1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 5
The Christian Life Is One Long Vigil.[a] 1 In regard to specific dates and times,[b] brethren, it is not necessary to write you. 2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the Day of the Lord[c] will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” instant destruction[d] will overwhelm them, in the manner that labor pains suddenly come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no means of escape.
4 However, brethren, you do not live in darkness, and therefore that Day will not catch you unawares like a thief. 5 For all of you are children of the light[e] and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So we must not fall asleep as the others do, but we must stay alert and sober.
7 Those who sleep do so at night, and those who get drunk do so at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, arming ourselves with faith and love as our breastplate and the hope of salvation as our helmet.[f] 9 [g]For God has not destined us to suffer wrath, but to achieve salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore, encourage one another and strengthen one another, as indeed you are doing.
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- 1 Thessalonians 5:1 The Old Testament announced unceasingly the Day of Yahweh, which would be one of judgment, liberation, gathering of the people, and sometimes of all humankind (see Am 5:18-20). The image is taken over by Christians. In this framework, Paul reprises the teaching of Christ. God alone is the master of time, but human beings must keep vigil in the expectation of God (see Mt 24:36-44; Lk 17:26-37; 21:34-36; Acts 1:7).
Indeed, there is a greater difference between being a Christian and not being one than between day and night. Christians are those who can see clearly, even in the daily conduct of their existence. The Gospel of Jesus, light of the world, becomes in the very practice of life a new way of seeing that goes to the heart of the real and of human destiny. - 1 Thessalonians 5:1 Dates and times: a well-known phrase describing the end time (see Acts 1:16f). Apparently, the Thessalonians had already been instructed about the basic features of the Second Coming when Paul had visited them.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2 Day of the Lord: the Old Testament uses this phrase as a time of God’s judgment (see Isa 2:12-21; Joel 2:1, 11; Am 5:18; Zep 1:7, 14; Mal 3:23-24) but also of his blessing (see Am 5:18ff; Isa 13; Joel 3:4; 4:16-20). The New Testament uses the phrase in the same sense (see Rom 2:5; 2 Pet 2:9) but also utilizes it in other ways: e.g., the “day of redemption” (Eph 4:30); the “Day of God” (2 Pet 3:12) or “of Christ” (1 Cor 1:8; Phil 1:6); and “that day” (2 Thes 1:10). That Day is the culmination of all things prefigured by signs (see 2 Thes 2:3), but its coming will be like a thief in the night (see Mt 24:43f; Lk 12:39f; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15).
- 1 Thessalonians 5:3 Destruction: this does not mean annihilation but exclusion from the presence of the Lord (see 2 Thes 1:9), i.e., ruination of one’s life and accomplishments. And it will be a ruin that occurs in an instant. Labor pains: the stress here is not on the pains so much as their suddenness and inevitability. No means of escape: literally, “They will not escape.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:5 Children of the light: in Semitic languages, to be “children of [something]” meant to be characterized by it. Christians not only live in the light but are characterized by light.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:8 Paul makes use of a metaphor of armor that he also utilizes in Rom 13:12; 2 Cor 6:7; 10:4; and Eph 6:13-17. However, he does not affix a particular virtue to the same piece of armor.
- 1 Thessalonians 5:9 These verses provide a summary of the primitive preaching, which was wholly focused on the deliverance of humanity in Jesus Christ and on a life in union with him. Whether we are awake or asleep: i.e., whether we are alive or dead.
