Paul uses the concept of light and dark in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 to describe the difference between the church and the world. The Church, the Body of Christ, he says, is “in the light,” we are children of light. In contrast, the world is in the dark, unable to see what is really going on. What does Paul mean by “Walking in the Light”?
Paul is answering another question the Thessalonian church asked Timothy. The first question concerned the fate of those who had died in Christ: would they be left out of the Rapture? 1 Thessalonains 4:13-18 assured the church that the “dead in Christ” will rise first when Jesus returns for his church. Now Paul turns to a related subject, the timing of the Day of the Lord. This seems to be an issue for the church since Paul has already instructed them on the return of the Lord, and he must return the issue in 2 Thessalonians 2.
The church is likely asking, “When will the Lord return?” Or perhaps (like the disciples), “What will be the signs of his coming?” That Paul alludes to the teaching of Jesus in this paragraph is a hint that the question was not unlike that asked of Jesus in Matthew 24:3. But are these even the right questions to ask? Paul says you do not need to know the when or the signs of the end. Rather, Paul says that you are (as a believer) in the light, living in the daytime. So, act like it!
It may be that the Thessalonian church had been suffering persecution. Since they are suffering, there may have been a few in the church who thought this was the Great Tribulation. “But the divine wrath will not be poured out upon the church, which will instead be saved from that event (v. 9, Green, Letters to the Thessalonians, 230).” The suffering you are facing right now, even if it is really bad, is not “The Great Tribulation.” The reason is simple: the church is simply not appointed to wrath.
When Paul says wrath, I think he means the “Great Day of God’s Wrath.” He cannot mean suffering since they are clearly suffering. All Christians should expect to suffer for their faith. In the context of their suffering and their questions about the “end times,” Paul is trying to comfort a congregation that thinks they may be enduring the wrath of God.
This is an important message for American Christians who think that the government is pushing us closer to the end times. It cannot. Those are appointed times, and it will not happen any faster if the “bad guys” are voted into office. The Anti-Christ is not running for office, even if politicians are against Christ. As Gene Green says, “Paul demonstrates no interest in fueling an apocalyptic perspective to hypothesize about the end nor to foster escapism” (230).
Paul wants to use the teaching of the Day of the Lord as an encouragement to live the Christian Life as fully and completely as possible. He says that his readers are “Sons of the Light and Sons of the Day,” and since they are in the Light, they need to realize that there are some responsibilities to living in the light. If you are a “child of the light,” you should act like it!
In 1 Thess 4:13-18, Paul reassures the Thessalonians that the believers who have fallen asleep will not miss the Rapture and will taken up to heaven first. In 1 Thess 5:1-11, Paul talks about the living believers and how they need to be prepared for the coming of the Lord (TTP, 72). Paul describes those not ready for the day of the Lord as being in the night and in the darkness, and describes the believers as being in the day and in the light (TTP, 72). For those in the night and darkness, they Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night and like labor pains for a pregnant woman (v. 2-3). For those being in the day and light (the believers), though they know neither the day nor the hour (Matt. 25:13), they still can be prepared for the coming of the Lord by being awake and sober (v. 6, 8). Towards the end of this passage, Paul gives the reason we ought to be ready for the Day of the Lord, which is to secure our salvation (v. 10). Yes, it is true that believers are going to suffer and feel as though God is taking his wrath out on them, but that is not the case. God did not destine us for wrath (v. 10), but I think we suffer 1) because of original sin, 2) so we know what our eternity could be like if we choose sin, and 3) to test and strengthen our faith to grow closer to God. Our eternal salvation is the most important thing that we can obtain on this earth, with the second most important thing being telling others how to get that salvation. Paul concludes at verse 11 by encouraging the Thessalonians to build each other up and encourage each other. Another very important thing to have in a believer’s life is a strong community of people surrounding you to encourage you and build you up. The other more difficult side of that is you also need that community for correction and calling out what you may be doing wrong. You can improve yourself by only hearing the good stuff, but without the constructive criticism, you may never find out what you are lacking in and that can affect you down the road in life. This is why accountability is one of the greatest tools to a believer, that way, we are not alone in our suffering and mistakes, but we have someone to guide us along the way and help us when we need the encouragement.
This passage and its implications were very intriguing to reflect on. First, it is important to note that the Body of the Church and the world are separate. Furthermore, because the church is in the light, we should not “be caught off guard” (TTP 72). While we are to be prepared for the Day of the Lord, we do not need to know when and how this day will come about (TTP 72). Not needing to know when the Day of the Lord will happen or the signs of it brings comfort in knowing that we do not need to know the specifics rather we need to be prepared. Longenecker and Still contribute to this point in stating that the Day of the Lord will be a day of judgement for the unprepared (TTP 72). In the same way, it is interesting to know that the church in Thessalonica believed that they were experiencing the Great Tribulation due to the suffering happening amongst them. There are people in modern times that believe it is the times of the Great Tribulation. However, our suffering does not necessarily mean that it is the “Great Tribulation”. Suffering doesn’t necessarily mean that the end times are upon us, but simply are just a part of the Christian faith.
This passage is very interesting to reflect on. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 tells the difference between the church and the world. Those who have accepted Christ have the Body of Christ. It is true that we are children of light and God is the light of the world. Paul would tell us that it will be God’s time to take his people of those who died in Christ to rise and He will return to the church. We have believers, thinking the church will suffer like the Thessalonian church but it would not be appointed to wrath. Paul knows God will come in His time for Christians thinking that they are going to suffer in their faith which he is not wrong. Paul wants the congregation to understand and be prepared when it is God’s time.
Today, people still wonder when the time is going to come. There are few churches that are sleeping or not doing anything in their Christ life. People who are nonbelievers will predict or say the end of the world is going to happen anytime soon. Like, the Maya calendar people say the Mayans predicted that the world was going to end in 2012 which was not true. People who are unbelievers will do anything to try to predict the future. It is hard to have the right politicians to run office because people think they know how to trust. When the person wins from office then things will go wrong. Then you have others thinking the person is doing the right thing but we have Christians know what is going on. Paul is encouraging us to live our Christian life and be patient when it is God’s time.
Throughout the Bible, there are many examples of using the contrast between light and darkness in comparison to Christians and the world. In Thessalonians 5:1-11, the contrast is between the church and the world. The Thessalonians were struggling with persecution, believing it might be the end times. They were very concerned, as the article mentions, that they would not be going up to Heaven when the end times comes. We see this in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 where Paul says they should not be uniformed about the end times, but instead know that the Lord will come and those “who are still alive and are left will be caught up together…so we will be with the Lord forever” (v.17). Therefore, because of this hope, we should encourage each other (v.18) and live in the light of Jesus while we are on earth. We should reflect the eternal light of glory of God in heaven here on earth. Paul continues in the next chapter that the end times with come like a thief but since we are in the light, we should not be worried (5:4). Living in the light brings security and hope while living in the darkness is stumbling around, always worrying when the Lord will come to judge us. Because we belong to the light, Paul’s final instructions are to “sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate” (v.8).
As Christian’s, walking in light is a very important and is a topic that is mentioned many times in the Bible. We find one example in 1 Thessalonians 5:5 when Paul says that the Thessalonians are children of light and children of the day. Paul encourages them and tells them that since they are children of light, they need to continually walk in light so that when the day of the Lord comes, it will not surprise them. Those who belong to the realm of God and His salvation are children of light. This is because Jesus is the “light of the world,” and because we are His children, we are children of light and children of the day. Jesus mentions this in John 8:12 when he says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jesus has also mentioned to his believers to walk in the light. We are to let our light shine to those around us so that those around us can give glory to our Father in Heaven (Matthew 5:16). We are supposed to walk as lights not only to show our light to others but to cast out any darkness that we encounter in this world. When we walk in light, we will never be overcome by darkness (John 1:5).
This topic is more and more relevant as the years go by. As I began reading this blog post, I instantly thought about how the end times seem more imminent now than ever. (But then again, I say this probably every 4 years when election season comes around). There is a saying that I always say when people talk about the end times and their wanting to know when Jesus will return, I say, “His return is more closer than the last time you thought about it. So stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.” This is where we should remember that we are “Children of the Light” and to act like it. We must work while it is day(John 9:4), gaining more souls for the kingdom.
Children of the light will know what is happening in the world and recognize the seasons and the times. Those in the dark are unaware of anything and can not see. Satan has blinded their minds so they cannot see the light. (2 Corinthians 4:4) But if we are in Christ, then we are to focus on the things that we are called to do. Paul later says in his letter to the Ephesians, “…Now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light”. While the world is getting crazier and more dangerous, the children of God should rejoice and keep working. Rejoice knowing that their redemption is near(Luke 21:28). Working so that all will come to the light.
This post hits on what many believers need to hear today. We love to ask questions, make predictions, and consider when Jesus will come back. Furthermore, there are countless books, articles, YouTube series, etc., discussing exactly what the signs will look like before Jesus comes back. But what Professor Long refers to in the third paragraph highlights how off-point these questions are: Christians don’t need to know the details about when Jesus is coming back or the exact signs because they already have the information that they need to focus on and let affect their lives. This information is, of course, that they are God’s children, living in the light, and they’re called to act like it! As Paul wrote, “You are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5).
The point on appointed times not rushing in any faster because of bad things happening politically or otherwise, seems especially applicable today as well. As Professor Long has pointed out before in class, there are always predictions about end times – some point to earthquakes, some to wars/rumors of wars, some to political activity, and some to just about whatever they feel will elicit a reaction from others. Paul was not dabbling in the techniques of these people; he wasn’t interested in fueling the imagination of how the end would go, but rather was focused on comforting the Thessalonian believers who thought they were experiencing the wrath of God.
This wrath of God is the subject of a significant chunk of his letter. Paul assures that the believers don’t need to be concerned about dead believers being left behind or at a disadvantage, and instead can focus on being prepared for the coming, whenever it is. Jesus himself said, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36). The idea here is that the Lord’s children are not to be caught by surprise when he comes back. Furthermore, living lives of moral excellence and mutual encouragement are of utmost importance for believers both then and now (TTP).
Paul uses the concept of light and dark in 1 Thessalonians and I think this is a really good correlation of how the church as well as believers should be in this dark world. We should act in love, hope and encouragement, being like mirrors facing Jesus and then reflecting His light into the world. I liked when you said “all Christians should expect to suffer in their faith” I feel as though some people think that if they accept Jesus as their savior their life gets easier. While there is some truth in that, Christian face persecution and opposition because of their face everyday. However we are called to remain bold and steady in our faith and also have confidence in the return of Christ. However in this time of Thessalonica they thought they were suffering because of the end times, during this time Paul is comforting the people about the wrath of God. We can see this in our culture today, the government, people we think are the Anti-Christ all have us questioning if these are the end-times but like you said nothing can push us closer to the end times and I think this is a good reminder to faithful to God not the government or people of this world because like Matthew says only God know the day and the hour (Matthew 24:36).
I catch myself again and again going back to verse 11, “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” It seems that Paul is invoking all of the language regarding light and darkness, being sober and alert, into the reality of how we conduct ourselves toward one another. Being in the light is not merely a personal awakening but of how the Body of Christ keeps itself in the already not yet. If the day of the Lord comes as a thief, then the way that we stay ready is not merely by avoiding drunkenness or laziness in the spirit, but by consciously building up each other in faith, hope, and love. That shifts the responsibility of the passage for me. Instead of simply hearing it as a call to personal discipline, it also becomes a picture of how the church is called to stay awake in a world that is dominated by darkness. We believers can’t stay awake alone. We stay awake together, challenging one another who we are in Christ and what we’re waiting for. Would you conclude that verse 11 is the integrating key to the whole section, or would you say that Paul’s first interest is still with the contrast between light and darkness?