Objection 64: Christ Himself said that He would come as a thief in the night. The apostle Paul made a similar statement (1 Thess. 5:1-11). Seventh-day Adventists are therefore unwarranted in claiming that they can know something definite as to the time of Christ's coming.
True, it is not possible for us to know exactly when Christ will come: “Of that day and hour knows no man, but the Father only.” Mat. 24:36 “Watch therefore: for you know not what hour your Lord does come." Matt. 24:42. Christ follows with an allusion to a thief’s unexpected coming.
But there is much more in the Scriptures about the Second Coming than just these two statements. In fact, those passages are part of Jesus’ lengthy discourse on Second Coming, prompted when His disciples asked him: “What shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Matt. 24:3.
Please note, first of all, that Christ did not even suggest that His disciples’ question was out of order. To the contrary, Christ proceeded to answer it at length and in depth. What did Christ say? Matthew 24 has a double application, applying both to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and to Christ’s Second Coming at the Last Day, but just what clearly applies to the last days is a great deal of information:
“Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Mat. 24:4-14
“If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the distress of those days,
“‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.’[Isa. 13:10; 34:4]“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. Mat. 24:22-34
Again, please take note of the fact that Jesus gave His disciples a lot of information about what would be taking place just before His Second Advent. Christ obviously intends for Christians to be watchful of the signs of the times, and to know when His Second Coming is near.
Jesus described various signs that were to occur both in the heavens and in the earth, and then added: "Now learn a parable of the fig tree. When his branch is yet tender, and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh: so likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors." Verses 32, 33.
The tender leaves on the trees in early spring provide us clear proof that summer is near, but do not enable us to say precisely when summer will arrive. By this simple illustration Christ harmonized His two statements, teaching us that we may know when the Second Coming is near, but not the exact date or time.
Christ's coming will be wholly unexpected—even like a thief in the night—to a class mistakenly forecasting “peace and safety.” (1 Thess. 5:3) Lulled to sleep with a false sense of security, they will be overtaken by “sudden destruction.” But what of those to whom Paul is writing, who know "the times and the seasons"?:
"But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober." Verses 4-6 (emphasis added).
Clearly, “children of the light” can know something definite about the time of the Second Coming. The “children of darkness” will be taken by surprise, because they haven’t searched the Scriptures, and they have not been keeping watch with soberness.
And how may we know "the times and the seasons"? By studying the prophecies of the Bible. When the prophet Daniel stood before the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar, who had been troubled over the question of “what should come to pass hereafter,” he said to the monarch, “There is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and makes known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days.” Dan. 2:28-29.
The whole book of Daniel is filled with prophecies regarding Christ's coming in glory. When Christ answered the disciples' question regarding the time of the end of the world, He referred to a prediction made "by Daniel the prophet," and added, "who so reads, let him understand." Matt. 24:15.
The opening chapter of the Revelation contains this blessing: “Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” Rev. 1:3.
To say that nothing can be known about the time of Christ's coming is to fly in the face of these and similar texts, and to accuse God of having concealed from His own prophets any information concerning the climactic event of earth's history.