“…but [the] Day of [the] Lord will come as a thief, in which the heavens shall vanish with a crash and [the] elements will dissolve burning intensely and [the] earth and the works in it shall be burned up.”
As I noted in the last post, there is one grand certainty which reigns above all others: “The Day of the Lord will come.”
The passage before us goes on to say its coming will be “as a thief.” (The Majority Text reads “as a thief in the night” as Paul states in I Thes 5:2 and as Jesus described in Matt 24:42-45, however, I don’t think those words “in the night” are original in this text. The overwhelming preponderance of evidence omits them).
In Matthew 24, Jesus emphasized how sudden and unexpected would be His Second Coming: “No one knows the day or the hour …” (v.36), “As it was in the days of Noah …” (v.37), “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come (v.42), “…the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him” (v44); hence this description that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief.
It has always intrigued me that He says we do not know “the day or the hour” but He never said we don’t know “the year.” (!). Now I am not suggesting we all start calculating and date setting. What I mean is that, while His Coming will be sudden, it need not be unexpected for believers. This is supported by Paul’s assertion in I Thes 5:4: “But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.” Believers need not be “surprised” by its coming. When we purchased our home in Kewanna, there was a large ash tree in the front yard. It was a beautiful tree but I could see that at some recent time it had taken a severe lightning strike. I knew it was coming down … some time. I just didn’t know when. Again, it was a beautiful tree, so we enjoyed its presence and its shade, but I also always kept an eye on it and watched as I could see the tell-tale signs of its demise. One day we were hit with a particularly fearsome windstorm. Suspecting this was the day, I stepped out on the porch and could see the tree finally opening up at its split every time a particularly fierce gust came. I called the family out on the porch telling them, “This is it. It’s coming down today.” As they stepped out on the porch to see, one more heavy gust blew and, sure enough, down it went … right before our eyes.
It surprised them. I didn’t realize I had never pointed out to them that I knew it was coming down. They didn’t expect it. It came like a thief, suddenly. But while I didn’t know “the day or the hour,” I knew it was coming and watched for it. And, as a result, we were all standing on the porch at just the right time and actually watched it happen. We weren’t surprised.
I think this exactly illustrates the Day of the Lord’s coming “as a thief” and why believers don’t need to be surprised.
Jesus also said, “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door” (Matt 24:32,33). Jesus specifically taught that, although His Coming would be “like a thief,” believers should not be surprised.
Note this too, that the “these things” are all the horrific events previously described in Matt 24, such as the “wars and rumors of wars,” and “famines and earthquakes,” and the “abomination of desolation,” and “great distress, unequalled from the beginning of the world until now.” Basically, what I understand Him to be saying is, “As you begin to see world events taking the shape of those predicted for the End Time, realize His Coming can’t be far off.
At this point, you might be thinking, “Duh. Every believer knows all of this.” True. But, when it comes to God, I refuse to be content to simply “know” things. I refuse to be happy until those truths “rock my world”. He is amazing, All that He does is amazing. If He touches me and I’m not amazed, it means I missed the point.
For myself, I would have to back up and ask, “What do I see?” Quite frankly, I see world events stacking up exactly as Jesus and the prophets described the End Times. All through history events have been sweeping toward, even sometimes closely mimicking End Times. But today I see such events actually accelerating in frequency and intensity. I haven’t seen any objective data, but it seems to me that the frequency and intensity of natural disasters has increased exponentially in my lifetime. The earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis seem to come almost weekly. There in fact is a European Union (revived Roman empire) and certainly world politics seem to be moving rapidly toward one-world government. Government by mass deception also seems to be more and more the rule of the day. (How else could a far-left wing socialist get elected President of the United States and after two years half the country still doesn’t know it?).
And just before I plunge into dark depression, here is exactly where I think this passage can encourage us. “The Day of the Lord will come like a thief …” but, “You, brethren, are not in darkness, that it should take you like a thief …” The very world events which frankly “wax worse and worse” are in fact the very fig tree lessons that tell us that “it is near, right at the door.”
So rather than sinking into (another) fit of discouragement, I need to remind myself that I already knew the world would wax worse and worse. I already knew government by deception would become the rule. I already knew natural calamities would accelerate. It all tells me the Day of Lord is in fact very near—which ought to encourage me and strengthen me to keep on trying to learn to love the people around me – be busy with my Master’s work!
I don’t think it is at all wrong to be disheartened by the national and world events I see around me. At one point even the Lord Himself said, “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion” and “Blessed are they that mourn.” But at some point I have to shake off the ashes, stand up, be brave, and carry on. My good God is quite in charge. And He will have His day!
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