1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 - The Sudden Arrival Of The Day Of The Lord

¹ Now brothers, you do not need to have anything written to you about the times and dates [i.e., of Christ's second coming], ² for you know perfectly well that the day of the Lord [i.e., when He returns, See II Thess. 2:1-2] will arrive like a thief coming in the night. ³ [For] when people are saying, "Peace," and "Safety," then [is when] destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not be able to escape it. ⁴ But you brothers are not in the dark about that day, so that it sneaks up on you like a thief, ⁵ for all of you people belong to the light; you belong to the daytime. We do not belong to the night or to darkness. [Note: In this passage "light" and "daytime" refer to spiritual illumination, while "darkness" and "night" refer to spiritual ignorance]. ⁶ So then, we should not be [spiritually] asleep, like the rest [i.e., the unsaved world], but we should be alert and sober [i.e., in control of our senses]. ⁷ For people sleep at night, and get drunk at night [i.e., generally speaking]. ⁸ But, since we belong to the daytime [i.e., are enlightened], we should be sober. We should put on the "flack jacket" of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of being saved. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to [suffer His] wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ ¹⁰ who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep [i.e., alive or dead], we could live together with Him. ¹¹ Therefore, [continue to] encourage one another, and build each other up [spiritually], just as you are also doing.