A THIEF IN THE NIGHT

Metaphors and similes are funny things in that the comparisons they make sometimes seem quite bizarre to us. As a case in point, consider the references in the New Testament comparing Jesus to a sneak thief. Our confusion should dissipate when we realize that (a) such a shocking image is meant to be memorable so that once heard it sticks in our minds and (b) metaphors and similes generally only compare one property in common with both items, not all properties. Thus, in the case of this particular image, it is only the suddenness and total unexpectedness of the thief's appearance that is in mind, not at all his nefarious mission.

Matthew 24:42-44

Interestingly, I have two scholarly books on the parables and one (by Kistemaker) lists this passage and its parallel in Luke 12:39-40 as a parable, while the other (by Snodgrass) does not. To be more accurate, Kistemaker considers it to be “a parabolic saying rather than a parable as such.” He goes on to say, “Does Jesus warn his own disciples of imminent danger? We expect the followers of Jesus to look forward to a joyful occasion at the time of his return. Those who listen attentively to and act in obedience upon Jesus' words will be prepared when he comes. For them, his return will be a joyous event...The parable addresses itself to those who wait for Jesus' glorious return and to those who are ignoring Jesus' instructions...Those who prepare themselves and are ready will not be surprised when Jesus returns.”

I Thessalonians 5:1-4

The metaphor “a thief in the night” appears twice in this passage. Stott has some wise words concerning this passage and the verses that follow. “The apostle explains that there is no need for us to be alarmed by the prospect of the Lord's coming, because there is no need for it to take us by surprise. “Surprise” is the key word in in Paul's argument. There are two reasons why people are taken by surprise when a burglar beaks in. The first is that he comes unexpectedly during the night, and the second is that the householder is asleep. We can do nothing about the first reason, but we can about the second. The solution to our problem lies not in knowing when he will come, but in staying awake and alert at all times. For then, even if his parousia is totally unexpected, we will be ready for him and not taken by surprise.”

As to what exactly it means to “be awake,” that is explained by Paul in verse 8: “But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” Only in that manner can one become thoroughly prepared for Jesus' coming, whenever it happens to occur.

Elias explains the apparent reaction the Thessalonians had to teachings they had received concerning the end times. “During their evangelistic preaching in Thessalonica, Paul and his companions incorporated teaching and warnings about the day of the Lord. It is impossible to determine exactly what they might have said. In 5:1-11 some of what they originally taught, and which the Thessalonians seemingly already know well, is repeated to emphasize the need for their vigilance and preparedness. Evidently further confusion and deliberate misinterpretation occurred after this first letter was read in the congregation. The second letter devotes major attention to this theme, especially to counter the arguments of some that the day of the Lord has come (2 Thess. 2:1-12).

2 Peter 3:10

Michael Green: “The parousia will be as sudden, as unexpected, as disastrous to the unprepared, as a nocturnal burglary...Here, as throughout the early Christian tradition, a saying of Christ was treasured because it dealt with a living problem, the date of his return. It was useful to the early leaders in curbing the apocalyptic excesses of the enthusiasts who were always fixing dates for the end. Jesus had said that even he did not know the date (Mk. 13:32), and he had told his followers not to speculate about it (Acts 1:7), for ''he coming of the Son of man would be like that of a thief in the night.'...despite the delay, the Day of the Lord will come.”

Revelation 3:3

Morris says, “This is not a reference to the second coming. That will take place whether the men of Sardis are watchful or not. But Christ comes in many ways and this is clearly a limited coming in judgment on unrepentant Sardians. The fate of these unrepentant sinners is none the less fearsome because left undefined. He labels “a thief in the night” as a “proverbial expression for unexpectedness.”

“The second coming of the Lord is likened to the coming of a thief (Mt. 24:43), but that does not seem to be the thought here. Here the thought is that the Lord will come suddenly upon the church, which has nothing but an empty reputation, and will break it up...The Lord warns this local church that if there is no self-judgment, He will come suddenly and break up the testimony once and for all. It is a remarkable fact that western Asia Minor, now Turkey, was once the brightest spot on earth for the gospel witness. Today it is one of the darkest.” (John Phillips)

Beale: “Verse 3b is a development of the parable of the thief in Matt. 24:42-44, but is more likely applied here to a conditional 'coming' of Christ before the parousia rather than to the absolute final coming...Nevertheless, this coming in history is connected to the final coming in that both are part of the same inaugurated end-time process.”

Revelation 16:15

“In Revelation Jesus warns, 'Behold, I come like a thief' (Rev 16:15 NIV). This is obviously not an image of Jesus coming to take what is not his own. Whether it be the church at Sardis (Rev 3:3) or believers in general the image is intended to inspire wakefulness and preparation.” (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery)

Mounce says, “The interjection of a warning in the midst of a prophecy of final conflict is entirely appropriate...The faithful are admonished to be on the alert for this great event – not taken by surprise as a soldier who, when the alarm is sounded, must run away naked because he has misplaced his clothing. The kind of spiritual preparedness that Christ requires is the discernment which cuts through the deceptive propaganda of Satan and his henchmen...It promised the blessing of God for those who remain faithful in the critical hours which lie ahead.”

Conclusion

The biggest mistake I have witnessed among believing Christians is to totally misunderstand the import of the above passages. They confuse the need for spiritual preparedness at all times with the necessity of intellectually figuring out the exact sequence of events preceding the Second Coming. Such misled Christians seem to revel in the fact that they are much more in the know than the mere masses, including their unenlightened Christian brothers and sisters. They smugly continue to watch “the countdown to Armageddon” in the daily news and even go as far as saying (and I have actually heard this from some of them) that for the time being they can do whatever they want or don't want to do in terms of bringing up their young children in the church or preparing for a career in full-time Christian service since it will all be wasted effort once Jesus comes in a year or less.

Note that from the above comments we can see the same two perversions of NT teachings today regarding the end-times as were present in the ancient church. Liberal theologians teach that these passages really mean that when we believe Christ's words, then the day of the Lord has come into our hearts, and obviously we shouldn't expect any further coming at all. On the other hand, I have talked to more fundamentalist Christians who have read a few current prophecy books and are convinced that they can know the time of Christ's reappearing. One of them even told me that although Jesus warned that we couldn't predict the day of his coming, that didn't mean that we couldn't narrow it down to a specific period of a few months. Of course, I pointed out to him that Acts 1:7 clearly states that we aren't even to know the times or seasons.