Sunday, July 26, 2020
Matthew 24: 36-44 NKJV
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. 42 Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
Four times in the New Testament (NT) the return of Jesus is likened to a thief in the night—2 times by Jesus himself, once by Paul and once by Peter.
Revelation 16:15
“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches … ”
1 Thessalonians 5:2
“For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night.”
2 Peter 3:10
“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that’s are in it will be burned up.”
Notes
Matthew 24:43 NKJV
“… if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.”
Jesus’ reference to a “watch” referred to how both the Jews and the Romans divided the night into military watches instead of hours, with each watch representing the time period that sentinels or soldiers remained on duty. There were four night-watches of three hours each.
- First was evening watch, from 6 to 9pm.
- Second was midnight watch, from 9 to 12pm.
- Third was rooster crow, from 12 to 3am.
- Fourth was morning watch, from 3 to 6am.
Interestingly, in Lukes’s account of Jesus’ parable, Jesus specifies “the second or the third watch” which would be the late hours while the world is asleep. (Luke 12:38)
So the Bible is very clear that the return of Christ will be like a thief coming in the dead of night while the world is spiritually asleep.
Notes
So let’s talk about a thief’s MO …
A thief is subtle, quiet, stealth-like, and his approach is unexpected. He does not announce his coming—his whole intent is to get in and get out without anyone knowing.
Jesus’s return will be the same way!
It will be sudden, silent, unexpected, and under the radar of most people. He will come quickly and quietly, snatch His church off of the earth and take us home. It will happen without warning:
Matthew 24:40-41 NKJV
“Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.”
Notes
And here is a key sign Jesus gave us to look for.
He said it will be just like it was in the days of Noah:
Matthew 24:40-41 NKJV
“For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, 39 and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.”
Yet we note that Jesus makes no mention of God in their life—God was out of the picture! They were doing life as usual, but it was a godless life—God had no place in their lifestyles or even in their thinking.
Genesis 6 expands on this and tells us that the days of Noah were very wicked.
Let’s look at it and see how the days of Noah measure up to our day, our culture, and our world:
I. Noah’s day witnessed universal moral collapse
Genesis 6:5 NKJV
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Romans 2:15 TLB
“… He will punish the heathen when they sin, even though they never had God’s written laws, for down in their hearts they know right from wrong. God’s laws are written within them; …”
Genesis 6:5 ERV
“The Lord saw that the people on the earth were very evil. He saw that they thought only about evil things all the time.”
And has not our society and the rest of the world done the same thing? Just like in Noah’s day we’ve experienced a total moral collapse in spite of far greater divine revelation than Noah ever had.
Notes
II. In Noah’s time, universal moral collapse led to Deep, systemic corruption
Genesis 6:11 KJV
“The earth also was corrupt before God, …”
Notes
III. Universal moral collapse and deep corruption led to widespread violence
Genesis 6:11 KJV
“… and the earth was filled with violence.”
You see, when a society loses its morality and kills its conscience, violence always erupts as the final consequence. When a nation rejects divine revelation as we have, several dominoes begin to fall:
- God-given checks and balances disappear.
- Natural affection is replaced with hard, unmerciful hearts.
- Divine restraint is lifted.
- Hatred of authority flourishes.
- Respect for life vanishes.
- Man is left to himself, and his fallen, godless nature goes on full display.
Matthew 24:37 NIV
“… as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be …”
Notes
In the meantime, these things are a sign that the return of Christ is near, and He will soon come like a thief in the night!
LET’S PRAY
The world will not know the thief has come!
Luke 21:34
“Constantly be on your guard so that your hearts will not be loaded down with self-indulgence, drunkenness, and the worries of this life, or that day will take you by surprise.”