Jesus - the thief

[B-A-C]

No, that's not a typo. It's not about the thief on the cross. Jesus Himself says He will be like a thief.

Matt 24:43; "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Luke 12:39; "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

Who is the "thief" in these two verses?
Let us go back and put those two verses in context.

Matt 24:36; "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
Matt 24:37; "For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
Matt 24:38; "For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
Matt 24:39; and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Matt 24:40; "Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.
Matt 24:41; "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.
Matt 24:42; "Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
Matt 24:43; "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
Matt 24:44; "For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
Matt 24:45; "Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time?
Matt 24:46; "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.

Let's look at the same message in Luke.

Luk 12:35 "Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps lit.
Luk 12:36 "Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks.
Luk 12:37 "Blessed are those slaves whom the master will find on the alert when he comes; truly I say to you, that he will gird himself to serve, and have them recline at the table, and will come up and wait on them.
Luk 12:38 "Whether he comes in the second watch, or even in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
Luk 12:39 "But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
Luk 12:40 "You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect."
Luk 12:41 Peter said, "Lord, are You addressing this parable to us, or to everyone else as well?"
Luk 12:42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time?
Luk 12:43 "Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.
Luk 12:44 "Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
Luk 12:45 "But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk;
Luk 12:46 the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

Who is the thief? When is He coming?

1 Thes 5:1; Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.
1 Thes 5:2; For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
1 Thes 5:3; While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.
1 Thes 5:4; But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief;
1 Thes 5:5; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;
1 Thes 5:6; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

... to be continued ...

 

[B-A-C]

2 Pet 3:1; This is now, beloved, the second letter I am writing to you in which I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder,
2 Pet 3:2; that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles.
2 Pet 3:3; Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts,
2 Pet 3:4; and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."
2 Pet 3:5; For when they maintain this, it escapes their notice that by the word of God the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by water,
2 Pet 3:6; through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.
2 Pet 3:7; But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
2 Pet 3:8; But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.
2 Pet 3:9; The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
2 Pet 3:10; But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
2 Pet 3:11; Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness,
2 Pet 3:12; looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!
2 Pet 3:13; But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.

The language is slightly different here, it says the "day" of the Lord will come like a thief. But the message is the same. Be ready when the thief comes.

Rev 3:1; "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: 'I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
Rev 3:2; 'Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
Rev 3:3; 'So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.
Rev 3:4; 'But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy.

It seems the language in all of these passage are saying.. be awake, be watchful, be sober, be alert, be on the lookout.
The thief (Jesus) is coming when you don't think He will.

In another study here on TJ, we are taking about the judgments of Revelation. In the passage about the sixth bowl, Jesus says...

Rev 16:15; ("Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.")

If everything is already taken care of and we don't have to do anything... why all the warnings? Why are we told to be awake, alert and sober?

 

[Lanolin]

Are you asking us or is this a rhetorical question?

For those who arent ready, Jesus will come like a thief and they will miss out. For those who are ready he won't..because they are prepared.

He warned that generation because he was talking about the temple, that it was going to be destroyed. Thats why he warned them and kept warning them..remember every year it was required to go to jerusalem to celebrate passover.

Well now we celebrate passover but its the Lords supper and we dont need to physically go to the temple in Jerusalem since it was destroyed..Jesus is our passover lamb.

Some people think its the entire world going to be destroyed but actually Jesus was talking about the temple in Jerusalem. Back then that was their entire world. He was also meaning that generation..that why he chose the twelve apostles for each tribe.

 

[B-A-C]

He is coming more for those who are ready than those who aren't. Some will be taken, some won't.
When the Bible says "the world". It means the world, not just a temple.

We need to be careful about adding things to the Bible that aren't there...a dn taking away things that are there.. The Bible says what it says. We don't have to twist it into something else.

 

[Lanolin]

Jesus was talking about the temple, he was saying to the disciples becauase they asked him and he was right in the temple saying look at these goodly stones etc. They aint gonna last.

 

[Lanolin]

Jesus comes for everyone its just some wont be ready and some will. It simple to understand so you better be ready. Every christian believer is ready because they have oil (Of the holy spirit) but many think they have oil but dont because they hadnt actually asked for it. You cant get from someone else you need to ask God.