The Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ 6

 LESSON 6

AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT: AN EXPOSITION ON PAUL'S WORDS IN 1 THESSALONIANS 5:2

You are welcome to another edition of Insights from God's Word, a Bible Study Programme that is committed to sharing God's Word by allowing the Bible to speak for itself.

In this edition, we continue with our series on The Rapture and the Second Coming of Christ. The topic for this study is: "as a thief in the night": An Exposition on Paul's Words in 1 Thessalonians 5:2. The complete message in this text reads: "For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night."

Friends, the expression "as a thief in the night" is not unique to the writings of the apostle Paul. We discover in the book of 2 Peter that the apostle Peter also used the same expression in connection to the second coming of Christ. This text in 2 Peter reads: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10).

Beloved, from the context of the texts above, it is clear that Peter and Paul are all referring to the second coming of Christ when they make use of the phrase; the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night. Many Christians have for a long time seen in these texts a proof for their belief in the secret rapture doctrine. They reason that if Christ is going to come as a thief in the night, then His coming must be silent or secret. But friends, from our previous study on the manner of Christ’s second coming, we came across a lot of Bible texts that made it very clear that Christ’s second coming is not going to be silent or secret. Moreover, when we critically analyse the expression "as a thief in the night" by keeping in view several similar texts of Scripture, we learn that the main point the apostles wanted to convey to their brethren was the virtue of watchfulness or adequate preparation as they awaited their Lord’s soon return.

Friends, even as a thief surprises his victim by showing up at a time that he is totally unprepared to resist him, so would the second coming of Christ be a surprise to those who are unprepared to meet the Saviour. For such people, the second coming of Christ will be to them like a thief comes in the night. They will be caught unprepared, and as a result will not be able to go home with the Lord. Thus, it is against this background that Peter and Paul utilized the expression "as a thief in the night".

In fact, from Luke 12:39-40, Christ Himself makes this position clear: "And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known which hour the thief would come, he would not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not."

Moreover, in the book of Revelation, Christ uses the analogy of a thief to warn His children to watch and prepare themselves adequately for His soon coming. Some of these texts are as follows:

a) "Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you" (Revelation 3:3).

b) "Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame" (Revelation 16:15).

Exhortation: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming" (Matthew 25:13).

Beloved, Christ expects us to prepare for His return at all times. He expects us to live in daily anticipation of His second coming. For if we do this, the second advent of our Lord will not take us by surprise. It will not come upon us as a thief comes in the night. As I bring this study to a close, the question I want you to reflect on is this: Should Christ come today, will He be to you as a thief comes in the night, or you will meet Him in joy because you have prepared for His soon coming? Whatever your answer, Jesus can help you to be ready for His soon return. Why not ask Him to help you in prayer now?

In our next study, we will consider the topic: "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye": An Exposition on Paul's Words in 1 Corinthians 15:52. Please do well to go through this text before the next study is released.

Stay blessed and keep shining for King Jesus.

Maranatha!