For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.
so cometh as a thief in the night: This figure should not be made to mean more than the apostle intends. "The unexpectedness of the coming of the thief, and the unpreparedness of those to whom he comes, are the essential elements in the figure" (Hogg and Vine 154). A thief does not give advance notice of the precise time when he will come to ravage your property. Nor has the Lord ever given precise information about the date of His return. Indeed, as already noted, He says He is not privy to that information, it being kept exclusively by the Father (Matthew 24:36). Everywhere in scripture, the coming of the Lord is said to be both sudden and unexpected.