AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT
Jesus is coming and as a “thief in the night.” The biblical terminology about “coming as a thief in the night” is used by many to say or imply that Jesus is coming like the kind of thief that afterward, no one will even know He came and snuck away with His church. This is a false interpretation of what the Bible means. The true meaning is to “take by surprise.” And the Lord makes it clear to His church through His Word, that He does not want us to be taken by surprise but on the contrary for us to be faithful, alert and watching.
This phrase is not about the Lord being like “the kind” of a “thief” that would come in the night by sneaking in and sneaking out. In the day and age of Jesus and the apostles, most people lived in one or two room houses. Anyone would know when someone came in or out, including in the night. Jesus will be coming “like” a “thief in the night” in that “He will take the world by surprise” when He comes to get His church.
When the Lord returns for us, His coming will illuminate the whole earth. The sun, moon and even the stars will have previously gone dark, the whole atmosphere will roll back like a scroll and every eye will see Him just as the Bible says. It will also be when the enemy will be saying “peace and safety” but to their surprise, the Lord will be coming and with His throne (more can be read about a visible rapture in the article, Every Eye Will See Him). The rapture will not only be the deliverance of the persecuted church but following it will be beginning of the outpouring of God's judgment and wrath upon those who will worship the beast and receive his mark.
The very definition of the word “harpázō” that we get the word “rapture” from, is to openly and forcibly snatch something from someone.
Strong’s Greek Concordance, #726, harpázō – properly, seize by force; snatch up, suddenly and decisively – like someone seizing bounty (spoil, a prize); to take by an open display of force (i.e. not covertly or secretly).
Let's look at some of the Scripture involved.
Verse 4 above says “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” This clearly shows that God does not want His children surprised.
“The coming of the Lord” will be “unexpected” by those who “are not watching and waiting” for Him.
This great day will surprise the lost “as" a “thief in the night.” But God's people - who are not of the night nor of darkness - will be looking for Him. God's people know the signs and nearness of His coming and are watching for Him.
The Amplified Bible has verse 4 as this: “But you are not in [given up to the power of] darkness, brethren, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief.”
We must be careful of what books we may read or media we may watch or listen to, that are unscriptural, because the enemy always tries to twist God's Word just as he has done since the Garden of Eden. He longs for Christians to be complacent or off-track. We must study our Bibles for our own selves and filter everything we read, see and hear by it.
One particular part of the common misconception of “Jesus coming as a thief in the night” is an erroneous twist on the following verses:
This is about expectation and surprise. One group caught off-guard and the other group, ready and waiting. Nowhere does it say anything about being invisible, not in these verses or anywhere else. As a matter of fact, how could the “ones not ready,” be surprised if they do not see it?
Let's look at some of the openness and visibility of the rapture and surrounding events as shown in the Bible.
The two angels (sometimes angels are described as men in white apparel) that were present when Jesus left, said that He will return in the same manner. What did they mean? One possibility is that He ascended openly and went up with a cloud and will return openly with a cloud.
Remember, no matter what some songs or people say, the Bible says that at the rapture, Jesus comes with clouds (and a throne) and catches His church up to Himself; at the Battle of Armageddon, Jesus comes on a white horse and with the armies of heaven on white horses and eradicates all enemies just before the Millennium begins. Jesus will not be riding a white horse at the rapture.
So the event most similar to what was being referred to in Acts 1:9-11 would be the rapture. He must have ascended in the daylight for it is not stated to have been night-time nor do people normally look up in the sky and see clouds other than daytime. Even in Acts 1, verse 2, Luke referred to the event as “the day in which He was taken up” and not “the night” He was taken up. The point is that the Lord did not sneak away in the night. He left openly in the day. And as He ascended, a cloud received Him out of their sight.
Please consider the next verses.
These verses show that the whole earth will go dark just prior to the return of the Lord and that the powers of the heavens will be shaken. It would be kind of hard for any living human being not to be keenly aware that a globally monumental event will be going on. It describes the Lord as being seen coming on the clouds of heaven and with power and great glory. The earth will go from a normal day to utterly dark and then with the grand view of the Lord illuminating the earth in His power and glory. No one will miss out on seeing it as the following verses show (starting with the last verse in the preceding section).
Why would anyone mourn His coming? Only the bad guys will mourn His coming and they surely will, when “they see” “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Verse 30 clearly says they will see the Son of Man. So the Lord is not “a thief” in the night, it is the surprise aspect of “coming as a thief,” just as Jesus warned of.
It is recorded in two Gospels, that Jesus told some of “the evil ones” that they will “see Him coming.”
And the apostle John recorded in his last book,
How will they see Him coming when they have been dead for almost 2000 years? Because it is seen in heaven, earth and even in hell; encompassing all of creation. And after the Christians are “raptured up” and the 144,000 are sealed for their safety, the judgment and wrath of God will come upon the earth and all that are left upon it.
Why would the wicked cry out and run and hide if they do not see the Lord coming?
At the 6th seal, which is part of the rapture together with the 7th seal, we see this:
This could only be at the rapture and not at the Battle of Armageddon (at the end of the 7 years), because at that time, He is coming on a white horse with an army on white horses, not with a throne and with clouds (Revelation 19:11-15).
This fits perfectly with what Jesus spoke of, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke:
At the rapture, the people of the world will want to hide from the Lord as it will be a major “uh oh” moment. They will have rejected the Gospel and righteousness, persecuted and murdered Christians, they will have had an opportunity to choose Jesus but will have chosen the Antichrist instead. Yes, they will want to hide.
And because it is an event that all will see; there will be nothing secret about it. The coming of the Lord will completely take the wicked by total surprise. The Two Witnesses will have been killed, resurrected to life again and are raised up with the saints at the rapture. The sky will roll open like a scroll and every eye will see Jesus.
The Lord will be coming to “gather the saints up unto Himself” as Paul recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:1 and it will come as a surprise to the wicked. The Two Witnesses will lie dead in the street for 3 ½ days while the world (“the lost” of the world) rejoices and even parties (Revelation 11:1-12). After 3 ½ years of hearing the Gospel and the Two Witnesses standing in opposition of the wicked one and his followers, the evil ones are who will be saying “peace and safety” as referred to in the following verse:
When the Lord comes for His saints, to Him it will be a harvest. He will be separating the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares. It will be deliverance for the true followers of Jesus Christ who will have been under severe persecution for their faith and at the end, for refusing to worship the Antichrist and take his mark. To the 144,000 Jews, 12,000 of each tribe, it will be a time of rescue also. They will have finally realized that the Antichrist was actually a false Messiah and will have been making sacrifices in the temple in Jerusalem right up until the sacrifices are taken away and the abomination of desolation set up. Due to the unique circumstances for them, they will have been on the run for refusing to worship the Antichrist and take his mark and they will be sealed for the last 3 ½ years, for their protection. They will believe on Jesus Christ but not in time for the rapture. But to the wicked, it will be surprise and shock; it will be the beginning of their end. Once the Lord comes and the saints are removed and the 144,000 sealed, judgment will begin with the trumpets and bowls of God's wrath.
In conclusion, the Lord is truly coming as a thief in the night. His coming will be a total surprise to the wicked and yet for the body of Christ (all Christians) His coming should not come as a surprise at all. We may not know the day or hour but we do know that He is coming. And we will do our best to remain faithful and looking for Him. Naturally, the devil tries to twist the truth of what the Bible says which includes the true meaning of the Lord “coming as a thief in the night.” Even if someone disagrees with the meaning of the Lord “coming as a thief in the night” as presented here – our prayer is that we will all endure unto that glorious Day!
This phrase is not about the Lord being like “the kind” of a “thief” that would come in the night by sneaking in and sneaking out. In the day and age of Jesus and the apostles, most people lived in one or two room houses. Anyone would know when someone came in or out, including in the night. Jesus will be coming “like” a “thief in the night” in that “He will take the world by surprise” when He comes to get His church.
When the Lord returns for us, His coming will illuminate the whole earth. The sun, moon and even the stars will have previously gone dark, the whole atmosphere will roll back like a scroll and every eye will see Him just as the Bible says. It will also be when the enemy will be saying “peace and safety” but to their surprise, the Lord will be coming and with His throne (more can be read about a visible rapture in the article, Every Eye Will See Him). The rapture will not only be the deliverance of the persecuted church but following it will be beginning of the outpouring of God's judgment and wrath upon those who will worship the beast and receive his mark.
The very definition of the word “harpázō” that we get the word “rapture” from, is to openly and forcibly snatch something from someone.
Strong’s Greek Concordance, #726, harpázō – properly, seize by force; snatch up, suddenly and decisively – like someone seizing bounty (spoil, a prize); to take by an open display of force (i.e. not covertly or secretly).
Let's look at some of the Scripture involved.
- Revelation 16:15 "Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame."
- Matthew 24:42-44 “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
Verse 4 above says “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.” This clearly shows that God does not want His children surprised.
“The coming of the Lord” will be “unexpected” by those who “are not watching and waiting” for Him.
This great day will surprise the lost “as" a “thief in the night.” But God's people - who are not of the night nor of darkness - will be looking for Him. God's people know the signs and nearness of His coming and are watching for Him.
The Amplified Bible has verse 4 as this: “But you are not in [given up to the power of] darkness, brethren, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief.”
We must be careful of what books we may read or media we may watch or listen to, that are unscriptural, because the enemy always tries to twist God's Word just as he has done since the Garden of Eden. He longs for Christians to be complacent or off-track. We must study our Bibles for our own selves and filter everything we read, see and hear by it.
One particular part of the common misconception of “Jesus coming as a thief in the night” is an erroneous twist on the following verses:
- Matthew 24:37- 42 “But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming”
This is about expectation and surprise. One group caught off-guard and the other group, ready and waiting. Nowhere does it say anything about being invisible, not in these verses or anywhere else. As a matter of fact, how could the “ones not ready,” be surprised if they do not see it?
Let's look at some of the openness and visibility of the rapture and surrounding events as shown in the Bible.
- Acts 1:9-11 Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven."
The two angels (sometimes angels are described as men in white apparel) that were present when Jesus left, said that He will return in the same manner. What did they mean? One possibility is that He ascended openly and went up with a cloud and will return openly with a cloud.
Remember, no matter what some songs or people say, the Bible says that at the rapture, Jesus comes with clouds (and a throne) and catches His church up to Himself; at the Battle of Armageddon, Jesus comes on a white horse and with the armies of heaven on white horses and eradicates all enemies just before the Millennium begins. Jesus will not be riding a white horse at the rapture.
So the event most similar to what was being referred to in Acts 1:9-11 would be the rapture. He must have ascended in the daylight for it is not stated to have been night-time nor do people normally look up in the sky and see clouds other than daytime. Even in Acts 1, verse 2, Luke referred to the event as “the day in which He was taken up” and not “the night” He was taken up. The point is that the Lord did not sneak away in the night. He left openly in the day. And as He ascended, a cloud received Him out of their sight.
Please consider the next verses.
- Matthew 24:29-30 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."
These verses show that the whole earth will go dark just prior to the return of the Lord and that the powers of the heavens will be shaken. It would be kind of hard for any living human being not to be keenly aware that a globally monumental event will be going on. It describes the Lord as being seen coming on the clouds of heaven and with power and great glory. The earth will go from a normal day to utterly dark and then with the grand view of the Lord illuminating the earth in His power and glory. No one will miss out on seeing it as the following verses show (starting with the last verse in the preceding section).
- Matthew 24:30-31 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn [the bad guys], and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect [the good guys] from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."
Why would anyone mourn His coming? Only the bad guys will mourn His coming and they surely will, when “they see” “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Verse 30 clearly says they will see the Son of Man. So the Lord is not “a thief” in the night, it is the surprise aspect of “coming as a thief,” just as Jesus warned of.
It is recorded in two Gospels, that Jesus told some of “the evil ones” that they will “see Him coming.”
- Matthew 26:61-64 And the high priest arose and said to Him, "Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?" But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, "I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!" Jesus said to him, "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."
- Mark 14:61-62 But He kept silent and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" Jesus said, "I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."
And the apostle John recorded in his last book,
- Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
How will they see Him coming when they have been dead for almost 2000 years? Because it is seen in heaven, earth and even in hell; encompassing all of creation. And after the Christians are “raptured up” and the 144,000 are sealed for their safety, the judgment and wrath of God will come upon the earth and all that are left upon it.
Why would the wicked cry out and run and hide if they do not see the Lord coming?
At the 6th seal, which is part of the rapture together with the 7th seal, we see this:
- Revelation 6:15-17 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"
This could only be at the rapture and not at the Battle of Armageddon (at the end of the 7 years), because at that time, He is coming on a white horse with an army on white horses, not with a throne and with clouds (Revelation 19:11-15).
This fits perfectly with what Jesus spoke of, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke:
- Luke 23:30 “Then they will begin 'to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"
At the rapture, the people of the world will want to hide from the Lord as it will be a major “uh oh” moment. They will have rejected the Gospel and righteousness, persecuted and murdered Christians, they will have had an opportunity to choose Jesus but will have chosen the Antichrist instead. Yes, they will want to hide.
And because it is an event that all will see; there will be nothing secret about it. The coming of the Lord will completely take the wicked by total surprise. The Two Witnesses will have been killed, resurrected to life again and are raised up with the saints at the rapture. The sky will roll open like a scroll and every eye will see Jesus.
The Lord will be coming to “gather the saints up unto Himself” as Paul recorded in 2 Thessalonians 2:1 and it will come as a surprise to the wicked. The Two Witnesses will lie dead in the street for 3 ½ days while the world (“the lost” of the world) rejoices and even parties (Revelation 11:1-12). After 3 ½ years of hearing the Gospel and the Two Witnesses standing in opposition of the wicked one and his followers, the evil ones are who will be saying “peace and safety” as referred to in the following verse:
- 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, "Peace and safety!" then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief.
- Revelation 11:10-12 And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
When the Lord comes for His saints, to Him it will be a harvest. He will be separating the sheep from the goats, the wheat from the tares. It will be deliverance for the true followers of Jesus Christ who will have been under severe persecution for their faith and at the end, for refusing to worship the Antichrist and take his mark. To the 144,000 Jews, 12,000 of each tribe, it will be a time of rescue also. They will have finally realized that the Antichrist was actually a false Messiah and will have been making sacrifices in the temple in Jerusalem right up until the sacrifices are taken away and the abomination of desolation set up. Due to the unique circumstances for them, they will have been on the run for refusing to worship the Antichrist and take his mark and they will be sealed for the last 3 ½ years, for their protection. They will believe on Jesus Christ but not in time for the rapture. But to the wicked, it will be surprise and shock; it will be the beginning of their end. Once the Lord comes and the saints are removed and the 144,000 sealed, judgment will begin with the trumpets and bowls of God's wrath.
In conclusion, the Lord is truly coming as a thief in the night. His coming will be a total surprise to the wicked and yet for the body of Christ (all Christians) His coming should not come as a surprise at all. We may not know the day or hour but we do know that He is coming. And we will do our best to remain faithful and looking for Him. Naturally, the devil tries to twist the truth of what the Bible says which includes the true meaning of the Lord “coming as a thief in the night.” Even if someone disagrees with the meaning of the Lord “coming as a thief in the night” as presented here – our prayer is that we will all endure unto that glorious Day!
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Copyright © 2015, updated 2018 E. Cockrell May be used for personal study or instruction but shall not be copied and/or distributed in whole or part without permission or for financial profit.