Another favorite argument of the pre-tribbers is: Because Jesus said He is coming like a thief in the night, His coming must be a complete surprise. If that were after the great tribulation, it wouldn’t be a surprise. Therefore, His coming like a thief must be before the tribulation.

Not for the true believers

The Bible does say that Jesus comes like a thief.

[Revelation 16:15] Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on.

The Bible also says that the day of the Lord comes like a thief.

[1 Thessalonians 5:2-4] You yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.

This means:

The day of the Lord

According to the pre-trib doctrine, the coming of Jesus like a thief in the night happens seven years before His visible return. But these verses paint a very different picture.

[2 Peter 3:10-12] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn!

This doesn’t sound at all like something secret! Once Jesus comes back like a thief, it’s literally GAME OVER. It’s payback time for the wicked. What comes after that is that “the heavens will pass away with a roar,” not seven years of tribulation where the wicked have their way and persecute Christians. Therefore, Jesus will come like a thief after the tribulation, NOT before.

In the next section we will take a closer look at the day of the Lord and show that it’s distinct from the great tribulation, and that the church will be raptured after the tribulation but before the day of the Lord.