Thief in the night

[zander]

I have many questions but here is one I would like to put out here.

What does it mean in the scriptures when it says "A thief in the night?"  Can someone explain this in more detail because this to me is ambiguous and open to interpretation?

For me, it means - a thief who comes in the night, steals your items and then leaves without you knowing.  You wake up the next day and your items are gone with the thief nowhere to be seen.  So the thief is not there.

So - does Jesus come and go and we do not see him?  He takes things? (his elect?)  It is something I am not understanding.

Thanks

[Porter]

Hi zander, Ray explains it quite nicely here.


https://bible-truths.com/rapture.htm


Furthermore, the fact that Christ is coming "as" "a thief in the night" has absolutely nothing to do with either an actual thief or actual night time. And, likewise, it has nothing to do with negativism. This is figurative language. This is not to be taken literally. Let us be clear, that Jesus Christ is not coming as a thief, to steal! And He is not coming at night so that no one can see Him coming (the aspect of His coming as "lightning" should dispel any such idea).

If we would let the Scriptures speak to us and explain things to us, it would become abundantly clear that there is only one aspect of Christ's coming that is applicable to "a thief in the night." Actually, the phrase "in the night" is not even necessary to our understanding of this idiom. In fact, most Scripture references even drop the aspect of "in the night" and refer only to "a thief."

"Now that be knowing, for if the householder were aware in what watch the thief is combing, he would watch, and would not let his house be tunneled into" (Mat. 24:43). (Night is not mentioned).

"Now the day of the Lord will be arriving as a thief ..." (II Pet. 3:10). (Night is not mentioned).

"Now this you know, that if the householder were aware at what hour the thief is coming, he would watch ..." (Lk. 12:39). (Night is not mentioned).

"Now you brethren, are not in darkness, that the day may be overtaking you as a thief ..." (I Thes. 5:4). (Night is not mentioned).

"I shall be arriving on you as a thief ..." (Rev. 3:3). (Night is not mentioned).

"Lo! I am coming as a thief! Happy is he who is watching ..." (Rev. 16:15). (Night is not mentioned).

From all these Scriptures it is clear that "in the night" is not an important aspect of this idiom. It's just that most thieves do come at night, but it is not necessary that a thief come at night in order to be perfectly suited to the one aspect of Christ's coming that is likened to the coming of a thief, or surely six separate Scriptures would not have left "in the night" out of this idiom. Here is a major proof that coming as a thief has absolutely nothing to do with darkness or gloominess, or for sure, the phrase "in the night" would never be left out of this idiom.

If Christ's actual return and appearing in great glory is not a thing of darkness, gloominess, and negativism, how then does Christ return to this Earth "as a thief," or "as a thief in the night?" We don't need to use human reasoning or speculation, many Scriptures tell us exactly how His return is "as a thief." Christ returns to this Earth is as a thief in that no one will know when He will return. The time of His return, is unexpected. And that is the only way in which Christ comes as "a thief." Not one of these Scriptures (which fully and simply explain the figure of a thief), mentions one word about the "ominousness" of the dark and gloomy day as the reason for the figure of a thief. Here are the Scriptures:

"... if the householder were aware in what watch the thief is coming, he would watch ..." (Mat. 24:43). But he didn't know when and neither will anyone else know when He returns.

"Now, concerning that day and hour no one is aware, neither the messengers of the heavens, nor the Son ..." (Mat. 24:36).

"For even as the days of Noah, thus shall be the presence of the So of Mankind. "...for as they were in the days before the deluge ... and did not know till the deluge came ..." (Mat. 24:37-39).

"Be watching, then, for you are not aware on what day your Lord is Coming" (Matt. 24:42).

"... for in an hour which you are not supposing, the Son of Mankind is coming" (Mat. 24:24-44).

"... for you are not aware when the lord of the house is coming ..."
(Mk 13:35).

"Not yours is it to know times or eras ..." (Acts 1:7).

"I shall be arriving on you as a thief, and under no circumstances will you be knowing what hour I shall be arriving" (Rev. 3:3).

There we have eight separate Scriptural explanations as to why and how Christ returns as a thief, and not one of these Scriptures connects a thief with the ominousness of gloominess, darkness, and the like. Christ does not return as a thief because it is gloomy out. He does not return as a thief because He will come in the middle of the night. And He does not come as a thief because that He, Himself, is a thief. No, none of these. He comes as a thief, unexpectedly. That's it. We don't know when. All eight verses pinpoint the one aspect of unexpectedness!!

[zander]

Thanks Porter, that explains it.

As an extension to the discussion, here is how I see it (incorrectly, no doubt, so it is a guess)..

Jesus comes at a time we do not expect him.  During what kind of moments would you not expect someone like Jesus to come?  Or - When would you expect Jesus to come?

The human brain inside me, expects him to come during a period of great disaster.  So does this mean that is when he will not come?
The human brain in me, does not expect him to come when all is relatively peaceful.  So does this mean that is when he might come?

Just thoughts...

[indianabob]

Matt 24...37 As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. 39 And they were oblivious, until the flood came and swept them all away. So will be the coming of the Son of Man.......

Luke 17:26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man: 27 People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 It was the same in the days of Lot: People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.

[Wanda]

Thanks Porter, that explains it.

As an extension to the discussion, here is how I see it (incorrectly, no doubt, so it is a guess)..

Jesus comes at a time we do not expect him.  During what kind of moments would you not expect someone like Jesus to come?  Or - When would you expect Jesus to come?

The human brain inside me, expects him to come during a period of great disaster.  So does this mean that is when he will not come?
The human brain in me, does not expect him to come when all is relatively peaceful.  So does this mean that is when he might come?

Just thoughts...

Yes Zander, that would be correct.

In 1st Thessalonians the Apostle Paul has the following to say about the coming day of the Lord.

 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Luke 17:28-30

28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; 29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. 30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.  Luke 17:28-30 King James Bible

Keep in mind, in both of these accounts given by Jesus. The righteous were removed and preserved before the great judgement.

Noah and his family were shut up into the ark and preserved before the great flood. Lot and his family were escorted out of the city by Angels before it rained fire and brimstone destroying it's inhabitants.

This should give us reason to have hope, not fear.

[AwesomeSavior]

Zander:

I will build upon the verse Wanda quoted, (For when they shall say Peace and Safety, then comes sudden destruction).

A few months before I discovered Bible Truths in 2005, I was wrestling with a book from a famous Southern Baptist babylonian by the name of Charles Stanley, who is still active in his 80's today. The name of the book is called "Eternal Security" (which God just illuminated to me is a play on "Peace and Safety"). The book basically teaches the false doctrine of saying a 30 second sinner's prayer, and you are forever saved. Even though God was causing me to feel uncomfortable with the material in that book, I was not looking for any deeper spiritual truths, figuring the baptists were the most enlightened of everyone. Then one day I discovered a Bible Truths ad on another website, and clicked it, and from that day forward, it has been a daily (I die daily [1 Corinthians 15:31]) "sudden destruction" of my carnal mind. Jesus' 2nd coming came to me suddenly like a thief back in 2005, and each day when He reveals corrections or truth, it is another small "sudden destruction".

Hope that helps, in a somewhat amusing way.

Dean

[se7en]

Zander,

I'll expand upon what everyone has already posted/said... don't forget the IS, WAS, and WILL BE of God's word.

God's word IS true, WAS true and WILL BE true.

So the "IS" application... this thief (God's Word) comes to us when we least expect it and crushes the old man inside (destroying our world), taking everything we had. Then God births the new man within.

Rev 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord,"who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

All the things happens for our admonition.

1 Cor 10:11 Now all these things [all the things in the old and new testament] happened to them as examples [types of us], and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

All mankind will partake of God's Word.

Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'

I hope this has helped!