For when they are saying, "Peace and safety," then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape.
then sudden destruction cometh upon them: We should not misunderstand the apostle as indicating the lost will be annihilated. "Destruction" here has reference to the eternal separation from God mentioned in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9. "This word...means, not the destruction of being, but of well being, not annihilation, the putting an end to the existence of a person or thing, but its ruin so far as the purpose of its existence is concerned" (Hogg and Vine 156).