THE DAY OF THE LORD SO COMETH AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

The ‘day of the Lord’ is not a literal day of twenty-four hours but covers a period of time that begins after the rapture of the church and continues through the tribulation and the millennial king­dom, eventually giving way to the ‘day of God’, 2 Pet. 3. 10, 12. Although we cannot specify its precise duration we know it will last more than 1007 years, seven of which will be a time of unpar­alleled tribulation and 1000 will be of unparalleled tranquillity.

The expression ‘the day of the Lord’ is not a New Testament revelation for it occurs many times in the Old Testament, e.g., Joel 1. 15; Amos 5. 18. However, it needs to be distinguished from another day that is exclusively a New Testament truth. In Philippians 1 verses 6 and 10 we have reference to the ‘day of Christ’ and in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 8 we read of the ‘day of our Lord Jesus Christ’. These days relate to the same event and concern the review and reward of believers in heaven. In contrast, the ‘day of the Lord’ deals with events on earth, initially events concerning the outpouring of God’s wrath but subsequently they incorporate the 1000 year reign of peace and prosperity under the rule of the Prince of Peace.

The first word in today’s reading is ‘but’ so we are immedi­ately made aware that Paul is about to introduce a contrast with something that preceded. That contrast focuses on the igno­rance of the Thessalonians concerning the rapture, cf. 4. 13-18, and their understanding of the ‘times and seasons’ relative to the day of the Lord. Their ignorance concerning the rapture resulted in sorrow and vexation but their understanding of the ‘times and seasons’ was meant to result in sobriety and vigilance, vv. 5-8.

The apostle introduces the subject of the ‘day of the Lord’ by highlighting two points, one relating to its commencement and the second to its consequence. As to its commencement, it will come as ‘a thief in the night’, v. 2. It will arrive unexpectedly, taking people by surprise. As to its consequence, just as travail is unavoidable to childbirth, so destruction will be unavoidable to all those who are ‘in darkness’, vv. 3, 4.