May it please Almighty God to
help us this evening as we meditate in the first three verses of
the fifth chapter of the first epistle of Paul to the Thessalonians. So the first epistle of Paul
to the Thessalonians, chapter 5 and verses 1 to 3. But of the times and the seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. for yourselves
know perfectly and the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief
in the night. For when they shall say peace
and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travel upon
a woman with child and they shall not escape. The Apostle, clearly under the
influence of the Holy Spirit, desires to confirm to the Thessalonians
that which would certainly come upon the earth and to alert them
to the reality that there would be the end of all things, a time
when Almighty God would return in all his power and all his
glory. And so the Apostle directs us
in this way, but at the times and the seasons, brethren, you
have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves know perfectly
And the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. You might say, well, why did
they know that? Well, the Lord Jesus very clearly told them
about that situation when he was on the earth. And when Matthew
wrote his gospel, it's very clear that he spoke about these things
and reading the 24th chapter of Matthew, and the verses 36
to 39, this is what the Lord Jesus said. But of that day,
that's the day when the last trump shall sound, and the dead
shall be raised incorruptible. And the hour knoweth no man,
no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the
days of Noah were, So should also the coming of the Son of
Man be. For as in the days that were before the flood, they were
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until
the day that Noah entered into the ark and knew not until the
flood came. and took them all away, so shall
also the coming of the Son of Man be. Well, we know not what
day that will be, but there's every indication in the Word
of God that they will come in a day of peacefulness on this
earth, because it's when it's like that, then men and women
will think everything's going to carry on as it always has
done, just like the people in the days of the flood. They've
been aware of now building that ark, for a long time. And yet
you see no doubt they jeered at what he was doing and didn't
believe it at all. But what God said came to pass. And so we should believe what
the Lord tells us in the word of God that the end of all things
will come to pass. There is a day the Father knows
which will be the last day upon the earth. A very solemn time
when the trumpet shall sound and the Lord Jesus will appear
in the clouds in the air and every eye will see him. No one
will be able to hide. We're told that men and women
will call on the rocks to cover them. but they will not be successful. And so it's a solemn day which
will come. And we're told here, yourselves
know perfectly, the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in
the night. Well, I'm sure we know what a
thief is in the night. He comes silently, usually unexpectedly,
to rob the household. And so we can believe that that
will happen on that last day of the earth. Yes, the Lord comes
as a thief in the night. It's a very clear illustration,
isn't it? We can assume people will be sleeping in their bed,
people will be getting up, people will be going about their work,
people will be playing, people will be getting married, people
will be dying, babies will be born, right until the Lord comes
in all his glory and the faith that every eye shall see him. You see, the reality is people
will say peace and safety. We know there are wars at the
moment continuing. It may be in the Lord's providence
that wars come to an end, perhaps only for a really short time. And everybody will be rejoicing
about the peace and safety and enjoying themselves in the things
of time and no concern for their eternal soul. And so the words
here are very true. You yourselves know perfectly. We are told, the word of God
explains it to us. In the day of the Lord, so cometh
as a thief in the night, and when they shall say, peace and
safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them. has travelled
upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. And we
know that when a woman goes into labour, she doesn't know when
it's going to actually happen, but it does happen. And it can't
be stopped. It comes to pass. A child is
born. And so we realise we have the
illustration so clearly set before us. Indeed, the law tells us
when the Apostle John wrote the book of the Revelation. And in
the 16th chapter and verse 15, he says, Behold, I come as a
thief. And then he says, Blessed is
he that watcheth and keepeth his garments lest he walk naked
and they see his shame. What a blessing, therefore, on
that great day we are clothed, not with our own righteousness,
which is of the flesh, but the robe of Christ's righteousness,
to realise that we, by his grace, are indeed complete in him. And going on in that same chapter
in Matthew, which we've already referred to, the Lord says, Watch
therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come, but
certain it is the Lord will come.' And what an important consideration
it is. And then just finally again in
the Revelation, and in the third chapter when the Apostle is writing
to the seven churches, in the third verse he says, remember
Therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and
repent, if therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee
as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon
thee. So really, the Word of God is
very clear, very instructed to us. to warn us the day is approaching,
when time will be no more, when the Lord returns in all his glory.
And what a blessing then if we are, each one of us, prepared
for that day. So it doesn't take us in a position
where we're not ready. The great need is to know that
we are born again in the Spirit of God, The Blessed Saviour has
died in our place upon that cross at Calvary. He shed his precious
blood in order to take away all our sins so that we are indeed
washed in the precious blood of the Lamb. As John said so
many years ago, behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin
of the world. What a blessing if you and I
can view by faith the Lord Jesus Christ and believe indeed that
we are washed in the blood of the Lamb. Well, we've just read
these three verses tonight. They're important verses. How
easily the devil comes and takes them out of our mind and yet
it's good to be reminded of them day by day and be looking for
that great time when the Lord will come in all his glory and
have the evidence that we are indeed in Christ Jesus. Well may the Lord bless his word.
Amen.