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1 Thessalonians 5:4-6

King James Version (KJV)

“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody

Scripture focus

4. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6. Therefore let us not sleep, as [do] others; but let us watch and be sober.

1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 — KJV

Commentary

Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 5:4

Theological / Devotional

But ye, brethren. Paul now contrasts his converts with the unbelievers who figure in v. 3.

In darkness. That is, in ignorance, and, indirectly, in wickedness. In the NT, “darkness” is frequently used for a state of spiritual poverty and reprobation (Matt. 4:16; 6:23; John 3:19; Acts 26:18; Rom. 13:12). Christians are no longer in that state (1 Thess. 5:5; 1 John 2:8-10).

That day. That is, “the day of the Lord” (v. 2).

Overtake. Gr. katalamband, “to lay hold of” (see on John 1:5), here used in the sense of catching, seizing. The informed child of God, guided by the light that streams from the Divine Word, need not be caught in the destruction of the last days. He may be adequately prepared for all that will come upon the world and its inhabitants.

By SdaBc