"Like a Thief in the Night"
1 Thessalonians 5v1-3
21st January 2022
Last week, we read the last part of 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 4, which talks about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, when He'll return to earth riding on the clouds, with a loud command, the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God. The dead in Christ will be resurrected and the whole church will be gathered and will meet Jesus in the air. What a wonderful, sure and certain hope we have that that glorious day will come, the Day of Judgement will happen, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth. Hallelujah!
Now Paul says:
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3
Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,
for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
While people are saying, "Peace and safety", destruction will come on them suddenly,
as labour pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
Perhaps one of the most attested facts about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ is the fact that nobody knows when it's going to happen, except God the Father. It seems likely that Paul had this saying of Jesus in mind when he wrote this part of his letter:
Matthew 24:36-42
"But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,
but only the Father.
As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark;
and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all
away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.
Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come."
Jesus has made it clear that nobody will know when He's coming back until it happens. Some Christians would save a great deal of time and energy if they'd stop trying to work it out, because it can't be done. Even Jesus doesn't know.
Paul says that people – I think he means "most people" – will be saying "peace and safety". I know this is not what some of us have been taught, but this seems to me to teach us that the days immediately preceding the Second Coming will be good days. The majority of the world's population will feel happy and secure. Just before the return of Jesus Christ, the world will be in a much better state than it is now. You may have been told different, but isn't that what it says?
In our generation, most people don't think the world is peaceful and safe. Recently, one decision by the President of the United States threw the world into turmoil again. There's famine in Yemen. There's coronavirus. Iran is probably trying to make a nuclear weapon. Drug cartels run riot in Mexico. Somalia and Ethiopia are constantly in some state of civil conflict. We could name many other situations right now that are far from peace and safety.
But – both Jesus and Paul say – the day is coming when the world will seem to be a peaceful and safe place. And when that happens, and when mankind congratulates itself on what a fine job we think we've done, Jesus will appear in the sky. Then, to use Paul's words, destruction will come on them suddenly.
I don't often write about judgement, but today I must.
Paul offers us two metaphors. Firstly, the Day of Christ's return will be like a thief in the night. It'll be both sudden and unexpected, like a man breaking into your house when you're asleep. Secondly, Christ's return will be like the pains of a woman going into labour. It'll be both sudden and inevitable, as birth follows pregnancy. There's no way we can predict the day, and there's no way we can prevent the day.
That day will be painful for many. The non-Christians in the world will face judgement and, Paul says, they will not escape. You can run but you can't hide. The Day of Judgement is coming. Perfect justice will be done. All whose sins are not covered by the blood of Jesus Christ will be condemned to everlasting death, banished for ever from the presence of God.
One that day, there will be no middle ground. Jesus's parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25: 31-46 makes it clear that, on that day, either you'll be a sheep or you'll be a goat. You can't be a half-breed, half sheep and half goat. Either you'll be eternally saved or you'll be eternally lost. There'll be no third option. There won't be an "abstain" vote. It'll be no good telling Jesus you're not really interested in religion.
Because God is perfectly just, the punishment for all sin must be paid. Jesus has already paid for the sin of all who believe in Him by dying on the cross. But those who have not put their faith in Jesus will have to pay for their sins themselves, by dying eternally in hell.
I take no pleasure in saying this. Neither did Jesus or Paul. But if a person chooses to ignore Jesus's atoning death on the cross, refuses to turn to God in repentance and faith, that person is not saved. By turning our back on Jesus, we deny His sacrifice, which paid for the sin of all those who don't turn away from Him, but embrace His forgiveness and love. If there's anybody you love, and they've refused so far to accept Jesus's love and follow Him, pray for them to turn to Him, before it's too late.
Don't waste time speculating on the date of Christ's return. Don't obsess about the exact details of what it'll be like. Rejoice that it will definitely happen, and get on with the job of telling people about Jesus.