Jesus, why so sneaky?

SCJ teaches that Jesus’ return will be secretive and involve deceptive methods, similar to how a thief operates. They use this interpretation to justify their own practices of secrecy and deception in evangelism and recruitment.

Rev. 16:15 – (“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes, so that he will not walk about naked and people will not see his shame.”)

1 Thess. 5:2 – For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night.

1 Thess. 5:4 – But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief;

Matt. 24:43 – But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

 

2 Pet. 3:10 – But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be discovered

The Importance of Reading the Context

This is just a blatant misinterpretation of the text.

When Paul and Jesus use the phrase “thief in the night,” they are referring to the need for believers to be ready. If we read further down in 1 Thessalonians 5:2-5, Paul is saying that the Thessalonians will be ready and will not be surprised. Therefore, we can see clearly that this metaphor is only appealing to the inattentiveness of believers, not the deceptive methods that a thief and SCJ use. It can be dangerous to take a biblical metaphor too far and apply it to situations where God did not intend.

1 Thessalonians 5:2-5 – For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord is coming just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” Then sudden destruction will come upon them like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, so that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness;

We can clearly see that Paul is making a dichotomy between those who are in the light with Christ, and those who aren’t. This also further disproves needing to return in a way such that cunningness and thievery would be used.

Then for 2 Peter 3:10, we can also see that this idea of Jesus returning like a thief in the night justifying the use of deception is also taken out of context, considering that in 2 Peter 2, Peter was warning his congregation about false teachers and prophets sneaking into the congregation spreading their false heresy. 

2 Peter 2:1-3 – But false prophets also appeared among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. 2 Many will follow their indecent behavior, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned; 3 and in their greed they will exploit you with false words; their judgment from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

Why would Jesus use the same deceptive tactics for his second coming as his enemy, who is also referred to as the “Father of lies” in John 8:44?

As for Matthew 24:43, and Revelation 16:5, the intent is how when Jesus returns, it will be an obvious event, and those who are “ready” and “waiting” for Christ, will not be surprised, just like what Paul mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 5.