One of the hardest things to know is the end times, or rather, when Jesus would return, much has been speculated about it. Many talk about the rapture; which is not mentioned by name in the Bible, but only mentioned once in 1Thesslonians4:16-18, specifically, vs17, where it is said that Jesus will come out of the sky and believers will be caught up in the air with Him and they will be with Him.
But there are more mentions of Jesus returning as a thief in the Night than there are as Him coming to rapture the church. Why do I subscribe to the idea of Him coming as a thief in the Night as opposed to some ‘rapture ‘? Satan is waiting for Him to return to try to kill Him, as he did at Jesus’ first coming. What can I give to back this up? Matthew 24:43 speaks of the ‘master of the house’ if he had known at what hour the thief was coming would watch and not allow his house to broken into, it is said that Satan is god of this world, or, ‘master of the house’.
Matthew 24:36, Jesus said that no one but the Father knows the day and hour , not the angels not even the Son. So, for Him to give an exact time of His arrival,He had no idea. But, He gave a clue as to what the days would be like at His coming. He said as the days of Noah were, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. How can we compare and contrast this generation to that of Noah?
Jesus says that in those days they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day Noah entered the arc. Well, let’s see, eating and drinking. So many types of food and drink, everyone is preoccupied with what they’re going to eat or drink. Then He says, marrying and giving in marriage. What does this mean? In this generation, so many people are getting married , divorcing and getting remarried. In the USA, there is a law that allows for same sex marriage, giving in marriage. Most of the marrying and remarrying happens within the USA celebrity world. And because the people’s customs come from the more known society, celebrity, there is marriage between same sex couples, which goes against what Jesus said in Matthew 19:5,”For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his ‘wife’ (not husband) and the two will be one flesh”.
In Matthew 12:42 He speaks of the Queen of the South rising up at the judgement with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and something greater than Solomon is here. Can this be a prophecy on the part of Jesus? Let’s look at what He says before this.
In Matthew 12:39 He says an evil and adulterous generation seeks a sign, but none will be given but the sign of the prophet Jonah, as Jonah was 3 days in the belly of the fish, so will the Son of Man be in the belly of the earth. So it seems that He is giving a prophecy of the generation at the judgement, or end of the age (world).
For there to be the Queen of the South and something greater than Solomon, then this something would have to give a sign as well, and be wiser than what Solomon was. But Jesus is saying that something greater than Solomon is appearing. Could this be the Second Coming of Christ? If Jesus is speaking of Himself as the sign of Jonah, then the One coming would be greater than Solomon in his wisdom, and, it stands to reason, very possibly, the Second Coming, as this ‘something ‘ would be human and come after the sign of Jonah was given. In Matthew 10:24-25, we see it say that no disciple is above is teacher and no servant above his master, for it is enough that a disciple be like his teacher and a servant like his master.
So this One coming must be a disciple and servant of Christ, as Jesus is the One who gives wisdom, and this disciple would be taught by Christ.
We see in John 10:11 Jesus says He is the Good Shepherd and gives His life for the sheep, then in vs 14, He says He is the Good Shepherd and He knows His sheep and He is known by His own. In John 10:27, Jesus says “My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me”
So what does this have to do with the subject at hand? Well, as we saw in Matthew 24;36 only the Father would know the coming of the Son, and this one greater than Solomon might very well be the Second Coming as in John 3:29 it is said the friend of the groom stands and waits for the voice of the groom and rejoices at His voice.
Also, in 1Thesslaonians 5:2 Paul himself says that the day of the Lord comes as a thief in the Night, and 2 Peter 3:10, it is stated that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the Night. And, we see in Revelation 16:15, Jesus is recorded as saying, “Behold, I am coming as a thief in the night”.
In this generation, in the USA, there was a law that allowed for abortion, as if Satan was trying to kill off any attempts of the Christ from coming into the world. As did Herod did in Jesus’ time when those children 2 years and less were killed when the 3 wise men came to worship the King of the Jews.
Then, there is the verse in John 17:15 that has Jesus praying that the Father doesn’t take the disciples out of the world, but that He would keep them from the evil one. And this would apply to any disciple at any time.
So, here then is my reason for thinking of Thief in the Night rather than coming out of the sky or rapture. Even Satan knows that Christ is coming and will do all he can to not allow this, but Christ must come under the radar of Satan to take the kingdom away from him and restore it to God and be His everlasting kingdom.
I pray this has given some food for thought and that you dig deep down into the Scriptures and ask for Wisdom from God as to what I have explained in this long sermon.
May the Lord of Creation and Father of all bless you and enlighten you.
Rev Ken, 10/13/2024
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