Deeper Reflection
THE THESSALONIANS WORRIED ABOUT WHETHER THEY were ready to stand before Christ at His coming.¹ Paul addresses this anxiety in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. Paul had evidently taught the Thessalonians about “the day of the Lord” (v.2) from the Old Testament when he was with them. “The day of the Lord” has its theological background and continuity from the Old Testament.Zephaniah prophesied during the reign of the righteous king Josiah (Zep 1:1), who brought about the greatest reform and revival in the history of Judah (2 Kin 22-23). But yet, God spoke to His people through Zephaniah a very grave message of divine judgment: “the great day of the Lord” – “a day of the Lord’s wrath” (Zep 1:15, 18). “The day of the Lord” is “a day of trouble and distress…destruction and desolation…darkness and gloom” against all forms of human and worldly security – “fortified cities” and “high corner towers” (Zep 1:15-16). And “silver” and “gold” are unable to deliver anyone “on the day of the Lord’s wrath” (Zep 1:18).The 55-year long evil reign of Manasseh, Josiah’s grandfather (2 Chron 33:1-2, 9), had such a profound effect upon Judah that it never recovered except by the purification of divine judgment. God would “not turn from the fierceness of His great wrath” and “would not forgive” His people “because of the sins of Manasseh” (2 Kin 23:26; 24:3-4). Josiah’s reforms were too little and too late to save Judah from God’s judgment. This points to a very serious reality about God’s holiness and our sin.

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¹ John R. W. Stott, The Message of Thessalonians, The Bible Speaks Today (IVP, 1991), 107