Thief In The Night
The apostle Paul said in 1 Thess. 5:2, "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." Now I've talked to other christians who believe that the bible says that the Lord can come at any time, even before the tribulation, and they used this verse to try to prove their point, but when Paul used the words " beloved," "ye", "saints" etc, he was addressing the Church and more often than not, when he used the words "them" or "they", he was refering to the unsaved , like in 1 Thess. 5:3 when he said, "For when THEY {unsaved} shall say, peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them,as travail upon a woman with child; and THEY shall not escape." Only the unsaved people will be caught off guard by the Lord's coming. Now the next verse {verse 4} Paul is refering to the Church when he said, "But YE, BRETHREN, are NOT in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." Born again believers have inside information called the bible, so we won't be caught off God. It will only seem like a thief in the night to the unsaved, for they will not expect it.
The apostle Peter also talked about the day of the Lord coming as a thief in the night as recorded in 2 Peter 3:10. This verse proves that the Lord's coming like a thief in the night can not be at any time before the tribulation, because Peter said that when the Lord does return like a thief in the night, the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, and that the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Now after reading 2 Peter 3:10, we have to know that this event is after the tribulation or otherwise the anti-christ couldn't come on the scene, because how could he when the world is burning up with fervent heat? I believe that "sudden destruction" that Paul mentioned in 1 Thess. 5 is the world being burned with heat, so just like in my other messages about the resurrection and rapture, it has to happen AFTER the tribulation. There is no indication in scripture that the Lord comes as a thief in the night twice, for I believe that the "thief in the night" in 1 Thess. 5, is the same "thief in the night" in 2 Peter 3.
God Bless,
Christopher
