The Second Coming of Jesus

I Thessalonians 5:1-11

We live between the crucifixion and the coronation of Christ. Four truths in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 will help you to be ready for the return of Jesus.

1. Expect a Surprising Day

“For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2).

When Jesus Christ was ready to ascend to Heaven, the disciples were with him. “And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me’” (Acts 1:7-8a).

Anybody who sets a date is disobeying the Lord Jesus Christ. (See also Matthew 24:36.) Christians, get your head out of the clouds of prophecy, and get your feet on the pavement of soul winning.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

2. Escape Sudden Destruction

“For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:3-4).

Paul is talking about the Great Tribulation, when God will pour out His wrath upon this world. If you know the Lord, you will escape it.

“There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book” (Daniel 12:1b).

3. Endure Surrounding Darkness

The world is already in moral, spiritual, social, and political darkness. What should you do, as a Christian?

• Wise up. 

“You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness” (1 Thessalonians 5:5). We are the only ones in this world who can make sense of what is going on.

• Get up. 

“Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night” (1 Thessalonians 5:6-7). Jesus said, “Do business till I come.” (See Luke 19:13.) Get busy.

• Dress up. 

“But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation” (1 Thessalonians 5:8). You need to love Jesus Christ, and one another, to live in these dark days of the end times. And does “the hope of salvation” mean “I hope I’m saved”? No! The Bible uses the word hope to mean absolute certainty based on the Word of God.

4. Experience Sure Deliverance

“For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:9-11).

The Great Tribulation is the day of God’s wrath for the unsaved. God chastises His children, but never pours His wrath upon them.

“Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians 4:17).