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1 Thessalonians 5:3-5
New Catholic Bible
1 Thessalonians 5:3-5
New Catholic Bible
3 When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” instant destruction[a] will overwhelm them, in the manner that labor pains suddenly come upon a pregnant woman, and there will be no means of escape.
4 However, brethren, you do not live in darkness, and therefore that Day will not catch you unawares like a thief. 5 For all of you are children of the light[b] and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
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- 1 Thessalonians 5:3 Destruction: this does not mean annihilation but exclusion from the presence of the Lord (see 2 Thes 1:9), i.e., ruination of one’s life and accomplishments. And it will be a ruin that occurs in an instant. Labor pains: the stress here is not on the pains so much as their suddenness and inevitability. No means of escape: literally, “They will not escape.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:5 Children of the light: in Semitic languages, to be “children of [something]” meant to be characterized by it. Christians not only live in the light but are characterized by light.
