164. 'I will come on thee like a thief, and thou shalt not know at what hour I will come upon thee' signifies that the things that pertain to worship shall be taken away, and that when and how this happens shall not be known. It is said that the Lord 'will come like a thief' because the external good of worship is taken away from the man who is in dead worship; for in dead worship there is something of good, because they think about God and eternal life. Nevertheless good without its own truths is not good, except what is for the sake of recompense or hypocritical, and evils and untruths take this away like a thief, ibis taking away is done successively in the world, and completely after death, also while the man does not know when and how. That He is going to come like a thief is ascribed to the Lord, but in the spiritual sense it is understood that hell will take and steal it away. This is like its being said in the Word that God does evil to a man, vastates him, takes vengeance, burns with anger, and leads into temptation, when yet hell does these things; for it is so said on account of its appearing in that way before the man. That a man has the talent and pound (mina) for his trading taken away from him if nothing is gained, may be seen (Matt. xxv 26-30; Luke xix 24-26). 'To trade and to gain' signifies to furnish oneself with truths and goods. [2] Since the taking of good and truth away from those who are in dead worship is like [something done] by a thief in the dark, therefore in the Word this is sometimes likened to a thief as in the following:-
Behold I come as a thief Blessed is he who watches and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked Rev. xvi 15.
Watch therefore, for you know not what hour your Lord is going to come. Be sure of this, if the householder should know at what hour the thief is going to come, he would certainly be watching, and not suffer his house to be broken into Matt. xxiv 42, 43.
If thieves come to thee, if destroyers by night (how thou art cut off!), will they not steal till they have enough? Obad. Verse 5
They shall run to and fro in the city, they shall run upon the wall, they shall climb up upon the houses, they shall enter in through the windows like a thief Joel ii 9.
They fabricate falsehood, and the thief comes, and the troop melts away outside Hosea vii 1
Lay up treasures not upon earth but in heaven, where thieves do not come and shall not steal Matt. vi 19, 20.
The reason why a man is going to he watchful and not know the hour at which the Lord comes, is that he may think and act as of himself thus in freedom in accordance with his own reason and that no fear may obtrude, for every one would have fear if he should know; and what the man does of himself in freedom remains to eternity, but what is done as a result of fear does not remain.
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