1 Thessalonians 5:1 - Clarke's commentary and critical notes on the Bible

Bible Comments

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. But of the times and the seasons - It is natural to suppose, after what he had said in the conclusion of the preceding 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, Matthew 24:44; Matthew 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. In the notes on Acts 1:6, Acts 1:7, it has already been shown that the χρονους η καιρους, times or seasons, (the very same terms which are used here), refer to the destruction of the Jewish commonwealth; and we may fairly presume that they have the same meaning in this place.

1 Thessalonians 5:1

1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.