1 Thessalonians 5:4 Commentary and Bible Study

The word overtake implies great suddenness, overwhelm you in an instant, as a thief. The people who are caught out are children of night, he will go on to say, children of darkness. They are in darkness, they are under delusion. They have believed all the lies about there being no Creator, no God, or they have rejected him.‘But ye, brethren, are not in darkness.’ Why is that? Because of good sense? Because of your own intelligence? No, you are not in darkness because of the illumination of the Holy Spirit. God has come to your life, and shaken you up, and opened your eyes, and shown you great things, and shown you your utter need of forgiveness and of salvation, shown you your lost condition. In his great mercy, he has illuminated you, and you have come to know him, and you have grasped these things. By God’s mercy you have seen the teaching of the Scripture that Christ will come again. It will not suddenly overtake you.