The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, is known by Christians to be true. But Christians tend to disagree on what the day of the Lord is. Is the church secretly raptured before the day of the Lord and remain in his presence for seven years, until he returns to earth? Not at all, as you shall soon learn.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-9
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
6 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,(KJV)
What is learned from these verses?
- The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;
- That sudden destruction shall befall those in darkness;
- That day will not overtake believers as a thief;
- Believers are told to watch and be sober;
- God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Remember these as we continue.
2 Peter 3:10-12
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?(KJV)
From this reference it is seen that:
- The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;
- In the day of the Lord the heavens shall pass away with a great noise;
- In that day the elements shall melt with fervent heat;
- The earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up;
- Believers are to be looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God;
- In that day the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
The day of the Lord is as a thief and full of destruction. To learn more, read on.
Luke 17:26-37
26 And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.
32 Remember Lot’s wife.
33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(KJV)
The examples given to us of Noah and Lot show that the righteous were first removed before the wrath of God was poured out. Then the wicked, which remained, were destroyed. Both of these events happen on the same day, that is, the day of the Lord. At the second coming of Jesus the righteous will be removed and the wicked will be destroyed. To gain a better understanding of this, lets check out the words "taken" and "left" from the Greek.
Taken S#3880 (paralambano):
- to take (or with) oneself, to join to oneself;
- an associate, a companion;
- to receive, not to reject.
Left S#863 (aphiemi):
- to send away;
- to bid going away or to depart;
- to disregard;
- to leave;
- to omit, to neglect;
- to give up, to keep no longer;
- to leave, to go way from one;
- to depart from anyone;
- to depart from one and leave him to himself so that all mutual claims are abandoned;
- to go away leaving something behind;
- to leave one by not taking him as a companion;
- to leave on dying, to leave behind one;
- to abandon, to leave destitute.
It becomes quite clear from looking at the Greek as well as from scripture that those who are taken are the righteous, and that those who are left are the wicked. It is also clear from scripture that both those who are taken, and those who are left, speaks of an event that happens on the same day. To deny this is to deny simple truth.
Looking back now to the day of the Lord coming as a thief in the night. Much insight is found in the next verse:
Revelation 16:15
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.(KJV)
In this verse, these things are shown:
- Jesus is coming as a thief;
- Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments;
- Some shall walk naked, and their shame seen.
At the day of the Lord, Jesus will come as a thief to deliver his children and to bring his wrath upon the earth. In 1 Thessalonians 5:6, believers are commended to "watch and be sober." Here in Revelation 16:15 that, "blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments." Those that watch for Jesus return will be blessed!
Look back to 2 Peter 3:10:
2 Pet 3:10-12
10 .... in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?(KJV)
Here are some verses that are referenced to this awesome event:
Isa 13:10-13
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.(KJV)
Joel 2:10
10 The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:(KJV)
Joel 2:31
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.(KJV)
Take notice of the timeline of when this will happen in the next reference:
Matt 24:29-31
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.(KJV)
Notice the following:
- That immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken;
- And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.... coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;
- And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect.
So before the Lord returns the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect.
The rapture doesn’t occur until after the Son of man shall appear in the heavens. For when he appears he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect:
Matt 24:31
31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.(KJV)
Matt 16:27
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.(KJV)
1Thes 4:16-17
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.(KJV)
These all refer to the same event; the rapture of the church. And as noted, it occurs after the Son of man shall appear in the heavens.
A recap of what has been learned:
- The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;
- That day will not overtake believers as a thief:
- In the day of the Lord the heavens shall pass away with a great noise;
- In that day the elements shall melt with fervent heat;
- The earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up;
- Believers are to be looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God;
- In that day the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat.
- Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only;
- On the same day that Noah entered into the ark, the wrath of God was poured out:
- The same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all;
- Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments;
- Some shall walk naked, and their shame seen;
- Rewards shall be given out at his coming;
- That immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken;
- And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven.... coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory;
- And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect.
Conclusion: The same day that the Lord returns for his elect, sudden destruction shall come. The day of the Lord therefore is not a seven year period as many proclaim. The church will go through the tribulation, but shall be saved from his wrath. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.(1 Th 5:9) The salvation that Paul refers to here is the redeeming of the body now subject to the bondage of corruption. (Rom 8:17-25; 1 Cor 15:50-57; 2 Cor 5:1-5; Php 3:20-21)
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