1 Thessalonians 5:1-9 “But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. (2) For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. (3) For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. (4) But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. (5) You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. (6) Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. (7) For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. (8) But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. (9) For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Holy Spirit, in His letter to the church in Thessalonica, counsels the saints on the earth to watch and be sober. For in the scripture quoted above, we see that the saints on the earth who watch and are sober, will not be taken by surprise when our Lord Jesus returns. In fact, the apostle Paul is so confident of the fact that the church on the earth will be aware of the Lord’s imminent return, that he says that he has no need to write to us concerning times and seasons. Conversely, it is just as clear that the saints, who choose not to watch and be sober, will be taken by surprise at the coming of the Lord Jesus. However, in that same passage of scripture, it is very plain to see that the ones who will be clearly taken by surprise when the Lord returns, are all the unbelievers who will be dwelling on the earth at that time. For the scripture reveals to us that as far as the world is concerned, that they would have reached a stage where they could finally proclaim that peace and safety had been attained in the earth. It will be in that instant, that sudden destruction will come upon them.
Michael E.B. Maher
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