But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
The brethren are not in spiritual darkness or ignorance, so that day should not overtake them unexpectedly as a thief. They are children of light and of the day, not of night or darkness, and that day is the future day of the Lord at Christ's second coming with sudden destruction and judgment, which comes stealthily to take the unwary by sudden surprise. Though the exact day and hour cannot be known, those who heed the warnings can recognize by signs when His coming is near and need not be caught unprepared in carnal security. As children of the day they must stay awake, watchful and sober, in pure, holy, Christlike character with faith and love and the hope of salvation. Not being overtaken requires more than waiting; it requires vigilant watching and working to warn those who do not know, giving the trumpet a certain sound so that day does not overtake them.
Darkness, Light, Day, Thief
The brethren are not in spiritual darkness or ignorance about the day of the Lord, so that day should not overtake them unexpectedly as a thief catches the unwary. Those who know that day is near and heed the signs preceding Christ's second coming will not be caught unprepared, unlike those who ignore the warnings and are overtaken unexpectedly. As children of light and of the day they are to stay awake, watchful, sober and self-controlled, putting on faith and love and the hope of salvation rather than sleeping like others or resting in uncertainty and spiritual sleep. Knowing the light of Scripture defines this identity and calls them to prepare for Christ's second coming.
They belong to the light and the day through receiving the light of truth and obeying the knowledge received from God's Word and living by it, and not to the night or darkness. Indifference to the signs is sinful; the indifferent are children of the night and darkness, while those who refuse heaven's light and have lost connection with God are not among the people called children of light. God's prophetic guideposts and Word give light to understand His providential movements and the path of obedience and mark the way. In eventful and perilous days when signs of the coming end thicken and sudden destruction falls upon those saying peace and safety, those having the light of truth know it is time to wake up because salvation is nearer, leaving behind dark deeds and putting on light as armor, walking according to the Word, keeping watch so the coming Master does not find them asleep.
That day is the future day of the Lord associated with Christ's second coming, sudden destruction and wrath, judgment, final destruction, trial, and the solemn events at the close of probation and the close of this earth's history, grand and awful, not an event in the past. It is also called the day of Christ and the coming day of wrath, a decisive day that especially concerns and applies to Christians living on earth when it comes, to people absorbed in worldly business and pleasure who are careless about Christ's return, and to the ungodly lulled in false security. Those who heed Christ's warning, watch for its approach and recognize the solemn time will not be caught unprepared, and will meet it with serious thought, earnest prayer, and a pure, upright, holy character formed through genuine faith in Christ, a faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
Coming as a thief means coming stealthily with muffled tread, stealing upon people imperceptibly and noiselessly in the night and taking the unwary by sudden surprise when off guard and unready. The day is right upon us and the end is near, and it comes in this manner upon those who are not watching, who are spiritually asleep, listless and indifferent, while it does not so come upon those who are spiritually awake. This calls watchmen to wakefulness and faithful readiness, and the unready must be warned.
Being brethren means being in the light all the time and being taught of God, who does not hide His counsel from them. They are to remember and bear in mind the will and mind of God concerning them and take their position in that light. That position is not to watch the defects and errors of those around them and place themselves on the judgment seat, but to watch for souls as those who must give account, to watch for the prosperity of souls, to go kindly to one in error and present truth in contrast with error, and to speak a word in season and out of season.
Knowing Nearness Through Signs
The exact day and hour cannot be known, yet those who heed the warnings about the return will not be caught unprepared, because they are not in spiritual darkness about the day of the Lord and can recognize by the signs that precede the second coming that it is near. Indifference to those signs is sinful, for the indifferent remain children of the night and of darkness while believers who receive the light of truth become children of light and of the day, called to watch and remain sober rather than be overtaken unexpectedly. That watchfulness means staying awake and alert, so the day that comes like a thief upon those who disregard the warning does not come upon the watchful as a surprise. The same readiness applies to the day of final destruction and wrath, which the ungodly, lulled into false security, fail to discern, while those who watch for the signs recognize its nearness and are ready to escape.
In eventful and perilous days when the signs of the coming end are thickening, sudden destruction falls upon those saying peace and safety, but those who have the light of truth belong to the light and the day and not to night and darkness, and will not be caught unprepared by that day. Faithful believers are therefore not in moral and spiritual darkness about the day of the Lord; they watch and discern the signs of the times and the solemn time in which they live instead of resting in carnal security and the false assurance of peace and safety. They must not sleep like others but stay awake and self-controlled, knowing it is time to wake up because salvation is nearer, leaving behind deeds of darkness and putting on light as armor. They keep watch so that the coming Master does not find them asleep.
God has not left believers in spiritual darkness about the approach of the day, for His prophetic guideposts and Word give light to understand His providential movements and mark out the path of obedience. Those who belong to God and to the light and the day, not to the night or darkness, are therefore not overtaken unexpectedly as by a thief. The call is to watch and pray so as not to be found spiritually asleep when the coming overtakes many suddenly like a thief in the night, and that warning is to be carried to others through the last message, with many enlightened by the sure word of prophecy.
Being established in the truth so as not to be overtaken unprepared by the day of Christ as by a thief comes through studying the truths of Daniel and Revelation, including the first, second, and third angels' messages, which keep people from being left in darkness and prepare them for that day.
Those who receive heaven's light and keep their connection with God are children of light and of the day, able to recognize the signs and prepare for the coming, and they will not be caught unprepared by the day of judgment as a thief catches the unwary. Those who refuse that light and lose their connection with God are not among that people described as children of light. Religious leaders who rejected light and neglected that connection failed to recognize the time of visitation and to proclaim the approaching advent, while the people remained asleep in sin.
That failure at the first advent illustrates how the day surprises the unwatchful but not the watchful, for the leaders missed the signs while the shepherds and the Eastern wise men, having watched and sought the light God gave, were prepared to receive the news. So also the destruction of Jerusalem and the final destruction come suddenly as a thief upon the ungodly, who are not in the light about its approach, while those who heed the warning and watch for the signs are not in darkness and are not caught unprepared.
Watchful Holy Preparation
As children of the day they are to stay awake, watchful and sober rather than sleeping like others, putting on faith and love and the hope of salvation as their covering. Belonging to light and day and not to night and darkness means living watchfully and soberly in the light of truth rather than in uncertainty or spiritual sleep. In eventful and perilous days when signs thicken and sudden destruction falls on those saying peace and safety, it is time to wake up because salvation is nearer, leaving behind dark deeds, putting on light as armor, walking according to the word, and keeping watch so the coming Master does not find them asleep.
Preparation for that decisive day is the forming now of a pure, upright, holy, unspotted character, overcoming sin and becoming Christlike. Readiness to enter with the Bridegroom to the marriage is joined to Christ's work of sanctifying and cleansing the church so that it is holy and without blemish, while the great day comes unexpectedly to those who disregard the Word and are left unholy, unsanctified and unready. That holiness comes by a faith that works by love and purifies the soul, with a more earnest hold upon heavenly things, pressing toward the mark of the prize of the high calling, walking humbly, growing in grace and in knowledge, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord and being changed from glory to glory until perfection of character is revealed, while still confessing that attainment is not yet reached and a work of purification remains to be done in the soul.
The lamp must be kept trimmed and burning with the oil of grace, with faith and grace held ready for use, guarding against spiritual weakness and decline. True following blends personal devotion with earnest work, neither giving itself wholly to contemplation nor becoming so engrossed in busy works that personal piety is neglected, but being fervent in spirit, using every facility to prevent declension, staying attentive and obedient and prepared to respond at any moment because the time for work is short and the day is near. If the church fails to awake and raise its standard its light will turn to darkness, and believers must not live or act as though the coming is delayed. Watching means trusting wholly in the wisdom of the Leader and not in self-wisdom, with most earnest prayer, days set apart for fasting and prayer, denial of self by leaving off usual food for a plain simple diet, and putting away vanity, self-indulgence and pride for genuine humiliation, because the most important crisis ever to come upon the world is near and will otherwise steal upon the unwatchful as a thief while evil works in secrecy through human agencies. The end steals upon the off-guard stealthily, imperceptibly and noiselessly like the muffled tread of a thief in the night to suddenly surprise sleepers, so the will must be given into God's hands like clay into the hands of the potter to be molded unto honor and renewed in the divine image, with no earthly or selfish motive suffered to live, for when prayer and humility fail the adversary can approach without warning, exploit self-interest and make souls captive.
Those who have a good hope and whose life is hid with Christ in God are not in darkness when sudden disaster, death and that day come, for sudden calamities by land and by sea warn to make that hope sure, since there is no safety except in God, and lost time through lives not so hidden makes earnest preparation urgent. Standing continually in the light and being taught the divine counsel means remembering the divine will and taking position in that light to watch for souls as those who must give account, watching for their prosperity, going kindly to one in error to present truth in contrast with error and speaking a word in season and out of season, not watching defects and errors to sit on the judgment seat. Having had the light leaves no excuse for pursuing an unjust course and linking with one whose methods are like those of worldlings who care nothing for God or truth, with the day right upon them. Readiness is waiting and watching and praying daily, putting talents out to use to bring souls to the Master and keeping grace today with a living and complete connection with God every day, not being surfeited and drunken with the cares of this life like the foolish virgins, for the prospect of the return exposes the danger of being found in a present unready condition.
Working and Warning Others
Not being overtaken requires more than waiting; it requires vigilant watching and working with reference to that solemn day, for the living church waits, watches, and works, with none standing neutral and none folding the hands in sleep, but all actively representing Christ in earnest effort to save perishing souls. Waiting must be joined with watching, prayer, earnest work, and sharing the light and knowledge received, and those who have the light are to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, which guards against spiritual decline and prepares them to bear witness to the truth. Sleeping as the foolish virgins slept brings spiritual declension and causes that day to overtake as a thief, so every precaution must be taken now, the mind must be strengthened to look deep and discern the reasons of faith, and the soul-temple must be purified by truth, for only the pure in heart will be able to stand against the wiles of Satan. Haphazard, careless work leads to that same decline and leaves people in darkness, while watchful, active work to save others, with minds strengthened by understanding the faith and hearts purified by truth, enables believers to stand against Satan's deceptions.
Those who know the truth must warn those who do not so that day does not overtake them, giving the trumpet a certain sound by voicing the third angel's message telling the world to make ready for the great day of God. That message bears the seal of the living God, and the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments combined fit up a people to stand in the day of the Lord, while the last message and the sure word of prophecy enlighten many who will carry the warning to others. Those who are spiritually asleep, listless, and indifferent will be overtaken suddenly like a thief in the night, but those who are spiritually awake will not, and God blesses the workers who warn the unready. This responsibility reaches even to open-air meetings in groves and parks to reach some who would not attend a service held in a church.
The warning is urgent because the day comes as a thief with stealthy, muffled tread to take unawares all who are not watching, and Satan is advancing stealthily to take those who are asleep, so the time to act and give warning is now. Satan prepares to work in secrecy through human agencies, stealing along like a thief in his plans and devices, and his lying wonders will come suddenly and with startling surprise upon all who are asleep, unready, and not kept by the grace of Christ. Dark powers work with intense energy from beneath, and Satan moves with quiet steps to take sleeping ones the way a thief takes prey, while those who are awake and kept by grace will be prepared and not be overtaken. Watchmen and ministers who failed to warn faithfully left both themselves and the churches asleep and unready for that day.
Preparation is the education of the school of the prophets, where all powers are trained and consecrated to service, with youthful zeal and ardor used to glorify God in real, thorough, well-organized efforts under instructors to be a blessing to others, so that the coming day of trial that steals unawares upon the world does not overtake believers. Spiritual care and diligence in using God-given opportunities are needed so that the day of God does not overtake as a thief and catch people unprepared. Those who are spiritually alert need not be caught unprepared, but the careless and indifferent risk having it come upon them like a thief, and must stay vigilant against concealed snares that could lead them away from Christ and the path of humility.
The brethren are not in spiritual darkness or ignorance, so that day should not overtake them unexpectedly as a thief. They are children of light and of the day, not of night or darkness, and that day is the future day of the Lord at Christ's second coming with sudden destruction and judgment, which comes stealthily to take the unwary by sudden surprise. Though the exact day and hour cannot be known, those who heed the warnings can recognize by signs when His coming is near and need not be caught unprepared in carnal security. As children of the day they must stay awake, watchful and sober, in pure, holy, Christlike character with faith and love and the hope of salvation. Not being overtaken requires more than waiting; it requires vigilant watching and working to warn those who do not know, giving the trumpet a certain sound so that day does not overtake them.
Darkness, Light, Day, Thief
The brethren are not in spiritual darkness or ignorance about the day of the Lord, so that day should not overtake them unexpectedly as a thief catches the unwary. Those who know that day is near and heed the signs preceding Christ's second coming will not be caught unprepared, unlike those who ignore the warnings and are overtaken unexpectedly. As children of light and of the day they are to stay awake, watchful, sober and self-controlled, putting on faith and love and the hope of salvation rather than sleeping like others or resting in uncertainty and spiritual sleep. Knowing the light of Scripture defines this identity and calls them to prepare for Christ's second coming.
They belong to the light and the day through receiving the light of truth and obeying the knowledge received from God's Word and living by it, and not to the night or darkness. Indifference to the signs is sinful; the indifferent are children of the night and darkness, while those who refuse heaven's light and have lost connection with God are not among the people called children of light. God's prophetic guideposts and Word give light to understand His providential movements and the path of obedience and mark the way. In eventful and perilous days when signs of the coming end thicken and sudden destruction falls upon those saying peace and safety, those having the light of truth know it is time to wake up because salvation is nearer, leaving behind dark deeds and putting on light as armor, walking according to the Word, keeping watch so the coming Master does not find them asleep.
That day is the future day of the Lord associated with Christ's second coming, sudden destruction and wrath, judgment, final destruction, trial, and the solemn events at the close of probation and the close of this earth's history, grand and awful, not an event in the past. It is also called the day of Christ and the coming day of wrath, a decisive day that especially concerns and applies to Christians living on earth when it comes, to people absorbed in worldly business and pleasure who are careless about Christ's return, and to the ungodly lulled in false security. Those who heed Christ's warning, watch for its approach and recognize the solemn time will not be caught unprepared, and will meet it with serious thought, earnest prayer, and a pure, upright, holy character formed through genuine faith in Christ, a faith that works by love and purifies the soul.
Coming as a thief means coming stealthily with muffled tread, stealing upon people imperceptibly and noiselessly in the night and taking the unwary by sudden surprise when off guard and unready. The day is right upon us and the end is near, and it comes in this manner upon those who are not watching, who are spiritually asleep, listless and indifferent, while it does not so come upon those who are spiritually awake. This calls watchmen to wakefulness and faithful readiness, and the unready must be warned.
Being brethren means being in the light all the time and being taught of God, who does not hide His counsel from them. They are to remember and bear in mind the will and mind of God concerning them and take their position in that light. That position is not to watch the defects and errors of those around them and place themselves on the judgment seat, but to watch for souls as those who must give account, to watch for the prosperity of souls, to go kindly to one in error and present truth in contrast with error, and to speak a word in season and out of season.
Knowing Nearness Through Signs
The exact day and hour cannot be known, yet those who heed the warnings about the return will not be caught unprepared, because they are not in spiritual darkness about the day of the Lord and can recognize by the signs that precede the second coming that it is near. Indifference to those signs is sinful, for the indifferent remain children of the night and of darkness while believers who receive the light of truth become children of light and of the day, called to watch and remain sober rather than be overtaken unexpectedly. That watchfulness means staying awake and alert, so the day that comes like a thief upon those who disregard the warning does not come upon the watchful as a surprise. The same readiness applies to the day of final destruction and wrath, which the ungodly, lulled into false security, fail to discern, while those who watch for the signs recognize its nearness and are ready to escape.
In eventful and perilous days when the signs of the coming end are thickening, sudden destruction falls upon those saying peace and safety, but those who have the light of truth belong to the light and the day and not to night and darkness, and will not be caught unprepared by that day. Faithful believers are therefore not in moral and spiritual darkness about the day of the Lord; they watch and discern the signs of the times and the solemn time in which they live instead of resting in carnal security and the false assurance of peace and safety. They must not sleep like others but stay awake and self-controlled, knowing it is time to wake up because salvation is nearer, leaving behind deeds of darkness and putting on light as armor. They keep watch so that the coming Master does not find them asleep.
God has not left believers in spiritual darkness about the approach of the day, for His prophetic guideposts and Word give light to understand His providential movements and mark out the path of obedience. Those who belong to God and to the light and the day, not to the night or darkness, are therefore not overtaken unexpectedly as by a thief. The call is to watch and pray so as not to be found spiritually asleep when the coming overtakes many suddenly like a thief in the night, and that warning is to be carried to others through the last message, with many enlightened by the sure word of prophecy.
Being established in the truth so as not to be overtaken unprepared by the day of Christ as by a thief comes through studying the truths of Daniel and Revelation, including the first, second, and third angels' messages, which keep people from being left in darkness and prepare them for that day.
Those who receive heaven's light and keep their connection with God are children of light and of the day, able to recognize the signs and prepare for the coming, and they will not be caught unprepared by the day of judgment as a thief catches the unwary. Those who refuse that light and lose their connection with God are not among that people described as children of light. Religious leaders who rejected light and neglected that connection failed to recognize the time of visitation and to proclaim the approaching advent, while the people remained asleep in sin.
That failure at the first advent illustrates how the day surprises the unwatchful but not the watchful, for the leaders missed the signs while the shepherds and the Eastern wise men, having watched and sought the light God gave, were prepared to receive the news. So also the destruction of Jerusalem and the final destruction come suddenly as a thief upon the ungodly, who are not in the light about its approach, while those who heed the warning and watch for the signs are not in darkness and are not caught unprepared.
Watchful Holy Preparation
As children of the day they are to stay awake, watchful and sober rather than sleeping like others, putting on faith and love and the hope of salvation as their covering. Belonging to light and day and not to night and darkness means living watchfully and soberly in the light of truth rather than in uncertainty or spiritual sleep. In eventful and perilous days when signs thicken and sudden destruction falls on those saying peace and safety, it is time to wake up because salvation is nearer, leaving behind dark deeds, putting on light as armor, walking according to the word, and keeping watch so the coming Master does not find them asleep.
Preparation for that decisive day is the forming now of a pure, upright, holy, unspotted character, overcoming sin and becoming Christlike. Readiness to enter with the Bridegroom to the marriage is joined to Christ's work of sanctifying and cleansing the church so that it is holy and without blemish, while the great day comes unexpectedly to those who disregard the Word and are left unholy, unsanctified and unready. That holiness comes by a faith that works by love and purifies the soul, with a more earnest hold upon heavenly things, pressing toward the mark of the prize of the high calling, walking humbly, growing in grace and in knowledge, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord and being changed from glory to glory until perfection of character is revealed, while still confessing that attainment is not yet reached and a work of purification remains to be done in the soul.
The lamp must be kept trimmed and burning with the oil of grace, with faith and grace held ready for use, guarding against spiritual weakness and decline. True following blends personal devotion with earnest work, neither giving itself wholly to contemplation nor becoming so engrossed in busy works that personal piety is neglected, but being fervent in spirit, using every facility to prevent declension, staying attentive and obedient and prepared to respond at any moment because the time for work is short and the day is near. If the church fails to awake and raise its standard its light will turn to darkness, and believers must not live or act as though the coming is delayed. Watching means trusting wholly in the wisdom of the Leader and not in self-wisdom, with most earnest prayer, days set apart for fasting and prayer, denial of self by leaving off usual food for a plain simple diet, and putting away vanity, self-indulgence and pride for genuine humiliation, because the most important crisis ever to come upon the world is near and will otherwise steal upon the unwatchful as a thief while evil works in secrecy through human agencies. The end steals upon the off-guard stealthily, imperceptibly and noiselessly like the muffled tread of a thief in the night to suddenly surprise sleepers, so the will must be given into God's hands like clay into the hands of the potter to be molded unto honor and renewed in the divine image, with no earthly or selfish motive suffered to live, for when prayer and humility fail the adversary can approach without warning, exploit self-interest and make souls captive.
Those who have a good hope and whose life is hid with Christ in God are not in darkness when sudden disaster, death and that day come, for sudden calamities by land and by sea warn to make that hope sure, since there is no safety except in God, and lost time through lives not so hidden makes earnest preparation urgent. Standing continually in the light and being taught the divine counsel means remembering the divine will and taking position in that light to watch for souls as those who must give account, watching for their prosperity, going kindly to one in error to present truth in contrast with error and speaking a word in season and out of season, not watching defects and errors to sit on the judgment seat. Having had the light leaves no excuse for pursuing an unjust course and linking with one whose methods are like those of worldlings who care nothing for God or truth, with the day right upon them. Readiness is waiting and watching and praying daily, putting talents out to use to bring souls to the Master and keeping grace today with a living and complete connection with God every day, not being surfeited and drunken with the cares of this life like the foolish virgins, for the prospect of the return exposes the danger of being found in a present unready condition.
Working and Warning Others
Not being overtaken requires more than waiting; it requires vigilant watching and working with reference to that solemn day, for the living church waits, watches, and works, with none standing neutral and none folding the hands in sleep, but all actively representing Christ in earnest effort to save perishing souls. Waiting must be joined with watching, prayer, earnest work, and sharing the light and knowledge received, and those who have the light are to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, which guards against spiritual decline and prepares them to bear witness to the truth. Sleeping as the foolish virgins slept brings spiritual declension and causes that day to overtake as a thief, so every precaution must be taken now, the mind must be strengthened to look deep and discern the reasons of faith, and the soul-temple must be purified by truth, for only the pure in heart will be able to stand against the wiles of Satan. Haphazard, careless work leads to that same decline and leaves people in darkness, while watchful, active work to save others, with minds strengthened by understanding the faith and hearts purified by truth, enables believers to stand against Satan's deceptions.
Those who know the truth must warn those who do not so that day does not overtake them, giving the trumpet a certain sound by voicing the third angel's message telling the world to make ready for the great day of God. That message bears the seal of the living God, and the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments combined fit up a people to stand in the day of the Lord, while the last message and the sure word of prophecy enlighten many who will carry the warning to others. Those who are spiritually asleep, listless, and indifferent will be overtaken suddenly like a thief in the night, but those who are spiritually awake will not, and God blesses the workers who warn the unready. This responsibility reaches even to open-air meetings in groves and parks to reach some who would not attend a service held in a church.
The warning is urgent because the day comes as a thief with stealthy, muffled tread to take unawares all who are not watching, and Satan is advancing stealthily to take those who are asleep, so the time to act and give warning is now. Satan prepares to work in secrecy through human agencies, stealing along like a thief in his plans and devices, and his lying wonders will come suddenly and with startling surprise upon all who are asleep, unready, and not kept by the grace of Christ. Dark powers work with intense energy from beneath, and Satan moves with quiet steps to take sleeping ones the way a thief takes prey, while those who are awake and kept by grace will be prepared and not be overtaken. Watchmen and ministers who failed to warn faithfully left both themselves and the churches asleep and unready for that day.
Preparation is the education of the school of the prophets, where all powers are trained and consecrated to service, with youthful zeal and ardor used to glorify God in real, thorough, well-organized efforts under instructors to be a blessing to others, so that the coming day of trial that steals unawares upon the world does not overtake believers. Spiritual care and diligence in using God-given opportunities are needed so that the day of God does not overtake as a thief and catch people unprepared. Those who are spiritually alert need not be caught unprepared, but the careless and indifferent risk having it come upon them like a thief, and must stay vigilant against concealed snares that could lead them away from Christ and the path of humility.