While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. – 1 Thessalonians 5:3

Today's Scripture Reading (February 5, 2021): 1 Thessalonians 5

Part of what allowed Adolf Hitler to rise in Germany was a world that believed only in the best about the Nazi's in Germany. After the pain of World War I, then just "The World War," the attitude of those living outside of Germany was that they didn't want to plunge the world into another conflict. And surely that included Adolf Hitler. As the stories of the atrocities of Nazi Germany began to be told worldwide, the world reacted by downplaying the reports, proclaiming peace, and making excuses for the German government.

Economic changes were made, Germany stopped pay reparations for the war, but there wasn't a consensus on those payments anyway, so "maybe that was okay," muttered everyone not from France. When Germany began to rearm, violating the Treaty of Versailles, the world wrote of the action as possibly the cost of being an independent country. Surely Germany had the right to protect itself. As Germany began to take surrounding territory, more excuses were made to excuse German behavior. When rumors escaped the Reich about the treatment of Jews, it was assumed that the people the stories were about were criminals who deserved punishment and that the German actions were not as bad as reported. The world continuously preached "peace and safety," while Germany brought us closer and closer to war.

Even after the outbreak of war, the United States remained on the sideline. Pacifists throughout the North American nation wanted nothing to do with another European War. Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor was intended to be a bloody nose that would encourage the United States to stay on the sideline and not get involved in the widening conflict. Getting involved in the war would only bring pain and misery to the nation as it had never been felt in the previous European War. Unfortunately for Japan and Germany, the attack on Pearl Harbor had the opposite effect, and the United States entered it's second European conflict of the twentieth century.

Paul, speaking of the coming end, says that the final judgment will come quickly. While everyone is preaching "Peace and safety," the end will arrive. Paul uses the illustration of a woman in labor to describe what is going to happen. It is not that we don't know that the end is coming. Every pregnant woman knows that at some point, she will give birth to a child. But when labor comes, it often catches everyone by surprise. Personally, with our firstborn, Nelda and I were enjoying an evening at home playing cards when the first labor pains arrived. We knew that Alyssa was coming, but we weren't expecting her on this night. Similarly, we know that the end is coming, but, according to Paul, when the "Day of the Lord" actually arrives, we will be surprised.

Speaking of the end, Jesus taught that "about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matthew 24:36). Paul would seem to agree. We know that the end will come, but when it finally does, it will be a surprise to all of us, including the most ardent student of the end times.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 2 Thessalonians 1 & 2