What Does It Mean Jesus Will Come As A Thief In The Night?

What Does It Mean Jesus Will Come As A Thief In The Night?

March 28, 2018 by Jack Wellman

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Jesus said that His appearance would be like that of a thief in the night, so what does this mean?

Noah’s Day
Jesus referred to Noah’s day when He was speaking about what it would be like just before His second coming, but why? Jesus explains, “For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:37), and in the day of Jesus’ appearance, it will be just “as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark” (Matt 24:38). No one was expecting a flood when none had ever occurred before, so the people continued to ignore Noah’s warning about the coming flood of God’s judgment on an evil world, so what was the problem? The Bible is clear, saying “The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Gen 6:5), and similar to today, “the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth” (Gen 6:11-12). I believe part of the reason God sent His judgment was because the people were beyond hope of repenting. They had heard Noah’s message of grace for decades, some say over a hundred years, but they kept doing business as usual, “eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,” which means it was all about pleasing the flesh. Eat, drink, marry, get a new spouse, and marry again, so all they spent their time on was imagining new ways to sin. All their thoughts were consumed about self-gratification, so that brought about all types of corruption and violence to the earth. Is it any different today?
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Jesus’ Prophecy
There was no shortage of tyrannical powers in Jesus’ day. During the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, the iron fist of Rome ruled the world, at least in the Mediterranean and Middle-East areas. When Jesus was speaking of the end times, when there would be wars and rumors of wars, there were already wars going on, although not to the extent that there would be in the days preceding Jesus’ return, but also, “many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold” (Matt 24:10-12). I believe we can now say the love of many has grown cold. Jesus warned time and again that He will come when no one is expecting Him, and so someday (soon?) there “will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, 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. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matt 24:30-31), but why do those on the earth mourn when they see Jesus? The Apostle John writes something very similar in the Book of Revelation where he says that Jesus will be “coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen” (Rev 1:7). So why is there wailing and mourning when Jesus returns? Because they have rejected their only hope of being saved by rejecting Jesus Christ as the Savior (Acts 4:12). They cannot stand on their own merits any more than I can.
Like Lightning
One thing Jesus said when referring to His second coming was that “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it” (Luke 17:22). I believe those days are here, at least in the sense that I desire to see the Son of Man, or Jesus Christ, come, but I might not see before I did, so the older I get, the more I desire to see Him. Some believe that the temple in Israel must be rebuilt and the sacrifices must begin again before Jesus returns, however Jesus said His return will be “as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day” (Luke 17:24). Jesus is not waiting for things to happen. He will come at the appointed time, so “concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matt 24:36). All we know for sure is we “must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt 24:44).
As the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
Last Days
The Apostle Paul, writing as if the church at Thessalonica already knew, said “For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess 5:2). It doesn’t matter if people say, “There is peace and security,” [because] sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thess 5:3). He was telling them these things because they knew better than “for that day to surprise you like a thief” (1 Thess 5:4), and yet it will many, no doubt, otherwise we wouldn’t hear these warnings from Jesus, Paul, and Peter. We shouldn’t be surprised “that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires” (2 Pet 3:3). That prophecy is being fulfilled this very day by many who read and reject this! The Apostle Peter says we must “understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good” (2 Tim 3:1-3). Have you seen the latest movies or the most recent video games? Enough said.
Conclusion
For all who have rejected Jesus Christ, that night will come upon them as swift as lightning, and will overtake them in their sins, therefore, I beg you to consider placing your trust in Christ. He can come at any moment, and if you hear He can’t come back yet, tell them, “Jesus said He will come at a time when no one expects Him.” God is God and Jesus will come when God determines He will come, and He is not waiting on a human timetable of events which are all laid out for Him to follow. He is not waiting for this to happen or that…He comes when He comes. The point is, He is coming when no one expects Him, many Christians included, but His coming will also surprise all who have spurned Him, and it is they who shall mourn, so when is He coming? I don’t know, but I do know He is coming. I just don’t know when. You don’t either.
Article by Jack Wellman
Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is a writer at Christian Quotes and also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.