Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 (ESV)
Throughout the New Testament, we find references to Jesus’ return for His followers. And that has led to endless speculation as to when that might occur. Throughout the past two thousand years, many people have predicted a date when they believed he would return. And that continues even today. I recently had someone tell me they had figured out the year of His return, but he was still working on the month and day.
But all such attempts to predict the date, or even the imminence of His return, are doomed to failure. Speculation about the times and seasons of the Lord’s return is just that: speculation. As Paul says here, the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. At a time when no one is expecting Him.
Don’t Be Caught Sleeping
If I knew that a thief was going to break into my house sometime during the night, I would not go to bed and sleep. I would stay awake all night, waiting for his arrival. And that illustrates how I should live as I wait for Jesus’ coming. I don’t know when it will be. But whenever it occurs, I want to be ready.
Paul goes on to tell us that the world will be sleeping, thinking that all is well. But we should not. Stay awake and alert. Don’t be caught off guard. Be ready for His return, whenever it occurs, doing what He has given you to do.
Jesus tells us this same thing in Mark 13:32:37. Jesus has gone away and has left each of us with a task to do while He is away. We do not know when He is returning, but when He does, it will be good if He finds us doing what He has given us to do, rather than sleeping or being distracted with other activities (Matt. 24:45-51).
