As A Thief In The Night? Not For Me! : Part 2

AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT? NOT FOR ME! : PART 2

Copyright 1994 - 2008 Endtime Prophecy Net

Last Updated : July 23, 2006

Backslidden Peter And The Lord's Rebuke, Not Slothful In the
Lord's Business, First Century Apostasy And Early Church
Compromise, Balance Scripture With Scripture, Does Jesus
Know?, Weakness Of Holy Trinity, Parables For The Ignorant,
Revealer Of Secrets, Endtime Apostasy, Closing Remarks

In thinking about all of this, it has occurred to me that
perhaps there might be yet another reason why Jesus was so
secretive concerning His Second Coming. Think about this:
How would Jesus' first Disciples have felt had they known
that He wasn't going to return in their lifetimes? Would it
have encouraged their faith very much? Of course not. As it
was, even after everything had transpired, even after Jesus
had been raised from the dead and appeared before the
Disciples on two occasions, they were still slow to believe.
In fact, in the beginning of John chapter twenty-one, we
already find them in a spiritually backslidden state. Jesus
is gone; they haven't received the Holy Spirit yet; and the
Jews are persecuting them; so they don't know what else to
do except to return to their old jobs as fishermen:

"Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto
him, We also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into
a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing."
(John 21:3)

Peter, the leader of the group, backslid, and everyone else
followed his poor example. In fact, the Disciples were so
backslidden in their hearts, that the Lord didn't even bless
their fishing trip all that night; at least not until Jesus
arrived on the scene the following morning. Then we are told
that they caught one hundred and fifty-three fish, and yet
the net was not broken:

"But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the
shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then
Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They
answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the
right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast
therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the
multitude of fishes. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus
loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter
heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto
him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.
And the other disciples came in a little ship; (for they
were not far from land, but as it were two hundred cubits,)
dragging the net with fishes. As soon then as they were come
to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid
thereon, and bread. Jesus saith unto them, Bring of the fish
which ye have now caught. Simon Peter went up, and drew the
net to land full of great fishes, an hundred and fifty and
three: and for all there were so many, yet was not the net
broken." John 21:4-11, KJV

Perhaps there was a clear lesson to be learned here; and
that is that He had called them to be fishers of men, and
not fishers of fish. Perhaps the Lord chose to emphasize
this point for them by having a fire ready, and fish already
cooking, along with some bread, when they arrived on shore,
thus highlighting the futility of their all-night labor. It
appears that Peter may have been so embarrassed because of
the fact that he had led the other Disciples astray, that he
immediately jumped into the water. You may recall that Jesus
had personally appointed Peter as the leader of the clan;
and had even told him that his backsliding would serve to
strengthen his faith; and I would add, to make him a more
humble, obedient servant of the Lord, who depended upon
God's strength and wisdom, and not upon his own:

"And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired
to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have
prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art
converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him,
Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to
death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not
crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou
knowest me." Luke 22:31-34, KJV

While some people have suggested that Peter jumped into the
water because he was so excited, and ran, or swam, to go see
the Lord, read together, the above verses seem to tell a
different story in my mind. Remember, Peter had only denied
the Lord a few days earlier; and here he was caught in the
very act of leading everyone astray. I believe that this may
also be why the Lord tested Peter after they had dined. As
you may recall, just as Peter had denied knowing the Lord
three times, Jesus now questioned him three times as to
whether or not he loved Him:

"So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon,
son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto
him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto
him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again the second time,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea,
Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed
my sheep. He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said
unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto
him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love
thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I
say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself,
and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be
old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall
gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This
spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify God.
And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me."
John 21:15-19, KJV

Returning to our main theme, it seems to me that by being
somewhat secretive about His Second Coming, that is, by not
revealing to His followers that He would not be returning in
their lifetimes, and by emphasizing their need to always be
watchful, and to always be prepared, the Lord was in fact
giving the Early Church the impetus that it needed, in order
to fulfill the mission that He had given it to do. To help
you to understand this concept a little better, consider a
situation in our modern day where a wise boss never lets his
employees know when he might walk into the office or work
area, in order to see how the work is progressing. Under
such conditions, the employees will always be on the alert,
and will make sure that they are properly doing what they
are supposed to be doing, and not wasting time, or the boss'
money, by being slothful in business. The Apostle Paul
taught the very same concept to the First Century Christians
when he wrote:

"Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the
Lord;" Romans 12:11, KJV

Lest you misunderstand this verse, Paul was not talking
about worldly businesses or secular jobs; he was talking
about faithfully serving the Lord, as the end of the verse
clearly states. I also discuss this same topic in such
articles as 'Money-Making Bible Hucksters And Mammon'.
Despite this wise tactic employed by the Lord, as we know
from the Bible, as well as from secular history, the First
Century hadn't even ended yet before the Early Church had
already begun to cool off and lose the Heavenly Vision, and
the Spiritual Fire which had been poured out on the Day Of
Pentecost some fifty or sixty years before. If one reads the
first few chapters of the Book of Revelation, it is easy to
see the Lord's warnings to the various Churches which were
in existence in Asia Minor, or modern-day Turkey, at that
time; some of which had been founded by the Apostle Paul and
his fellow companions in travel. Consider these revelatory
verses which clearly demonstrate the rampant apostasy which
had already taken root in the Church during that time:

"Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou
hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence
thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else
I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."
Revelation 2:4-5, KJV

"But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast
there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught
Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of
Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit
fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine
of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent; or else I
will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them
with the sword of my mouth." Revelation 2:14-16, KJV

"Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because
thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a
prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit
fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I
gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she
repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them
that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except
they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children
with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he
which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto
every one of you according to your works."
Revelation 2:20-23, KJV

"And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These
things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the
seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that
thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the
things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not
found thy works perfect before God. Remember therefore how
thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If
therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a
thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon
thee." Revelation 3:1-3, KJV

"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I
would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of
my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with
goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou
art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that
thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous
therefore, and repent." Revelation 3:15-19, KJV

Eventually, the Early Church compromised to such a degree in
the doctrines of the faith, that it moved out of the Roman
coliseums, where the Christians had been torn apart by lions
because of their faith, and into the grandstands; where it
became a spectator religion, when it was assimilated into
the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Constantine.
Thus began the history of the modern Roman Catholic Church
and the Eastern Orthodox Church some three hundred years
after Christ's Resurrection. It was also at that time that
the Scriptures fell under the control of these compromising
religionists, and their interpretation of the same.

What I would like to emphasize here again, is that if one
just takes one, or even a few verses I have quoted in this
article, while ignoring the rest, he will be left with the
erroneous idea that we are not to know when the Lord will be
returning. As I explain in the article 'Rightly Divide The
Word Of Truth', this is the problem with those people who
don't follow the Apostle Paul's advice, by failing to
properly balance the Word of Truth, by comparing Scripture
with Scripture. Such people take just a few verses which
support their ideas, and make a doctrine out of it. This is
wrong, wrong, wrong! We must consider the full counsel of
God's Word in order to arrive at Spirit-led conclusions. As
Paul wrote:

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
truth." 2 Timothy 2:15, KJV

To reiterate then, if we consider all of the verses I have
shared in this article thus far, we begin to acquire a
completely different picture. We see that Jesus will only
arrive as a thief in the night for those people of the
Endtime who are not watching for the signs; either due to
their unbelief, or possibly because of their slothfulness,
or perhaps due to their ignorance of the Holy Scriptures. In
any case, they are not in a state of preparedness. Some
people have even gone so far as to suggest that perhaps
Jesus Himself did not, or does not, know the Day of His own
Second Coming. While He may not have known at that time,
being as perhaps the Father hadn't told Him yet, due to His
unique status with the Father, I would think that He knows
now, since the time is evidently drawing very near. Many
Christians the world over have sensed this in the Spirit.
Consider these verses:

"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the
angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.
Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time
is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who
left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to
every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch
ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house
cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or
in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch."
Mark 13:32-37, KJV

"All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man
knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the
Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will
reveal him." (Matthew 11:27)

The above verses from Mark are also useful for refuting the
belief held by those people who insist that the so-called
'Holy Trinity' is three beings wrapped up in one. If this is
indeed the case, which I do not accept, how then can the
Father know of His Son's appointed Day of Return, while the
Son does not? In other words, if they are one being as these
people suggest, how can He possibly hide something from
Himself? For this and other reasons, in my mind, there is
simply too much confusion in the trinity doctrine; at least
as it is taught by some churches like the Roman Catholic
Church.

The previous verse from the Gospel of Matthew is also quite
interesting when we apply it to the Lord's Second Coming.
Just as Jesus hid the true meanings of His Parables from His
enemies but revealed them to His Disciples, might it not
also be that He will reveal the Day of His Second Coming to
us, the believers, through the many prophecies found in the
Bible, as well as through the signs we see being fulfilled
before us? While the world at large will be in spiritual
darkness and caught off guard due to disbelief, could it be
that the Lord will reveal more and more to us as that Great
Day of His Arrival approaches? Consider these verses:

"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest
thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them,
Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For
whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have
more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be
taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in
parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear
not, neither do they understand." Matthew 13:10-13, KJV

"Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his
secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)

While technically-speaking we are not Prophets, we are His
children; we are of the Light; and thus I feel that we can
apply the previous verse to ourselves. Considering this, and
the many other verses I have shared in this article, I find
it difficult to believe that we, God's Endtime children,
upon whom the ends of the world are come, are not meant to
know the Day of the Lord's Second Coming. If anything, as
the days grow darker and darker ahead, I believe that the
Lord will want to encourage our faith, and to motivate us to
keep holding on a little longer, through revealing more and
more truth to us. While we may not know the exact day now,
and much less the hour of our Lord's Triumphant Return, this
does not mean that we will not know sometime in the near
future when the final Endtime events begin to be fulfilled
in the Middle East. I remain convinced that only those who
have rejected God's truth as it is revealed in the Bible,
will be caught off guard, and will not be expecting the
Lord's Return. As the Apostle Paul tells us in his second
Epistle to the Thessalonians:

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not
come, except there come a falling away first, and that man
of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;"
(2 Thessalonians 2:3)

This 'falling away' is the Apostasy I referred to earlier in
this article. To any honest Christian, it is clearly the
time in which we are now living; and it will only get worse
as man continues to put more faith in his science, in his
own wisdom, in his own forms of government, in his own
abilities to solve his problems, and less faith in God his
Creator. Let me remind you again that both Jesus and Peter
hinted at how bad the situation will be just prior to the
Lord's Arrival when they said:

"...Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find
faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8b)

"Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days
scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where
is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell
asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning
of the creation." (2 Peter 3:3-4)

In conclusion, it is to these scoffers and unbelievers to
whom Jesus will suddenly appear as a thief in the night,
and not to those of us who have been soberly and carefully
counting off the days according to the prophecies of Daniel
and the Book of Revelation. It is these unbelievers who will
experience sudden destruction as predicted by Paul in his
letter to the Thessalonians. In His Divine Mercy, the Lord
has seen fit to provide us with many, many signs so that we
would know when He was about to return. The Bible is full of
them. If anyone is ignorant of these signs, it is either
because he wants to be, or else because he has not yet been
fully instructed in the Word of God.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached for several
thousands of years now, and it continues to be preached in
many different forms and by many different methods. Everyone
will be given a chance to hear and know the truth. It is
those who reject it through rebellion and unbelief, who will
be caught by surprise at the Lord's Return. They will be
cast into outer darkness, and there will be weeping and
wailing and gnashing of teeth. What about you? Are you
ready? You are if you have accepted the Lord into your life,
and are busy serving Him faithfully. He's coming soon; so:

"...be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a
crown of life." (Revelation 2:10b)

I trust that this article has been a blessing, and an
inspiration in your life. Keep your eyes on Jesus; it won't
be long; and remember:

"But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should
overtake you as a thief." 1 Thessalonians 5:4, KJV