Study to show thyself ....

Forbidden Knowledge Or IS IT….. By D.A. Miller 1991 Joy Publishing

THEIF IN THE NIGHT
Chapter 10/page117-118

One of the Bible verses used to explain this uselessness of specific dating is 1 Thessalonians 5:2, “The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” The interpretation of the Scripture has always been, “Since one does not know when a thief is coming, one also cannot know when the Rapture will occur.”
The first time I remotely considered reviewing any of these Scriptures was in 1974. My spouse asked me the intriguing question, “Why do we Christians use I Thessalonians 5:2 to prove we can’t date the Rapture, when verse four, only two verses later says, ‘But ye brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief’?” I couldn’t answer.

Another “thief” passage from Revelation 3:3, with a similar ending is “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.” Again, it appeared that both of the “thief” Scriptures taught that Christians should not be surprised to see Jesus.

In 1975 we asked a noted prophetic author about the Thessalonians passage. “Why do preachers and Christian movies use the theme ‘thief in the night’ to teach a ‘surprise’ Rapture, when I Thessalonians 5:4 says believers will not be surprised?” He studied the section a moment and then replied, “I don’t know.” Although this author refers to I Thessalonians 5:4 in a book he wrote, he prefaces its use with “We don’t know when the Rapture will occur…but according to the signs, we are in the general time.”

This encounter was significant because of this man’s extensive studies of the end times. It was mystifying. Why have we all, including that dedicated prophetic teacher, applied the passage this way? This question led me to investigate further.

Interestingly, I found most scholars believe the passage in 1 Thessalonians, Chapter 5 is not a direct reference to the Rapture. They reach this conclusion because of the specific term, “the Day of the Lord.”

They feel the use of the phrase, “the Day of the Lord” describes either

(a) the whole seven-year period of judgment on the earth (along with the simultaneous seven-year preparation of the Bride in heaven)
(b) the period from the Rapture to the end of the Millennium (1007 year period)
(c) the climactic end of the seven-year Tribulation.

Also see the Day of the Lord passages in Isaiah 13:6-10, Jeremiah 30:4-8, Zephaniah 1:14-23

One truth however, can be agreed upon here. This passage does teach that this appearance of Jesus will come as unexpectedly as a thief ----to unbelievers.

Most importantly though, this particular passage does not teach that Christians cannot know the timing of future events! Based on this discovery, I decided then to reexamine the other Scriptures that prohibit exact dating of the end-time events.



Forbidden Knowledge Or IS IT….. By D.A. Miller 1991 Joy Publishing

When is the Rapture?
Chapter Conclusion /page 155

After you worked your way through all this information you didn’t find my chosen date for the Rapture, did you? That’s because I do not yet know the date. Certainly there is strong evidence from the Jewish feasts for the Rapture to occur on some Rosh Hashanah, but still we don’t know the year.

However, I hope after reading, studying, and praying about the information in this book you, too, will feel that the prohibition “to know” does not exist. When many believers begin to prayerfully search the Scriptures, I believe God will be true to His promise in John 16:13. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and He will show you things to come.”


Additional Scriptural encouragement to help you Watch and Pray

Amos 3:7

“Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secrets to His servants the prophets”

God bless you as you study God’s word II Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. “