by Jon R. Welker

"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night." I Thessalonians 5:2

"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night...." II Peter 3:10

I have recently been led to consider the Scripture of the "thief in the night," and all that's being said about the growing darkness upon the earth. I personally have always thought of that in terms of the translation of the saints; that the Lord shall come as "a thief in the night" for His jewels (Mal. 3:17). But I think the Lord has spoken to me of another realm or dimension of that to consider; which is, to couple that with what Jesus said about "night cometh, when no man can work" (Jn. 9:4). These symbols that God uses in His Scriptures have also been given to us in the world. So, I want you first to look at Genesis 1:14:
"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years…."

Now, many of you may be familiar with that Scripture; and we know of the different divisions of the day.... But I want to take the very first element of that Scripture which says they shall serve as "signs." As I've brought out before, in the Hebrew the word owth gives the idea of flags on a ship used to send signals, and the Greek word semeion, has a similar meaning. Hence, the sun and the moon and the stars are given for signs.

Recently I shared with an audience about the Star of David, and how the anti-Zionists in Israel want to take away things like the dietary laws, etc., including the Star of David, the Israeli flag. The Star of David is a sign. I also referenced the Scripture wherein the Lord would put an ensign up that would hiss unto the nations:

"And He will lift up an ensign to the nations from far, and will hiss unto them from the end of the earth: and, behold, they shall come with speed swiftly…." Isaiah 5:26

We have brought out, and others have as well, that the Star of David flag is that sign hissing to the nations to draw them to the area of Israel unto a final conflict.

I also want to reference Revelation 12:1:
"And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars…."

We see the woman clothed with the sun, and under her feet: the moon. The woman is typifying the church, the Bride, and she's clothed with the sun. We see in other Scriptures as well, that a third part of the sun, a symbol of Christendom, was darkened (see Rev. 8:12; 9:2). The sun has become a symbol for the Lord, but through His church. And so the woman is clothed with the sun.

THE SIGN OF THE MOON

Now, having shared all that, it's very interesting to note that the sign or symbol for Islam is the moon – the crescent moon with a star. And its also interesting where and how that symbolism developed, for there's a long history behind it. Some say that it existed before Islam, some say they borrowed it from the Byzantines when they conquered Constantinople, but others say it goes back much further – that the Arabs were worshipping the Moon-god long ago. But nonetheless, whatever the final analysis of it, the moon is considered an international sign or symbol for Islam.

"...The greater light to rule the day, and THE LESSER LIGHT TO RULE THE NIGHT: He made the stars also." Genesis 1:16

So, we're considering the Lord coming as "a thief in the night." We know that Christendom (the sun) was predominant (or ruled) over a long period of time historically, and now we behold the rise of Islam and its rule over the night – the dark part – and its symbol is the moon. Here's a quote from an interesting article I took off the internet: "Muslims are now more numerous than Catholics," according the Vatican. This was written about 2 years ago:

"Monsignor Vittorio Formenti, who compiled the Vatican's newly-released 2008 yearbook of statistics, said Muslims made up 19.2 percent of the world's population and Catholics 17.4 percent." (uk.reuters.com 3/30/08)

Consider these words from the Lord:

"...The night cometh, when no man can work." John 9:4

And,

"The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." Luke 10:2

Now think about this dividing of the day and night, and night would come when no man could work. Obviously, we can't take that literally; people work in the night, even in the time of great darkness. But I think the Lord was referring to the aspect of someone working within and for Him as a servant. Let us consider that as the reality of it, and that night would come when no one could work (the "laborers" in the fields) – "the harvest is ripe but the laborers are few." But for the laborers of Jesus Christ in this situation, it would be difficult because of what was happening in the night; and the moon which would be governing the night.

Another article is entitled, "The Rapid Spread of Islam in America":

There are between 6 and 7 million Muslims in American today. In other words, Muslims outnumber some Christian denominations and are equal to the number of Jews. Research done in the year 2000 [alone] by prominent American universities and Islamic foundations show that the number of Muslims is increasing rapidly and that Islam is growing stronger day by day.
The main theme of this research, known as the Mosque Study Project, is the establishment of mosques in America. The reason for this is that mosques occupy a very special place in any statistical compilations done with regard to the American Moslem community….
According to the research, America now has [then had] about 1,209 mosques, most of which were constructed very recently. Thirty percent of these mosques were built in the 1990s, and 32% were built in the 1980s…. (www.riseofislam.com)

Now, from 2000 to 2010 there's a 300% increase. And it goes on to talk about this and give some other information as to where this growth is happening. In America itself this is happening, as well as in Europe. There are concerns that it will continue to grow and take over in many areas of Europe.

Every minaret (at the top of a mosque) has the moon and the star symbol. On top of the Kaaba in Mecca which houses the Black Stone (the destination of the hajj or Muslim pilgrimage), there also sits the symbol of the moon and the star. This is very interesting because according to Muslim legend, this shrine was built by Abraham and Ishmael, and hence in existence previous to the capture of Constantinople by the Ottomons in 1453. It is also believed that it has something to do with the Moon-god. There are various sources which reference that the Black Stone the Muslim pilgrims touch or kiss, is related to a much older form of pagan religion in the Arab world.

Throughout the world, the flags of Arab nations, Malaysia, Turkey and others, always have the moon crescent on them. Again, what I'm trying to present to you, as I felt this was unfolding for me, is that the "thief comes in the night." Are you following me? When is the Lord going to come? During the ascension of Islam! In other words, it is when the moon is ruling. The thief will come in the night. As I previously stated, we've often looked at this from other angles, but I'm just trying to add this as a dimension of this Scripture; I'm not trying to diminish the more popular thought, but rather to bring out the fact that we are now in the time frame or period in which the moon is ruling the night – and it is another indication or "sign" that this is the time of the Lord's coming – as "a thief in THE NIGHT"!

Here is a quote from another article, entitled: "Allah – the Moon God." There's a lot of different material available regarding whether or not the worship of Allah as a religion handed down from Ishmael was from Abraham, so its a controversial subject. But the archeology of the Middle East says that:

The religion of Islam has as its focus of worship a deity by the name of "Allah." The Muslims claim that Allah in pre-Islamic times was the biblical God of the Patriarchs, prophets, and apostles. The issue is thus one of continuity. Was "Allah" the biblical God or a pagan god in Arabia during pre-Islamic times? The Muslims claim of continuity is essential to their attempt to convert Jews and Christians for if "Allah" is part of the flow of divine revelation in Scripture, then it is the next step in biblical religion. (www.biblebeliever.org)

So they feel everyone else then should become Muslims. Other quotes state that as the result of hard sciences and archeology, it is very evident that there was a pagan deity of the Moon-god which existed and was worshipped in the Arabian countries long before the establishment of Islam, and even before the Hebrews returned from slavery in Egypt. Continuing from the article:

In ancient Syria and Canna, the Moon-god Sin was usually represented by the moon in its crescent phase. At times the full moon was placed inside the crescent moon to emphasize all the phases of the moon. The sun-goddess was the wife of Sin and the stars were their daughters. For example, Istar was a daughter of Sin. Sacrifices to the Moon-god are described in the Pas Shamra texts. In the Ugaritic texts, the Moon-god was sometimes called Kusuh. In Persia, as well as in Egypt, the Moon-god is depicted on wall murals and on the heads of statues. He was the Judge of men and gods. The Old Testament constantly rebuked the worship of the Moon-god (see: Deut. 4:19; 17:3; II Ki. 21:3, 5; 23:5; Jer. 8:2; 19:13; Zeph. 1:5, etc.). When Israel fell into idolatry, it was usually the cult of the Moon-god. As a matter of fact, everywhere in the ancient world, the symbol of the crescent moon can be found on seal impressions, steles, pottery, amulets, clay tablets, cylinders, weights, earrings, necklaces, wall murals, etc. In Tell-el-Obeid, a copper calf was found with a crescent moon on its forehead. An idol with the body of a bull and the head of man has a crescent moon inlaid on its forehead with shells. In Ur, the Stela of Ur-Nammu has the crescent symbol placed at the top of the register of gods because the Moon-god was the head of the gods. Even bread was baked in the form of a crescent as an act of devotion to the Moon-god. The Ur of the Chaldees was so devoted to the Moon-god that it was sometimes called Nannar in tablets from that time period.
...In Old Testament times, Nabonidus (555-539 BC), the last king of Babylon, built Tayma, Arabia as a center of Moon-god worship. (www.biblebelievers.org)

What I want to bring out from this is that the moon is a symbol picked up by Islam. There are also those who say they wonder if it was picked up by the Ottomans at the time they conquered Constantinople. But nonetheless, the worship of the moon and its symbol existed previously in the area of Arabia and Ur of the Chaldees. We know in the Old Testament it does reference the Moon-god, and into this present day the symbol of this worship is the moon. Again, remember, the thief comes in the night, and the moon was given to rule the night. And so I'm trying to build the case for you, slowly but thoroughly, that this is the time of the rise and rapid ascension of Islam. I believe this is important to grasp.

COLOR SYMBOLISM....

Now, another symbol of Islam is the fact that they have picked up a particular color. An article entitled: "Islamic Symbols; Islamic Color Symbolism," discusses the different banners that they've fought under. I brought out, after 9/11, that the color symbol most closely associated with Islam is green.

The color green has a special place in Islam, and it is often used to represent it among other world religions. One can often find it in mosques and other important places, as well as on the flag of Saudi Arabia. Some say green was Muhammed's favorite color and that he wore a green cloak and turban, while others believe it symbolizes vegetation and life. Some say that after Muhammed, only the caliphs were allowed to wear green turbans. In the Qur'an (Surah 18:31), it is said that the inhabitants of paradise will wear green garments of fine silk.

This is quite different from the Scriptures wherein it speaks of white linen (see Rev. 19:8).

While the reference to the Qur'an is verifiable, it is not clear if other explanations are reliable or mere folklore.
Regardless of its origins, the color green has been firmly cemented in Islamic culture for centuries; for example, it is absent in many medieval European coats of arms, as during the Crusades, green was the color used by the Islamic soldiers. Additionally, in the palace of Topkapi in Istanbul, there is a room with relics of Muhammed. One of the relics kept locked in a chest, is said to have been Muhammed's banner, under which he had went to battle. Some say that this banner is green with golden embroidery; others say that it is black. (www.religionfacts.com)

Now, my reason for bringing that up is the green crescent with the star, has apparently been used throughout history. Another reason is for the purpose of saying we are now at a time when the color green is associated with global environmentalism and ecology. It is also interesting that, as depicted in the recent film Avatar, environmentalism is often associated with pagan, pantheistic religion. And if we were to look further into it, we would be able to connect the idea of the Moon-god(ess)....

PATTERNS...

Remember, Scripture states that the Lord shall come as "a thief in the night." And the symbol for the night is the moon. The banner is green.

Now, let us take a look at some other Scriptures. Isaiah 21:11-13:
"The burden of Dumah.¹ He calleth to me out of Seir, Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night? The watchman said, The morning cometh, and also the night: if ye will enquire, enquire ye: return, come.
The burden upon Arabia…."

Again, we're considering the watchman – "what of the night? What of the night?" The Lord said: "And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch" (Mk. 13:47). "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?" Something the Lord is declaring for us is that a thief is to come in the night! I'm again trying to establish for you, through the patterns of Scripture, that the pattern given in Genesis was that the sun would rule the day, but the moon would rule the night. We behold the diminishing of Christianity today, and we are witnessing the rise of Islam. Very clearly, the international symbol of Islam is the moon. There's no doubt about that; you can do the research yourself. "Watchman, what of the night?" We are to be watching – something is happening during this time.

Now, let us take a look then at I Thessalonians 5:2:
"For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as A THIEF IN THE NIGHT."

Now, let's consider II Peter 3:10:
"But the day of the Lord will come as A THIEF IN THE NIGHT; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up."

Luke 12:39:
"And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through."

Isn't that interesting – the Lord says that if the master of the house would have known what hour the thief comes he would have watched, but just previously we read in I Thessalonians 5:2 that "you know perfectly well that the Lord will come as a thief in the night." Are you understanding? Consider that again: "If the master of the house had known at what hour the thief would have come…." But Paul and Peter are stating, that when the thief comes – he comes in the night!

Now look at Matthew 25:6:
"And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him."

At midnight! Again it's very clear. Midnight is when the Bridegroom comes. "Watchman, what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?" I previously asked, what rules the night? – the moon rules the night. Globally, geopolitically, etc., we're in that time frame right now. And with the acquisition of nuclear weapons and power from oil money, etc., we see the power that has been acquired by nations of Islam. I think it is a very clear warning to us that we are to be specifically watching now. "…What of the night? …What of the night?" Midnight comes....

Be alert. Watching isn't just a matter of reading the Bible. If you have this hope in yourself, you purify yourself as He is pure (see I Jn. 3:3). I believe that in the heart and mind of people in general there isn't that hope, there isn't that type of watching. Peter and Paul said you know perfectly well when it is to happen – as a thief in the night; and when the Bridegroom comes, the cry goes out at midnight.

It is this ascension of Islam in political, economic and military power that shows the world that Islamic fundamentalist terrorism has brought the world to the brink of destruction. Several ministries are now referencing "the oracle of Damascus" (see Isa. 17:1; Ps. 83), because of the prophecies regarding that city. We are in a time that is very, very crucial. What is happening in Israel is crying out to us and asking us: "Are we also sleeping?" And that aspect of sleeping, the drowsiness of the virgins, refers to people caught up in the blindness of the things of this world.

A minister in India has asked at his conferences: "Do you go to bed at night as grieved and as upset about having spoken a cruel word to someone, as you would if you were told you had cancer and only had a short while to live?" He said until you're in that place and state of mind, he questions the authenticity of the faith – whether the heart has truly been broken before God. He said he's stayed up at night just because he felt he spoke a rude word to someone.

We are so far from where we really need to be before the Lord. We're so far from the preparation that is needed. We're in a sleep, we're in a drowsing state. Arise, Christ will give thee light! (See Eph. 5:14.) That is the message – that something needs to happen. Literally, the Lord might come in the middle of the night for His Bride, but we've been told when historically, this is to happen – when the moon, and that which is symbolized by the moon, is ruling. It's in ascension – the moon is arising and becoming brighter.

Let's take a look at Revelation 9:2:
"And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit."

Now, I don't think it takes much for anyone to see the connection of the sun being darkened with the smoke arising from the bottomless pit. What is described is a supernatural cloud of activity – it's something that comes out of the bottomless pit and it darkens the sun, symbolic of the woman and the church, and the influence of Christ, "the Sun of Righteousness" (Mal. 4:2). It comes up out of the bottomless pit and it is a scourge.

Look at Revelation 1:16:
"And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength."

There again we see "His countenance was as the sun shining in his strength." At the peak of His power and influence, that is the depiction of our Lord. And so, again, it's the connection of the sun with the Lord and His church, His work, His light; the sun is to rule the day. You are not children of the night, but children of the day – light. (See Jn. 12:35; I Thess. 5:5.) That is what we are to be.

"But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matthew 6:23

What is at work now, as I stated, is that the bottomless pit is opened, and out of that comes a cloud of smoke which darkens the sun.

Islam is doing that throughout the world – putting a cloud of fear and terrorism over the whole world. But in our own lives, that work of the enemy – which comes up out of the bottomless pit – is darkening, it is placing a haze, a smoke over the real and important things in life and its pursuits. One minister has said that looking at the condition of individual Christians and groups of Christians, he feels that not even 1% are born again, truly born again: the melding of the mind and the heart. I have questioned for years what the real condition is. How do we know when something is counterfeit? In our own lives we may have the intellectual awareness of all that it means to be born again, including that we would have a constant yearning for righteousness, and still not be born again. And we're talking about eternal concepts. Again, the sun is associated with the Lord and His people. Are His people watching? – or asleep?

I'm concerned that we've gotten complacent and have begun to accept other things, and I believe that's evidenced, too, when people without a vision begin just losing it in many areas. It seems so much easier to be focused on something else. There are many servants of the Lord clamoring to say that the Lord is showing and directing that this is a very important time we're living in.

We've become accustomed as people in this end-time generation to, as the Prophet Daniel states, traveling, running to and fro, etc. (see Dan. 12:4). Fast solutions, quick gratification, short attention spans – we move on from one thing to another. If we don't have a 9/11 event happening about every month or every week, we lose interest, because our mind is not set to when the Lord says He is coming (soon). We think, "If it isn't happening three and a half years from now, okay, we're out of here. If I get stirred up a bit to go on, I'll go to the next conference or church meeting...." But you realize you're not changed at all. There's no pricking of the heart, there's no desperation before God, there's nothing that is motivating you any differently than before. But our reference to time is different from God's, so as a result we want instant things, we want something happening every moment, every week: the "quick fix." "But if by next month we haven't seen another 9/11-type situation, where's God? We didn't see the complete and total collapse of the economic system, you know – it's not happening." I believe that we've gotten into that kind of mentality, rather than seeing that when the trumpet begins to sound, there is a progression of events that begin unfolding. As each seal is broken, you begin to be able to read what was behind that seal. It's not like the way we read a book by opening it up. The seals covered the information, and there were seven seals. (See Rev. 5:1, 5.) So you can't read anything under the seal until the seal is broken. But when it is, things begin to happen rapidly, especially with the seventh, because then the whole thing is opened and it begins to be unrolled. We're living in that time period. We're at a juncture, a time frame that's very critical.

So, continue to consider this idea of the thief in the night. "Watchman, what of the night"; "What I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." We are in the time period of the ascension of Islam – it's power and its rule. And its going to continue. I believe, firmly believe, that we're soon going to see, besides Pakistan, some other Muslim/Islamic nations with atomic capabilities. The nations are preparing. They're beating their plowshares into swords (Joel 3:10). We're at a crucial time.

In our study of SHOMERON'S BLIND BEGGAR, pages 8-9:

As God is the sun of His own city (Rev. 21:23), so does Jericho, the moon city, typify the distorted and reflected light of God in this world of ignorance and sin. As the moon is to the sun, so is our present earthly habitation unto the New Jerusalem yet above. Difficult would it be to find a more apt representation for this earth-life than that of the moon city's dull and distorted reflection of His Spirit-light.
It should also be observed that Jericho lies in the north and to the east of Jerusalem, as brought out in the NUMBER SYMBOLISM booklet by the writer, north links with materialism and carnality, while the east is that of man's reason as conditioned by the world's illusory lights. Thus, even the very geographical placement of Jericho bespeaks the carnal human being separated from the true light of God. It is Adam and his children who were driven eastward from Eden, and now gone berserk in the carnality (north) of Jericho's illusory moonbeams.

I find it interesting, too, that in this very time of the rule of the moon, or the ascension of Islam, what more could we possibly say of Adam and his children going berserk in the carnality of "Jericho's illusory moonbeams." What better words could possibly be used, in a sense, to talk about this time frame of the moon governing the night?! We have been told, "Watchman" (which we should be) "what of the night? Watchman, what of the night?" We're to be watching. What of yourself? Have you gone berserk in the carnality of Jericho's illusory moonbeams? Of course, that's something for you to answer within yourself.

Keep watching!!

The moon is rising, and the thief comes
in the night!!!

FOOTNOTE:

¹ 6^th son of Ishmael

From Bibleworks:

1746 Duwmah {doo-maw'}
• Dumah = "silence"; 1) son of Ishmael and most probably the founder of the Ishmaelite tribe of Arabia; 2) a town in the mountainous district of Judah, near Hebron; 3) a mystical name of Edom indicating death and ruin.

From Strong's:

1746 Duwmah, doo-maw'; the same as 1745 [from an unused root mean. to be dumb (comp. 1820); silence; fig. death: – silence]; Dumah, a tribe and region of Arabia: – Dumah.

NOTES:

Sign: Hebrew

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance:

226 `owth, oth
•prob. from 225 (in the sense of appearing); a signal (lit. or fig.), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.: – mark, miracle, (en-)sign, token.

Bibleworks for Windows © 1998:

0226 `owth {oth}
• probably from 0225 (in the sense of appearing)
• AV - sign(s) 60, token(s) 14, ensign(s) 2, miracles 2, mark 1; 79
• 1) sign, signal; 1a) a distinguishing mark; 1b) banner; 1c) remembrance; 1d) miraculous sign; 1e) omen; 1f) warning; 2) token, ensign, standard, miracle, proof.

Sign: Greek

Bibleworks for Windows © 1998:

4592 semeion {say-mi'-on}
• from a presumed derivative of the base of 4591
• AV - sign 50, miracle 23, wonder 3, token 1; 77
• 1) a sign, mark, token; 1a) that by which a person or a thing is distinguished from others and is known; 1b) a sign, prodigy, portent, i.e. an unusual occurrence, transcending the common course of nature; 1b1) of signs portending remarkable events soon to happen; 1b2) of miracles and wonders by which God authenticates the men sent by him, or by which men prove that the cause they are pleading is God's.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance:

4592 semeion, say-mi'-on
neut. of a presumed der. of the base of 4591
an indication, espec. cer. or supernat.: – miracle, sign, token, wonder.