Notice that even Jesus’ “thief in the night” analogy is contained within the context of His revealing many signs whereby His disciples would not be caught off guard by His return. So the “thief in the night” analogy cannot be rightly used to prove that none should expect to have any idea of when Jesus will return.

Both Paul and Peter used Jesus’ “thief in the night” analogy when they were writing about “the day of the Lord” (see 1 Thes. 5:2-4, 2 Pet. 3:10). They believed the analogy had application to Jesus’ wrathful return at or near the end of the seven-year Tribulation. Interestingly, however, Paul told his readers, “But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you life a thief” (1 Thes. 5:4). He rightly interpreted Jesus’ analogy, realizing that those who were alert to the signs and obediently following Jesus were not in the darkness, so that Christ’s coming would not catch them by surprise at all. For them, Jesus would not come like a thief in the night. Only those in darkness would be surprised, which is exactly what Jesus taught. (See also Jesus’ use of the “thief in the night” phrase in Rev. 3:3 and in 16:15, where He uses it in reference to His coming at the battle of Armageddon).

From this point on in the Olivet Discourse, Jesus repeatedly admonished His disciples to be ready for His return. At the same time, He also told them how they could be ready, as He recited the parables of the unfaithful slave, the ten virgins, and the talents, and then foretold the judgment of the sheep and goats (all worth reading). In almost every case, He warned them that hell awaited those who were not ready for His return (see Matt. 24:50-51; 25:30, 41-46.) The way to be ready is to be found doing God’s will when He returns.^[1]

^[1] Clearly, for Jesus to warn His closest disciples of not being ready at His return, there existed the possibility of their not being ready. If He warned them of the penalty of eternal punishment for not being ready because of sin, then it was possible for them to forfeit their salvation because of sin. How this should speak to us of the importance of holiness, and the folly of those who say that it is impossible for believers to forfeit their salvation.

What, exactly, will be the rewards given to those who prove their love and devotion to Jesus?

Scripture speaks of at least two different rewards—praise from God, and more opportunity to serve Him. Both are revealed in Jesus’ parable of the nobleman:

He said therefore, “A certain nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with this until I come back.’ But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ And it came about that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him in order that he might know what business they had done. And the first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities.’ And the second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ And another came, saying, ‘Master, behold your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.’ He said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put the money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ And he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ ‘I tell you, that to everyone who has shall more be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here, and slay them in my presence'” (Luke 19:12-27).

Obviously, Jesus is represented by the nobleman who was absent but who eventually returned. When Jesus returns, we will have to give account for what we did with the gifts, abilities, ministries, and opportunities He gave us, represented by the one mina given to each servant in the parable. If we’ve been faithful, we’ll be rewarded with praise from Him and be given authority to help Him rule and reign over the earth (see 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 2:26-27; 5:10; 20:6), represented by the cities each faithful servant was authorized to oversee in the parable.

From the decree of 445 B.C. by King Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem, God allocated 490 special years of future history. But those 490 years were not sequential; rather, they were divided into two segments of 483 years and seven years. When the first 483 years of that allocated time were completed (on the year Jesus was crucified), the clock stopped. Daniel probably would have never dreamed that the clock would stop for what is now almost 2,000 years. At some point in the future, that clock will start up again and run for seven final years. That final seven years is referred to, not only as “the Tribulation,” but also as “Daniel’s seventieth week.”

Those seven years are divided into two periods of three-and-a-half years. At the mid-point, as we just read in Daniel’s prophecy, the antichrist will break his covenant with Israel and “put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering.” He will then, as Paul told us, seat himself in the Jerusalem temple and declare that he is God.^[1] That is the “abomination of desolation” to which Jesus referred (see Matt. 24:15). That is why believers in Judea should “flee to the mountains” (Matt. 24:16), as that marks the beginning of the worst tribulation the world has ever witnessed (see Matt. 24:21).

It is possible that the “Judean flight” was symbolically seen by John in his vision, recorded in the twelfth chapter of the book Revelation. If so, the Judean believers will find a special place of safety prepared for them in the wilderness where they will be “nourished” for exactly three-and-a-half years, the remaining period of the seven-year Tribulation (see Rev. 12:6, 13-17). John foresaw Satan’s rage over their escape, and his subsequent war with the rest of those who “keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (Rev. 12:17). That is why I think it would be a good idea for believers all around the world to run for safety in remote locations when the antichrist declares his deity in Jerusalem.

^[1] This indicates to us, of course, that the Jerusalem temple must be rebuilt, as currently, there is no temple in Jerusalem (as of the year 2005 when this is being written).

If God foreknew that some would believe in Jesus and others would reject Him, why did He create people whom He knew would reject Him? Why not simply create people whom He knew would repent and believe in Jesus?

The answer to that question is a little more difficult to understand, but not impossible.

First, we must understand that God created us with free wills. That is, all of us have the privilege of deciding for ourselves whether or not we will serve God. Our decisions to obey or disobey, repent or not repent, are not predetermined by God. They are our choice.

This being so, every one of us must be tested. God, of course, foreknew what we would do, but we had to do something at some point in time in order for Him to foreknow it.

By way of example, God knows the outcome of every football game before it is played, but there must be football games that are played with outcomes if God is going to foreknow the outcomes. God doesn’t (and can’t) foreknow the outcomes of football games that are never played because there are no outcomes to foreknow.

Similarly, God can only foreknow the decisions of free moral agents if those free moral agents are given an opportunity to make decisions and do make them. They must be tested. And that is why God didn’t (and couldn’t) create only people whom He foreknew would repent and believe in Jesus.

Once we understand God’s eternal plan, we can more fully comprehend what this present life is all about. Primarily, this life serves as a test for every person. Each person’s choice determines if he or she will enjoy the blessed privilege of being one of God’s own children who will live with Him for eternity. Those who humble themselves, yielding to God’s drawing, repenting and believing, will be exalted (see Luke 18:14). This life is primarily a test for that future life.

This also helps us understand some of the mysteries that surround this present life. For example, many have wondered, “Why are Satan and his demons permitted to tempt people?” or, “When Satan was cast out of heaven, why was he permitted to have access to the earth?

We can see now that even Satan serves a divine purpose in God’s plan. Primarily, Satan serves as the alternate choice for humanity. If the only choice were to serve Jesus, then everyone would serve Jesus whether they wanted to or not.

It would be similar to an election in which everyone was required to vote, but there was only one candidate. That candidate would be unanimously elected, but he could never have the confidence that he is loved or even liked by any of his electors! They had no choice but to vote for him! God would be in a similar situation if there were no one competing with Him for the hearts of people.

Consider it from this angle: What if God had placed Adam and Eve in a garden where nothing was forbidden? Then Adam and Eve would have been robots by reason of their environment. They couldn’t have said, “We’ve chosen to obey God,” because they would have had no opportunity to disobey Him.

More importantly, God would not have been able to say, “I know Adam and Eve love Me,” because Adam and Eve would have had no opportunity to obey and prove their love for God. God must give free moral agents the opportunity to disobey in order for Him to determine if they want to obey Him. God doesn’t tempt anyone (see Jas. 1:13), but He tests everyone (see Ps. 11:5; Prov. 17:3). One way that He tests them is to allow them to be tempted by Satan, who thus serves a divine purpose in His eternal plan.

There is nothing more important than obeying God, and one day everyone will know that. Wise people know it now and act accordingly!

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil (Eccl. 12:13-14).

The disciple-making minister obeys God with all his heart and is doing everything he can to motivate his disciples to do likewise!

For further study concerning this important topic of our future judgment, see Matt. 6:1-6, 16-18; 10:41-42; 12:36-37; 19:28-29; 25:14-30; Luke 12:2-3; 14:12-14; 16:10-13; 1 Cor. 3:5-15; 2 Tim. 2:12; 1 Pet. 1:17; Rev. 2:26-27; 5:10; 20:6.

Another parable Jesus told illustrates the perfect fairness of our future judgment:

For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place; and to those he said, “You too go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.” And so they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing. And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing; and he said to them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day long?” They said to him, “Because no one hired us.” He said to them, “You too go into the vineyard.” And when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, “Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.” And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius. And when those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; and they also received each one a denarius. And when they received it, they grumbled at the landowner, saying, “These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.” But he answered and said to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what is yours and go your way, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?” Thus the last shall be first, and the first last (Matt. 20:1-16).

Jesus was not teaching in this parable that all of God’s servants will receive the same reward in the end, as that would not only be unfair, but would also contradict many other scriptures (see, for example, Luke 19:12-27; 1 Cor. 3:8).

Rather, Jesus was teaching that each of God’s servants will be rewarded, not only on the basis on what they did for Him, but on the basis of how much opportunity He gave them. The one-hour workers in the Christ’s parable would have worked all day had the landowner given them the opportunity. So theose who made the most of their one-hour opportunity were rewarded equally with those who were given the opportunity to work all day.

So, too, God gives different opportunities to each of His servants. To some He gives great opportunities to serve and bless thousands of people using the amazing gifts He has given them. To others He gives lesser opportunities and gifts, yet they can receive the same reward in the end if they are equally as faithful with what God has given them.^[1]

^[1] This parable also does not teach that those who repent at a young age and faithfully labor for many years will be rewarded the same as those who repent during the last year of their life and faithfully serve God only one year. That would be unfair, and would not be based on the opportunity that God gave each one, as God gave each one opportunity to repent all through their lives. Thus those who labor longer will receive more reward than those who labor for less time.

Satan has already deceived a great number of people in the world by blinding their minds to the truth of the gospel, but we must realize that Satan can’t blind just anyone. He can only deceive those who allow themselves be deceived, people who reject the truth.

Paul declared that unbelievers are “darkened in their understanding” (Eph. 4:18) and ignorant, but he also revealed the root reason for their darkened understanding and ignorance:

That you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness (Eph. 4:17b-19, emphasis added).

The unsaved are not just unfortunate people who have been sadly tricked by Satan. Rather, they are rebellious sinners who are willfully ignorant and who want to remain deceived because their hearts are so hard.

No person has to remain deceived, as your own life proves! Once you softened your heart toward God, Satan couldn’t keep you deceived.

Ultimately, Satan will be bound during the thousand-year reign of Christ, and he will then have no influence on anyone:

And he [an angel] laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time (Rev. 20:2-3).

Note that before Satan’s incarceration he “deceived the nations,” but when he is bound he will no longer deceive them. Once released, however, he will deceive the nations again:

And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth…to gather them together for the war….And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them (Rev. 20:7-9, emphasis added).

Why will God release Satan for this short period of time? The reason is so that all those who hate Christ in their hearts but have been feigning obedience to Him during His rule will be manifested. Then they can be rightfully judged. That will be the final test.

For the same reason, Satan is permitted to operate on the earth now—that those who hate Christ in their hearts might be manifested and ultimately judged. Once God no longer has any use for Satan to fulfill His divine purposes, the deceiver will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented there forever (see Rev. 20:10).

Now we see the big picture. God knew all of us would sin, but He made a plan to redeem us before any of us were born. That plan would reveal His amazing love and justice, as it would require that His sinless Son die for our sins as our substitute. And God not only predestined that we who repented and believed would be forgiven, but that we would become like His Son Jesus, as Paul said, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

We who are born-again children of God will one day be given incorruptible bodies, and we will live in a perfect society, serving, loving and fellowshipping with our wonderful heavenly Father! We will live on a new earth and in the New Jerusalem. All of this will have been made possible through the sacrificial death of Jesus! Praise God for His predestined plan!

Along these same lines, Scripture also teaches that God also foreknew all those who would choose to make the right choice. Peter, for example, wrote:

To those who reside as aliens… who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father (1 Pet. 1:1-2a, emphasis added).

We are chosen according to God’s foreknowledge. Paul also wrote of foreknown believers:

For whom He foreknew [us], He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He [Jesus] might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom he called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Rom. 8:29-30).

God foreknew those of us who would choose to believe in Jesus, and He predestined that we would become conformed to the image of His Son, becoming regenerated children of God in His big family. In keeping with that eternal plan, He called us through the gospel, justified us (made us righteous) and will ultimately glorify us in His future kingdom.

Paul wrote in another letter:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved (Eph. 1:3-6, emphasis added)

The same truth is presented here—God predestined us (whom He foreknew would repent and believe) before the foundation of the world to become His holy sons through Jesus Christ.

As already mentioned, some twist the meaning of such scriptures by ignoring everything else the Bible teaches, claiming that we really had no choice in our salvation—the choice was supposedly all God’s. This they call the doctrine of “unconditional election.” But who ever heard of such a thing as an “unconditional election,” that is, an election that is not made on the basis of certain conditions being met? In free countries, we elect political candidates based on conditions they meet in our minds. We elect spouses based on conditions they meet, characteristics about them that make them desirable. Yet some theologians want us to believe that God’s supposed choice of who is saved and who is not saved is an “unconditional election,” not based on any conditions people have met! Thus the salvation of individuals is by pure chance , the whims of a cruel, unrighteous, hypocritical and unintelligent monster named God! The very phrase, “unconditional election” contradicts itself, as the very word election implies conditionality. If it is an “unconditional election,’ it is no election at all; it is pure chance.