Having dealt with
the issue of bereavement and the dead saints, he now turned to deal with the issue
of judgment and the living saints. In order to have a better understanding, we
need to understand the Biblical teaching on “the Day of the Lord.” What exactly
is this Day of the Lord? This concept had been repeatedly dealt with in the Old
Testament, especially in the prophetical writings. Suffice to say here that it
has to do with the coming judgment, particularly the end-time outpouring of
God’s wrath.
The
Thessalonians were taught about future events. However, regarding this day of
the Lord, they had a flawed thinking. They figured that if they only knew the
time that the Lord would return, it would solve their problem. They would be
free from anxiety about the future judgment. They reckoned that once they knew
exactly when the day the Lord would return, they could prepare for it.
Understandably, this was what they thought. Unfortunately, their thoughts were
erroneous and Paul had to correct them.
To be
prepared for the day of the Lord, they felt that they needed to know when the Day of the Lord would come. In verse 1, Paul was literally telling them how
wrong they were. In asking about times and epochs, the Thessalonians were
actually asking when exactly would be the day of divine judgment. Concerning
the exact timing of the Lord’s return, Paul said that no one knows. The believers
there knew this fact. Therefore, it seemed ludicrous to Paul that they should
ask the question concerning the exact timing of the Lord’s return. So in verses
2 and 3, he used two similes to refer to the timing of the Lord’s coming. One
is the thief who comes in the night and the other is about the suddenness of
the birth pangs which would come upon a pregnant woman. What was Paul conveying
in these two similes?
For the
first one on the coming of a thief, Paul was making them see that the Lord’s
return would be sudden and unexpected. In the second simile, he wanted them to
know that the Lord’s coming would be sudden and unavoidable, like the attacks
of birth pangs on a pregnant woman before the arrival of her baby. Paul’s point
was this: the Lord’s return will be sudden, unexpected and unavoidable. Just as
the labor pain is unavoidable for a pregnant woman, so also will destruction be
inevitable. No one will escape that. If there a time to repent and believe the
Lord, it must be before His return otherwise it will be too late. Everyone who rejects
Christ will be called to the judgment seat of God and be condemned. It was
flawed for the Thessalonians to try and ease their concern by trying to find
out the exact date of the Lord’s return.
For all of us believers, these
few verses send an urgency into our hearts. Soul winning must be in our daily
agenda. All mankind will either receive the joy of heavenly bliss or the dreadful
consequence of eternal damnation, when that day arrives. So let’s get going –
pray, share and evangelize - for the ultimate outcome of those within our sphere
of influence are in our hands. For God’s sake and theirs, let’s do it!
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