Thief in the night...

Some of us remember the 70’s movie ‘A thief in the night’, supposedly based on the end time teaching in the Book of Revelation. In it, a woman is exploring Christianity, but wakes one day to reports that millions of people, including her husband, have mysteriously disappeared. It turns out that they were faithful Christians who had been raptured. The moral of the story being ‘make sure you’re ready for Jesus’ return or else you will be left behind.’

Toby was preaching this morning about the church at Sardis and Jesus’ diagnosis of their spiritual condition. In the middle of Jesus’ address to that church come the words: ‘“Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. ” (Revelation 3:3,).
The Church at Sardis, contrary to its own perceptions, was not doing well. They had the reputation of being a ‘lively’ church, but in fact, says Jesus, they were spiritually dead. As Toby preached this morning, it seems that they were dead, particularly in terms of their witness and faithfulness to Jesus. If they do not repent and discover afresh the priority of Jesus and the gospel in their lives, then Jesus will come against them, unexpectedly, like a thief.
Far from speaking of the glorious coming of Jesus at the second coming, this verse speaks of Jesus coming against that wayward church in the 2nd century - and churches throughout the church age that behaved in such a way.

But doesn’t Jesus speak somewhere else about coming like a thief in the night? Yes, when speaking to his disciples about his return he said: “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ” (Matthew 24:42–43, ESV).
But if you read the whole of that chapter it will become clear that Jesus uses the analogy of the thief in the night to make the point of their needed alertness in the face of his unannounced coming - thieves catch people out - he is not however, making a statement about the style of his coming.
Earlier in Matthew chapter 24 when speaking of his return, Jesus speaks of lightning, of the heavens being shaken.. “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ” (Matthew 24:30) And that is far from thief-like!
More on this as we go further in the book of Revelation, but let me make the point here that I believe that Scripture teaches that the second coming of Jesus, far from being a secret thing, will be awesome in every way! There will be trumpets, lightning, cosmic shakings, and central to it all, the appearing of Jesus in all his splendor for all the people of the earth to see. And we who belong to him will be caught up to meet him in the air!

I don't know about you but on that day I want to be able to say along with the apostle Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing. ” (2 Timothy 4:7–8,)

Goff