Jesus is not a thief. But, He said “Behold, I am coming as a thief.”(Revelation 16:15). What did He mean by that? First, know that Jesus described Satan and his minions as thieves who threaten His flock with destruction. “The thief does not come except to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10). Jesus is freely giving eternal life to His flock, not stealing it. What Jesus is referencing when saying He is coming as a thief is the soon arriving “Day of the Lord“. The Apostle Paul said, “For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.” (1Thessalonians 5:2). Peter says, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” (2Peter 3:10). Jesus’s second coming is inextricably linked this “Day of the Lord” when He will judge evil on this earth and gather His own to Himself. That’s when He is coming as a thief.
Jesus clearly explained all this to His disciples in the form of a parable about a thief breaking into a home. He said, “Know this, that if the master of that house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not let his house be broken into.” (Matthew 24:43). The essence of the parable was to teach His disciples that they were to watch the signs and determine what watch of the night the thief was coming so that they would be ready and protect their households all the while preparing them for the coming of the Son of Man. Jesus told the apostle John the consequences if they did not watch. “Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore, if you do not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.”(Revelation 3:3). Clearly, Jesus is saying here that by watching the hour of His coming can (and must) be determined. Paul indicated the same in his first letter to the Thessalonians, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness so that this day (of the Lord) should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night or of darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober.”(1Thessalonians 5:4-5).
This world as we know it will be sadly and tragically unprepared for Jesus’s return. For them it will be a shock scripture likens to a “thief in the night”. But for the saints, the second coming will be the long expected but watchfully discerned culmination of this age.
Jesus is not coming as a thief for his bride but as a bridegroom.
His bride will be watching, prepared, and ready.
For this world, however, the thief metaphor is appropriate. He is coming as a thief in the night.
Stay alert.
Maranatha, Jim