O thief!
Come to take my own!
Stealth’ly by darkness come,
Enriched, by silence gone.
One of the lasting metaphors that has been used by those who support some sort of rapture theology is that of the “Thief in the Night.” The idea for this comes from the Christian Bible. There are a couple passages where this is found. One is in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5.
Verse 2: For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
The other is from the Gospel according to Matthew 24:43:
But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
This metaphor became so popular in the early 1970’s that in 1972 a really bad movie entitled, you guessed it, “A Thief in the Night” was produced. It attempted to show the life of a young woman who was ‘left behind’ by showing the audience all of the opportunities that she had to make a decision to follow Christ as Lord and Savior. She didn’t. So, consequently, she wasn’t ready when the call came. The movie even used Larry Norman’s song for it’s theme song.
Now, to be clear, I think the metaphor as written in the scriptures is a good one. It projects the idea that the day of the Lord will come without warning. It will come as a surprise. Both Jesus and Paul wanted those to whom they were communicating to know that there will be nothing that will show them that a storm is coming.
So, be prepared!
“Ok, I get it already! This big whatever thing is gonna happen. And, I’ve got to somehow prepare for it. But How?”
I’m glad you asked!
First, let’s look at how not to prepare. It’s not about going out and buying ADT or some other alarm system to protect your home. There’s no system available to protect against the Day of the Lord. A device that alerts a third party will not be sufficient. Bottom line: no one else can prepare for you.
Both of the passages do, however, contain instructions for preparation if we look.
In Thessalonians Paul emphasized the fact that the thief strikes in darkness. But, he considered the folks he wrote to be ‘children of light and the day.’ His encouragement to them was, in order to be prepared for that day they should live like children of light. All of the activities that took place after sundown, like sleeping and drunkenness should be avoided. They, in order to be prepared, must be sober and awake. The important takeaway from this is that those who follow Christ are destined for life and salvation, not death and destruction. (Yeah, Paul mixed metaphors and wrote in circles sometimes. But, he meant well.)
Jesus, on the other hand, followed the warning about the Day of the Lord with parables that described what it meant to be prepared. These are found in at the end of Chapter 24 and all of Chapter 25.
I’m not going to go into detail with these parables. That would require an entire volume on its own. I simply want to show a distinction between thinking and doing.
The first is basically a warning to be vigilant. Jesus used the image of a faithful servant performing the tasks that his master, who has gone away on a long trip, left for him to do. The servant has no idea when the master will return. So, he must be faithful to his duties.
The second parable is about ten virgins who were waiting for the arrival of a certain bridegroom. Part of their responsibilities was to carry some kind of lamp or torch. Five of them brought extra oil for the lamps; five did not. The bridegroom eventually showed up to the party. The five who were ‘prepared’ with extra oil went into the party. The other five had to find a Walmart where they could buy some more oil. By the time they got back, the party had started and they were locked out. Because they were NOT prepared, they were not selected. The point being, to live wisely means be prepared for God’s reign.1
The third is about a man who went on a journey. He called his servants and gave each of them a certain amount of money. While he was away, two of the servants invested the money in some way. Through their work they were able to double their investments. The third servant chose to simply bury the money in order to keep it safe.
When the master returned he called the servants to give an account of his money. The two who had good return on their investments were praised and rewarded. The one who hid the money was scolded and punished.
This parable is NOT about money! It in no way supports any kind of so-called prosperity gospel. Where the first parable encourages folks to be prepared, this one shows one way that may be expressed.
We get a glimpse of servants behaving like, well, servants. Two of them execute their duties faithfully. One does not. That’s the point! This parable is “concerned that disciples may fail to be disciples.2” In order to be prepared for the Coming of the Son of Man, Jesus told his disciples that they must continue to be faithful in all things. Even if it takes a long, long time.
The last parable is long and chock full of stuff. It pictures something that has become known as the Final Judgment. The scene shows the Son of Man returning in power. All the nations of the world come to him. The text states that he will separate the nations in the same way a shepherd may separate sheep from goats. The criteria that he uses to separate appears to be based on how each group treated others. The “goats” did not show compassion to people who were hungry or thirsty; sick or in prison. They did not welcome strangers nor clothe those who were naked. The others, the “sheep,” did those things. Both groups were said to have actually done these, or not, to the Son of Man himself.
Those in the first group were not selected to remain and live with the Son of Man. They were summarily ‘cast out.’
The second group, however, were commended and welcomed.
Like I said, there are a lot of things packed into this one story. I’m not going to go into detail here. This parable’s place within the CONTEXT of the larger passage is what I want to get at.
The focus of this story is NOT judgment. Although, judgment cannot be wholly dismissed. Snodgrass wrote, “We cannot avoid the focus on judgment in Jesus’ teaching, but our concern must be with the function of the language to arrest, warn, and force consideration, not to give a description of the judgment.3”
This parable, while set on a stage with props that indicate a courtroom, is not a judicial story. It’s emphasis is first and foremost on compassion. Secondly, it alludes to the idea that there will be consequences for the way that disciples of Jesus treat the oppressed. The images that Jesus uses are aimed at motivating the disciples to compassion and good works to alleviate suffering. As Snodgrass aptly put it, “A person cannot be a follower of Jesus and be void of compassion, which is at the heart of his gospel.4”
Take a minute and let that sink in. It’s a powerful statement that deserves our time to consider it.
Ok, let’s summarize.
Yes, there will be hard times.
Yes, the Son of Man will return.
No, He will not ‘snatch’ some chosen few to fly away into some heavenly bliss.
Yes, some will be ‘selected’; other will not.
How can we know if we’re ‘selected?’
BE PREPARED!
How can we be prepared?
By BEING faithful and compassionate.
I will, hopefully, pull all of this together in the next, (last?), post in this series.
As always, please use the comments to share your questions or other thoughts on this post.
And, please share this with your friends!
1 Snodgrass, Klyne R., Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parapbles of Jesus, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2008, p. 518.
2 Snodgrass, Klyne R., Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parapbles of Jesus, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2008, p. 536.
3 Snodgrass, Klyne R., Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parapbles of Jesus, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2008, p. 536.
4 Snodgrass, Klyne R., Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parapbles of Jesus, William B. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2008, p. 561.
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