Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Thessalonians 5:3
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
3. For when they shall say ] Rather, when they are saying (R. V.). In the very act of their saying “Peace and safety” just when men of the world pronounce everything secure and quiet then the thief comes, who steals from them the possessions they imagined safe from all attack. A reminiscence of Eze 13:10, “Saying Peace, and there was no peace!” Such times of security are pregnant with judgement to the wicked, and premonitory of some “day of the Lord.”
then sudden destruction cometh upon them ] Or, in the vivid order of St Paul’s Greek, then suddenly over them stands destruction. Without a moment’s warning ruin comes, not seen approaching, but first visible hanging over the doomed transgressors! We hear again Christ’s warning of Luk 21:34, “lest that day come upon you suddenly (a Greek word found only in these two places in the N. T.), as a snare; for so will it come on all them that dwell on the face of all the earth.” Christ compares His advent to the coming of the Flood “in the days of Noah” (Mat 24:36-39).
The Apostle describes the calamity under another figure, frequently applied in the O. T. to Divine inflictions: as the birth-pang upon her that is with child. This image signifies, beside the suddenness of the disaster, its intense pain, and its inevitableness. Accordingly he continues: and they shall in no wise escape. See 2Th 1:9, and note; and comp. the terrible picture of the Judgement in Rev 6:15-17.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For when they shall say, Peace and safety – That is, when the wicked shall say this, for the apostle here refers only to those on whom sudden destruction will come; compare Mat 24:36-42 notes; 2Pe 3:3-4 notes. It is clear from this:
(1) That when the Lord Jesus shall come the world will not all be converted. There will be some to be destroyed. How large this proportion will be, it is impossible now to ascertain. This supposition, however, is not inconsistent with the belief that there will be a general prevalence of the gospel before that period.
(2) The impenitent and wicked world will be sunk in carnal security when he comes. They will regard themselves as safe. They will see no danger. They will give no heed to warning. They will be unprepared for his advent. So it has always been. it seems to be a universal truth in regard to all the visitations of God to wicked people for punishment, that he comes upon them at a time when they are not expecting him, and that they have no faith in the predictions of his advent. So it was in the time of the flood; in the destruction of Sodom Gomorrah, and Jerusalem; in the overthrow of Babylon: so it is when the sinner dies, and so it will be when the Lord Jesus shall return to judge the world. One of the most remarkable facts about the history of man is, that he takes no warning from his Maker; he never changes his plans, or feels any emotion, because his Creator thunders damnation along his path, and threatens to destroy him in hell.
Sudden destruction – Destruction that was unforeseen ( aiphnidios) or unexpected. The word here rendered sudden, occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in Luk 21:34, Lest that day come upon you unawares. The word rendered destruction – olethros – occurs in the New Testament only here and in 1Co 5:5; 2Th 1:9; 1Ti 6:9, in all of which places it is correctly translated destruction. The word destruction is familiar to us. It means, properly, demolition; pulling down; the annihilation of the form of anything, or that form of parts which constitutes it what it is; as the destruction of grass by eating; of a forest by cutting down the trees; of life by murder; of the soul by consigning it to misery. It does not necessarily mean annihilation – for a house or city is not annihilated which is pulled down or burnt; a forest is not annihilated which is cut down; and a man is not annihilated whose character and happiness are destroyed. In regard to the destruction here referred to, we may remark:
(1)It will be after the return of the Lord Jesus to judgment; and hence it is not true that the wicked experience all the punishment which they ever will in the present life;
(2)That it seems fairly implied that the destruction which they will then suffer will not be annihilation, but will be connected with conscious existence; and,
(3)That they will then be cut off from life and hope and salvation.
How can the solemn affirmation that they will be destroyed suddenly, be consistent with the belief that all people will be saved? Is it the same thing to be destroyed and to be saved? Does the Lord Jesus, when he speaks of the salvation of his people, say that he comes to destroy them?
As travail upon a woman with child – This expression is sometimes used to denote great consternation, as in Psa 48:6; Jer 6:24; Mic 4:9-10; great pain, as Isa 53:11; Jer 4:31; Joh 16:21; or the suddenness with which anything occurs; Jer 13:21. It seems here to be used to denote two things; first, that the coming of the Lord to a wicked world will be sudden; and, secondly, that it will be an event of the most distressing and overwhelming nature.
And they shall not escape – That is, the destruction, or punishment. They calculated on impunity, but now the time will have come when none of these refuges will avail them, and no rocks will cover them from the wrath to come.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
1Th 5:3
When they shall say, Peace and Safety
The day of days
If Scripture did not warrant the figure in which the future coming of the Lord is compared to the act of a felon breaking into a house at night to plunder, we should not have ventured on it.
The comparison is suggested by the Lord Himself: Watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. If the good man of the house had known in what hour the thief would come, he would have watched.
I. The day stated. By the expression, the day of the Lord, must be meant a day in some unique sense His day; for all days are really days of the Lord of time.
1. By the day of the Lord is signified that day on which He will take the first place in the thoughts of His responsible creatures.
2. It is the day on which He will bring the vast moral account between Himself and His responsible creatures to an end.
II. The figure employed. What are the ideas suggested by the words, As a thief in the night?
1. They are suggestive of fear. The old prophets spoke of the coming day of universal doom as the great and terrible day of the Lord; and we cannot but echo their language. But if we will, the Judge may be our Friend and Saviour. It is during the years of time that men decide how they will meet Him.
2. They are suggestive of suddenness. There is the contrast which it will present to many of Gods judgments in the present life. They approach with measured steps. Neither war, nor famine, nor pestilence, come generally like a thief in the night. But not so will be the Second Advent of Christ. A Christians first practical anxiety should be expressed in his Masters words, Lest coming suddenly He find me sleeping.
3. They are suggestive of that which cannot be prevented by our own efforts. We cannot prevent the coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven: all that we can do is to prepare to meet Him by judging ourselves in self-examination. We may erect in our own heart a tribunal, and bid all our life pass before it; and then we may hear, if we will, the echoes of the voice of Christ, in mercy or condemnation, as that voice will sound to us hereafter from the judgment throne. Thus we may make a business like preparation for death; for death, like judgment, comes as a thief. Death is the ante-chamber of the judgment hall of Christ. To prepare, therefore, for death, is a mans true and most serious business during his life. Ye are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. (Canon Liddon.)
The sinners doom
I. In thy midst of imagined security. When enjoying riches, and contemplating, as the rich fool, their further augmentation; and when, perhaps, trusting in the infinitude of the Divine mercy, and thinking the day afar off.
II. Sudden. Without notice: nothing in the course of nature, or the affairs of men, to indicate the catastrophe.
III. Unavoidable: reputation, good works, etc., will be as cobwebs.
IV. Terrible. Destruction. (Sir E. Bayley, D. D.)
Delusions
Manton says well, As the madman at Athens challenged all the ships that came into the harbour for his own, so carnal men claim an interest in heavenly things which are none of theirs. Deceived hearts believe they are running to heaven when they are posting to hell; like rowers in a boat, they look one way, and go contrary. Religious delusions may be very comfortable while they last, but what will be the misery of their breaking up! To have all your fancied godliness vanish like the mists before the sun will be grievous indeed. In proportion to the confidence inspired will be the despair involved. The poor madman in Bedlam in the olden time placed a straw crown upon his head, and issued orders like a Caesar; it was his madness which made such a farce a comfort to him. In the next world the sinners madness will be over, he will be sobered by his despair: what then will he think of his former fancies and fond self-flatteries? What an awaking, from the dreams of bliss to the realities of hell! O my soul, see thou to it that all thy hopes are well grounded! Call not Christ thine, and heaven thine, if they are not so. Do not play the fool with eternal things, but get a sure title to everlasting blessedness. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
False overconfidence
You may have a strong faith in everything else but Christ, and yet perish. There was an architect who had a plan for building a lighthouse on the Eddystone Rock. It quite satisfied his mind, and as he sat by the fire looking at the plan, he was quite sure that no storm that ever came could shake the building. He applied for the contract to build the lighthouse, and he did build it, and a very singular looking place it was. There were a great many flags about it and ornaments, and it looked very promising. Some shook their heads a little, but he was very, very firm, and said he should like to be in it himself in the worst wind that ever blew. He was in it at the time he wanted to be, and he was never heard of again, nor was anything more ever seen of his lighthouse. The whole thing was swept away. He was a man of great faith, only it happened to be founded on mistaken principles. (J. L. Nye.)
False peace
Your peace, sinner, is that terribly prophetic calm which the traveller occasionally perceives upon the higher Alps. Everything is still. The birds suspend their notes, fly low, and cower down with fear. The hum of bees among the flowers is hushed. A horrible stillness rules the hour, as if death had silenced all things by stretching over them his awful sceptre. Perceive ye not what is surely at hand? The tempest is preparing; the lightning will soon cast abroad its flames of fire. Earth will rock with thunder blasts; granite peaks will be dissolved; all nature will tremble beneath the fury of the storm. Yours is that solemn calm today, sinner. Rejoice not in it, for the hurricane of wrath is coming, the whirlwind and the tribulation which shall sweep you away and utterly destroy you. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Secure in sin
A Swiss traveller, says the Edinburgh Review, describes a village situated on the slope of a great mountain, of which the strata shelve in the direction of the place. Huge crags directly overhanging the village, and massy enough to sweep the whole of it into the torrent below, have become separated from the main body of the mountain in the course of ages by great fissures, and now scarce adhere to it. When they give way, the village must perish; it is only a question of time, and the catastrophe may happen any day. For years past engineers have been sent to measure the fissures, and report them constantly increasing. The villagers, for more than one generation, have been aware of their danger; subscriptions have been once or twice opened to enable them to remove; yet they live on in their doomed dwellings, from year to year, fortified against the ultimate certainty and daily probability of destruction by the common sentiment Things may last their time and longer. Like the dwellers in this doomed village, the worlds inhabitants have grown careless and secure in sin. The scoffers of the last days are around us, saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers have fallen asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. But in saying this, they are too confident. Nothing is permanent that has sin about it, nothing secure that has wrath above it, and flames of fire beneath it. Sin has once deluged the world with water, it shall deluge it again with waves of fire. Sodom and Gomorrah are the types that foreshadow the doom of those that live ungodly in these latter times, and he who can walk this reeling world unmoved by all the tokens of its fiery doom, must either have a rock of refuge where his soul may rest secure, or else must have fallen into a strange carelessness, and a sad forgetfulness of God. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
Procrastination leads to sudden destruction
Do any of you remember the loss of the vessel called the Central America? She was in a bad state, had sprung a leak and was going down, and she therefore hoisted a signal of distress. A ship came close to her, the captain of which asked, through the trumpet, What is amiss? We are in bad repair, and are going down: lie by till morning, was the answer. But the captain on board the rescue ship said, Let me take your passengers on board now. Lie by till morning, was the message which came back. Once again the captian cried, You had better let me take your passengers on board now. Lie by till morning, was the reply which sounded through the trumpet. About an hour and a half after, the lights were missing, and though no sound was heard, she and all on board had gone down to the fathomless abyss. Oh, unconverted friends, for Gods sake, do not say, Lie by till morning. Today, even today, hear ye the voice of God. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A deadly peace
The old fable described the vampire bat, in tropical countries, as hovering above its victims, and drinking their life blood, while it soothes them to sleep on by fanning them with its wings all the while. So the devil soothes souls into deadly sleep. (J. W. Hardman.)
Danger near and man unconscious of it
Many years ago there was a terrible murder in one of our rural counties. A desperate man determined to kill the squire of the village. No danger was thought of, no such peril was dreaded. With unclosed shutters the doomed man sat in his house, his family moving in and out, his books, his papers around him in perfect security, as he thought. But meanwhile, creeping behind the shrubs of the lawn, in the gathering twilight, with his loaded gun, crept the armed assailant, till the bringing in of the evening lamp cast its glow through the comfortable chamber within, and enabled a sure and deadly aim to be taken by the murderer outside. Even so does the devil plot our ruin. (J. W. Hardman.)
Unconsciousness of the approach of death
Even when death is not absolutely sudden, how often have I seen persons, who were ill, wholly refuse to believe or realize that their sickness was unto death. Almost till the day of their departure they have talked quite confidently of what they intended to do when they rose from the bed of sickness; have perhaps even seemed to themselves to be much better just before they sank into the long swoon which can only end in the last fluttering sigh. O God, they have deceived me then; and this is death! was the startling exclamation of a sinful English king, and with those words he sank back and died. And very commonly for hours, and even days, before death, men and women lie quite unconscious; the pulse still beats, the breath still labours, possibly the tongue still murmurs, as the imagination floats amid the confused reminiscences of the past, and babbles of green fields far away. But no voice of exhortation can reach them then; they can gather no thought into consecutive meaning; they can breathe no prayer unto Him into whose awful presence they are about to enter. (Canon Farrar.)
Men lured to destruction
The other day I was going down the street and I saw a drove of pigs following a man. This excited my curiosity, so that I determined to follow. I did so, and to my great surprise I saw them follow him to the slaughterhouse. I was very anxious to know how this was, and I said to the man, My friend, how did you manage to induce those pigs to follow you here? Oh, did you not see? said the man; I had a basket of beans under my arms, and I dropped a few as I came along, and so they followed me. Yes, and I thought, so it is; the devil has a basket of beans under his arm, and he drops them as he goes along, and what multitudes he induces to follow him to an everlasting slaughter house! Yes, friends, and all your broad and crowded thoroughfares are strewn with the beans of the devil. (Rowland Hill.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 3. For when they shall say, Peace and safety] This points out, very particularly, the state of the Jewish people when the Romans came against them; and so fully persuaded were they that God would not deliver the city and temple to their enemies, that they refused every overture that was made to them.
Sudden destruction] In the storming of their city and the burning of their temple, and the massacre of several hundreds of thousands of themselves; the rest being sold for slaves, and the whole of them dispersed over the face of the earth.
As travail upon a woman] This figure is perfectly consistent with what the apostle had said before, viz.: that the times and seasons were not known: though the thing itself was expected, our Lord having predicted it in the most positive manner. So, a woman with child knows that, if she be spared, she will have a bearing time; but the week, the day, the hour, she cannot tell. In a great majority of cases the time is accelerated or retarded much before or beyond the time that the woman expected; so, with respect to the Jews, neither the day, week, month, nor year was known. All that was specifically known was this: their destruction was coming, and it should be sudden, and they should not escape.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
For when they shall say, Peace and safety: by these words the apostle proves that the day of the Lord will come unexpected, by the security that will be then found in the world. They say it in their hearts and practice, if not with their tongues. And he useth two words the better to express the greatness of this security, present peace, and no danger of sliding, as the words import. And as the effect of Christs coming will be
destruction to such, which will be salvation to others, Heb 9:28; so through their security it will be
sudden destruction, which he describes under the similitude of travail upon a woman with child, which doth for the most part come of a sudden, and is the most exquisite pains in nature, and is often made use of in Scripture to set forth extremity of misery, Isa 13:8; Jer 13:21. And these pains come upon her unavoidably; so saith the apostle of these mens destruction,
and they shall not escape, or in no wise escape, expressed in the Greek by two negatives, which do strongly affirm.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
3. theythe men of the world.1Th 5:5; 1Th 5:6;1Th 4:13, “others,” allthe rest of the world save Christians.
Peace (Jdg 18:7;Jdg 18:9; Jdg 18:27;Jdg 18:28; Jer 6:14;Eze 13:10).
thenat the verymoment when they least expect it. Compare the case of Belshazzar,Dan 5:1-5; Dan 5:6;Dan 5:9; Dan 5:26-28;Herod, Ac 12:21-23.
sudden“unawares”(Lu 21:34).
as travail“As thelabor pang” comes in an instant on the woman when otherwiseengaged (Psa 48:6; Isa 13:8).
shall not escapeGreek,“shall not at all escape.” Another awful feature of theirruin: there shall be then no possibility of shunning it however theydesire it (Amo 9:2; Amo 9:3;Rev 6:15; Rev 6:16).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For when they shall say,…. Or men shall say, that is, wicked and ungodly men, persons in a state of unregeneracy:
peace and safety; when they shall sing a requiem, to themselves, promise themselves much ease and peace for years to come, and imagine their persons and property to be very secure from enemies and oppressors, and shall flatter themselves with much and long temporal happiness:
then sudden destruction cometh upon them; as on the men of the old world in the times of Noah, and on the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah in the days of Lot; for as these, will be the days of the Son of man, as at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, so at the last day; see Lu 17:26 and as was the destruction of literal Babylon, so of Babylon in a mystical sense, or antichrist and his followers: and which will be
as travail upon a woman with child; whose anguish and pains are very sharp, the cause of which is within herself, and which come suddenly upon her, and are unavoidable; and so the metaphor expresses the sharpness and severity of the destruction of the wicked, thus the calamities on the Jewish nation are expressed by a word which signifies the sorrows, pangs, and birth throes of a woman in travail, Mt 24:8, and likewise that the cause of it is from themselves, their own sins and transgressions; and also the suddenness of it, which will come upon them in the midst of all their mirth, jollity, and security; and moreover, the inevitableness of it, it will certainly come at the full and appointed time, though that is not known:
and they shall not escape; the righteous judgment of God, the wrath of the Lamb, or falling into his hands; to escape is impossible, rocks, hills, and mountains will not cover and hide them; before the judgment seat of Christ they must stand, and into everlasting punishment must they go.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When they are saying ( ). Present active subjunctive picturing these false prophets of
peace and safety like Eze 13:10 (Peace, and there is no peace). only in N.T. in Lu 1:4 (which see); Ac 5:23 and here.
Sudden destruction ( ). old word from , to destroy. See also 2Th 1:9. , old adjective akin to and in N.T. only here and Lu 21:34 where Westcott and Hort spell it .
Cometh upon them ( ). Unaspirated form instead of the usual (present middle indicative) from perhaps due to confusion with .
As travail upon a woman with child ( ). Earlier form for birth-pang used also by Jesus (Mark 13:8; Matt 24:8). Technical phrase for pregnancy,
to the one who has it in belly (cf. Mt 1:18 of Mary).
They shall in no wise escape ( ). Strong negative like that in 4:15 (double negative) and the second aorist active subjunctive.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
When they shall say. The prediction is thrown into dramatic form. Cometh upon [] . See Luk 21:34, 36. Often in N. T. of a person coming suddenly upon another; as Luk 2:9; Luk 24:4; Act 4:1; Act 12:7. Travail [] . Birth – throe. Only here in its literal sense. Elsewhere as a strong figure of sorrow or pain. See Mt 24:8; Mr 13:8; Act 2:24. For the figure in O. T. see Isa 13:6 – 8; Isa 37:3; Mic 4:9; Hos 13:3; Jer 13:21.
Shall not escape [ ] . A. V. misses the force of the double negative. They shall in no wise escape.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “For whenever they shall say” (hotan legosin) “Whenever they say”; the “they” refers to those spiritually blinded to revelation truth, those failing to understand Divinely disclosed way-signs pointing to our Lord’s return, so much like the Pharisees and Sadducees at His first advent, Mt 161-12.
2) “Peace and safety” (eirene kai asphaleia) “peace and safety are at hand, everything will be all right now” they be false lying prophets. For until the end, men and times shall wax worse and worse, Mat 24:4-8; 1Ti 4:1-3; 2Ti 3:13.
3) “Then sudden destruction cometh upon them” (tote aiphnidios autois ephistatai olethros) “Then comes (as stillness before a mighty storm) sudden destruction to or toward them”; those willingly ignorant, who neither read the signs nor heed the message of the day of the Lord; Those then so living shall not be accounted worthy to escape earth’s tribulations, Luk 21:34-36; Heb 9:27.
4) “As travail upon a woman with child” (hosper he oidin te en gastri echouse) “as the sudden birthpangs to an expectant (pregnant) woman”; to those who look not for the Lord, at His coming, it appears that they may be left to face sudden consequences of their sins in the flesh, to die or be slain in the tribulation, Mat 25:14-30; Rev 6:12-17.
5) “And they shall not escape” (kai ou me ekphugosin) “and they may by no means escape” the they” who shall not escape is the “they” who were not expecting, looking for, or accepting the Divine revelation of the approaching end of the times of the Gentiles, and the return of Jesus Christ; perhaps some saved as well as unsaved, see Luk 12:42-48. This appears to be a tribulation “portion” of punishment with hypocrites, not a “portion” of hell.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
3 For when they shall say. Here we have an explanation of the similitude, the day of the Lord will be like a thief in the night. Why so? because it will come suddenly to unbelievers, when not looked for, so that it will take them by surprise, as though they were asleep. But whence comes that sleep? Assuredly from deep contempt of God. The prophets frequently reprove the wicked on account of this supine negligence, and assuredly they await in a spirit of carelessness not merely that last judgment, but also such as are of daily occurrence. Though the Lord threatens destruction, (592) they do not hesitate to promise themselves peace and every kind of prosperity. And the reason why they fall into this destructive indolence (593) is, because they do not see those things immediately accomplished, which the Lord declares will take place, for they reckon that to be fabulous that does not immediately present itself before their eyes. For this reason the Lord, in order that he may avenge this carelessness, which is full of obstinacy, comes all on a sudden, and contrary to the expectation of all, precipitates the wicked from the summit of felicity. He sometimes furnishes tokens of this nature of a sudden advent, but that will be the principal one, when Christ will come down to judge the world, as he himself testifies, (Mat 24:37) comparing that time to the age of Noe, inasmuch as all will give way to excess, as if in the profoundest repose.
As the pains of child-bearing. Here we have a most apt similitude, inasmuch as there is no evil that seizes more suddenly, and that presses more keenly and more violently on the very first attack; besides this, a woman that is with child carries in her womb occasion of grief without feeling it, until she is seized amidst feasting and laughter, or in the midst of sleep.
(592) “ Leur denonce ruine et confusion;” — “Threatens them with ruin and confusion.”
(593) “ Ceste paresse tant dangereuse et mortelle;” — “This indolence so dangerous and deadly.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
Text (1Th. 5:3)
3 When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.
Translation and Paraphrase
3.
(For) when they are saying, (It is a time of) peace and security, then unexpected destruction shall come upon them, just as labor pains (come upon the woman that is with child. And they shall (most certainly) not escape (from the terrors of that day).
Notes (1Th. 5:3)
1.
They shall not escape: They will not be able to conceal themselves in the dens or the rocks and mountains. Rev. 6:16. The drunkard will have his cup at his lips, the swearer his oath in his mouth, the murderer his gun in his hand, and some in the act of adultery.
2.
How little men know about the true danger to their souls: When they are saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction: As it was in the days of Jeremiah, men will be saying, Peace peace, when there is no peace, Jer. 6:1-30; Jer. 14:1-22. And as it was in the days of Noah, they knew not till the flood came and took them all away; thus shall it be in the coming of the son of man. Mat. 24:39.
3.
Luk. 21:34 : And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with dissipation and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. (The word translated unawares in Luk. 21:34 is the same word (aphnidios) translated as sudden here in 1Th. 5:3.)
4.
The statement, They shall not escape, is emphatic in form (using ou me, as in 1Th. 4:15). Our translation and paraphrase renders it, They shall (most certainly) not escape.
5.
Note that the fate of sinners is said to be destruction. Destruction (Gr. olethros) does not indicate annihilation of body and soul. But it describes the total ruin of everything the sinner is and hoped for. The word is used in this sense by Greek writers. For a full discussion of its meaning and uses, see notes on 2Th. 1:9.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(3) They.Quite vague and general, like the French on. The plural is so used frequently in St. Luke (Luk. 12:11; Luk. 12:20, margin; Luk. 16:9, probably; Luk. 23:29-31). Of course, however, no Christian could say so, for they are ever on the watch, so that they will mean the world. The word for at the beginning of the verse should (according to the best MSS.) be struck outthe abruptness helps to enforce the lesson.
Peace and safety.Carrying on the thought suggested by the word night; they are taking their repose in security, without dreaming of any interruption to their slumbers. Is it possible that there may here be a faint recollection of the parable related in Mat. 25:1-13?
Destruction cometh upon them.Literally, stands over them; or takes its stand over them; presents itself. The present tense is used for the sake of a more vivid effect. The extreme similarity of this passage to Luk. 21:34 (with other indications) inclines Bishop Wordsworth to think that the Thessalonians had the Gospel of St. Luke to refer to.
As travail.A common Oriental simile to express not only suddenness, but horror also. Theodoret fairly says, The woman with child knows that she has the child to bear, but knows not the exact time for her pangs; so we also know that the Lord of all will appear, but the moment itself we have by no means been explicitly taught. The comment, however, hardly suits this passage, as the persons on whom the destruction will thus burst are not persons who live in any expectation of such a judgment.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
3. They shall say A sudden and significant change from ye to they; the they of the age of the advent, who will be in no state of faith and preparation. Comp. Mat 24:38, and Luk 17:26.
Then At whatever age of the world this event takes place, its then shall be a sudden one, and the result shall be destruction, that is, not annihilation, but ruin to the unbelieving rioters.
Travail Lunemann unhappily sanctions the false inference of De Wette, that as the woman knows the near approach though not the hour, so the apostle claimed the unknown hour to be within his own day. But the only point of comparison is between the suddenness, of the birth-pang and that of the advent; nothing of the woman’s earlier knowledge is adduced.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘When they are saying “Peace and Safety (or ‘Certainty’)”, then sudden destruction comes on them, as birth-pains on a woman with child, and they shall in no way escape.’
This defines further the day of the Lord in terms of God’s final judgments. The world, content and self satisfied, says ‘Peace and safety’, and then suddenly and unexpectedly, as with the final moments before birth, sudden destruction comes from which they cannot escape. Whether this comprises final desolation on earth in the midst of warfare and violence, or the activity of God as judge we are not told. ‘Destruction’ (olethros) describes the sentence after judgment in 2Th 1:9; 1Ti 6:9.
‘Peace and safety.’ The idea of falsely saying ‘peace’ occurs regularly in the Old Testament, see Eze 13:10; Jer 6:14; Jer 8:11; Mic 3:5. The word translated safety can mean ‘certainty’ (Luk 1:4), ‘safely secured’. Possibly it is intended to be seen as an ironic declaration of false certainty over against the truth. The suddenness of the destruction is an argument against seeing this as referring to destruction over a period of time. It suggests the final judgment.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Th 5:3 . Paul carries on in a vivid manner (therefore asyndetically ) the description of the sudden and unexpected nature in which the advent is to break in, whilst he indicates that precisely at the time when man fancies himself in the greatest security, the advent will occur. But with this thought is the wider and more special thought blended, that they who dream of security and serve earthly things will reap the fruit of their carelessness, namely, destruction.
] when they shall say, when it is said . As the subject of the verb, the apostle naturally thinks not on the inhabitants of Jerusalem (Harduin), but, as is evident from the nature of the expression of opinion added, and from the apodosis, unbelievers and merely nominal Christians, the children of this world; comp. Mat 24:38 ff.; Luk 17:26 ff. For the pious and true Christian never abandons himself to the feeling of security, but is always mindful of his salvation with fear and trembling; comp. Phi 2:12 .
] sc. ; comp. Eze 13:10 .
] imminet, or it surprises them .
] stands absolutely. Camerarius and others unnecessarily supply . Moreover, de Wette justly remarks, that in the comparison of the pangs of a pregnant woman, the supposition is contained that the advent is close at hand; for although the day and the hour, indeed, is not known to her, yet the period of her bearing is proximately known. Comp. Theodoret: , , , , . Oecumenius: , .
REMARK.
If (see critical remark) is read, we might, with Schott, whom Koch follows, find the following contrast with in 1Th 5:2 expressed: ye indeed know certainly that the day of the Lord will infallibly and suddenly arrive; but the day of the Lord, bringing destruction, will surprise the unbelieving and ungodly , who live in carelessness and security. But were such an emphatic opposition of persons the intention of the apostle, he would have attached to the simple verb a particular personal designation. Besides, , 1Th 5:2 , already forms a contrast with the person of the writer, 1Th 5:1 ; accordingly, it is improbable that , 1Th 5:2 , should be so emphatically placed first, in order at the same time to introduce a contrast to third persons who are not mentioned until 1Th 5:3 . Lastly, it is evident from the context that it is by no means the design of the apostle to explain that the day of the Lord will befall Christians prepared , but unbelievers unprepared ; but he purposes to remind them only of the sudden and unexpected entrance of the advent itself .
(3) 1Th 5:4-11 . Exhortation to be ready and prepared for the coming of the advent, occasioned and also softened by the previous indication of their character as “of the light,” which the readers by reason of their peculiarity as Christians possessed.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Ver. 3. For when they shall say ] Security is the certain usher of destruction, as in Benhadad’s army, and Pompey’s before the Pharsalian field. Some of them contended for the priesthood, which was Caesar’s office, others disposed of the consulships and offices in Rome, as if all were already their own; Pompey himself being so wretchedly reckless, that he never considered into what place he were best to retire if he lost the day.
Then shall sudden destruction ] As philosophers say, that before a snow the weather will be warmish; when the wind lies, the great rain falls; and the air is most quiet when suddenly there will be an earthquake.
As travail upon a woman ] 1. Certainly; 2. Suddenly; 3. Irresistibly, inevitably.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
3 .] Following out of the comparison . , into detail.
, viz. men in general the children of the world, as opposed to the people of God: cf. below. The vivid description dispenses with any copula.
. . . , scil. , see ref. Ezek.
. has the emphasis, becoming a kind of predicate.
, generally used of any sudden unexpected appearance: see reff., and Act 4:1 .
It is pressing too close the comparison . . ., when De W. says that it “assumes the day to be near , for that such a woman, though she does not know the day and the hour, yet has a definite knowledge of the period :” for it is not the woman, nor her condition, that is the subject of comparison, but the unexpected pang of labour which comes on her.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Th 5:3 . , . . ., when the very words, “All’s well,” “It is all right,” are on their lips. , of an enemy suddenly appearing (Isocrat., Evag. , 58 , Herod. iv. 203). , i.e. , while the Day comes suddenly to Christians and unbelievers alike, only the latter are surprised by it. Christians are on the alert, open-eyed; they do not know when it is to come, but they are alive to any signs of its coming. Thus there is no incompatibility between this emphasis on the instantaneous character of the advent and the emphasis, in II., 2Th 2:3 f., on the preliminary conditions.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
For. The texts omit.
shall. Omit.
sudden. Greek. aiphnidios. Only here and Luk 21:34.
destruction. Greek. olethros. See 1Co 5:5.
travail. Greek. odin. See Act 2:24.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
3.] Following out of the comparison . , into detail.
, viz. men in general-the children of the world, as opposed to the people of God: cf. below. The vivid description dispenses with any copula.
. . ., scil. , see ref. Ezek.
. has the emphasis, becoming a kind of predicate.
, generally used of any sudden unexpected appearance: see reff., and Act 4:1.
It is pressing too close the comparison …, when De W. says that it assumes the day to be near,-for that such a woman, though she does not know the day and the hour, yet has a definite knowledge of the period: for it is not the woman, nor her condition, that is the subject of comparison, but the unexpected pang of labour which comes on her.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Th 5:3. , they say) all the others (the rest, ), who are of darkness, 1Th 5:5-6 [ch. 1Th 4:13].- , peace and safety) They will regard it as an established fact, that the world is eternal.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Th 5:3
When they are saying, Peace and safety,-In the very act of their saying, Peace and safety-just when men of the world pronounce everything secure and quiet-then the thief comes, who steals from them the possessions they imagined safe from all attack. Such times of security are pregnant with judgment to the wicked.
then sudden destruction cometh upon them,-[Then suddenly over them stands destruction. Without a moments warning ruin comes-riot seen approaching, but first visible hanging over the doomed sinner.]
as travail upon a woman with child;-This image signifies, besides the suddenness of the disaster, its intense pain, and its inevitableness. The point of comparison is the suddenness of the birth pang and that of the Lords coming.
and they shall in no wise escape.-[Instead of peace and safety destruction surprises them; all for which they have lived passes away; they awake, as from a deep sleep, to discover that their soul has no part with God. It is too late then to think of preparing for the end; the end has come; and it is with solemn emphasis that the apostle adds, They shall in no wise escape.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Peace: Deu 29:19, Jdg 18:27, Jdg 18:28, Psa 10:11-13, Isa 21:4, Isa 56:12, Dan 5:3-6, Nah 1:10, Mat 24:37-39, Luk 17:26-30, Luk 21:34, Luk 21:35
then: Exo 15:9, Exo 15:10, Jos 8:20-22, Jdg 20:41, Jdg 20:42, 2Ch 32:19-21, Psa 73:18-20, Pro 29:1, Isa 30:13, Luk 17:27-29, Luk 21:34, Luk 21:35, Act 12:22, Act 12:23, Act 13:41, 2Th 1:9, 2Pe 2:4, Rev 18:7, Rev 18:8
as: Psa 48:6, Isa 43:6-9, Isa 21:3, Jer 4:31, Jer 6:24, Jer 13:21, Jer 22:23, Hos 13:13, Mic 4:9, Mic 4:10
and they: Mat 23:33, Heb 2:3, Heb 12:23
Reciprocal: Gen 3:16 – in sorrow Gen 7:11 – all Gen 19:14 – as one Exo 12:29 – at midnight Jos 8:22 – let none Jos 11:7 – suddenly Jdg 8:11 – secure Jdg 10:8 – that year Jdg 19:6 – let thine heart Jdg 20:34 – knew not 1Sa 15:32 – Agag said 1Sa 26:7 – sleeping 1Sa 30:16 – eating 2Sa 4:5 – lay on a bed 2Sa 17:3 – shall be 2Sa 18:14 – thrust them 2Sa 22:5 – waves 1Ki 1:42 – a valiant 1Ki 22:27 – until I come in peace 2Ki 3:24 – smote the 2Ki 9:24 – smote 2Ki 19:35 – that night 2Ch 18:26 – until I return Est 5:12 – to morrow Job 15:21 – in prosperity Job 18:12 – destruction Job 22:10 – sudden Job 24:23 – whereon Job 31:3 – destruction Job 36:20 – cut Psa 6:10 – and be Psa 10:6 – not Psa 35:8 – Let destruction Psa 64:7 – suddenly Psa 73:19 – How Pro 1:27 – your fear Pro 6:15 – shall his Pro 14:32 – driven Pro 24:16 – but Pro 28:18 – but Ecc 9:12 – the sons Isa 1:28 – the destruction Isa 13:6 – for the day Isa 13:8 – pangs Isa 20:6 – and how Isa 26:17 – General Isa 29:5 – at an Isa 37:36 – and when Isa 47:9 – in a moment Isa 47:11 – thou shalt not be Isa 59:9 – we wait Jer 5:12 – neither Jer 8:15 – General Jer 11:11 – which Jer 14:19 – we Jer 30:6 – every Jer 48:41 – as the heart Jer 49:22 – the heart of the Eze 7:10 – it Eze 12:28 – There shall Eze 33:24 – but we Dan 4:4 – was Dan 4:31 – the word Dan 5:5 – the same Amo 6:3 – put Hab 2:7 – they Zec 1:11 – is Mat 24:8 – General Mat 24:50 – come Mar 13:8 – sorrows Luk 6:25 – mourn Luk 12:20 – God Luk 12:39 – General Rom 2:3 – that thou shalt 2Pe 2:3 – whose Rev 16:15 – I come
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Th 5:3. Shall say, peace and safety is a figurative expression, representing the state of indifference that the people of the world will be indulging regarding the day of judgment. They will have scorned the warnings of the Lord, spoken to them through the teaching of the Word, and settled themselves in the false peace and safety of their life of sin. The pangs of a woman with child are sharp and sudden, throwing her into a state of fear or dread that can be fully uderstood only by one who personally has such an experience. (See Psa 48:6; Jeremiah 6 Jeremiah 24 Jer 49:24.) Paul uses it to illustrate the terrible state of mind into wich the hordes of sinners will be thrown when they suddenly realize that they are faced with the doom of the judgment day. Shall not escape. When that awful day comes, it will be impossible to find a hiding place from the Ix rath of God, for the earth and all things therein will be melting with fervent heat, leaving them in the grasp of Him whose righteous law they have despised. (See 2Pe 3:10.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
1Th 5:3. When they shall say. When unbelieving and unthinking men are persuading themselves that there is no cause for apprehension, then destruction comes upon them suddenly.
As travail upon her that is with child. This is the usual expression in Scripture for great anguish, but the point of the comparison in this passage seems to be the suddenness of the pang. The woman is seized as she travels, or sits at table, or lies asleep the suddenness being all the more striking because she thinks she is prepared for it. The inevitable nature of that pain may also be in the apostles mind, and may have suggested the following clause.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
When they [the thoughtless and careless] are saying, Peace and safety [i. e., there is no ground for apprehension], then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall in no wise escape.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Evidently the occasion for the false sense of security felt then will be the Antichrist’s signing of a covenant with Israel (cf. Dan 9:27). Thus the beginning of the day of the Lord and the beginning of Daniel’s seventieth week also coincide. [Note: See Showers, Maranatha . . ., pp. 58-63.] That signing will set the stage for a period of unprecedented destruction even though it will be the signing of a peace treaty. Unbelievers living on earth then will be able to anticipate this period of persecution since God has revealed it in Scripture. It will be much like a pregnant woman’s delivery which observers can anticipate by her appearance (cf. Mat 24:8). No one living on the earth then will in any way (double negative for emphasis in the Greek text) escape the turmoil to follow. They cannot escape it any more than a pregnant woman can escape delivering her child. This seems to argue against midtribulationism. No one on earth who is living in peace and safety during the first half of the Tribulation will escape the destruction coming in the second half, except those who die.