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th a t in te rp re tatio n is /fanciful. The though t is th a t given in the «4.. V. and R. V. th a t they are caught up “ in th e clouds,” ju st as Jesus was received into a cloud a t His ascension (cf. Acts 1:9; Rev. 1 :7 ). Here then are two causes of com fort and joy. (1) T h at it is tog eth er w ith those we love who have died th a t we are to be caugh t up ( “ together w ith th em ” is very emphatic in th e G reek), and (2) th a t we are to meet th e Lord. Ys. 16-18 are an inspired commentary on John 14:1-3. There are four exactly corresponding points in the two passages. (1) The words “The Lord H imself shall descend from heaven,” correspond w ith the “ I will come again” of John 14:3. (2 ) The “ caught up to meet the Lord in the a ir” corresponds w ith th e “ I will receive you unto myself” of John 14:3. (3 ) The “ so shall we ever be w ith th e Lord” corresponds w ith th e “ th a t where I am th e re ye may be also” of John 14:3. (4 ) The “ com fort one ano th er w ith these words” corresponds w ith the “ let no t your h ea rt be troub led ” of John 14:1. How glad and glorious is the prospect before us which th e Holy Spirit through th e Apostle P aul presents to us in vs. 16, 17. No wonder P au l adds, “ Comfort one ano ther w ith these words.” The doc trin e of our L o rd ’s second coming is the doctrine God has commanded us to use to com fort sorrow ing saints w ith (see also Isa. 40:1, 9, 10). Is it the doctrine th a t you use for th a t purpose? If not, you are disobeying the com m andment of God. FRIDAY, Ja n u ary 17. 1 Thess. 5:1-3. P aul now tu rn s to the question of the tim e of our Lord’s retu rn . “Con cerning the times and th e seasons” the believers in Thessalonica needed no instruction. They had been fully taugh t, so fully ta u g h t th a t P aul could say, “ yourselves know perfectly (ra th er, ac curately) th a t th e day of th e Lord so cometh as a th ief in the n ig h t,” i. e., un expectedly and w ithout warning (cf. Matt. 2 4 :4 2 -4 4 ' 2 Pet, 3 :10 ; Rev. 16: 15). The n igh t is th e tim e of repose, th e tim e when men are off guard, the tim e when men sleep. At such a tim e will the Lord come (Matt. 24:44; 2 5 :6 ). It is tru e th a t th ere will be signs of the Lord’s re tu rn to cheer and encourage our hearts, but nevertheless the day will come*unexpectedly (cf. Matt. 24:32-36; Luke 21:25-32, 35). The present tense
“ cometh” is used instead òf the fu tu re tense, “shall come” to suggest and emphasize the imm inency and sudden ness of th a t coming. When “ they,” i. e., th e re st of men, people of the world “are saying Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as trav ail upon a woman w ith child.” Even in these days of almost universal war, people are saying “Peace and safety,” th a t is, they tell us th a t th e outcome of the present w ar will be a league of nations and absolute peace and security. “They,” th e world as a whole, are boasting of the reconstruc tion of society th a t is going to come out of the present chaos and laughing a t th e “ croakers” and “ pessim ists” who will not close th e ir eyes either to the facts as they exist or to th e predictions as they are found in God’s Word. T ra vail comes upon a woman when she does not expect it, when she is engaged w ith o th er things. So will the day of the Lord come upon the world (cf. Luke 17:26-28). Time and again has God’s judgm ent overtaken people of thè world when they least expected it, when they felt most secure (Dan. 5; Acts 12:21- 23). “And they shall in no wise escape,” th e re will be no way of escaping the judgm ent of God th a t will come upon th e world in connection w ith the coming of the Lord (cf. Amos 9:2, 3; Rev. 6: 15, 16). We are told in vs. 1-3 how th e day of th e Lord will overtake unbelievers, th e mass of men, but w ith believers in Christ it will be all different: “That day” shall not “ overtake” them “as a th ie f” i. e., unaw ares and unprepared. The though t of unexpectedness is found in th e Greek word tran slated “ over ta k e ” (cf. John 12:35, R.V .). Why will not the day of th e Lord overtake believers “as a th ie f? ” Because they “are not in darkness,” i. e. in sp iritual erro r, ignorance and sin (cf. Eph. 4 :1 8 ). F u rth erm o re th a t day shall not overtake them as a th ief because they “ are all sons of lig h t” (cf. Luke 16:8, R.V.; John 12:36, R .V .), i. e., they have been born of the ligh t and tru th of God (cf. Jas. 1 :18 ; 1 Pet. 1 :2 3 ), and they belong to th e ligh t and to the day. Consequently “we are not of the (th ere is no “ th e ” in the Greek) night, nor of darkness.” As we do not belong to the n igh t nor to the darkness, th e sphere SATURDAY, Ja n u ary 18. 1 Thess. 5 :4 - 6.
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