We believers should be prepared for the time when the Lord Jesus returns and not be as unbelievers who will be unprepared. We must not be like them. On the contrary, we must be vigilant and self-controlled.

1 Thessalonians 5:1-8

5 My fellow believers, I want to tell you more about the time or period when the Lord Jesus will come back. Really, you do not need me to you about that, 2 because you yourselves know accurately what will happen! You know that the Lord Jesus will return [MTY] unexpectedly (OR, when some people are unprepared). People will not expect him, just like no one knows when a thief comes unexpectedly at night [SIM]. 3 At a future time many people will say, “All is peaceful and we are safe!” Then suddenly the Lord Jesus will come to punish people severely! Just like a pregnant woman who experiences birth pains cannot stop those pains, those people will definitely not have any way to escape their punishment. 4-5 4-5Just like people in the dark are unaware of what is happening around them, most people will not be aware of what is about to happen to them [MET, PRS]. Just like a thief comes unexpectedly for people who are unaware, that time of punishment will come when people are not expecting it [SIM]. But you, my fellow believers, are people who are very much aware [LIT] of what is going to happen. As a result, you will be expecting [LIT] those things [MTY] to happen [PRS]. All of us believers are people [IDM] who do what is right, as people usually do in the daytime [MET] when their actions can be seen. We are not people who do evil things, as some people do when it is dark [MET]. 6 So we believers must be aware of what is happening. We must be watching carefully, as people who are awake watch for a thief [MET]. We must be self-controlled, as people who are ◄sober/not drunk► are able to control what they do [MET]. People who sleep [MET] are unaware of what is happening, and unbelievers are like that. 7 It is at night when people become drunk and they do very wrong actions/things, and are unaware of what is happening because they are asleep. 8 But we believers are people who should do what is right [MET], so we must be self-controlled, as people in the daytime are usually not drunk and are able to control what they do [MET]. As Roman soldiers protect themselves by putting on breastplates and helmets [MET], we believers must protect ourselves by continuing to trust and love the Lord Jesus and by continuing to confidently expect that he will save us from God’s punishing us at the time when he will punish other people.