Hello and welcome to “Unto the End,” a devotional that looks at Scripture with the thought constantly in mind that May 21, 2011 will be Judgment Day.
We are going to take a look at a verse that we are hearing quite a bit about, which is 1 Thessalonians 5 and the reference to “a thief in the night.” It says in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2:
But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
It is often said by individuals that hear about a date—a very exact date like May 21, 2011—that you cannot know. The belief is that we really should not even be trying to pinpoint a date, because the Bible tells us that Christ is coming “as a thief in the night.” If you ask them how a thief comes, they will go on to say, “Well, a thief comes unexpectedly; therefore, you can not know when a thief is coming.”
They are actually correct that Jesus is coming “as a thief,” because the Bible tells us this. He is coming “as a thief in the night.” However, what many are failing to see or to understand is that if Jesus comes for you or me or anyone “as a thief,” He is not coming to hand out rewards or blessings or to give the gift of eternal life and to take people into Heaven. That is not why a thief comes.
The Bible tells us the purpose that a thief has in mind in John 10:10:
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…
This is exactly what Jesus will do on May 21, which will be Judgment Day, a day when He will bring destruction, when the whole world and all of the unsaved people of the world will finally be destroyed; they will be killed eternally by the Lord Jesus Christ.
This is what a thief does, but God is only coming “as a thief” for the unsaved of the world. He is not going to come “as a thief” for the true believer.
This is why 1 Thessalonians 5: 3 goes on to say:
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them…
Keep in mind that this is referring to the Lord coming “as a thief.” He is bringing “sudden destruction,” just as we read in John 10:10:
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…
Then we go on to read in 1 Thessalonians 5:3:
…then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
It is not good news if Jesus is coming for you “as a thief.”
Many people insist that you cannot know, that He is coming “as a thief in the night.” What they are basically saying is that Christ is coming unexpectedly for them and for everyone else, they think.
This is what they think and yet they think that this is a good thing. But no, it is not. If Christ comes “as a thief” for you, it will be to destroy you.
Notice the next verse in 1 Thessalonians 5:4:
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
Here God says it. The people of God, the ones whom God has saved and given a new heart and wisdom to discern “time and judgment,” the ones who will hear the warning of the Lord’s approaching, the ones who will hear the warning that He is coming in judgment and who believe it and act upon it, they will be the ones who will be raptured and taken up into Heaven. The rest of the world will have to suffer the terrible consequences of believing and insisting that Jesus comes “as a thief in the night.”
But no, this is not the case for the child of God. The child of God is in the light, but the thief comes in the dark. The child of God has been forewarned and so the thief cannot catch the believer off-guard.