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. 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.
1 Thessalonians 5:3-8
As you may well know, God was intentional with the writing of His Word. He specifically chose who would write His words and share His heart for His people and this world. He chose them based on many factors, the least of which is not their time and place in history. When God chose Paul as a contributor to His Holy Word, God knew that Paul lived under Roman Empire rule and that the church in Thessalonica would need encouragement. He also knew that the encouragement that they needed was timeless in a way that we can relate to. God also knew that some of the historical context (such as those things taken for granted as common knowledge in the Roman Empire) would be naturally lost on us. These things take digging for us to understand. Once found, however, we gain a fuller picture of God’s heart for us. Let’s do some digging:
When Paul references “peace and security,” he is not merely referencing a general lack of war and safety.* The Roman Empire at the time was known for providing peace and security to those regions that they overtook.* Often that “peace and security” came at a price.* Furthermore, the “peace and security” that the Roman Empire lauded served as a propaganda statement found on idolatrous shrines erected to leadership.* In fact, many in the Roman Empire viewed Julius Caesar as divine and Augustus as “the son of God.”*
Get this… the Roman Empire promised peace and security through their version of the “son of God.” Imagine the difficulty for Paul and the Church in Thessalonica when they began telling the Roman world that Jesus was the Prince of Peace and the one true Son of God?!
When Paul tells the Church not to fall into the ranks of those who say, “peace and security,” he isn’t inviting them to be doomsday prophets. He is instructing them to remove themselves from the popular views of the surrounding culture that lead to destruction.The reference to labor pains is important. Notice that Paul did not say “contractions.”* In our day, contractions are an expected process of childbirth that expecting mothers are encouraged to breathe through (not an easy thing). In the time of Paul, birth pains were something quite different. Birth pains often accompanied birth, and they often ended in death.*
The death rate in childbirth was so high that the life expectancy of women was no more than the 20s or 30s.*
When a woman became pregnant in the time of the Church in Thessalonica, the reality of birth required that she celebrate the life within her while recognizing the risk of death for herself. Soberly, we realize that in the coming of the Lord, it will mean exciting life for some and grievous death for others. The deciding factor, however, is not good doctors or medicine, but in the case of the return of Christ, the determining factor is our relationship with Him.The idea of nightly activities during the time of Paul was a little more sinister than today. Due to the metaphors and depictions of Hollywood and perhaps our own life experiences, we would acknowledge that darkness makes good coverage for ill-deeds. What we may not know, however, is that during the time of Paul, there were no street lights and no one worked overnight shifts.* The night was specifically reserved for sleep or wrong doing.* To walk the streets at night would either mean you were up to no good or that no good was about to come to you.
These facts from the historical context of the writing of Paul helps us understand the weight of what Paul is trying to communicate and thus what God wants to communicate to us today. With these new perspectives 1 Thessalonians 5:3-8 again.
We live in a world that promises all sorts of things that only God can provide. We must recognize who our true Savior is while allowing who He is to remind us of who we are in Him. We are not of this world, so we should not walk in the destructive ways of this world. There is a readiness required for the return of the Lord… and that readiness is simply to walk in His ways. What is that way? It’s a way of love, faith, and hope.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to remember where your peace and security comes from. Perhaps today God wants to show you more ways to live as a child of the Light. Maybe today God wants you to grow in love, faith, and hope.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
Feel free to comment at the bottom of this page! We would love to hear from you!
*Holmes, M. (1998). 1 and 2 Thessalonians (pp. 167–168). Zondervan Publishing House.
Shogren, G. S. (2012). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (pp. 203–209). Zondervan.
Green, G. L. (2002). The letters to the Thessalonians (pp. 232–241). W.B. Eerdmans Pub.; Apollos.
Kim, S., & Bruce, F. F. (2023). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (D. B. Capes, Ed.; Second Edition, Vol. 45, pp. 421–435). Zondervan Academic.
Morris, L. (1984). 1 and 2 Thessalonians: An introduction and commentary (Vol. 13, pp. 94–97). InterVarsity Press.
Beale, G. K. (2003). 1–2 Thessalonians (pp. 144–150). InterVarsity Press.
Weima, J. A. D. (2014). Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament: 1–2 Thessalonians (R. W. Yarbrough & R. H. Stein, Eds.; pp. 347–364). Baker Academic.