Good morning, Bereans. We are continuing our study of 1 Thessalonians this morning. Today we want to look at verses 3-5 of chapter 5. Keep in mind that the context of this section from 4:13 thru 5:11 is about the second coming. We spent our last two studies looking at the first two verses of chapter 5 and talking about the Day of the Lord.
Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 ESV
The phrase "day of the Lord" is an expression taken from the Tanakh where it is used many times in regard to the judgments and destruction of various nations. It usually meant a time when God Himself would punish or judge people by means of the armies of other people.
The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. Isaiah 13:1 ESV
In this chapter Yahweh is talking about the judgment that is to fall upon Babylon.
Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Isaiah 13:6 ESV
Here the Day of the Lord is referring to the destruction of Babylon.
Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them, who have no regard for silver and do not delight in gold. Isaiah 13:17 ESV
Yahweh used the Medes to destroy Babylon. This is an historical event that took place in 539 BC. This destruction is said in verse 6 to be from the Almighty, and the Medes constitute the means that God uses to accomplish this task.
The invading armies of other nations brought judgment and destruction upon various nations. These times were each called "the day of the Lord" when they were proclaimed of the Lord.
While the references to "the day of the Lord" in the Tanakh referred to various nations, all the references in the New Testament to the "day of the Lord" (four of them) are referring to the A.D. 70 judgment that came upon the nation Israel.
In reference to the Day of the Lord, Paul says to the Thessalonians, "You have no need to have anything written to you," "you yourselves are fully aware." This tells us that he had taught them carefully and thoroughly about these end-time events including the day of the Lord which would usher in God's judgment on Israel.
Commenting on this, Chuck Smith writes, "I believe that the Lord intended us to be knowledgeable of Bible prophecy, and thus knowledgeable of the signs of His coming."
I agree! The Lord does want us knowledgeable of Bible prophecy. Paul tells us that he taught the Thessalonians all they needed to know about the second coming. According to R.C. Sproul, two-thirds of the New Testament is either directly or indirectly eschatological. According to James Montgomery Boice: "In the New Testament one verse in twenty-five deals with the Lord's return. It is mentioned 318 times in the 260 chapters of the New Testament" (The Epistles of John, p. 96). Ray Steadman says the Second Coming is "the most frequently mentioned truth in all of the New Testament." And Wayne Jackson says it's "referenced eight times more often than the Lord's initial coming" (Facts About the Second Coming of Christ: Christian Courier. So, prophecy is a big deal.
But let's finish the Chuck Smith quote.
"I believe that the Lord intended us to be knowledgeable of Bible prophecy, and thus knowledgeable of the signs of His coming. And certainly, there are interesting signs of His coming in the world today. Israel existing as a nation: tremendous sign of the coming again of Jesus Christ. Europe gathered together in a community of ten nations: an interesting sign of the return again of Jesus Christ."
Chuck Smith is missing the fact that almost every time that the second coming is mentioned, there is a time statement with it (e.g., soon, shortly, near, this generation, some of you standing here). It never indicates a long way off. Never. It's always soon. So, Chuck Smith believes "the Lord intended us to be knowledgeable of Bible prophecy" but he isn't knowledgeable about it at all. He misses it by 2000 years.
Commenting on 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2, Steven J. Cole writes, "So we should not doubt that the day of the Lord is coming, even though it is delayed. You either have to throw out the Bible completely or acknowledge that this day will certainly come!"
You have to believe that the Day of the Lord is coming in our future, or you don't believe the Bible? It was coming to the first-century audience, but not to us. I would say to Cole: "You either have to throw out the time statements completely or acknowledge that the Day of the Lord has already come."
Notice what Paul says about the Day of the Lord. He says it, "Will come like a thief in the night." Where did Paul get this teaching that the Day of the Lord would come like a thief? He got it from the Lord Himself.
Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Matthew 24:42-43 ESV
This comparison of the Lord's coming to that of a thief in the night is found in several places in the New Testament. As we look at these different texts, please take note of who is being addressed. Paul exhorts them, the first century saints, to be always ready for the coming of Christ in judgment because it would come with suddenness and surprise.
Peter uses this same idea of the Lord's coming as a thief in the night.
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 2 Peter 3:10 ESV
We find, then, that Paul uses this thief in the night idea that he got from Yeshua. Peter used it also, and John uses it in quoting Yeshua.
Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. Revelation 3:3 ESV
Notice what Yeshua taught. He would come as a thief if they were not watching.
("Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!") Revelation 16:15 ESV
Again, we see Christ's coming as a thief and the blessedness of those watching.
Common in all these passages is the idea of suddenness and the unexpectedness of the coming; and consequently, the danger of unpreparedness on the part of those first-century saints who saw the promise of His Parousia fulfilled.
To us, the idea of a thief means one who takes goods secretly and silently without doing violence. But the original word means one who does it by housebreaking or by highway violence. Yeshua had told them he was coming, and they were to be expecting Him so that they would be prepared for. If a man knows the approximate time a thief may come to break into his house, he takes precautions and prepares accordingly.
Let me give you an illustration from my life. When I was a youth pastor, several of the teens in the program would come by my house in the middle of the night and cover my trees with toilet paper. The precious little darlings would also take the wood from my wood pile and spread it all over my yard. These little visits of theirs would take me some time to clean up. This happened on several occasions. To say the least, I was not too thrilled with their expression of love. One night before a youth bus trip, I received an anonymous phone call from someone telling me that the teens were going to TP my house that night.
I was thrilled! I waited up all night in the front bedroom ready for their arrival. Every time I heard a car, I would look to see if it was them. I fell asleep a couple of times, but I woke up at each sound I heard. I was ready for their coming. But they never came. That morning, as the teens were arriving for the trip and getting on the bus, one of them said to me with a big smirk on his face, "Did you get a good night's sleep last night?" They got me!
Well, let me say that the Lord is not like those kids. He was not pulling a prank on the first-century saints. He told them to be alert because He was going to come in their generation and destroy Jerusalem and the Old Covenant system.
In verse 44, the Lord told His disciples,
Therefore, you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. Matthew 24:44 ESV
The Greek word for "ready" is hetoimos. It is from an old noun heteos (fitness); adjusted, i.e., ready: prepared. Luke puts this same warning this way:
"But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:34-36 ESV
Let me say that "whole earth" is a bad translation. It is translated from the Greek word ge and is best translated here as "land" (i.e., Jerusalem), as the context demonstrates.
"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Luke 21:20 ESV
The subject here is Jerusalem not the whole earth. They were to always be watching and praying that they would be able to escape the coming judgment upon Jerusalem.
While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 ESV
Please notice that there is a pronoun switch from the second person in 5:1–2 (you) to the third person in 5:3 (they, them) and back again to the first and second person in 5:4–11 (you, we, us).
J. Hampton Keathley lll writes, "Note the pronouns "they" and "them" in verse 3. In contrast to 4:15 and 16, the Apostle did not include himself nor his readers with those who would see the Day of the Lord, but that is exactly what he did when describing the rapture in chapter 4. Why? Because now in chapter 5 these third-person pronouns refer to those left behind after the rapture, that is, non-Christians."
So, he uses the pronoun change to support his rapture theory. How could the Day of the Lord surprise them if they wouldn't see it? Why did the pronouns change here? Because he is talking about unbelievers
For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Yeshua the Christ, 1 Thessalonians 5:9 ESV
The "us" here is believers. Believers receive salvation not wrath. How? How were the believers spared from the wrath of the Day of the Lord?
"So, when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Matthew 24:15-16 ESV
"Abomination of desolation"—is a Hebrew expression meaning an abominable or hateful destroyer. Cestius Gallus and his Roman army were the abomination of desolation. It was fulfilled in A.D. 66 when the Romans surrounded the city of Jerusalem.
Yeshua told them to "flee to the mountains." By obeying their Lord, those Jewish Christians fled to the mountains of Perea and escaped this destruction.
How did the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem at the Day of the Lord affect the Thessalonians? Jerusalem was over 900 miles from Thessalonica.
With their city and Temple destroyed, the Jews were no longer able to attack the Christians, and for the most part, the persecution ended. But I think that the biggest reason that the wrath against Christianity ended at the second coming was because the spiritual battle then ended.
"While people are saying, 'There is peace and security'"—Paul says that people will be saying, "Peace and security!" just prior to destruction coming on them. He may be referring to the prophets Jeremiah (6:14) and Ezekiel (13:10), who condemned the false prophets of their day for assuring people of peace when God had declared impending judgment.
Jeremiah prophesied about the day of the Lord. Jeremiah warned Judah, the southern kingdom, of judgment. And Jeremiah was talking about a historical day of the Lord in which God would come and use another nation to be His judge and executioner. Many of them would be massacred, and the rest would be deported off into Babylon. So, Jeremiah saw a near historical day of the Lord coming on Judah. He was predicting that this army was going to come in and wipe out Judah and dispossesses them from their land, and haul them off into captivity.
Flee for safety, O people of Benjamin, from the midst of Jerusalem! Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, and raise a signal on Beth-haccherem, for disaster looms out of the north, and great destruction. Jeremiah 6:1 ESV
The Babylonian army is camped on their northern border. Jeremiah tells them to run, flee, get out. But they were listening to the false prophets because they liked that message better.
"For from the least to the greatest of them, everyone is greedy for unjust gain; and from prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. Jeremiah 6:13-14 ESV
"Peace and security" was the message of the false prophets of Jeremiah's day and in Paul's day.
For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, Matthew 24:37-38 ESV
Yeshua is here making a comparison between His coming and Noah's flood. As the flood came and took them all away, so the judgment on Israel would take them all away. The unbelievers of Israel, just like the unbelievers in Noah's day, would be taken away in judgment. Keep in mind what he was just talking about–-"no one knows the day or hour." The point that Yeshua is making is that just as in the days of Noah, the wicked did not know judgment was coming until the flood came and took them away, so it would be at His coming.
In the days of Noah, they were eating and drinking and marrying and giving in marriage with no sense of apprehension of the coming flood. They thought they were in peace and security. This is how it was prior to the destruction of Jerusalem.
Why would people say there is "peace and security" when the biblical emphasis is that there will be intense suffering before the Second Coming?
"At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. Daniel 12:1 ESV
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. Matthew 24:21 ESV
In like of this, how could they think there would be peace and safety? Commentator David Guzik writes, "This sudden coming, in a time when many say "Peace and safety!" must be distinct from the coming of Jesus described in Matthew 24:15-35. The coming of Jesus described in this text in Matthew happens at a time of great global catastrophe, when no one could possibly say "peace and safety!" Comparing passages like this shows us that there must be, in some way, two aspects to Jesus' Second Coming."
This is not talking about two comings of Christ. Let me give you a little history. The Roman Emperor Augustus inaugurated an "Age of Peace" called the pax Romana in 17 B.C. In the Roman Empire proper; this period of peace remained comparatively undisturbed until the time of Nero. So, the apocalyptic teaching of the apostles would have sounded decidedly strange.
Here is what we need to understand. The day of the Lord begins with the tribulation which was a three-and-a-half-year siege of Jerusalem and concludes with the total destruction of the city and Temple. So, the day of the Lord is a three-and-a-half-year period, not a day. The Jewish leadership, then, would have responded to the apocalyptic teaching of Christ's followers with sneers and mocking saying, "this is a time of peace and security, nothing is going to happen." They mocked until the Roman army showed up and laid siege to the city. Paul says (1 Thessalonians 5:3) that "Then sudden destruction will come upon them." The word "sudden" is only found here and in Luke's account of the Olivet discourse.
"But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. Luke 21:34 ESV
The word translated "suddenly" is the Greek word aiphnidios, which is an adjective modifying destruction. It had a similar ominous tone for it spoke of those sudden and unexpected events that would cause terror and anguish.
"As labor pains come upon a pregnant woman"—this is a metaphor used in the Tanakh of judgment.
Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore, all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. Isaiah 13:6-8 ESV
This became a New Testament metaphor of birth pains of the new age.
All these are but the beginning of the birth pains. Matthew 24:8 ESV
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. Romans 8:22 ESV
"Labor pains" speak of the suddenness yet certainty of an event. When a woman gets pregnant and the doctor gives her a due date, what do we not know? Does he tell her the day or the hour? No, we know it will be about 40 weeks, but the day or hour no man knows. One minute she is fine then all of a sudden, she is doubled over in pain. It's sudden. But the main idea of the labor pains for the pregnant woman may be that they are inescapable.
"And they will not escape"—this is a strong expression in the Greek. It is an emphatic double negative: "Never, no, never under any circumstances." When this time comes, they will not escape, any more than a woman can escape from labor when her time is upon her.
While people are saying, "There is peace and security," then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 ESV
This passage strongly contrasts "them" (v. 3) and "brothers" (v. 4).
But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 1 Thessalonians 5:4 ESV
"Brothers"—marks out a contrast and introduces an appeal to believers. In verse 3 we have "them" and "they" and in verse 4 we have "but you" and then in verse 6 we have "others." "But you" is very emphatic in the original text. Paul is contrasting the destiny of believers with that of unbelievers.
"But you are not in darkness." What does he mean by darkness? Darkness is a symbol of both spiritual blindness and lack of knowledge.
For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 1:21 ESV
This is darkness of spiritual things. Spiritual blindness.
for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Ephesians 5:8 ESV
They were blind to the things of God but now they are light. The association between the life of sin and darkness was well known in the Tanakh as well as in the writings from Qumran and other Jewish literature. The authors described Christian salvation as the passage from darkness to light (Acts 26:18; Eph. 5:8; Col. 1:13; 1 Pet. 2:9) and redemption as "being enlightened" (Heb. 6:4; 10:32).
Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. Ephesians 4:17-18 ESV
"They are darkened in their understanding." "Darkened" is a perfect participle and it simply means "to make blind." A perfect participle indicates that something that happened in the past has continuing results. The word "understanding" is translated from the Greek verb "dianoia," which means "deep thought." This word is specifying more than just thought; it is referring to comprehension, discernment, and judgment. It conveys the idea of a clouded or darkened mind in contrast to an illumined mind.
The "you" of our verse is believers. And believers are not in spiritual darkness because they know the Lord. They are also not in darkness as to Yahweh's plans. God has revealed, through the Old Covenant prophets, through the feast days, and through Yeshua and the New Testament writers the basic outline of end-time events so that those believers who are alive will not be surprised by what is occurring.
"For that day to surprise you like a thief"—when the day of the Lord arrived, the believers at Thessalonica would not be surprised. Paul had taught them all about eschatology; they were well informed and would not be surprised.
Talking about the second coming of Christ in 1 Thessalonians 5, John MacArthur writes that "God has left us in the dark about that. Why? So, that every generation would live in the light of the reality that it could happen in their life time, so that every generation would have to face the fact that Jesus could come in final judgment during their life time."
Every generation? Yeshua made it really clear that it was his generation that would see all the end time events.
Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Matthew 24:34 ESV
MacArthur commenting on this verse says, "Now, the question comes immediately at this juncture: What generation is He talking about? What generation isn't going to pass? Well, to pass means to die, to come to an end. The generation will not come to an end until all these things be fulfilled. What generation?"
He goes on to say, "And there's no reason to believe this generation means 'this little group of disciples' because if that's what He meant, He could have said, "You will not pass away until all these things be fulfilled."
Can you believe MacArthur said that? That is exactly what Yeshua did say.
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Matthew 16:27-28 ESV
Some of them would still be alive when the Lord returned in that generation. That current generation fits with all of the "soon," "quickly," "shortly" time statements about the second coming.
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 ESV
Starting at this point and going through verse 10, Paul couches his teaching and exhortation in the first-person plural, moving from talking about what they, the unbelievers, do to what we, the Christians, do.
So, there is a distinct contrast between unbelievers (characterized by spiritual and moral darkness) and believers, who are children of light and day. Believers would not be surprised when the day of the Lord came because they expected it.
The word "children" here is from the Greek word huios, which means a son. In the Semitic languages generally, to be a "son" of something means to be characterized by that thing. So, believers are characterized by "light and day" which are Semitic idioms for the righteous. In the Bible, "light" represents the righteousness of God while "dark" represents evil and the influence of Satan. To walk in light or darkness is to live according to truth or error.
This metaphorical dualism of light versus darkness is characteristic of the Ancient Near East. It is a recurrent theme in John's writings and in the Dead Sea Scrolls. The members of the Dead Sea sect at Qumran called themselves by this very name—sons of light. (1QS 1:9; 2:16; 3:13, 24–25; 1QM 1:1, 3, 9, 11, 13). But the Christian use finds its roots in the teaching of Yeshua (Luke 16:8; John 12:36).
Yeshua identified Himself as the "light of the world."
Again, Yeshua spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12 ESV
Paul says that believers are light.
for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Ephesians 5:8 ESV
"But now you are Light in the Lord"—a contrast is seen both by the adversative conjunction de (but) and by the adverb of time nun (now). We were darkness "but now" we are Light in the Lord. How did this happen? How did darkness become light? "In the Lord"—that is a positional truth that doesn't fluctuate with our performance.
Light and darkness are prominent themes in Paul's Epistles. These symbols are prominent in the Gospels and in the teaching of our Lord. They are employed as well by Peter and John. The symbols of light and darkness are not new in the New Testament; they are themes which are rooted in the Tanakh and which are drawn upon and applied in the New.
Light is a significant metaphor in Scripture. The word "light" occurs on the very first and very last pages of Scripture and more than 250 times in between. Let's begin with the very first place in which light appears in Scripture.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Genesis 1:1-2 ESV
So, we have the darkness over the earth.
And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. Genesis 1:3-5 ESV
This may seem like a straightforward account of physical realities of light and darkness, but it is much more than this. If you have studied the Genesis creation accounts in their Ancient Near East context, you know that a lot more is going on. In the ancient world, the sea and the darkness were synonymous with gods of chaos and death.
In the ancient imagination, darkness was understood to be a problem, so the creation of light and the separation of light and darkness in Genesis intends to communicate Yahweh's dominance over (the gods of) darkness, death, and chaos.
At the beginning of this creation account, the earth was dark and in disarray (formless and void). At the end, it has light and is ordered. The progress is from darkness to light and for disorder to order. Light was created by God to separate darkness and light.
God creates light as something of an antidote to darkness. Light comes from God. Darkness is a problem that needs to be contained. It is from here that the prolific concept of light and dark as good and evil is born.
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Isaiah 5:20 ESV
We could say, then, that light and darkness are synonyms for good and evil. In the Psalms, light and darkness are used symbolically. Light becomes the symbol for salvation.
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psalms 27:1 ESV
Light is a symbol for truth.
Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling! Psalms 43:3 ESV
Light is a symbol of Yahweh's splendor and presence.
You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. Psalms 90:8 ESV
Light is essential to biological life; it is necessary for life to thrive and flourish and prosper. The authors of Scripture recognize this. The simple connection between light and life is developed thoroughly, especially in the Psalms, and comes to refer not just to biological life or existence, but to fullness of life in Yahweh's presence. Light in life indicates vitality and prosperity. Darkness, conversely, connotes death.
For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life. Psalms 56:13 ESV
I form light and create darkness; I make well-being and create calamity; I am the LORD, who does all these things. Isaiah 45:7 ESV
"Calamity" is a poor translation of the Hebrew word ra. It should be rendered as "evil."
As we saw from the Genesis account, it is God's Word that ushers in light. Yahweh's speech is light that illuminates and makes known. This concept is developed especially in Psalms as God's Word is described as a light and a lamp. Light is a metaphor for vision, for sight, for truth, for knowledge, and for wisdom. Darkness, conversely, indicates ignorance and blindness.
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Psalms 119:105 ESV
he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. Daniel 2:22 ESV
Speaking of Christ, the prophet writes:
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone. Isaiah 9:2 ESV
Light is symbolic of the Christ Who was to come.
Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! Psalms 118:25-27 ESV
As we come to the New Testament, we see that the metaphors for light developed in the Tanakh are applied to Yeshua and His followers. Matthew asserts that Isaiah's vision is fulfilled in Yeshua and says of His life:
the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." Matthew 4:16 ESV
Here we see Light as eternal life/salvation. John teaches us this same truth.
In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. John 1:4-9 ESV
Here again we see Light as eternal life. Notice that Yeshua is not just the Light of Israel, as was said of Yahweh in Isaiah; Yeshua is the Light that gives light to all men.
Light not only reveals the true state of things, it also dispels darkness and illumines. The Light of the Gospel, as it shines forth in the life of those who follow Christ, dispels spiritual darkness and reveals the true nature of evil.
For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. 1 Thessalonians 5:5 ESV
In contrast to those who will be overtaken by the Day of the Lord, the Thessalonian believers are sons of light and sons of day, without exception (all).
And this is true of all believers; we are sons of light. Because believers are Light in the Lord, Paul says,
for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, Ephesians 5:8 ESV
"Walk as children of Light"—Paul moves from the indicative of what they are in the Lord to the imperative of how they should live. Just because we are children of Light does not guarantee that we will live that way. So, Paul says, in effect, "Be what you are! You are Light—now, walk that way!" "Light" represents righteousness.
The Christian life is the life lived in the Light of Yahweh. Followers of Yeshua are Light and they are to walk in the Light and to let their light shine before others. These are the straightforward biblical commands:
"Walk as children of the Light."
"Let your light shine before men."
May we all by the grace of Yahweh walk as children of Light.