1 Thessalonians– Chapter Five V

by Ed Urzi

“But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:4).

“Light” is a Biblical metaphor that is often used to represent God’s nature or those behaviors that correspond with His character. Perhaps the clearest expression of that idea is found in the New Testament epistle of 1 John…

“This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:5-7).

Jesus also made use of this concept when He said, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life” (John 8:12). In addition, Jesus adopted this idea for His disciples to apply on a personal level…

The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness” (Luke 11:34-35).

In comparison, the Biblical equivalent of “darkness” is often used to represent evil, falsehood, or inequity…

“And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (John 3:19-21).

In contrast to the God of light, the Scriptures identify Satan and his associated behaviors with the concept of darkness. One source summarizes these concepts in the context of 1 Thessalonians 5:4…

“He repeats that the coming of the day will be sudden. It will come like a thief in the night. But he also insists that that is no reason why a man should be caught unawares. It is only the man who lives in the dark and whose deeds are evil who will be caught unprepared. The Christian lives in the light and no matter when that day comes, if he is watchful and sober, it will find him ready.” (1)

(1) Barclay, William. “1 Thessalonians 5:1-11”. “William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/dsb/1-thessalonians-5.html