1 Thessalonians 5:2

Text (1 Thessalonians 5:2)

2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

Translation and Paraphrase

2.

For you yourselves know very clearly (how) that (the) day of the Lord is coming (unexpectedly just) as a thief (comes) in the night.

Notes (1 Thessalonians 5:2)

1.

The coming of the Lord will be like the coming of a thief in that it will be unannounced and unexpected. It will NOT be like the coming a thief in being quiet, sneaky, and concealed. His appearance will be like lightning that comes out of the east and shines even unto the west. Matthew 24:27.

2.

The Thessalonians may have sent an inquiry to Paul when Timothy returned from Thessalonica: Tell us precisely (Gr., akribos) when the Lord will return. Paul here writes that they already know precisely (or perfectly) that nothing can be known on the subject.

3.

Numerous Scripture passages compare the Lord's coming to a thief:

Matthew 24:43If the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched.

2 Peter 3:10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.

Revelation 3:3If thou dost not watch, I will come as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I come unto thee.

Revelation 16:15Behold, I come as a thief; Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments.

4.

It is difficult to imagine how the day of the Lord could come as a thief if only seven years before that day every eye had seen the Lord, and all the saints had been taken out of the earth, and a great shout and the trumpet of God had been heard, and a period of great tribulation had followed.

5.

The expression, day of the Lord, is used frequently in the Old Testament. It is applied to numerous occasions when God's judgment has been poured out upon sinners. Amos 5:18-20 uses it to refer to Israel's destruction by Assyria, Zephaniah 1:14-18 uses it to refer to the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by Babylon. Joel 2:1-3 uses it to refer to a locust plague that was near at hand. It is applied to the end of the world in 2 Peter 3:10.

We mention these uses of the expression, day of the Lord, because some interpreters seem to apply automatically any Scripture that uses the expression, day of the Lord, to Christ's second coming, regardless of what the context is referring to.