
When they had the number they needed they set sail immediately.Īnd the second, translated “come in” is also a nautical term that described the ship’s arrival at its intended destination.


Sometimes ship captains who found themselves a man or two short when it came time to leave the harbor went through the water front bars late at night looking for drunken sailors they could kidnap.
Like a thief in the night bible verse full#
Until the ship had its full number of crew members, it could not legally set sail. In Paul’s time it was a nautical term that stood for the predetermined number of sailors necessary to operate a ship. There are two Greek words in this verse that lend critical support to a proper understanding. I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. I believe it’s set to happen when a specific number of born again believers is reached, and I base that conclusion on my understanding of Romans 11:25. Let me say from the outset that I don’t believe the day or hour of the Rapture can be known in advance by anyone on Earth because I don’t believe it’s set to happen on any specific day or at any specific hour. But is that what these phrases really mean?

One is “like a thief in the night”, and the other is “no one knows the day or the hour”. There are two popular phrases people use in connection with the End Times to discourage speculation about just when the Rapture might take place.
