Who Was the 'Thief in the Night?'

Growing up, I was taught that Jesus would come as a “thief in the night.” I assumed it meant that - no matter where I was and no matter what I did - Jesus was going to unexpectedly come and steal my stuff.

It also made me think that it was unwise to anticipate Jesus' return at all. It's exactly because of this description of His coming that I never considered studying prophecy until recently.

Did you know that the Thief in the Night was actually a nickname of the Captain of the temple guard? One of the responsibilities of the temple guards was to make sure that the fire on the altar of God never went out (Leviticus 8:6-13), even during the night. Because some of the guards would fall asleep, the Captain, dubbed the 'Thief in the Night' in Jesus' day, would periodically visit the temple guards at night (a time when they did not expect him). If he caught them sleeping, he would literally light a torch from the altar and set the sleeping guard's clothes on fire! It's that custom that we see described in Revelation:

“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame.” ~Revelation 16:15

Watching for Him is something that Jesus has clearly told us to do. Take Jesus' words in Revelation 3:3, for example:

“Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.”

When Jesus talks about coming as a thief He's talking to those who aren't watching for Him. That implies that those who ARE watching won't be caught unaware, otherwise, why would He differentiate between those who watch and those who don't?

In the parable of the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-13), the wise virgins were prepared to watch and wait for the bridegroom and were ready when he came, but the foolish virgins were not prepared or watching and they were shut out of the wedding feast. Similarly, in the parable of the faithful servant and the evil servant (Matthew 24:45-51), the evil servant is caught unaware as well. “The master of THAT servant (the evil servant) will come on a day when HE is not looking for him and at an hour that HE is not aware of. (Matt 24:50)” Jesus is not forbidding us to watch for Him, He's actually commanding us to watch for Him!

Just as Jesus wept over Israel missing His first coming (Luke 19:44), He's passionate about people recognizing the time of His second coming.

And as we walk with Him, it's Him who ultimately keeps us awake. :)

...You know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. ~Romans 13:11-12

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For more on the 'Thief in the Night': https://professorjt2012.wordpress.com/…/the-thief-in-the-n…/