Thief in the Night

by William Sears

Book Overview

The Problem. In the first half of the nineteenth century there was world-wide and fervent expectation that during the 1840's the return of Christ would take place. The story made the headlines and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 085398008X
• ISBN13: 9780853980087
• Release Date: June 1961
• Publisher: George Ronald
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.39 lbs.

Customer Reviews

This book has vast implications for us all

This real-life mystery story started when Sears was given a book containing a story about people who had eagerly awaited the return of Christ during the 19th century. Being a newspaper reporter he found in the archives accounts in the 1840s of people preparing for the sudden appearance of Christ. Some were filled with fear and panic; others called on the world to repent; others cashed in their bank accounts or gave away their worldly possessions. Why did they all expect Christ at that particular time? This is the mystery that Sears set out to solve. Armed with the writings of Professor E.G. Browne of Pembroke College, Cambridge and Professor Jowett of Balliol College, Oxford, the author started by researching the period 1830-1850 in greater depth, finding that it was a period when a great comet with a tail 108 million miles long dominated discussion, when awesome shooting stars and halo-like rings around the sun fueled speculation about the second coming. Zeal reached its climax in 1844 because Christ said that he would return when three things came to pass:- the Gospel would be preached everywhere on earth- the Jews would return to Israel- mankind would see the "abomination of desolation" foretold by the prophet Daniel.Sears investigated each very carefully and confirmed to his own satisfaction - and he provides all the evidence - that each of these promises had been fulfilled in 1844. It occurred to the author to apply a technique common in criminology that when evidence points to only one conclusion that proves false, you assume that the evidence is right but that you need to draw a different conclusion. Sears had a dozen different conclusions to check out and we accompany him as he investigates each of these - bringing us to the really exciting part of the book. This book is well written, well researched, well documented and highly readable. He found that Jews were looking for a Jew, Christians for a Christian, blacks for a black, whites for a white, overlooking the clue given in the Bible that it would be a new religion. The Bible provided very clear prophecy regarding the coming of the Messiah, but the religious authorities at that time misinterpreted the information and crucified Jesus instead of welcoming him. History repeated itself as the religious authorities about 150 years ago misinterpreted the information and persecuted, exiled, and imprisoned the new savior. This book has vast implications for us all. If in fact the author has found what all those people were seeking in 1844 and if you reach the same conclusions as the author, your life will never be the same again.

Fear

It is amazing to me the amount of fear expressed by those who disliked this book. One thing I have always had difficulty with is the idea that God would only save a very small select group of people on earth & that the rest of the world was going to hell. This book is very enlightening & convincing. I do not believe that God would make it so easy to go astray & have that which does good in the world turn out to be from the devil. It makes no sense. I really would recommend reading this book, as well as reading the bible, and deciding for yourself. If the Baha'is were trying to hide something or lead us astray, I cannot imagine that they would encourage independant investigation of truth.

Challenge of Faith

One thing I've learned in life is that you can't please everyone. "Angels" and "Spirits" aside, I'd like to note that Sears has conviently placed a complete listing of Bible references at the back of his book. All of these references are open to be examined by the reader, and if Sears were trying to fool anyone he wouldn't get very far doing that, now would he? I advise the buyer of this book to make sure to have a Bible ready to examine to check Sears' claims.Finally, I suggest that students of the Bible should go back to the Old Testament and look up the prophecies for the First Coming of the Messiah, and see if all the prophecies were literally fulfilled by Jesus.

READ THIS BOOK

I don't think a single publication has ever or could ever affect the human spirit in such a way as "Thief in the Night". This book logically and methodically examines biblical prophecies and historical occurences to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the second coming of Christ has already happened. Unbelievable? Read this book. You can not possibly regret it.

A must read for any one who believes in any religion.

I came across the book by accident,however it changed my life forever. I had been searching for the mystery of God and its presense within all the religions that I had studied. I was always puzzled by the similarities in the core of all docterines and was sure that some day I would discover the invisible web that connects all and explains the superficial outwradly differences between all these religions. Well this book shed light on the now quite visible interrelation between all religions of mankind throughout time. I am frankly saddened to see how little this book is read and reviewed, it is an answer for all those who search for reality and compassion in life.This book is sure to be an unexpected bombshell of awakening that should be followed only by further research and study. I would like to add another piece of vital importance and that is where religion and science, the debate between creation and evolution, the eternal questions of life , creation, evolution, scientific evidence and religious miracles can be one and the same thing. How all this may be possible is proven by hundreds of experts in sciences, religions, and other experts of varios back grounds. The author to look for is Zecharia Sitchin and Niel Freer. Their books not only relate and expand this book, but the combination brings the reader to a new level of awakening and understanding. If you have any questions about the connection of all this feel free to E-mail me . Best of luck in your search.