1 Thessalonians 5:3Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

By this they meant not simply those who desire it, but those who desire it through unbelief. And again, "The day of the Lord," says the prophet, "is darkness, and not light" (Amos 5:18).

So the Apostle also spoke here. And see how he comforts them. It is as though he says: let them not conclude from their prosperity that there will be no judgment.

It will overtake them in just that way. Yet one circumstance deserves attention. If the antichrist will come, and if Elijah will come, how will utter destruction suddenly fall upon them when they say, "Peace and security"?

These events, as signs of Christ's coming, would not allow that day to be unknown. But the Apostle does not indicate that time, that is, the time of the antichrist.

Nor does he say that the day of his coming will be a sign of Christ's coming. Rather, he affirms that Christ will give no advance sign of Himself, but will come suddenly and unexpectedly.

So too, he says, the time of birth does not come entirely unanticipated for a pregnant woman. She knows that birth will come after nine months.

Yet this time is very unknown to her. Some have given birth after seven months, others after nine. In any case the day and hour of childbirth are unknown.

This, then, is why Paul speaks of this. And the comparison is accurate. In truth, there are few signs of the time of birth.

Because of this many, not foreseeing it, have given birth on the roads and away from home. But in this comparison the Apostle wished to indicate not only the uncertainty of the time.

He also wished to indicate the severity of the suffering. As a woman giving birth, while playing, laughing, and foreseeing absolutely nothing, is suddenly seized by inexpressible pains and torn by the pangs of childbirth, so also will souls be struck when that day comes.

"And they shall not escape." He shows that he is not saying this about them, the Thessalonian Christians.

For this reason many women, foreseeing nothing, have given birth even after seven months, and on the roads. As they, while playing and laughing, are suddenly subjected to inexpressible pains, so the souls of those who now spend life in amusements will by no means escape torment when that day comes.

At the same time, this birth can become unexpected for her, since many women give birth before the fixed term has passed. They give birth on a journey, away from home, during work, and so forth.

For those not closely acquainted with a pregnant woman's condition, the birth of a child, if not covered by complete uncertainty, almost always seems unexpected.

This state of things can be fully applied to Christ's coming. Only true Christians will sense the nearness of the world's end and will suffer heavy pains like a woman in childbirth.

For the world, however, this manifestation of Christ to the world will be covered in uncertainty. And when they say, "Peace and security," then destruction will come upon them.

This is all the more so because, a little above (4:15), he himself presents Christ's coming as though it would occur during the lifetime of the Apostle and of the Thessalonians living when he wrote the epistle.

And the word "will come," in its Greek sense, means: "behold, He is coming."

St. John Chrysostom writes: "Listen to what Paul says: 'For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.' This means not only the universal day, but also each person's own day.

For the latter is likened to the former, because it has similarity and kinship with it. If you prepare well for your own end, you will suffer no harm from the universal end.

Whether it is far off or near will have no effect at all on the decision concerning our lot. For this reason Christ said to the Apostles: 'It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has placed in His own authority' (Acts 1:7).

As a woman giving birth, while playing, laughing, and foreseeing absolutely nothing, is suddenly seized by inexpressible pains and torn by the pangs of childbirth, so will be the blow to the souls of those people when that day comes.

And they shall not escape." "The Apostle presents the second coming of Christ from its terrifying side. He thereby gives the Thessalonians an incentive to a watchful life, lest they too fall into the carelessness of the people of this world.

That carelessness is expressed here by the words 'peace and security.' There wrath reigns and draws down the wrath of God. Yet the careless do not recognize this, because of self-delusion.

All will nourish other hopes and desires. But this is what they will meet. Perhaps the Lord will appear at midnight, like the bridegroom in the parable of the ten virgins.

Some teachers of the Church, Blessed Jerome and Lactantius, thought that this might take place at midnight on the radiant Resurrection of Christ" (His Grace Theophan).

Comparison of the Gospel passages shows a great similarity. From this the thought naturally arises of how accurately the accounts of the Lord's words were transmitted.

The Thessalonians themselves know enough about this. They know not the time of the coming, but its character. In short, they know that the time of the second coming cannot be precisely determined.

For the day of the Lord will come, certainly for careless people, not for believers who await their Deliverer with impatience. It will come like a thief in the night.

That is, the Lord's coming will be not only unexpected, but also unwanted by the majority of people. For it will deprive them of earthly blessedness and set them before the dread judgment.

That the Lord's coming, and the destruction of the ungodly necessarily joined to it, will occur unexpectedly for them, the Apostle explains immediately.

As the pains of childbirth, which may end in death for a woman, overtake her unexpectedly, during conversation, a walk, or the like, so these careless people, given over to earthly pleasures, will suddenly be overtaken by destruction.

Yet they had time to think about it, because they as though carried it within their own womb. And they must patiently await how their sufferings will end: whether they will be condemned to spiritual death or called to life (vv. 1-3).

One may suppose that the Apostle has here a hidden comparison of the Lord’s sudden appearance with a sudden assault by enemies, and with all cases of sudden calamities, such as earthquakes, storms, and the like.

“When they say.” Who will say this? Those who live before the Lord’s coming, but who have evidently forgotten about this coming. They despise the truth, neglect salvation, and indulge their passions, not thinking of the swift judgment and the decision of their final lot.

“They say,” that is, they settle in their mind and heart and rest in the conviction that peace and security are firm. Everything is calm within, and the external defenses are strong.

The foundations of well-being and safety are firm. They are like people living peacefully on their estates and thinking of nothing else except: eat, drink, and be merry.

The prophet Ezekiel sets forth a similar boast on the part of false prophets, together with God’s judgment for it (Ezek 13:10 and following).

“Sudden destruction will come upon them,” a calamity that crushes everything, destroys everything, and is inescapable. There will be nowhere to go: “and they shall not escape.”

There would be only one remedy: complete annihilation. “Mountains, fall on us.” But this will not be available. Only terror and despair will remain.

In the second epistle, the Apostle depicts the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire. It will give vengeance to those who do not know God and do not obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

They “will suffer punishment, eternal destruction, from the face of the Lord and from the glory of His might” (2 Thess 1:7-9).

The Apostle presents Christ’s second coming from its terrifying side, giving the Thessalonians an incentive to a vigilant life. He does this so that they too may not fall into the carelessness of the people of this world.

This carelessness is expressed here by the words “peace and security.” There sin reigns and draws God’s wrath, though the careless do not perceive it because of self-deception.

All will nourish other hopes and desires, but will meet this.

“As labor pains upon a woman with child.” This expresses suddenness, inevitable extremity, and the extreme painfulness of the calamity. A woman in travail knows that birth is near, but the moment of birth seizes her suddenly and unexpectedly.

So it will be with the coming of Christ (Theodoret and Oecumenius). All the signs will already be clear, but the moment of the manifestation will not be known and will descend suddenly.

“At an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Mt 24:44). “For as lightning comes from the east and appears as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be” (Mt 24:27).

Chrysostom here presents a difficulty and resolves it: “It is worth considering the following circumstance. If antichrist will come, and if Elijah will come, how then, ‘when they say, peace and security,’ will sudden destruction come upon them?

“These events, as signs of Christ’s coming, will make that day known. But Christ will not give prior signs of Himself. He will come suddenly and unexpectedly.

“Thus, the Apostle says, the time for a pregnant woman to give birth does not come entirely unexpectedly, for she knows that birth will occur after nine months.

“Yet the time is very uncertain to her. One woman gives birth after seven months, another after nine, and in every case the day and hour of birth are unknown.

“This, then, is why Paul speaks of this. Indeed, he uses a true comparison. There are not many signs of birth. Because of this, many, not foreseeing it, have given birth on roads and outside the house.

“But the Apostle wished by this comparison to point not only to the uncertainty of the time, but also to the severity of suffering. A woman in travail may be playing, laughing, and foreseeing absolutely nothing.

“Suddenly she is seized by indescribable sufferings and torn by the pains of birth. So too the souls of those people will be struck when that day arrives. ‘And they shall not escape.’”

Departing somewhat from the connection and flow of the discourse, one may enter, from the words about labor pains, into a thought about the meaning of humanity’s present state.

It resembles the formation of a child in the mother’s womb. When the moment of its complete formation arrives, the end will come for the present mode of existence of all things, and something new will be born.

In relation to each Christian, baptism is the beginning of new life. The labors of good works, the struggles of self-correction, and the sorrows of patiently enduring adversities represent the period of gestation and formation of the new man.

Death will be the birth. The whole present period until the end of the world, for all and for each, is a period of gestation.