Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 1 Thessalonians 5:2

"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." — 1 Thessalonians 5:2 (ASV)

For this reason he could say to the Thessalonians, “You know very well” the features of “the day of the Lord.” Their previous learning on this subject had been adequate and specific, including pertinent teachings of Christ (Matthew 24:43).

The focus is on “the day of the Lord.” This “day” (GK 2465) has multiple characteristics as described in the Bible. It is so associated with the ultimate overthrow of God’s enemies (Isaiah 2:12) that it sometimes means “judgment” (1 Corinthians 4:3). It will be a day of national deliverance for Israel and a day of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:9), but it will also be a day when God’s wrath puts extended pressure on his enemies (Isaiah 3:16–24; Isaiah 13:9–11; Jeremiah 30:7; Zephaniah 1:14–18; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 2:16; et al.). By using “day of the Lord” terminology to describe the great tribulation, Christ includes the tribulation within its framework (cf. Matthew 24:21 with Jer 30:7; Daniel 12:1; Joel 2:2). This time of trial at the outset of the earthly day of the Lord will not be brief, but comparable to a woman’s labor before giving birth to a child (Isaiah 13:8; Isaiah 26:17–19; 66:7ff.; Jeremiah 30:7–8; Micah 4:9–10; Matthew 24:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:3). Growing human agony will be climaxed by Messiah’s second coming to earth, a coming that will terminate this earthly turmoil through direct judgment. He cannot personally reappear on earth, however, until this preliminary period has run its course with Armageddon and other tribulation visitations (Revelation 6–19). If Christ’s triumphant return to earth (Revelation 19:11–21) is part of the day of the Lord, as all admit, divine dealings preparatory to it must also be part of it.

But this earthly wrath does not pertain to those in Christ (v.9). They will meet Christ “in the air” and be separate from what God does with those on earth. The only way to hold that this meeting with Christ (i.e., the rapture) is an imminent prospect is to see it as simultaneous with the beginning of the divine judgment against earth. Only on that basis can both the Lord’s personal coming and the “day’s” coming be compared to a thief (cf. 2 Peter 3:4, 10; Revelation 3:3, 11; 16:15). They can arrive at any time (cf. 1:10), the “thief in the night” imagery marking the unexpectedness of both imminent events.

The Thessalonians had been instructed about these matters, though later they were to be deceived regarding them (2 Thessalonians 2:1–2). Yet even with their present knowledge they had difficulty in applying the truths in a practical way while waiting for the day. So Paul seeks to alleviate this difficulty in the rest of this section.