This week we will take a look at what it means to actively and expectantly wait for the Lord’s return.
Luke 17:26-37
26 When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.
27 In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28 And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business - eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building - 29 until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
30 Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
31 On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. 32 Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 33 If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.
34 That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 35 Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.
37 “Where will this happen, Lord?” the disciples asked. Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near.” (Luke 17:26-37)
The Bible doesn’t tell us when Christ will return but what it does tell us is that His second coming will be:
Imminent
Obvious
Unexpected
Final
1. Imminent
In Luke chapter 17 - 21 Jesus speaks about the time He will return to the earth. He did not say if He comes back but when, to assure you that His second coming is imminent (it is for sure and could be at any time). Even if it appears like Jesus is delaying His coming, it is for a reason. Jesus promised his disciples that He will return but that certain events will take place before He comes.
What Jesus wants to convey is that when He comes it is not going to be a joyous celebration or happy occasion for most people in this world. He asks a rhetorical question in Luke 18:8 -
“When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”
The context here is that there will be those who do believe in God, but will these believers have the type of personal faith that perseveres in the midst of the turmoil and injustice that will be found on the earth?
In reality it will be the most horrendous time the world has ever experienced especially for the unbeliever. There are many views, much debate and speculation about the end times. But what I am talking about is simply when Jesus Christ, at His second coming, visibly sets foot on the earth at the end of the tribulation in Zechariah 14:4:
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.
It is called the great and final Day of the Lord.
During the tribulation many from all the nations will come to faith in Christ, but at the same time many also will harden their hearts against God. Before Jesus returns to establish His kingdom, there will be a time of judgment, a great tribulation (Matthew 24:21), the time of Jacob’s trouble and distress (Jeremiah 30:7) and terrible destruction on the earth (2 Peter 3:11-12).
No one knows exactly when the tribulation will begin (though many have speculated). We do not have a specific date of His return, do not know precisely how events will play out, and we do not know who the Antichrist and false prophet will be. Only God knows. For us it remains a mystery. But what we do know is that when He comes back it will be…
2. Obvious
When the Son of Man comes again, it will be obvious to all. He will come like lightning. It will be quick.
Luke 21:27 says
At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
John says
Look, he comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him - even those who pierced him. And all nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen! (Revelation 1:7)
His coming will be visible and experienced by the whole world. Everyone will be affected by it. For all the believers on the earth it will be a time of rejoicing and deliverance; for those who rejected him it will be a time of sorrow and mourning because of the realization of their sin and guilt and anticipation of the coming wrath.
3. Unexpected
The coming of the Son of Man will take place when people least expect it. Matthew describes it like ‘a thief who comes during the night’. Even though people are warned ahead of time by prophets, preachers, and teachers of God’s Word, many will not be listening to the message.
They are not waiting, watching, nor preparing now and obviously won’t be then. Despite all the signs, the sequence of events, the distress, persecutions, and upheavals (Matthew 24: 4–28) they will be caught by surprise, even shocked.
If you look at Luke 17: 26-27, Jesus tells us that the Day He returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s days:
People were eating and drinking, enjoying parties, and getting married right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
Verse 29 describes how that Day will be like it was in Sodom and Gomorrah right up to the time Lot and his family were escorted out of the city by angels. Their sin had caused them to become desensitized, impenitent, indifferent and oblivious to all warnings.
4. Final
On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it (Luke 17:31-33).
That Day will reveal what people really loved and worshiped. Nothing you have accomplished in your life, no good works and no amount of wealth will save you. The only thing that will matter on that Day is your relationship to Christ.
Jesus said, “Remember what happened to Lot’s wife!” In the Jewish culture this was a common expression – “Remember Lot’s wife”.
Her life was in that city, her heart was there, and when judgment came, everything she loved and lived for perished with her in a moment.
There are many who grow up in Christian homes, go to church, but they have never given their lives to Christ. They come so close, but stop short of making that final decision and look back thinking the old life is better than taking hold of the new.
Jesus says,
That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left (Luke 17:34-35).
When Christ returns to the earth it will be day time in some parts of the world and night time in others. Some will be sleeping and some working. But people will be going about their business.
Many believe this is not referring to the Rapture but to the swift world-wide judgment. When Jesus returns there will be a judgment of all people, the great and the small who didn’t know the Lord - whose names were not written in the Book of Life (Rev 20:12-15).
This is where Jesus separates the goats from the sheep, the wise virgins from the foolish, the wheat and the tares or weeds. Basically, He separates the believers from the non-believers.
Jesus made it very personal, those unredeemed persons could be family members, friends, colleagues, who were given time and opportunities to respond to the Gospel but chose to reject Christ’s sacrifice and the warning of judgment to come.
The disciples asked him:
Where will this happen, Lord?" Jesus replied, “Just as the gathering of vultures shows there is a carcass nearby, so these signs indicate that the end is near (Luke 17:37).
Jesus tells us to be on guard, stay alert, be sharp, discerning (Mark 13:23, 33). We are to be in prayer (Col. 4:2), in the Word (John 8:31), in fellowship with other believers even more as we see the Day approaching (Heb. 10:25).
None of us will be exempt from troubles, trials, and the temptations of life and none of us will be able to make it through the storms of life without building a deep foundation with Christ (Matt 7:25).
“What will you do and who or what will you run to in these times? When Jesus comes back, what will you be clinging to? Your own life or His?”
The Lord wants us to understand the urgency of the times we live in. And while we wait for Christ’s return, I would like to leave us all with an Acronym for how we can live until that Day:
BE ALERT:
Be the man or woman God has called you to be
Engage with others in fellowship and prayer
Abide in the love of Christ (at all times)
Live a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led life
Evangelize the lost
Repent - keep a clean account with God and people
Teach these things to others
If you are interested in hearing the full sermon, please click on the video below.
