1 Thessalonians 5:4Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"The day of the Lord," he says, "will come like a thief in the night." As a thief can do no harm to those who are watchful and dwelling in the light, even if he manages to enter, so also that day will do no harm to those who live as they ought.

On the contrary, it departs after stripping entirely of everything those who again place their hope in present goods.

He says to them: "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you as a thief. For you are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not sons of night, nor of darkness."

May we accomplish what we sang to our Lord, with His help. Every day is made by the Lord. Yet not without reason does Scripture say of one day in particular: "This is the day which the Lord has made" (Ps 117:24).

When God made heaven and earth, we read that He said: "Let there be light. And there was light" (Gen 1:3). "And God called the light day, and the darkness night" (Gen 1:5).

But one thing is the day firmly established for us and worthy of special mention, of which the Apostle says: "Let us conduct ourselves properly, as in the day" (Rom 13:13).

This is day in the ordinary and commonly known sense, brought about by the rising and setting of the sun. Another thing is the day by which the Word of God shines in the hearts of the faithful.

It drives away the darkness, not of the eyes, but of evil morals. Therefore let us recognize it also, and in this day let us rejoice.

Let us listen to what the Apostle says: "For we are sons of light and sons of the day. We are not sons of night, nor of darkness" (1 Thess 5:5).

According to St. John Chrysostom's explanation, "Here the Apostle speaks of a dark and impure life, because wanton and evil people do everything by night, hiding from everyone and surrounding themselves with darkness.

For tell me, does not the adulterer wait for evening, and the thief for night? Does not the one who robs graves carry out his work by night?

A thief can do no harm to those who are watchful and dwelling in the light, even if he manages to enter. So also that day will do no harm to those who live as they ought."

"Sons of light, sons of Him who is the light of the world, are those who are enlightened by the Gospel teaching, guarded by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and bright in knowledge and hopes.

Sonship to the light means not only belonging to the realm of light, but also receiving it into oneself, being penetrated by it, and becoming in a certain sense light-bearing, though by participation" (Eph 5:8; Mt 5:16; Jn 3:18; Lk 16:8).

"By setting forth sonship to the light, the Apostle teaches Christians that, apart from the sudden coming of the Lord, they must live watchfully and soberly, acting as people act by day" (His Grace Theophan).

A comparison of the eschatological teaching in the First Epistle with the Synoptic Gospels (Mt 24:37-43; Mk 13:33-37; Lk 12:39-40) reveals visible similarity between them. This similarity chiefly concerns their thoughts.

From this it is clear that the epistle and the Gospel had one oral source. Since everything is set forth more simply and briefly in the epistle, its origin was earlier than that of the Gospels, written between 58 and 60.

"But you are not in darkness." Darkness here is either ignorance of divine things, as the source of errors and vices. Thus Theodoret says: "The Apostle calls ignorance darkness, and knowledge day.

It is as though he says: having received the ray of the knowledge of God, flee the undertakings of darkness, lest the sentence of punishment be suddenly pronounced upon you." Or darkness is life in sin, in deeds of darkness.

Thus St. Chrysostom says: "Here he speaks of a dark and impure life, because wanton and evil people do everything by night, hiding from everyone and surrounding themselves with darkness.

For tell me, does not the adulterer wait for evening, and the thief for night? Does not the one who robs graves carry out his work by night?"

One must take both meanings together, and in a Christian sense. Both knowledge and goodness of life are from Christ, in whom is light. Outside Him is darkness.

The Apostle speaks as though saying: you are not outside Christ. You are not in the darkness of the fall, not in the bonds of sin and the devil, not in the realm of the prince of darkness.

There they know neither the Lord nor His will, and they have no strength to fulfill it. Nor, tracing sinful darkness to its sources, are you in a state of carelessness, insensibility, and blindness.

You are not darkened by worldly vanity, nor sunk in sensual delights (Jn 3:19; Jn 8:12; Jn 12:35, 46).

"That the day should overtake you as a thief." Here two meanings may be supposed. Either: you are not such that the day would catch you like a thief.

A thief creeps up at night, when it is dark and everyone is asleep. But you have come out of darkness and night, and are in the state of a householder keeping watch over his house.

The day will not catch you like a thief. It will catch you, but not as a careless householder is caught by a thief.

Or, in saying that they are not such, he means: you must not be such that the day catches you like a thief, unprepared. It is not fitting for you to allow yourselves to reach that point.

This would contradict your essential character, freedom from darkness and sonship to the light. Both meanings lead to one thing: "let us watch and be sober" (v. 6).

St. Chrysostom asks regarding these words: "What then? Will the last day not overtake them like a thief? Will it not come upon them unexpectedly?

Will they know it beforehand?" He answers: "Here he is pointing not to knowledge of the time, but to the calamity joined to it.

That is, the last day will not come to their calamity. For it will come suddenly even for them, yet it will bring them no sorrow.

As a thief can do no harm to those who are watchful and dwelling in the light, even if he manages to enter, so also that day will do no harm to those who live as they ought."