Community facebook pages are littered with posts from people wanting to know if anyone has evidence of thieves who unexpectedly broke into their property and removed items. It comes in waves, probably along with the wave of thieves sweeping through the neighbourhood before they are caught by the Police. But the first strike is never expected, and the later victims are often surprised that they were subsequently targeted.
So it has always been, which is why it is no surprise Paul uses the imagery of a thief’s unexpected arrival to speak of Christ’s unexpected return to judge. Paul had already addressed the issue of whether dead believers would miss Christ’s coming (they wouldn’t), now he addresses their return itself. He starts by reminding us of the sudden nature of Christ’s return, which will take unbelievers by surprise, but not believers.
From encouraging the Thessalonians to take heart that, whether dead or alive, Christians would rise from the dead or the earth to join Christ in his triumphant return, Paul moves to the next logical question – when?
That topic has been the subject of speculation throughout the last 2000 years, and certainly in our lifetimes (however old we are). Depending on how you have been taught to read and interpret Scripture (or parts of it, anyway), the question has been the subject of numerous attempts to pin down timeframes.
Chances are you know I respectfully disagree with some of these predictions and interpretations (happy to be corrected by Christ’s return of course!).
Paul speaks of the subject of Christ’s return which was introduced in the previous chapter as being “concerning the times and the seasons” (v.1) which is an idiom for “when”. Paul states that the Thessalonians do not need anything further written to them on it (v.1); evidently, he had already taught them.
Nevertheless, Paul in verse 2 (thankfully, for our benefit) described Christ’s return as “the day of the Lord” which will come “like a thief in the night.” Here Paul is referring to Jesus’ teaching on the Mount of Olives, where Jesus uses a similar idiom to talk about his return (Matt. 24:43).
The term “Day of the Lord” reaches back to Old Testament promises of a great and terrible day of judgement where God will come to judge the wicked and deliver his people (eg, Malachi 4, Amos 5, Ezekiel 30:3, Isaiah 13, and more). Paul is using this language deliberately to clearly state Jesus’ return fulfils these prophecies.
The Thessalonians wanted to know when Christ would return because they wanted to be prepared, just as Jesus himself had suggested was a wise course of action (Matt. 25). Paul’s answer was that Jesus’ return would be unexpected, just as a thief does not make a leaflet drop of the neighbourhood advising what time he expects to drop in and steal your television.
The Thessalonian church had the benefit of knowing that Jesus was coming back. Many around them, and around the world, were ignoring the inevitable end to the rebellion against God. For them, as they speak of living with peace and security “sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (v.3).
Again, this mirrored Jesus’ teaching (Matt. 24:37-39). While the world promised false peace and security, and a false utopia, they were teetering on the edge of a cliff.
But in contrast, “you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief” (v.4). The Thessalonian believers were aware that Jesus was coming. Not the when, but enough for it to affect the way that they lived. That would be the point Paul would go on to develop further.
Like the Thessalonians, we look at the world today and see people claiming that the perfect utopia is just the next invention, product, election, or social change away. But the world is walking around in the dark, for it has rejected the light (John 1:9-11).
We are not like the world. We believe in Jesus, and we believe that he will come again. We know that Christ will come again. We do not know when, but we do know that it will happen. We should look at the world’s claims of peace and security with the same scepticism we show to miracle potions that will heal all our ills.
In the meantime, we live with the expectation of his return. Knowing Jesus will come back should influence the way we live. If you knew that someone important was coming to visit your house sometime tomorrow, would you dress in your roughest clothes and leave the house a tip face, trying to guess when they would arrive?
In the same way, knowing Jesus is coming back soon, our response should be service to God and warning the unsuspecting world of the peril that awaits them if they do not repent of their sins and trust in Jesus.
Good news; Jesus is coming! As we are not in darkness, we have lots to look forward to.
