1Thes 5:1 - TIME (Greek Word - Chronos)

1Th 5:1 - But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that aught be written unto you.

TIME (Chronos)

Time – when apostle Paul penned this verse, he did not use the word “Chairos” but he used the word “Chronos”. Both words are translated as “time” in English, but they not quite the same.

With regard to times and seasons this subsection opens in much the same way as it is in 1Th: 4:9, talking about brotherly love. The word “Chronos” and “Chairos” may have been used as a conventional doubt, like our own “times & seasons” with no particular emphasis on both the noun. The only difference in usage between the two that “Chairos” means or used in the sense of opportune moments and “Chronos” means or used in the sense of stretches of time.

It is natural to suppose, after what he had said in the conclusion of the previous chapter concerning the coming of Christ, the raising of the dead, and rendering those immortal who should then be found alive, without obliging them to pass through the empire of death, that the Thessalonians would feel an innocent curiosity to know, as the disciples did concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, when those things should take place, and what should be the signs of those times, and of the coming of the Son of man. And it is remarkable that the apostle answers, here, to these anticipated questions as our Lord did, in the above case, to the direct question of his disciples; and he seems to refer in these words, Of the times and the seasons ye have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves know that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the night, to what our Lord said, (Mat 24:44; Mat 25:13) and the apostle takes it for granted that they were acquainted with our Lord’s prediction on the subject: For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. It is very likely therefore, that the apostle, like our Lord, couples these two grand events-the destruction of Jerusalem and the final judgment. And it appears most probable that it is of the former event chiefly that he speaks here, as it was certainly of the latter that he treated in the conclusion of the preceding chapter.

Both the word “Chronos” and “Chairos” bring before the mind both the duration of the time that must elapse before the coming of the Lord, and also the nature of the events that will characterize the end time. Paul maintains that there is no real need for anyone to write to the Thessalonians about the times because previously he has taught then and has spoke to them about the coming of the Lord. There is abundant evidence from the letter that he had spoken a good deal and the converts had learned this part of their lesson well.

As we do not know the exact date and time of the coming of the Lord, it’s good for us to live a life of expectancy and affirm our faith in Him again and again and live a life of holiness and purity and be what he wants us to be. As the Bible says he will came like a thief in the night.