1 Thessalonians 5:4-11 – Stay alert and prepared for Christ’s return

Paul had said that the Lord’s return will be sudden, unexpected and unavoidable. Hence, it would be impossible to know the exact day of His coming. Thus, the solution to be prepared for His coming is not in knowing the day, but in being alert and ready, so as not to be taken by surprise.

In verse 5, Paul tells us that believers are sons of light and not of darkness. Then in verses 6 and 7, he showed the reason for the comparison. His point was that generally a thief would come in the night because in the darkness of the night, he could not be seen. Furthermore, in the night, most people would be asleep and thus would not know of the thief’s coming. As for some who stayed awake but missed the thief, it could well be that they were out drinking and getting drunk. Therefore, the call was to stay sober and alert for His coming, so that we would not be taken by surprise.

What exactly was Paul saying concerning light and darkness in verse 5? We need to know that the Bible divides time into two ages: (1) the present age usually referred to as the age of evil; (2) the age to come or the age of the Messiah. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, came to usher in the age to come. The age of the Messiah is characterized by light and is known as “day.” On the other hand, the evil age, which we are living in now is characterized by darkness and is also called “night.” Presently, these two ages overlap. Only at Christ’s return will the present evil age end.

Believers who have accepted the Messiah have entered into the new age, and are in the light. On the other hand, the unbelievers who do not have the Messiah are still living in the present age or the age of evil and are in darkness and night. Paul’s point, therefore, is whether one is ready for the Lord’s return depends much on which age he belongs to. Only as a believer lives in the light, then he will not be overtaken by surprise at the Messiah’s Second Coming.

In verses 4 and 5, believers are described as “sons of light and sons of day …” and “not in darkness ….” Since we are believers, we should stay alert. In verse 8, Paul went on to reiterate the believers’ status and urged them to go further and be armed for warfare. The armor described here is different from the ones found in the Epistle to the Ephesians. Here, he asked them to put on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet, which is the hope of salvation. This triad – faith, love and hope – corresponds with the characteristic of the church in Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 1:3). The helmet is the hope of salvation and it covers the most vital part of a believer – his mind.

At the mention of salvation, Paul’s thoughts were redirected to the blessings as a result of the work of Christ. Bear in mind that to the Thessalonians, the Second Coming meant judgment. This being the case, how could it bring salvation? The whole purpose of verses 9-11 was to allay their anxiety. Paul delineated two great blessings: firstly, believers are not destined for wrath but to obtain salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, Jesus Christ died for believers so that they may live together with Him forever. With these two great assertions of blessings, Paul urged them (and us too) to encourage and build up one another.