Do we take this at face value or is it an idiom?
Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you,
for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-2
I have to say that I had a difficult time finding the origin or meaning of this saying, the analogy that Jesus will return “like a thief in the night”. Most of my extra-biblical resources interpret this saying at face value. This verse as well as Matthew 24:42-44 (and other passages) are cited to defend the viewpoint that no one will know when He will return:
“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him”.
For those of you who read my last devotional, The Search for Truth, you know that we studied Matthew 24:36, which stated that no one knows the day or hour of Christ’s return to earth. We learned that this is actually a Hebrew idiom, a figure of speech. In short, this saying means that Jesus will specifically return at a future Feast of Trumpets or on Rosh Hashanah.
The same is true for this phrase in today’s devotional. In Matthew 24 and 1 Thessalonians 5 (as well as others), a Hebrew idiom is being used. In the temple, the priest on duty was to make sure that the sacrifices were completely consumed at the end of the day, and ensure that the fire burned all night in order to be ready for the next day’s sacrifices.
It was a temptation for the priest to fall asleep during the night. So, the captain of the guard or the High Priest himself would sometimes come in quietly to check on things – like a thief in the night. He hoped to find the priest on duty, alert, aware, and carrying out his tasks. If not, the sleeping priest would wake up to his clothes on fire (see Revelation 16:15). So, too, our High Priest is coming and expects to find His people working in faithful obedience. Will you be found ready?
Jesus’ Second Coming should not surprise the faithful believer:
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.
You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.
1 Thessalonians 5:4-6