” (chronōn and kairōn, “times and seasons,” KJV, NRSV; cf. Dan. 2:21; 7:12) are in the New Testament period basically synonymous (cf. Acts 3:19–21). Together they form an idiomatic phrase whose meaning here is essentially “when” (cf. Acts 1:7). The event about whose timing the Thessalonians are curious is identified in 5:2 as the “day of the Lord” (cf. 2 Thess. 2:2; also 1 Cor. 5:5). In the Old Testament this was described as a day of judgment for the opponents of God, but a day of deliverance for the faithful (e.g., Isa. 2:1–4:6; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31–32; Amos 5:18–20; Zeph. 1:14; Zech. 14). Paul consistently carries over this double aspect of the “day of the Lord,” which he also terms the “day of our Lord Jesus [Christ]” (1 Cor. 1:8; cf. 2 Cor. 1:14), or simply as the “day of [Jesus] Christ” (Phil. 1:6, 10; 2:16), or even just “the day” (1 Thess. 5:4; 2 Thess. 1:10; cf. 1 Cor. 3:13). The phrase designates the same event as the Parousia (1 Thess. 4:15) of Jesus. Paul likely switches terms here because his emphasis falls more on the aspect of judgment than deliverance.

As to when the Day will occur, Paul writes that there is nothing more he can say on the point (“we do not need to write you”), since the Thessalonians already “know very well” the only thing one needs to know about “when” it will occur: It “will come like a thief in the night” (5:2; cf. 2 Peter 3:10; Rev. 3:3; 16:15). The most likely source of this metaphor is the teaching of Jesus (cf. Matt. 24:43//Luke 12:39), where this expression occurs in a context stressing the necessity of readiness or watchfulness (Matt. 24:44//Luke 12:40)—a theme Paul picks up in 5:4–6. Its use here throws emphasis on the unexpectedness of the Day’s arrival and on its threatening character as a time of judgment for those who are unprepared.

Bridging Contexts

CENTRAL POINTS. A common (and often effective) first move when bridging contexts in the Pauline letters is to identify the problem or question that generated Paul’s comments. But since we do not really know what prompted Paul to address the topic of the Day of the Lord, a good alternative first move is to identify the central points Paul makes in response. These include at least the following:

(1) No human being knows when the Day of the Lord will come (5:2).

(2) To unbelievers (who are asleep, “clueless,” and “in the dark”), the coming of the Day will be a sudden and unexpected surprise (5:3, 5).

(3) To believers (who are “with it” and “in the know,” because “the lights are on” for them), the coming of the Day will not be a surprise (5:4).

(4) In contrast to unbelievers, who have a false sense of security (5:3), believers have genuine security in the salvation grounded in the death (and, by implication, resurrection) of the Lord Jesus Christ (5:9–10).

(5) For believers (regardless whether they are dead or alive at the time), the coming of the Day of the Lord will mean life together with him (5:10).

(6) In the meantime, we should stay alert (5:6) and disciplined (5:6, 8) as we encourage and build up one another (5:11; cf. 4:18) in faith, love, and hope (5:8; cf. 1:3).

After identifying these central points, an important second move is to highlight Paul’s central focus in this passage. In 5:4, it becomes clear that Paul’s primary concern is not to develop the implications of the Day of the Lord for unbelievers but rather to spell out clearly its implications for believers. As in 4:13–18, his focus is not on passing along information for its own sake, but on developing the implications of that information about the future for how the Thessalonians should both think and live in the present. Thus, having said in 5:2 all he can about “when” the Day of the Lord will occur, in 5:4 he directs his readers’ attention away from the question of “when” to the matter of how they should conduct themselves in light of the unexpectedness of its coming. This strongly suggests the direction that any application of this passage ought to take.

Two secondary points. Beyond this, there are in this passage at least two substantial points that Paul touches on but does not discuss. Clearly, they are of no more than secondary interest with respect to this particular passage. But in some circumstances (such as working with new believers), it may be appropriate (or even necessary) to give them more attention than they receive here. (1) A significant aspect of Paul’s theology underlies 5:9–10, where he alludes to but does not develop his theology of the cross. To grasp more fully his understanding of the death of Jesus and its significance, it will be necessary to bring in passages such as Romans 3:24–26 (cf. 5:6–10) and 2 Corinthians 5:19–21.9 (2) A difficult question that arises out of 1 Thessalonians 5:2–3 is that of the fate of unbelievers on the Day of the Lord. Paul is so focused on the significance of the Day for believers that he simply does not develop this other issue. (He does, however, take up this point in 2 Thess. 1:5–10.)

A potential pitfall. Finally, we must avoid a major temptation when dealing with this passage: the temptation to speculate about—or even claim to know!—when the Day of the Lord will occur. No time in church history appears to have been free from people who have attempted to discern the time of Jesus’ return. Certain periods or eras, however, have been plagued by it far more than others, generally because of calendrical or social conditions. The approach of the year 1000, for example, generated turmoil in parts of Europe, where the expectation that the world would end is said to have been widespread. In the fourteenth century widespread plagues and famines led many to think that the end was near, as did also the religious and political turmoil of the Reformation era.

The origins of groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists can be traced back to nineteenth-century date setters. And now the late twentieth century—because of the combined effect of the approach of a new millennium and the founding of the modern state of Israel in 1948—is overrun with its own plague of date setters. The early 1970s saw Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth (which, while scrupulously avoiding setting a date, nonetheless left the clear impression that 1988 was the year). More recently Edgar Whisenant gave eighty-eight alleged reasons why the Rapture would happen between September 11 and 13, 1988; when it did not, he then announced with even more conviction that 1989 was the year.10

Now, as the twentieth century draws to a close (I am writing this in 1997), the hypnotic, almost magnetic, effect of the coming millennium (combined, no doubt, with the lure of quick profits) is drawing date setters out of the woodwork. Representative advertisements that have crossed my desk recently include ones for The Return of Jupiter (the ad copy for this book, on the back page of the February 1997 issue of a magazine I have, reads: “A terrible earthquake is going to break the oceanic Earth crust under the Pacific Ocean by the year 1996 A.D.”), Earth’s Two-Minute Warning: Today’s Bible Predicted Signs of the End Times, and The End: Why Jesus Could Return by A.D. 2000 (ad copy: “50 Events Pointing to the Return of Christ by A.D. 2000! … Get your copy while there is still time!).

Not surprisingly, the tabloids are getting into the act, with headlines like “Judgement Day’s exact date, time, and place” (January 31, 2001, in the Sinai region), or “The Date Jesus Will Return to Earth” (answer: “Unknown to the world, Jesus Christ will return to Earth on Dec. 25, 1997, ushering in an era of perfect peace and harmony, after a massive comet strikes our planet and eradicates most of mankind on Dec. 31, 1999”), appearing frequently on their covers. Nor is it a surprise, given today’s cyber culture, to find Websites devoted to prophecy and the future.

In view of what both Jesus and Paul have to say about when Jesus will return (cf. Mark 13:32: “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”), there is one thing we may confidently conclude about all attempts to identify in advance the date when Jesus will return: They are all wrong.11 The temptation to try and figure out the date should be recognized for what it is, a temptation. Like most temptations, it distracts us from what we ought to be doing instead: encouraging and building up one another.

Contemporary Significance

MUCH OF WHAT Paul says in this passage sounds as if it were his application of the teachings of Jesus, specifically Matthew 25:1–13 (the parable of the ten virgins) and Luke 12:35–46 (exhortations to watch and be ready). Especially striking is Luke 12:42–46:

The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

Key points emphasized in those two Gospel texts, alertness and discipline, are exactly the ones that Paul emphasizes (cf. 5:6, 8). Taking this into consideration along with the summary of Paul’s key points and primary focus given above suggests the following theses as a starting point for the contemporary significance of this passage.

The proper preparation for the coming Day of the Lord is service rather than speculation. Human beings are naturally curious, especially about the future. Add God to the mix, and it is easy to understand why speculation about the return of Jesus is so attractive and fascinating to so many people. But while it might seem like a harmless activity, there are several potential negative aspects associated with it. (1) Since no one knows when Jesus will return, speculation about when he will return is largely a waste of time, time that could be better invested in more productive activities.

(2) It often produces a waste of resources. When the Gulf War against Iraq broke out in 1991, publishers rushed to market updated editions of previously published books on Bible prophecy, seeking to cash in on the heightened interest in the Near East in Bible prophecy that the war generated. Not long afterward, one could hardy give these books away (one widely advertised book by a “name” author was later available by the case for forty cents a copy). This does not strike me as good stewardship of our time, energy, or money.

(3) Speculation about dates can lead to behavior that brings needless ridicule to the gospel. Numerous Korean Christians in the early 1990s were not the first, nor will they likely be the last, to sell or give away property (or, conversely, run up big credit card debts), quit jobs, and generally withdraw from society to wait for an end that did not come when predicted (much to the amusement of secular society).12

(4) Finally, speculation feeds the development of a crisis mentality with regard to the return of Jesus. It generally feeds on fresh information—for example, a war, a major earthquake or natural disaster, some change in Europe that might possibly be construed as having something to do with the rise of a reconstituted Roman empire—that prompts people to ask if this could be a sign of the end. As Douglas Moo points out, “by doing so, they imply that Christ’s return can be imminent only if the signs—as they interpret them, of course—are in place.” The danger “is that Christians will adopt the appropriate eschatological mindset only in times of crisis” and pay less attention (if any) at other times.13 In light of 5:3 (“while people are saying, ‘Peace and safety’ ”), there is irony in this “crisis approach,” since Paul’s words at least allow for the possibility that Jesus will return at a moment when people think a crisis may have just passed.

This “crisis approach” is the opposite of what Paul recommends. In contrast to this binge-like approach, he advises self-control and discipline; in contrast to paying attention only in times of crisis, he urges alertness at all times. And in contrast to idle speculation, he recommends encouraging and building up one another—things we should be doing anyway. His mention of faith, love, and hope in 5:8 provides a clear pointer to what he has in mind: The “work produced by faith,” the “labor prompted by love,” and the “endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ” (1:3). In short, Paul is calling us to stay alert and to keep busy: to conduct ourselves as though Jesus may return soon (which he might), and to minister as though his coming may be delayed indefinitely (which it might).

Practically speaking, this is a matter of combining a short-term attitude with long-term planning. A short-term attitude is one that does not take the future for granted; it is an attitude that remembers that the future is in God’s hands, not ours. Jesus told a parable about a “certain rich man” who said to himself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” Yet that very night he was called to meet God (Luke 12:16–21). This man had an attitude the opposite of the one that Paul encourages us to adopt, in that he forgot that the future was in God’s hands, not his own. To summarize, Paul wants us to plan and minister for the long haul, but to do so with the attitude he shared with James: “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that” (James 4:15, italics added).

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.

He gives at least three reasons for this anticipation. (1) It means that as believers we will be with the Lord forever (a point Paul makes twice; cf. 4:17; 5:10). 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) Even though wrath will be one aspect of the return of Jesus, God has destined us for salvation rather than wrath (5:9), which is the very thing from which Jesus will deliver us (1:10). (3) As Paul will say in a later letter, nothing—not even death or God’s wrath—can “separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39).

The only source of genuine security is God, not human institutions. As I noted above, pax et securitas, “peace and security,” was what Rome offered to the peoples under its power and domination, and to many it was an appealing slogan. The same slogan is no less appealing today in the tumultuous world of the late twentieth century, where political, economic, and social turmoil leave many, many people with a deep longing for some degree of stability and safety. Even in the United States, which in comparison with much of the rest of the world enjoys unprecedented levels of peace and security, there is a deep sense of unease and insecurity. Its massive military power cannot guarantee domestic security, as the terrorist bombings of the World Trade Center and the federal office building in Oklahoma City have demonstrated. Its massive economic power does not guarantee personal economic security, as waves of corporate “down-sizing” and layoffs have shown.

Marketers have not been slow to exploit the resulting anxiety. Investment firms promise financial security. Ads for dead bolt locks, personal protection devices, and gated communities promise personal security (a promise now even making its way into automobile advertising). Ads for various other products promise to secure our health or future in other ways.

But from Paul’s perspective, any and all such claims are illusory and deceptive. No social institution can guarantee our future. No economic organization or enterprise can guarantee our economic security. No form of government, whether it be a liberal welfare state or fascist regime, a “Committee for National Salvation” or an anti-government militia, can deliver on the promise of peace and safety. In an age when we are bombarded with promises of peace and security, it is important to remember that the only genuine source of eternal peace and security is trust in God and his Messiah, Jesus Christ the Lord. That, and that alone, not promises of peace and security, will deliver us from the wrath and destruction that will accompany the coming Day of the Lord.

To summarize: As believers today we should not become so fascinated by (or apprehensive about) the future return of Jesus that we fail to be his ministers in the present. Thessalonian concerns about the fate of those who died before the Parousia and questions about its timing did not, for Paul, override the need to practice philadelphia, “love for brother and sister”; on the contrary, they provided concrete occasions for its exercise. So too it is today: A proper understanding and awareness of the return of Jesus will energize us in the present, as we comfort and encourage one another in the midst of difficult circumstances, confident in the hope of a salvation grounded in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

Original Meaning

“Peace and Safety” (5:3)?

BOTH OF THESE aspects are developed in 5:3 (which, like 5:2, draws heavily on Gospel tradition; cf. Luke 21:34–36). At a time when all appears well, “destruction” will arrive with the suddenness of labor pains (a common biblical image for pain and agony, though here the emphasis is more on the suddenness with which they begin). Anyone who is not “with the Lord” (cf. 4:17) will certainly not (the negative is emphatic) escape (any more than a pregnant woman can avoid the inevitable labor pains).

While the phrase “peace and safety” (or “security”) has partial Old Testament antecedents (Jer. 6:14; 8:11; Ezek. 13:10–16; Mic. 3:5), 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.3 But from Paul’s perspective, any such claims are illusory and deceptive and therefore dangerous. Only trust in God will deliver one from the “destruction” accompanying the coming Day of the Lord.

“Destruction” (or perhaps “disaster”) can indicate loss of property, death, or eternal punishment. In 2 Thessalonians 1:9, the phrase “eternal destruction” stands as the opposite of “eternal life.” Here, however, where the adjective is “sudden” rather than “eternal,” the idea seems to be one of some sort of historical catastrophe or disaster, perhaps as a foreshadowing or anticipation of an eternal loss or judgment to follow.4