Question: What does it mean that Jesus will return like a thief in the night? Answer: The concept of the return of Christ being like a thief in the night comes from Matthew 24:43: “But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.” The essential elements of Jesus’ warning are that no one knows when He will return, and we have to be in a state of preparedness, always looking and watching for His imminent return. Jesus warned that being prepared for His return at all times is the way we are to live our lives because no one except the Father knows the hour of His return (Matthew 24:36-44). This event has become known as the rapture. The word “rapture” appears nowhere in the Bible, but the event does. Rapture is from the Hebrew word harpazo, which defines the event described here in Matthew and in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” The sudden nature of this event is described in 1 Corinthians 15:51-54 as “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye.” There will be no warning, just as a thief comes in the night without warning. Therefore, Matthew 24:44 tells us, we must “be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” For the believing and obedient Christian, this will be a very welcome event, but for everyone else it will be a time of great tribulation. Imagine being left behind while millions of believing Christians all over the world suddenly vanish without explanation or further warning. We have been sufficiently warned by the Bible and the testimony of God’s own Son so that we can be prepared. We must be vigilant at all times, and we must be protected by the full armor of God against the devil’s attacks (Ephesians 6:13-18). We are warned that the devil roams the earth looking for Christians with a chink in their armor, those who rest their gaze on seducing temptations, giving way to evil thoughts and desires of the flesh that lead to sin. Sin is compared to leaven or yeast in the Bible, and it just takes a tiny bit to quickly spread through the whole person like a little yeast spreads in a batch of flour (Galatians 5:9). Do not be fooled into believing the devil only focuses on sinners. He already owns them and has no reason to bother with them unless they begin to spiritually awaken to Christ Jesus. The devil’s concern is the believing Christian. We are the ones he wants to corrupt and destroy, and that is why Christians must be ever watchful and ready for the hour of our Lord’s return. We have ample warning of coming events and we have the Word of God to lead us and protect us. We have the presence of God’s Holy Spirit to teach us and guide us in this life. We have everything we need to live godly lives in obedience to God’s Word, leaving no excuse for being unprepared. Those who remain unprepared when our Lord Jesus returns will be separated from Him forever. We see hate and violence enough in the world today with God’s presence. Just imagine how terrible an existence would be completely separated from God for eternity. We thank God that He loves us enough to provide a way for us to escape such a terrible fate and that way is Jesus Christ. By accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and by the grace of God, we are granted forgiveness of sins, mercy and salvation with the promise of everlasting life (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9). This covenant in Christ provides us the means by which we may be prepared and rejoice in His return. gotquestions.org
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 13:51:41 +0000
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