Bible study on 1 Thessalonians 5:2 "the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."

MP3 article voiceover included.

Jesus tells us in these two verses that there are 12 hours in the day, and another 12 hours in the night:

John 11:9-10 "Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. 10 But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him."

12 hours in the day, plus 12 hours in the night makes our 24-hours day. But notice the difference between them. The day is characterized by light, and the night is characterized by darkness. When a man walks in the light, he stumbleth not, but when he walks in darkness, he stumbleth. Paul tells us in this verse:

1 Thessalonians 5:2 "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night."

The day of the Lord will so come as a thief in the night, at a time when the whole world will be walking in darkness. Why is it “in the night?” Night is the time when a man can’t see clearly where he is going, and the result is that he will stumble. We also have a second witness in the words of Peter:

2 Peter 3:10 "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."

The day of the Lord will not only come as a thief in the night, but Peter tells us that it is also a day when 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. Personally, I believe and teach that the “day of the Lord” is not just a one-day event, but it is also a literal thousand-years event. At the end of the 1,000 years reign, the old heavens and the old earth shall pass away, and we will have a new heaven and a new earth.

Revelation 21:1 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea."

A literal 1,000 years reign?

But before the onset of the day of the LORD, mankind shall stumble and fall, and that will happen “in the night.”

Isaiah 2:5 "O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD."

Recall the words of Jesus in John 11:9 “because he seeth the light of this world.” Jesus is the “light of the world” according to John 9:5. Only those who walk in the light of the LORD, and seeth the light of the world, stumbleth not. But for the rest of the world who walk in the night, and seeth not the “light of the world” (Jesus), they shall stumble because there is no light in them. What does “stumble” means?

Proverbs 24:17 "Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:"

Stumble is “fall” according to this verse, and we know from 1 Thessalonians 5:2 and 2 Peter 3:10 that the day of the Lord shall come as a thief in the night, and night is where Jesus said that a man shall stumble (fall). That’s what will happen when the light of the LORD shall be taken out of the way, which according to Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:7 “until he be taken out of the way.” Notice the sequence in these two connected passages of scripture:

2 Thessalonians 2:3 "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 2:7-8 "For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. 8 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:"

“That day” in the context of 2 Thessalonians 2:3 is “the day of Christ” as given to us in 2 Thessalonians 2:2. The day of Christ is the day of the Lord, because Christ is Lord. However, this verse also provided more details in the words “falling away.” If we compare both passages of scripture:

• “except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed…”

• “until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed…”

We will find that the “falling away” is a direct consequence of the light of the LORD be taken out of the way, so that the whole world shall descend into complete darkness. That’s when mankind shall stumble and fall, and then shall that Wicked, that man of sin, the son of perdition be revealed. The next verse tells us about that man of sin, the son of perdition:

2 Thessalonians 2:4 "Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God."

He is that “Wicked” of 2 Thessalonians 2:8 who exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped. So, the “falling away” must happen first, before that man of sin, the son of perdition can sit in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Mankind must stumble first, and that will happen in the night, in the absence of light, and in complete darkness. Remember when God created the world, he also made two great lights to rule the day and to rule the night?

Genesis 1:16-17 "And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth,"

There is a greater light to rule the day, and a lesser light to rule the night, but God made the stars also. Stars give out light in the night, but what else did the bible tells us about stars? Remember what Jesus said to the Sadducees who taught that there is no resurrection, yet tempted him with a question concerning a woman who had seven husbands at resurrection? Jesus answered them:

Mark 12:25 "For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven."

The dead in Christ shall rise from the dead, and after they are risen, they shall be as the angels which are in heaven. Job tells us in this verse:

Job 38:7 "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

Angels are sons of God, and this verse calls them “morning stars.” Jesus is the Son of God, and he is “the bright and morning star.” (Revelation 22:16) Likewise for a born again believer, a son of God, he shall be as the angels which are in heaven (stars) at the resurrection. Remember what the Devil said he wants to do?

Isaiah 14:13 "For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:"

Stars of God are angels. The Devil wanted to exalt his throne above the angels of God. He wanted to rule over all the angels, which Job calls “the sons of God.” Right now, the Devil is not there yet, but he is working to get there. The bible further tells us in these two places:

Job 1:6 "¶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them."

Job 2:1 "Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD."

Notice that Satan was among the “sons of God” (angels) who came to present themselves before the LORD? These verses reveal a scene in the heaven where God was seated in his throne, and the angels came and present themselves before the LORD. In fact, we also have a picture of that in the vision of prophet Micaiah :

1 Kings 22:19 "And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left."

Notice Micaiah called the sons of God “the host of heaven?” The psalmist tells us:

Psalms 148:2 "Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts."

The hosts of heaven are the angels. So, in the context of 1 Kings 22:19, the angels were in a conference with the LORD sitting on his throne, discussing on the topic “Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth–gilead?” Micaiah continues:

1 Kings 22:20 "And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth–gilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner."

Notice how the angels were presenting themselves before the LORD “one said on this manner, and another said on that manner,” just like what we read about the sons of God in Job 1:6 and Job 2:1? Then, the next two verses tells us about a spirit who came and present his idea before the LORD:

1 Kings 22:21-22 "And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. 22 And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so."

Isn’t that a picture of Job 1:6 and Job 2:1 when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them? This passage of scripture also tells us that angels are spirits. Are angels spirits? We find the confirmation in:

Psalms 104:4 "Who maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire:"

Hebrews 1:7 "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire."

Not only are angels spirits, but they are also a flaming fire. What does fire do? That’s right. It gives off light, just like how the sun and the stars of heaven produce heat and light. We can look out into the night sky and we see an innumerable number of stars shining brightly. What makes the stars shine? The answer from the bible is that stars are actually flames of fire. The sun, the moon and stars taken together are what the bible calls the “host of heaven.”

Genesis 32:1-2 "And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God met him. 2 And when Jacob saw them, he said, This is God’s host: and he called the name of that place Mahanaim."

This passage of scripture identifies angels of God as God’s host. Can we see angels with our eyes? Consider what the bible tells us in the following scripture:

Deuteronomy 4:19 "And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven."

We could lift up our eyes unto heaven and behold the sun, the moon and all the stars up there. They are what the bible calls “host of heaven,” and in the context of this verse, we are forbidden to worship them, just like how we are forbidden to worship little-g gods. God made angels a little higher than man, like what the psalmist tells us here:

Psalms 8:4-5 "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? 5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour."

Even though angels are not made in the image of God, God made them a little higher than man. Not just their statuses, but they are also in the heavens above us. That’s why when we lift up our eyes unto heaven, we could see them afar off. They are the little shiny bright lights that fill a starry night, and there is a great number of them, a company so great that they cannot be numbered.

Hebrews 12:22 "But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,"

This verse tells us that there is an innumerable company of angels, just like how many stars there are out there in heaven, a number so great that it is not possible for anyone to count. While it is true that angels are “sons of God,” but God also has a kingdom on earth made up of born again believers, whom the bible refers to as the “sons of God,” such as in these verses:

Romans 8:14 "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

1 John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

For as many are as led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. Remember this teaching about the “light of the world?”

Matthew 5:14-16 "Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Why did Jesus call born again believers, “light of the world?” Was is because we are supposed to be like the stars of heaven shining brightly, giving light upon the earth in the dark night? BTW, have you noticed how brightly lit cities at night look like clusters of stars in the heaven? Well, if each born again believer represents a city (star), then the more cities (stars) there are shining brightly, the lesser the darkness will be in the night. Recall in John 11:9-10, how if a man walks in the light, he stumbleth not, but when he walks in darkness, he stumbleth? A man stumbles because he could not see.

Proverbs 4:19 "The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble."

Have you tried blindfolding yourself and then tried to get from one point to another? The way of the wicked is as darkness in the night. When you can’t see where you are going, that’s when you will stumble and fall, and you can’t even see what you have stumbled upon. That is the way of the wicked as opposed to the “path of the just” in the previous verse:

Proverbs 4:18 "But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

This verse tells us that the path of the just is as the shining light, but notice a subtle detail in this verse, in that the path of the just also begins in darkness, but it shineth more and more unto the perfect day. It is like you started off walking in the night, but as you tried to get from one point to the next, the day gets brighter and brighter. While you may stumble when the light is dim, but each time you fall, you rise up again, you learn the lesson and you move on, just like what this verse tells us:

Proverbs 24:16 "For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief."

Each time a born again believer stumbles and rise up again, his path shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day. But for the rest of the world who walk in “the way of the wicked,” they know not at what they stumble. Ultimately, their end is that they shall fall into mischief. This sets the scenario that precipitates the day of the Lord, which shall come as a thief in the night, at a time when the whole world shall descend into complete spiritual darkness. We read in Matthew 24, how:

• “… ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.” (Matthew 24:9)

• “… many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” (Matthew 24:10)

• “… many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” (Matthew 24:11)

• “… iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.” (Matthew 24:12)

These are the things which will happen that tells us the kind of spiritual conditions on earth before the Lord comes. Remember that the day of the Lord shall come as a “thief” in the night? That means the general population won’t be watching for the signs of the times, so that when the Lord shall return, they shall be taken by surprise. After all, Jesus did compare his coming to the days of Noah:

Matthew 24:37-39 "But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."

The whole world will be busy eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, and the bible says they “knew not” until the “flood” shall come and take them all away. They will be oblivious of the signs of the times, like in the days of Noah, and know not until they fall into mischief, like what Proverbs 24:16 tells us. Whereas for God’s elect people, they will be doing what Noah was doing before the flood came. The bible calls Noah a “preacher of righteousness” in:

2 Peter 2:5 "And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;"

What was Noah doing in his days? The bible tells us he was preaching God's judgment and his righteousness. In fact, for the last 120 years before the Great Flood, Noah has been preaching to the people around him and warning them of the coming judgment and God’s righteousness to deliver them. He has been telling everyone of God's pending judgment, while building the ark in their sight, yet no one believed him up to the very last day. The people continued to be busy eating, drinking, marrying wives, and be given in marriage, and paid no heed to Noah’s warning. As a result, the flood came and carried them all away.

Hebrews 11:7 "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith."

Likewise for God’s elect people, they will be busy building an ark for the saving of their “house,” (temple of God) all the while shining brightly as stars in the night. However, the great majority would rather hear the false prophets that shall rise, and shall deceive them, as what we read in Matthew 24:11.

1 Thessalonians 5:3 "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."

In every charismatic mega-church you go to, you will hear them preaching grace and peace, and in every dispensational church you go to, you will hear them preaching the pre-tribulation rapture (safety). As a matter of fact, I have not come across a charismatic church which is not dispensational in their doctrines, because peace and safety comes together in a package. Perhaps, there more churches in this present age than any other time in history. But, how many churches are doing the works of Noah, warning people of the pending judgment and preaching God’s righteousness? Jesus gave us a hint:

Luke 18:7-8 "And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? 8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"

When the Son of man cometh, shall be find faith on earth? The answer is an obvious ‘No.’ This goes along with the idea that we have been getting so far, that the whole earth will be getting darker and darker. True faith will be very scarce, even though there will be plenty of churches around. Repentance will be almost unheard of, being replaced by a false sense of peace and safety that will characterize the face of Christianity on earth in the last days, right before the great and notable day of the Lord.

Luke 8:13 "They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away."

This verse comes from the Parable of the Sower, referring to the stony ground heart, and it connects with the words “falling away” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The stony ground is one wherein there is not much earth, and Paul used that to describe the hearts of believers in the last days: one that looks like good ground on the surface, but right underneath is solid rock. Very deceptive looking indeed. This is also a prophecy that churches all over the world would be made up of such false converts, ones who will “fall away” when the time of temptation comes.

Job 8:16-17 "He is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth in his garden. 17 His roots are wrapped about the heap, and seeth the place of stones."

The book of Job connects the stony ground heart of the Parable of the Sower to the words “place of stones” in this passage of scripture. The context of these verses is about the “hypocrite” in Job 8:13. Here, the Spirit of God compares the hypocrite to a plant in the garden: he is green before the sun, and his branch shooteth forth, but this is deceptive, because there is no deepness of the earth. So, when the sun is up, the heat will scorch the plant and the plant will wither away. Likewise, a stony ground heart Christian will “fall away” in the time of temptation. Jesus tells us in Luke 12:1 "… Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." Christianity in the last days will be full of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Churches will be filled with hypocrites, whose “faith” will not last, because it was never true faith to begin with.

2 Peter 3:3-6 "Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 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. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:"

Peter prophesied that in the last days, there shall come scoffers in the churches questioning the word of God, saying: “Where is the promise of his coming?” The return of Lord is part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That means, they have rejected the true gospel as it has been presented to them. Their faith in the gospel only lasted up to the point when they got offended. Instead of looking for that blessed hope, they rather believe that all things shall continue as they were from the beginning of creation, calling the word of God a lie. I suspect this will be the case for the great majority of the Christians who just want to be left in peace, and don’t want their little lives to be disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. While they may have felt the vibes, they would rather go for the “smooth things” (Isaiah 30:10) that the false prophets prophesy unto them, which gives them the justification to be willingly ignorant of the warnings that God’s people are sounding. When God’s people shall sound the alarm, they will also get scoffed at. Not just them, but also the written word of God they are getting their knowledge from. In that sense, they have despised the word of God which they profess to believe in.

Proverbs 13:13 "Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed: but he that feareth the commandment shall be rewarded."

When they don’t like what the bible is saying, their response is to scoff at the word of God. In this, they have committed blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, because the bible tells us in Proverbs 13:13 that whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed. Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:31 that all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but there is one sin that shall not be forgiven unto men, and he went on to explain in the next verse what he meant by “blasphemy against the Holy Ghost:”

Matthew 12:32 "And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come."

When one speaks against the word of God that the Holy Ghost has inspired in the 66 books of the Holy Bible, he has blasphemed against the Holy Ghost, and that is what we see in 2 Peter 3:3-6. Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost means there will be no forgiveness of sin, neither in this world, nor in the world to come. That’s why Paul tells us what will happen to these Christians as a judgment from God:

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: 12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."

This passage of scripture gives us the cause that will precipitate the “falling away” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. Notice in verse 10 that there is no love of “the truth” (Jesus) in these people that they might be saved? That is the reason why they will even blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, not fearing what God will do to them. As a result, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe in a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Jesus continues in the next verses:

Matthew 24:13-14 "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."

As the number of churches grow, and the number of Christians grow, all the while the world continues in its descend into spiritual darkness, there will come a time when the whole lump will be leavened, and then the end shall come.

Luke 13:21 "It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."

But while the Lord tarries, and while the gospel of the kingdom is being preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations, and until the whole lump will be leavened, the wheat shall grow together with the tares.

Matthew 13:28-30 "He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

It is only until harvest time that their differences will be obvious, when the tares will be tares and the wheat will be wheat. Notice that when asked about when the gathering of the tares and the wheat will happen, the “householder” (Jesus) replied: “Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.” At the present moment, it is not harvest time yet, because the transgressors have not come to the full according to Daniel 8:23. Jesus tells us in Matthew 13:39 that “the reapers are the angels.” That means even the angels cannot tell the difference between the tares and the wheat before the harvest time. This knowledge is a mystery, even to the angels.

Revelation 10:7 "But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets."

However, the time will come when the mystery of God should be finished. That will be the harvest time, when the tares will be tares and the wheat will be wheat. According to Matthew 13:30, the tares will be gathered first to be burned, and then the wheat will make it into the Lord’s barn. The wicked shall stumble and fall into mischief first, after which they will be gathered in bundles as tares to be burned. Whereas for God’s holy people who shine brightly as the stars in the night, they shall live to see the perfect day, when the Lord, the “bright and morning star” of Revelation 22:16 shall return and consume that Wicked with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy him with the brightness of his coming. It is only then, that the dead in Christ shall rise first, and we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.