Thief in the Night

1 Thessalonians 5:1-11

"Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing."

Beware of those who claim to know when Jesus will return. I have had many conversations in which the person with whom I was speaking has stated, "I think Jesus is coming back soon." They cite scripture on earthquakes and rumors of war and point out what is happening in the world. Although I pray that they are right, it has been my own observation that in every decade there have been these things, especially if we get out of the ethnocentric mindset, for I do not think that Jesus was referring to wars with the United States, when he spoke on the subject in 30 A.D. Have not the conditions for Christ's return been in full force since the age in which he left? Why else would the Apostles warn in their letters that the time was short? I believe that God, in His infinite wisdom, has set up events in such a way that we always have rumors of war and natural disasters. The reason, some might ask... because only God knows the time of Christ's return, and He wants to keep it that way. Jesus says in the parable of the thief that if we knew when the thief was coming we would be ready and also in another parable He speaks of a servant who was left in charge of other servants and decided since his master was not returning to begin to mistreat the other servants. These parables illustrate to us that if we want to be ready when Christ returns, we must be ready at all times. Like the watchful servants, in the parable of the wedding party, we need to be ready to greet our master as he returns. And in the parable of the groomsmen, we need to have our oil in our lamps. "Be prepared" is the warning, not "Predict the date." 

I liken Jesus' second coming to His first. There were many in that time (the Pharisees) who thought they knew how the Messiah would come. They thought they had everything figured out, and then God threw them through a loop, when He sent a baby instead. And not only a baby, a baby who's mission on earth was to die innocently. Not even the disciples, whom Jesus told, understood God's plan of salvation, until after Jesus rose from the dead and taught them. In the same way, I believe that no one will understand how the events of Jesus' second coming will unfold, until after it has happened. And we will look on the scriptures, and Jesus will so graciously say to us (as He did to those on the Emmaus road), "Oh you fools, did you not understand the scriptures that this was the only way it could have happened."   And we will see how it was plain in our faces the entire time, and yet we did not see it. One thing is for certain, brothers and sisters, Jesus will return. And when He does, those that He has chosen will not be caught up in wrath, but in salvation. And those that Jesus has chosen will be busy about His work now, until he returns. Only those that continue to the end will have the reward. Only those who run the race to the finish line will have the reward. What is the reward, one may ask? Eternal life. So be ready, friends. Stand firm in the faith, and know for certainty that our King will come back for us, and even if we have fallen asleep, He will awaken us. Be prepared.