Day 18 – The Day of the Lord

Read I Thessalonians 5: 1 – 11

In this passage, Paul shares some teaching concerning a period of time referred to as “The Day of the Lord.” In the Old Testament it is called “The Time of Jacob’s Trouble.” It refers to a period of time that begins with the rapture of the church, moves through the Great Tribulation and Second Coming of the Lord, and ends with a period of judgement. Whereas the rapture dealt with believers, the Day of the Lord deals with unbelievers. As you read, watch carefully for the pronouns Paul uses. When he uses “us” and “we”, he is talking about believers. When he uses “they” and “them”, he is referring to unbelievers.

At the start of this dreadful period, peace and security will dominate daily life and no one will be anticipating the tough times about to break out. When we studied Daniel, we learned in Chapter 9 that a dominate world leader named the Antichrist will come upon the scene and sign a seven-year treaty with Israel which will bring about this period of peace and security for the world. Half way through the seven years, the Antichrist will break the treaty and a time of unprecedented trouble and persecution will breakout on the earth.

Paul wants to encourage the young believers in the church there at Thessalonica and he tells them in verse 9 “God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul encourages these Christ followers to be sober minded (we might say clear minded). Stay focused and keep your head in the game. Satan uses many kinds of temptations to cloud our minds – drugs, alcohol, fear, preoccupation with things of the world, focus on ourselves. If our minds are cloudy and preoccupied with things of this world, we lose sight of our hope and can be overcome with worry.

Prayer time: Lord, I know that you will one day return to this world to defeat evil and establish your kingdom on this earth. Whether my time on this earth ends with the rapture or with earthly death, I know I can have hope because I know where I am going. Help me to be confident in the future and to live each day with the knowledge that you could return at any time.

Final thoughts: The Day of the Lord will be a time of punishment for those who do not know the Lord and a time of deliverance for those who have said Yes to Jesus. Jesus didn’t give us all the details and timing of his return but he did give us enough information for us to be confident in the future and secure in what he has planned for us.