By Dr. Michael L. Williams
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. “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. 11 Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
We live in a time that is more dangerous than ever before. Yet some people say that the times in which we live are the most peaceful in history. Their thinking is flawed in that what they do not realize is that in previous times we could count on MAD, Mutually Assured Destruction, to keep the world from engaging in thermonuclear war. Even the idea of not allowing spouses in to cold war shelters for government officials was a psychological deterrent to prevent people from making rogue and hasty decisions to start such a war for fear of loved ones being harmed. However, today we have hundreds of millions of people who embrace a demonic ideology based on loving death more than we love life at the expense of their neighbor and even their family. They seek to be the judge, jury, and executioner to assure that anyone who does not subscribe to their beliefs will die a horrible death for simply not agreeing with them about what happens to them after they die.
What do you believe? Are you wearing the breastplate of faith and love? Do you possess the helmet, which is the hope of your salvation?
