Are You Afraid?
Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. Revelation 3:3
Like A Thief – There is hardly a more frightening verse in Revelation. Of course, we would rather think about the “end times,” as though we could pry open the secrets of our future written in those heavenly scrolls. Our preoccupation with the “Left Behind” fanaticism makes us overlook the real message – readiness! Once again, the entire theme turns on repentance.
“If you don’t repent, I will come like a thief.” The Greek is hos kleptes. It’s the root for our word kleptomaniac, one who cannot stop stealing. The Bible distinguishes between a thief and a robber. The robber is confrontational. He accosts you and takes from you. You see him. But the thief slips in unaware. He steals while no one is looking. His presence is hidden until the goods are discovered missing. That’s the emphasis here. Jesus will come, undetected, unnoticed, unexpected until suddenly you discover that your most valuable possession is gone – your life.
If anyone is capable of astounding surprise, it is God. The Biblical record is filled with human beings who were caught completely off guard by God’s actions. No matter how much they projected and anticipated, God showed up completely unexpectedly. No one could have imagined parting the sea, trumpeting down the walls, turning the emperor into an animal, arriving as a newborn or dying on a cross. God cannot be constrained by human imagination. Therefore, this warning should strike absolute terror in the lives of all those who are not completely ready for His arrival. There is no way to know when. There is no protection from the inevitable. The only preparation is – repentance.
Let’s ask the serious question. When you climb into bed at night, are you afraid? Will the thief show up while you are sleeping and take account of those unrepented acts? Will you “not wake up,” as the verse suggests? Will you have pushed aside the things you have received and heard, thinking that tomorrow you can take care of the problems? What tomorrow? That’s why we need to be deadly serious about Hebrew 3:13 (see June 9), “while it is called today.” In spite of all our delusions to the contrary, there is no “tomorrow” in human life. There is only today. Tomorrow the thief comes. As you pull up the covers tonight, remember that. When you close your eyes, you enter the world of the thief.
Of course, there is no fear for those who are fully prepared. The householder who knows when the thief will arrive is never taken by surprise. Neither is the man or woman ready to meet the Lord. Receiving, hearing and obeying the Lord’s instructions lead us to a daily experience of repentance. The emphasis is on daily. While it is still day, practice repentance. No hour comes unexpectedly when the conscious is clear.
How will you sleep tonight?
