Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
Some people believe the rapture (gathering together of believers who are alive) is the first event in a series of events in "the day of the Lord."
They cite the idea of the rapture being like "a thief in the night" event which is sudden and stealthy. I haven't read the Left Behind series of books but that the concept of a sudden rapture is the first event that sets in motion a series of events told in action adventure novels.
Suffice to say, not all theologians agree with that particular line of thought. It is an intramural debate that has been going on for a very long time and I'll not be solving this issue in this blog post!
However, I'll describe the questions I have in my mind when I think about the possibilities. Regarding "the rapture," my questions are: is it really a "secret" event? And is it necessarily the first event in "the day of the Lord?"
My other top question is this: certainly at the time of Paul writing to the Thessalonians, Paul did not believe "the day of the Lord" had arrived yet. However, between that time and now, has "the day of the Lord" began?
The reason I pose this question is due to Acts 2:14-21. Peter cited Joel 2 in his sermon. The sequence of events is thus:
(1) I will pour out my Spirit
(2) Wonders in heaven, sign on earth, etc ...
(3) Sun darkened, moon appears bloody
(4) Great and glorious day of the Lord
The pouring out of the Spirit occurred at Pentecost.
If you run a search of "signs" and "wonders" in Bible Gateway you find a few hits in the New Testament suggesting that item #2 has occurred.
So has item #3 occurred?
Some say, yes. They take the idea of item #3 as a shorthand and symbolic way of saying an event that is so dramatic that it essentially signals "the end of the world as we know it." They would say that the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 AD qualifies as such a significant event.
I would suspect some might even go so far as to say that we are now living in item #4
Some would say item #3 has not yet occurred.
Regardless of whether #3 or #4 has happened, how are we supposed to live?
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.
In our modern world, the distinction between day and night isn't so great. But in the old days, what you did in the day was very distinct from what you did at night. In the day, you worked the fields if you were in an agrarian community which most people were. But even if you didn't make your living working the farmland, you most likely worked in the light of day in various crafts.
Today, you can flip on a light switch and keep working. But in the old days, it probably wasn't realistic to fire up enough light to do much work at night. I suppose if your work involved a big fire like metal working you might be able to work at night. But the point is that we are children of the day and there were good works associated with the day and we are to refrain from the bad sins that were associated with the night.
Paul also brings in an military armor metaphor with a breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation.
image source:
http://www.niximperial.com/npics/2151.jpg
Faith, hope and love are the prime Christian virtues. The breastplate covers the torso which contains the vital organs and a helmet protects the head which is the most vital organ! Thus, these virtues in abundance protects the believer. Paul revisits this idea more expansively in Ephesians 6:10-18.
UPDATE: As I contemplate the imagery some more, I'm not sure if protection is the key idea. I think perhaps it is identity? When you look at the breastplate there are markings on it. Also, the helmet has a distinctive shape. Is it possible that in the Apostle Paul's mind, he sees the Christian as having a breastplate marked by faith and love and a helmet marked by hope? Thus, just as certain insignia might say, this is the 9th company of the 11th battalion of the Roman Guards, the markings of faith, hope and love marks someone as a Christian?
image source:
http://www.swordsandarmor.com/images/H13_Roman2.jpg
Lord, whether the day of the Lord is here or not, I don't know. But what I do know is that you want me to be a child of the day and of light doing the good deeds that manifest faith, hope and love. God forgive me for the many times I am not living up to this kind of life. Give me strength to put on the breastplate and helmet so I can do battle in this world with good deeds that point people to YOU. Amen.
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