As A Thief In The Night?

[Streetsweeper]

Rev 3:3

3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.(KJV)

If we were not to discern in "what hour" of the watch His coming is, then our Lord would not have said the above.

Rev 16:15

15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

(KJV)

According to the warning the apostle Paul gave in 2 Thess.2 about a false one that comes first, setting himself up in the temple as God, and how it will cause many believers to become apostates, in "what hour" our Lord said becomes more important than simply understanding His return will be as a thief in the night.

Is that really the motivation for all the wild predictions of the year, month, day, hour and minute of Jesus return?

What could that possibly accomplish?

Am I more Christlike by predicting Jesus will appear Tuesday morning at 10:35 am - just after morning tea?

This life/world is not a game show where we get bonus points for being the person who picks the time closest to Jesus return.

Yes, watch the signs in the world, and know the time of Jesus return is getting closer. Have confidence that Jesus will return because the course of world history is following the pattern Jesus outlined to us.

If I am disinterested in Jesus return, then am I really committed to Him. If I'm not prepared for Jesus then Revelation 3:3 is a pretty good warning that I'm not going to be given 48 hrs notice to get my heart in order.

The unprepared person won't know the hour when Jesus will come against him.

The prepared person won't know the hour when Jesus will come for him.

Edited August 29, 2008 by Streetsweeper

[Larry 2]

How did our Lord Jesus and His Apostles really mean that Christ's coming would be "as a thief in the night"?

Response by larry2 - I gave this as a part of my response in another thread, but felt it was needed here also. First of all I agree this has application to our being ready for the coming of the Lord for us. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2. "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." But we read in Revelation 1:7. "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." Now do these two verses contradict one another? If there is but one rapture, how is it that Jesus appears as a thief in the night to one company of saints, and then in another appearance He comes where all eyes shall see Him?

In Jesus - larry2

[other one]

Rev 3:3

3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.(KJV)

If we were not to discern in "what hour" of the watch His coming is, then our Lord would not have said the above.

Rev 16:15

15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

(KJV)

According to the warning the apostle Paul gave in 2 Thess.2 about a false one that comes first, setting himself up in the temple as God, and how it will cause many believers to become apostates, in "what hour" our Lord said becomes more important than simply understanding His return will be as a thief in the night.

Is that really the motivation for all the wild predictions of the year, month, day, hour and minute of Jesus return?

What could that possibly accomplish?

Am I more Christlike by predicting Jesus will appear Tuesday morning at 10:35 am - just after morning tea?

This life/world is not a game show where we get bonus points for being the person who picks the time closest to Jesus return.

Yes, watch the signs in the world, and know the time of Jesus return is getting closer. Have confidence that Jesus will return because the course of world history is following the pattern Jesus outlined to us.

If I am disinterested in Jesus return, then am I really committed to Him. If I'm not prepared for Jesus then Revelation 3:3 is a pretty good warning that I'm not going to be given 48 hrs notice to get my heart in order.

The unprepared person won't know the hour when Jesus will come against him.

The prepared person won't know the hour when Jesus will come for him.

Personally, I've got a fiver on July 5th, 2112, just right after Sam and Frodo destroy the One Ring.

I thought that was supposed to happen in 2012

[other one]

BTW, I agree that his coming won't be as a thief in the night to His sheep.

[Guest man]

BTW, I agree that his coming won't be as a thief in the night to His sheep.

True, but I also believe we can't predict "when" He will be coming back.

[Celt]

Rev 3:3

3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.(KJV)

If we were not to discern in "what hour" of the watch His coming is, then our Lord would not have said the above.

Rev 16:15

15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

(KJV)

According to the warning the apostle Paul gave in 2 Thess.2 about a false one that comes first, setting himself up in the temple as God, and how it will cause many believers to become apostates, in "what hour" our Lord said becomes more important than simply understanding His return will be as a thief in the night.

Is that really the motivation for all the wild predictions of the year, month, day, hour and minute of Jesus return?

What could that possibly accomplish?

Am I more Christlike by predicting Jesus will appear Tuesday morning at 10:35 am - just after morning tea?

This life/world is not a game show where we get bonus points for being the person who picks the time closest to Jesus return.

Yes, watch the signs in the world, and know the time of Jesus return is getting closer. Have confidence that Jesus will return because the course of world history is following the pattern Jesus outlined to us.

If I am disinterested in Jesus return, then am I really committed to Him. If I'm not prepared for Jesus then Revelation 3:3 is a pretty good warning that I'm not going to be given 48 hrs notice to get my heart in order.

The unprepared person won't know the hour when Jesus will come against him.

The prepared person won't know the hour when Jesus will come for him.

The unprepared will be those who party it up and send each other presents once the two witnesses are killed and laying dead in the street. Apparently when that happens, not many are going to still be spiritually sober and watching for those events that occur right after the three days and a half. It's obvious too, already many today have determined not to pay attention to that timing our Lord gave there for His return on the 3rd woe.

[Celt]

How did our Lord Jesus and His Apostles really mean that Christ's coming would be "as a thief in the night"?

Response by larry2 - I gave this as a part of my response in another thread, but felt it was needed here also. First of all I agree this has application to our being ready for the coming of the Lord for us. 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2. "But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." But we read in Revelation 1:7. "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." Now do these two verses contradict one another? If there is but one rapture, how is it that Jesus appears as a thief in the night to one company of saints, and then in another appearance He comes where all eyes shall see Him?

In Jesus - larry2

The 'order' of events the apostle Paul showed in 2 Thessalonians 2 should be enough proof the only gathering of the saints is after Christ returns to destroy that "Wicked" one with the brightness of His coming. That's exactly what he taught there. My main point with covering this "as a thief in the night" subject is that Paul taught it is NOT applied to Christ's servants who remain in Him to the end.

1 Thes 5:4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

(KJV)

The apostle Paul even gave a timing hint for those who remain in Christ when they are to really be sober and watching...

1Thes 5:3

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.

(KJV)

In Matt.24:6 our Lord also gave a time marker to the saints that links with that "Peace and safety". He said when you hear of wars and rumors and wars, don't be troubled for the end is not yet. What's the opposite of "wars and rumours of wars"? It's that time of "Peace and safety" Paul mentioned. The majority of believers I've spoken with, especially those who are Pre-Trib, don't see that time when all wars will end in the last days before Christ's coming. They're listening to something else.

What that short time of "Peace and safety" represents is the time Paul spoke of in 2 Thess.2 when many believers will fall away and become apostate by bowing to the dragon who will come and set himself up in place of our Lord. The apostates will think that first one working great wonders and miracles on earth is Christ having returned to gather them. When Christ does return after that working, His coming will be to the apostates "as a thief in the night", because they weren't paying attention to the "times and the seasons". The "times and the seasons" allow faithful believers to be prepared to go through that tempting while waiting for Christ's single and only return after that.

[Celt]

BTW, I agree that his coming won't be as a thief in the night to His sheep.

True, but I also believe we can't predict "when" He will be coming back.

I agree to a certain point. The events of Rev.11 give a very close timing order to be watching. Our Lord Jesus was very good to those who heed those events like He showed there.

Yet still today, no one knows when God's "two witnesses" will be killed in Jerusalem to begin that reference point for the 3rd woe when Christ returns. The three woes our Lord Jesus hard-linked to the last three trumpets of Revelation is another way He was very good to His servants. He gave us that info so we would know what to expect and be prepared. As He promised in Isaiah 42:9, He declares new things, and before they spring forth He tells us of them.

But with trying to figure out the specific day or year of Christ's coming, none are given that. Many in the past have tried to set dates for His coming and it failed. Yet Christ did give us to know the season and events leading up to His coming. All in all, watching the events He gave is most important, not mathematics.

[other one]

BTW, I agree that his coming won't be as a thief in the night to His sheep.

True, but I also believe we can't predict "when" He will be coming back.

I agree to a certain point. The events of Rev.11 give a very close timing order to be watching. Our Lord Jesus was very good to those who heed those events like He showed there.

Yet still today, no one knows when God's "two witnesses" will be killed in Jerusalem to begin that reference point for the 3rd woe when Christ returns. The three woes our Lord Jesus hard-linked to the last three trumpets of Revelation is another way He was very good to His servants. He gave us that info so we would know what to expect and be prepared. As He promised in Isaiah 42:9, He declares new things, and before they spring forth He tells us of them.

But with trying to figure out the specific day or year of Christ's coming, none are given that. Many in the past have tried to set dates for His coming and it failed. Yet Christ did give us to know the season and events leading up to His coming. All in all, watching the events He gave is most important, not mathematics.

It is not in our best interest to know the day and the hour........ too many would put things off and die in their sins from just not living that long. Even if we knew for certain it would be next Tuesday at 9:06am, there might be some who will die Monday and would go to hell for postponing their decisions.

What's the difference in the rapture or pulling out in front of a cement truck in fast traffic....... a few moments of pain (sometimes).