Chapter # 5 Paragraph # 1 Study # 1
January 11, 2015
Dayton, Texas
(106)
1769 Translation:
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
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.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as [
do] others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
1901 ASV Translation:
1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
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.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief:
5 for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness;
6 so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that are drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God appointed us not unto wrath, but unto the obtaining of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.
- I. At Issue: The Times and The Seasons.
- A. Focus question: When?
- 1. An issue that is prompted by Paul's explanation of what happens to those who are "dead in Christ" and those who are alive and remaining until the coming of the Lord.
- 2. Clearly, the more pressing issue is that one which deals with those who are alive and remaining until that coming.
- 3. The almost automatic question would be: when will this coming occur? Is there any possibility that "I" will be one of the ones "alive and remaining"?
- B. Focus issues involve "times" and "seasons".
- 1. The word for "time" has its focus upon the passing of minutes, hours, days, etc.
- a. Herod asked the wise men for the specific "time" when the star of the King of the Jews had appeared (Matthew 2:7). This is clearly a question of a given day, week, or, at least, month. He killed all of the male babies in the environs of Bethlehem that were under two years of age because of the "time" the wise men revealed to him (Matthew 2:16).
- b. The "after a long time" in Matthew 25:19 indicates that the passing of days, weeks, months, etc. is what "time" is about.
- c. This usage is pretty consistent through the New Testament. The passage in Galatians 4:4 does indicate that "time" is a progressive movement through minutes, hours, etc. but with this twist: the progression is governed by objectives that require the events that occur during the minutes, hours, days, etc. of that progression.
- d. That the word is used in both singular and plural forms does indicate that a "time" is a "bounded reality within the larger issue of 'progression'" so that once a given objective is set forth, and the first moment of the pursuit of that objective is initiated, the "time" is a period from beginning to accomplishment.
- 2. The word for "season" has its focus upon that period of "time" wherein the accomplishment of the established objective is in view.
- a. This is most clearly seen in examples like Matthew 8:29 and 13:30.
- b. That this word also has singular and plural references means that there are various "seasons" because there are various "objectives" being brought to fruition. This is in harmony with the plural "times". A "time" automatically means a "season" will come.
- 3. Acts 1:7 records Jesus as saying, "It is not for you to know the times or the seasons...".
- a. The question, then, is this: was Jesus' statement only for the apostles in that specific setting so that, at a later "time", it would no longer be true?
- b. The answer seems to be that the statement is yet in effect.
- c. If that is so, Paul's declaration that "you have no need to have writings sent to you" is to mean: you guys know full well that there is no answer to your question(s).
- II. The Absence of Need For Written Information.
- A. On the face of it, the absence of "need" exists because God has no intention of giving answers to questions that do not need answers (if Acts 1:7 is yet in effect). Curiosity and need are not the same thing.
- B. What is Paul attempting to do here?
- 1. Clearly he is anticipating a "when" question.
- 2. Biblically he cannot give a specific answer.
- 3. Thus, he is, in effect, saying: You do not need to go there.
- III. Why is There No Need?
- A. Because they already know what Jesus declared: It is not for you to know... .
- B. The clarity of their knowledge: "...yourselves know perfectly...".
- 1. No one needs to write about the times and seasons because Jesus made it perfectly clear that curiosity was not healthy.
- 2. What about "...It is not for you to know the times or the seasons..." is unclear?
- C. The biblical revelation regarding the coming Day of the Lord is this: it comes like a thief in the night.
- 1. The entire point of this analogy is one: thieves don't let their victims know "when".
- 2. The sidebar to this point is this: do not get hung up with curiosity when all it does is sidetrack the real purpose for our being here.
- IV. The "Topic" of Curiosity: The Day of the Lord.
- A. This is a very large theme in the Bible that covers a veritable host of details.
- B. Clearly, since the "Rapture" was Paul's topic in the previous paragraph, this "event" is included in the large, biblical scenario. This is not the same thing as being an equivalent issue: the "Rapture" occurs within the parameters of the Coming of the Day of the Lord, but it is not the essence of that Day.