For you yourselves know that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5:2). The day of the Lord was prophesied nineteen times in the Old Testament. It is a day of doom and judgment on this earth during the end time. Revelation 16-19 has much to say about this tribulation. It is the Great Day of God Almighty (Rev. 16:14).
The day of the Lord is a seven year period known as the Tribulation (Rev. 19:11-21). It comes suddenly and unexpectedly to a world in rebellion against God and His Son Jesus Christ. For when they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction comes upon them as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape (1 Thess. 5:3).
The apostle Paul wrote to believers in our Lord Jesus Christ, But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you like a thief (1 Thess. 5:4). Believers need not fear this coming wrath of God. Paul assures all who are saved from wrath through faith in Christ our Lord. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5:9).
Our assurance of salvation is found in the three abiding gifts of the Spirit, which are faith, hope and love (1 Cor. 13:13). All who trust in Jesus Christ our Lord are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14). But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation (1 Thess. 5:8).
