Hi everybody,
I'm sure some of you already knew this, but I learned of it just recently, and thought it would be of interest to those not already familiar with it:
The "thief" analogy that Jesus applied to the time of His return--borrowed by Paul and Peter to refer to that same day as the day of the Lord--was a familiar expression to the Jews of the first century, as a nickname for the high priest or captain of the temple guards.
One of the duties of the Jewish priests was to keep a nightly vigil over the holy fire and candelabra in the temple, to ensure they did not go out. Not surprisingly, the occasional priest on duty would drift off to dreamland during the night.
If a priest was caught sleeping, he would get a very rude awakening--literally. For he would wake to find that his clothes had been set on fire! He would of course, strip off his burning garments, and flee into the night--understandably humiliated by the shame of his nakedness.
In many passages, it was in this sense that the thief analogy was used regarding the Lord's return: If we stay awake (spiritually), we will never be caught off guard by the Lord's return. However, If we're spiritually unprepared at His coming, it will not be a happy time for us. Jesus warns the saints at Sardis:
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.(Rev 3:3)
Yet, it is in in Revelation 16:15 that we see the most definitive example of the "thief" analogy being applied to the return of Christ:
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
(I believe anyone not clothed with the white robe of Christ's righteousness will stand butt naked before the throne of judgment, and be very, very ashamed).
I've discovered that learning about the cultures and traditions of daily Jewish life can open up the full meaning of certain passages that we otherwise would not fully see. I will post a few more later. If anyone has any more of these, please share them.
Randy
I'm sure some of you already knew this, but I learned of it just recently, and thought it would be of interest to those not already familiar with it:
The "thief" analogy that Jesus applied to the time of His return--borrowed by Paul and Peter to refer to that same day as the day of the Lord--was a familiar expression to the Jews of the first century, as a nickname for the high priest or captain of the temple guards.
One of the duties of the Jewish priests was to keep a nightly vigil over the holy fire and candelabra in the temple, to ensure they did not go out. Not surprisingly, the occasional priest on duty would drift off to dreamland during the night.
If a priest was caught sleeping, he would get a very rude awakening--literally. For he would wake to find that his clothes had been set on fire! He would of course, strip off his burning garments, and flee into the night--understandably humiliated by the shame of his nakedness.
In many passages, it was in this sense that the thief analogy was used regarding the Lord's return: If we stay awake (spiritually), we will never be caught off guard by the Lord's return. However, If we're spiritually unprepared at His coming, it will not be a happy time for us. Jesus warns the saints at Sardis:
Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.(Rev 3:3)
Yet, it is in in Revelation 16:15 that we see the most definitive example of the "thief" analogy being applied to the return of Christ:
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
(I believe anyone not clothed with the white robe of Christ's righteousness will stand butt naked before the throne of judgment, and be very, very ashamed).
I've discovered that learning about the cultures and traditions of daily Jewish life can open up the full meaning of certain passages that we otherwise would not fully see. I will post a few more later. If anyone has any more of these, please share them.
Randy