1 Thessalonians 5:5-All Christians Belong to God’s Kingdom and Christ’s Millennial Reign and Not Satan’s Kingdom and His Reign

Lesson # 731 Thessalonians 5:1 Now on the topic of times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need for anything to be written to you. 5:2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come in the same way as a thief in the night. 5:3 Now when they are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction comes on them, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will surely not escape. 5:4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in the darkness for the day to overtake you like a thief would. 5:5 For you all are sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness. (NET)

1 Thessalonians 5:5 is composed of four assertions with the first stating that each and every member of the Thessalonian Christian community belongs to a particular group of individuals who are possessed by that which is characterized by the light.

It presents the reason for the previous assertion in 1 Thessalonians 5:4, which asserts that the Thessalonians absolutely did not belong to those who live in the darkness so that the prophetic events of the day of the Lord would take any one of them by surprise like a thief takes someone by surprise.

Therefore, this indicates that the Thessalonians absolutely did not belong to those who live in the darkness so that the prophetic events of the day of the Lord would take any one of them by surprise like a thief takes someone by surprise because they are sons who belong to that which is characterized by the light.

In this first statement, “light” is used in a figurative sense for God and His holiness as well as His kingdom which is characterized by holiness in contrast to Satan’s kingdom which is characterized by darkness since it is characterized by disobedience, sin, evil and rebellion against God.

Light speaks of understanding and obeying the truth in contrast to error and ignorance and consequently, it speaks of light in the sense of possessing sight spiritually in contrast to being spiritually blind.

Lastly, it speaks of living a holy life in contrast to living an unholy life.

Therefore, the Christian is not ignorant of the prophetic events connected to the day of the Lord and are living holy lives in fellowship with their heavenly Father, God who is holy, which is supported by 1 Thessalonians 5:3-4 which contrasts the Thessalonian Christian community with the non-Christian community.

In these verses, Paul asserts that sudden destruction is about to come upon the non-Christian during the day of the Lord, however the Christina community will not be taken by surprise by the prophetic events of the day of the Lord.

The day of the Lord is the seventieth week of Daniel and Second Advent of Jesus Christ and during this period the Lord Jesus Christ will exercise His righteous indignation against every unrepentant, unregenerate human being and which righteous indignation is manifestation of His holy character.

This interpretation is also supported by 1 John 1:5, which asserts that God is light, which is a metaphor for God’s holiness.

The Christian has come out of the darkness of Satan’s kingdom and entered into “the light of the glorious gospel of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4; John 12:36; Eph. 5:8-11; 1 Pet. 2:9).

The second statement in 1 Thessalonians 5:5 asserts that each and every member of the Thessalonian Christian community belongs to a particular group of individuals who are sons belonging to that which is characterized by the day.

This statement presents the result of the first statement in this verse which we noted asserts that each member of the Thessalonian Christian community belongs to a particular group of individuals who exist in the state of being sons possessed by that which is characterized by the light.

Therefore, a comparison of the first two statements in 1 Thessalonians 5:5 indicates that each of the Thessalonians are sons possessed by that which is characterized by the light with the result that they are sons who belong to that which is characterized by the day.

In the second statement, the noun hemera, “the day” does not refer to the day of the Lord and thus the seventieth week of Daniel and Second Advent of Jesus Christ as it did in 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 4.

Rather the word refers to the period of time in which Jesus Christ will rule the earth for a thousand years.

Thus, it refers to His millennial reign.

This interpretation is indicated by the fact that it is used in contrast with the noun nux, “night” which refers to the period of human history in which Satan is the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) and deceives the entire human race into worshipping himself rather than God.

The noun phōs, “the light” stands in contrast with the noun skotos, “of the darkness” which refers to Satan’s kingdom which is characterized by disobedience, deception, lies, sin and rebellion against God.

Paul uses this word hemera in the same way in Romans 13:12.

In these first two statements, the noun huios, “sons” emphasizes the legal aspect of the justified sinner’s relationship with the Trinity and is thus directly related to not only justification but also adoption.

Paul uses huios since he wants to emphasize with the Christians in Thessalonica that they have been accepted into the family of God in a legal sense through justification and adoption, Roman style and this is how Paul uses the word in Galatians 3:26.

Not only is the Christian adopted Roman style into the royal family of God but also, he is entered into it through the spiritual birth as well, which takes place the moment the Christ trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation (Gal. 3:25-26; 4:6; 1 John 3:1-2).

The third statement in 1 Thessalonians 5:5 is not only an assertion about each member of the Thessalonian Christian community but also Paul, Silvanus and Timothy and every Christian.

It solemnly emphasizes that absolutely none of them belong to those who are sons belonging to that which is characterized by the night.

In the third statement, the noun nux, “ the night” refers to the period in which the believer is not in his or her resurrection body and is living during a period of human history in which Satan is the god of this world and his kingdom and policy of evil dominates the earth.

This period began with the Fall of Adam and will end with the Second Advent of Christ and for the church age believer this period will end with the rapture.

Therefore, the noun nux refers to the reign of Satan over the earth which began with the fall of Adam and will end with the Second Advent of the second Adam, Jesus Christ.

Paul uses this word in the same way in Romans 13:12.

The fourth and final assertion is connected to the third because it presents the result of it which asserts that absolutely no Christian belongs to those who are sons who are possessed by that which is characterized by the darkness.

Therefore, this indicates that every Christian absolutely do not belong to those who are sons belonging to that which is characterized by the night with the result that each of them absolutely does not belong to those who are sons who are possessed by that which is characterized by the darkness.

In this fourth and final statement, the noun skotos, “the darkness” is used in a figurative sense to describe Satan’s kingdom as being characterized by darkness since it is characterized by the disobedience, sin, evil, lies, deception and rebellion against God.

In other words, it is characterized by the darkness because it is unholy in character.

Darkness speaks of error and ignorance in contrast understanding and obeying the truth.

Consequently, it speaks of being spiritually blind in contrast to possessing sight spiritually.

Lastly, it speaks of living an unholy life in contrast to living a holy life.

Therefore, the non-Christian is totally ignorant of the prophetic events connected to the day of the Lord and living their lives in total opposition to God like their father, the devil.

In these final two statements, the noun huios, “sons” refers to those sinners who belong to Satan’s kingdom.

In other words, the word pertains to the children of the devil and refers to those sinners who have not exercised faith in the Father’s one and only Son Jesus Christ.

Therefore, they have not been declared justified by the Father and thus have not been regenerated by the Spirit and have not been adopted into God’s family.

1 Thessalonians 5:5 has a chiastic structure, which is built around the contrast between light and darkness and day and night and the purpose of this structure is to emphasize two truths.

The first is that the Thessalonian Christian community absolutely does not belong to Satan and his kingdom, which is characterized by darkness, but rather they belong to God’s kingdom which is characterized light.

The second is that they and every Christian absolutely do not belong to Satan’s present reign as ruler of planet earth, which is characterized by the night, but rather they belong to Jesus Christ’s millennial reign which is characterized by the day.

Ultimately, the chiastic structure is emphasizing with the Thessalonians and every Christian throughout the church age that they will absolutely not experience the prophetic events connected to the eschatological day of the Lord, which involves the seventieth week of Daniel and the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.

Thus, it emphasizes with the Thessalonians and every Christian throughout the church age that they will absolutely not experience the Lord Jesus Christ’s righteous indignation which the Lord will exercise during the seventieth week and His subsequent Second Advent.

Therefore, the ultimate purpose of the chiastic structure of 1 Thessalonians 5:5 is to reassure and comfort the Thessalonians and every Christian throughout the church that they will absolutely not experience the Lord’s righteous indignation during the seventieth week and His Second Advent.