Jesus was seeing a day when he would light up the sky

JESUS WAS SEEING A DAY WHEN HE WOULD LIGHT UP THE SKY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
LUKE 17:24 24 For the Son of Man in his day[d] will
be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the
sky from one end to the other
BIBLEHUB COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(24) Foras the lightning.—See Note on Matthew 24:27. There is, however, a
noticeable variation in the form; the two “parts under heaven” taking the
place of the “east” andthe “west,”and the “day of the Son of Man” taking the
place of the more formal “coming,” orparousia, which, as far as the Gospels
are concerned, occurs onlyin St. Matthew. There is also, perhaps, more
pictorial vividness in the two words, “lighteneth,” “shineth,” than in St.
Matthew’s “comethout,” and “appeareth,” which is probably the right
rendering of the word there translated“shineth.” In any case, the words in St.
Matthew are less vivid in their force.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
17:20-37 The kingdom of God was among the Jews, or rather within some of
them. It was a spiritual kingdom, setup in the heart by the powerof Divine
grace. Observe how it had been with sinners formerly, and in what state the
judgments of God, which they had been warnedof, found them. Here is shown
what a dreadful surprise this destruction will be to the secure and sensual.

Thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. When Christ
came to destroy the Jewishnation by the Roman armies, that nation was
found in such a state of false security as is here spokenof. In like manner,
when Jesus Christ shall come to judge the world, sinners will be found
altogetherregardless;for in like manner the sinners of every age go on
securelyin their evil ways, and remember not their latter end. But wherever
the wickedare, who are marked for eternal ruin, they shall be found by the
judgments of God.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
And they shall say... - Many false Christs, according to Josephus, appeared
about that time, attempting to lead awaythe people. See the notes at Matthew
24:23-27.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
24. as lightning … so … the Son of man—that is it will be as manifest. The
Lord speaks here of His coming and manifestation in a prophetically
indefinite manner, and in these preparatory words blends into one the
distinctive epochs [Stier]. When the whole polity of the Jews, civiland
ecclesiasticalalike, was brokenup at once, and its continuance rendered
impossible by the destruction of Jerusalem, it became as manifest to all as the
lightning of heaventhat the kingdom of God had ceasedto exist in its old, and
had entered on a new and perfectly different form. So it may be again, ere its
final and greatestchange atthe personalcoming of Christ, and of which the
words in their highestsense are alone true.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
See Poole on"Luke 17:24"
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
For as the lightning that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven,.... The
Syriac version reads, "out of heaven", and the Arabic version, "in heaven";
which is the seatof lightning, and from whence it arises:

and shineth unto the other part under heaven; enlightens the earth, which is
under the heaven: though the sense of the words, as they lie in the original
text, seems to be, that as the lightning lightens at one end of the heavens, and
shines to the other; which is done at once, in a moment, in a twinkling of the
eye, and to which agreesthe Ethiopic version;
so shall also the sonof man be in his day: which is not to be understood of the
swift progress ofthe Gospel, afterhis resurrectionand ascension, and the
pouring forth of his Spirit; but of his sudden coming, first to take vengeance
on the Jewishnation for their rejectionof him, and then at the last day, to
judge both quick and dead. By his day, is meant his kingdom and glory, or his
appearance with power, and greatglory: Thus we read (f) for Solomon, "in
his hour", that is, in his glory, in the time of his kingdom, when he was in his
greatestmagnificence.
(f) Misna Bava Metzia, c. 7. sect. 1. & Jarchi& Bartenora in ib. Vid.
Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 15. 4. & 16. 1.
Geneva Study Bible
For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth
unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Sonof man be in his day.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 17:24. ἐκ τῆς, χώρας understood, so also χώρανafter εἰς τὴν = from this
quarter under heaven to that. Here againMt.’s versionis the more graphic
and original = from eastto west.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges

24. as the lightning, that lighteneth] bright, swift, sudden, universal,
irresistible.
Bengel's Gnomen
Luke 17:24. Ἡ ἀστράπτουσα, thatflasheth) i.e. whilst it is in the act of
flashing. It cannotbe pointed out.—τῆς ὑπʼ οὐρανὸν)Often the expression, the
earth ἡ ὑπʼ οὐρανὸν, which is beneath heaven, occurs in the LXX. Version, in
Job and elsewhere.—οὓτως,so)most rapidly, and most widely.—τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, in
His day) viz. the last day: Matthew 26:64.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 24. - For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under
heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man
be in his day. "Yes," wenton the Master, "letnot delusive expectations
interrupt you or turn you aside out of the narrow way of patient faith, for my'
coming will, like the lightning, be sudden, cud will gleamforth on every side.
There will be no possibility of mistake then."
STUDYLIGHTRESOURCES
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

appearance with power, and greatglory: Thus we readF6 for Solomon, ‫,ותעשב‬
"in his hour", that is, in his glory, in the time of his kingdom, when he was in
his greatestmagnificence.
Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernisedand adapted
for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved,
Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard
Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography
Gill, John. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". "The New JohnGill Exposition of
the Entire Bible". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/geb/luke-
17.html. 1999.
Return to Jump List return to 'Jump List'
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

as lightning … so … the Son of man — that is it will be as manifest. The Lord
speaks here of His coming and manifestation in a prophetically indefinite
manner, and in these preparatory words blends into one the distinctive epochs
[Stier]. When the whole polity of the Jews, civiland ecclesiasticalalike, was
broken up at once, and its continuance rendered impossible by the destruction
of Jerusalem, it became as manifest to all as the lightning of heaven that the
kingdom of God had ceasedto exist in its old, and had entered on a new and
perfectly different form. So it may be again, ere its final and greatestchange
at the personalcoming of Christ, and of which the words in their highest sense
are alone true.
Copyright Statement
These files are a derivative of an electronic edition prepared from text
scannedby Woodside Bible Fellowship.
This expanded edition of the Jameison-Faussett-BrownCommentary is in the
public domain and may be freely used and distributed.
Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Luke 17:24". "CommentaryCritical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfb/luke-17.html. 1871-8.
Robertson's WordPictures in the New Testament
Lighteneth (αστραπτουσα — astraptousa). An old and common verb, though
only here and Luke 24:4 in the N.T. The secondcoming will be sudden and
universally visible. There are still some poor souls who are waiting in
Jerusalemunder the delusion that Jesus willcome there and nowhere else.

Copyright Statement
The Robertson's WordPictures of the New Testament. Copyright �
Broadman Press 1932,33,Renewal1960. All rights reserved. Used by
permission of Broadman Press (Southern BaptistSunday SchoolBoard)
Bibliography
Robertson, A.T. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". "Robertson's WordPictures
of the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/luke-17.html. Broadman
Press 1932,33. Renewal1960.
Vincent's Word Studies
Lighteneth ( ἀστράπτουσα )
Only here and Luke 24:4.
Copyright Statement
The text of this work is public domain.
Bibliography
Vincent, Marvin R. DD. "Commentaryon Luke 17:24". "Vincent's Word
Studies in the New Testament".

https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/vnt/luke-17.html. Charles
Schribner's Sons. New York, USA. 1887.
Wesley's ExplanatoryNotes
So shall also the Son of man be — So swift, so wide, shall his appearing be: In
his day - The last day.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website.
Bibliography
Wesley, John. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". "JohnWesley's Explanatory
Notes on the Whole Bible".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/luke-17.html. 1765.
The Fourfold Gospel
for as the lightning, when it lighteneth out of the one part under the heaven,
shineth unto the other part under heaven1;so shall the Son of man be in his
day2.

For as the lightning, when it lighteneth out of the one part under the heaven,
shineth unto the other part under heaven. Against all this Jesus warns them,
telling them that when the kingdom of heavendoes at lastassume a visible
shape in the manifestation of its King, that manifestation will be so glorious,
universal and pronounced as to be absolutely unmistakable.
So shall the Son of man be in his day. See Acts 26:13;2 Thessalonians 2:8.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain and are a derivative of an electronic edition that
is available on the Christian ClassicsEtherealLibrary Website. These files
were made available by Mr. Ernie Stefanik. First published online in 1996 at
The RestorationMovementPages.
Bibliography
J. W. McGarveyand Philip Y. Pendleton. "Commentaryon Luke 17:24".
"The Fourfold Gospel".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/tfg/luke-17.html. Standard
Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio. 1914.
Abbott's Illustrated New Testament
And thus the kingdom of Christ is a spiritual light, springing up in the minds
of men, so that those who seek it need not look far away, but will see it at once
within them and around them.
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.

Bibliography
Abbott, John S. C. & Abbott, Jacob. "Commentaryon Luke 17:24".
"Abbott's Illustrated New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/ain/luke-17.html. 1878.
John Trapp Complete Commentary
24 For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven,
shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in
his day.
Ver. 24. For as the lightning] q.d. From mine ascension, andso forwards, you
are not to look for me again till I come to judgment; and then I come on a
sudden. Many devices there are in the minds of some, to think that Jesus
Christ shall come from heavenagain, and reign here upon earth a thousand
years. But they are, saith a gooddivine, but the mistakes of some high
expressions in Scripture, which describe the judgments poured out upon
God’s enemies, in making a way to the Jews’conversion, by the pattern of the
last judgment. (Mr Cottonupon the SevenVials.)
Copyright Statement
Text Courtesyof BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliography

Trapp, John. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". John Trapp Complete
Commentary. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jtc/luke-
17.html. 1865-1868.
Greek TestamentCriticalExegeticalCommentary
24. ἐκ τῆς … εἰς τὴν …] Supply χώρας … χώραν.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Alford, Henry. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". Greek TestamentCritical
ExegeticalCommentary.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hac/luke-17.html. 1863-1878.
Johann Albrecht Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament
Luke 17:24. ἡ ἀστράπτουσα, that flasheth) i.e. whilst it is in the actof flashing.
It cannot be pointed out.— τῆς ὑπʼ οὐρανὸν)Often the expression, the earth ἡ
ὑπʼ οὐρανὸν, which is beneath heaven, occurs in the LXX. Version, in Job and
elsewhere.— οὓτως, so)mostrapidly, and most widely.— τῇ ἡμέρᾳ, in His
day) viz. the lastday: Matthew 26:64.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Bengel, JohannAlbrecht. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". Johann Albrecht
Bengel's Gnomonof the New Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jab/luke-17.html. 1897.
Matthew Poole's EnglishAnnotations on the Holy Bible
See Poole on"Luke 17:24"
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Poole, Matthew, "Commentaryon Luke 17:24". Matthew Poole's English
Annotations on the Holy Bible.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mpc/luke-17.html. 1685.
Justin Edwards' Family Bible New Testament

In his day; the day when Christ shall come to destroy his enemies, deliver his
friends, and establishhis kingdom. There is the same double reference here to
Christ’s providential coming to destroy the city and temple, and to his second
personalcoming, which has been noticedin the notes to Matthew 24:1-51. It
will be like the lightning, which fills the heavens from one end to the other
with its brightness.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Edwards, Justin. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". "Family Bible New
Testament". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/fam/luke-
17.html. American TractSociety. 1851.
Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools andColleges
24. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἡ ἀστραπή. Bright, swift, sudden, universal, irresistible.
ἐκ τῆς … εἰς τήν. Understand χώρας, χώραν. Comp. ἐξ ἐναντίας, Mark 15:39.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
"Commentary on Luke 17:24". "Cambridge Greek Testamentfor Schools
and Colleges".https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/luke-
17.html. 1896.
PeterPett's Commentary on the Bible
“Foras the lightning, when it lightens out of the one part under the heaven,
shines to the other part under heaven, so shall the Son of man be in his day.”
For when He comes He will be revealedin splendour and glory (compare
Luke 8:29) in the same way as the lightning lights up the whole heavens.
There will be no mistaking it. Every eye will see Him, and those also who
pierced Him (Revelation1:7). The splendour and glory of His appearing will
be manifested to all (Luke 9:26; Luke 21:27).
Thus any future activity of the Son of Man once He has been take out of the
world by suffering, will be cosmic. He will rise as the Lord of glory, He will be
in Heaven as the Lord of glory, and He will return as the Lord of glory. By
this He is building on all the claims that He has made up to this point and
adding to them. He is revealing His unique God-likeness.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Pett, Peter. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". "PeterPett's Commentaryon the
Bible ". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/pet/luke-17.html.
2013.
Schaff's Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Luke 17:24. For. Neither time nor place can be determined, for the coming
will be sudden and universally perceived. See on Matthew 24:27.
Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Schaff, Philip. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". "Schaff's Popular
Commentary on the New Testament".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/scn/luke-17.html. 1879-90.
The Expositor's Greek Testament
Luke 17:24. ἐκ τῆς, χώρας understood, so also χώρανafter εἰς τὴν = from this
quarter under heaven to that. Here againMt.’s versionis the more graphic
and original = from eastto west.

Copyright Statement
Bibliography
Nicol, W. Robertson, M.A., L.L.D. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". The
Expositor's Greek Testament.
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/egt/luke-17.html. 1897-1910.
George Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary
For as lightning, &c. See Matthew xxiv. 27. (Witham) --- Christ here alludes
to the glory with which he shall appearwhen he shall come to judge the world,
surrounded by his angels, &c. when he will appearlike lightning, that shall
penetrate the inmost recessesofour souls, and shall suffer no crime, not even
the slightestthought of our souls, to pass unnoticed. This is the time when he
will manifest his glory, and not on his entry into Jerusalem, as the disciples
imagined: for he informs them, that he will then have to suffer a cruel death.
(Ven. Bede)
Copyright Statement
Bibliography

Haydock, George Leo. "Commentaryon Luke 17:24". "GeorgeHaydock's
Catholic Bible Commentary".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/hcc/luke-17.html. 1859.
E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes
lighteneth = flasheth. Greek. astrapto. Occurs only here and in Luke 24:4.
out of. Greek ek. App-104.
under. Greek. hupo. App-104.
heaven. Sing, without Art. Compare Matthew 6:9, Matthew 6:10.
unto. Greek eis. App-104.
also the Son of man = the Son of man also.
His day. Describedin the Apocalypse.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Bullinger, Ethelbert William. "Commentary on Luke 17:24". "E.W.
Bullinger's Companion bible Notes".
https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bul/luke-17.html. 1909-1922.
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Unabridged
That is, it will be as manifest as the lightning. So that the kingdom here
spokenof has its external and visible side too. 'The Lord,' says Stier correctly,
'speaks here of His coming and manifestation in a prophetically indefinite
manner, and in these preparatory words blends into one the distinctive
epochs.'When the whole polity of the Jews, civil and ecclesiasticalalike, was
broken up at once, and its continuance rendered impossible, by the
destruction of Jerusalem, it became as manifest to all as the lightning of
heaven that the Kingdom of God had ceasedto exist in its old, and had
entered on a new and perfectly different, form. So it may be again, before its
final and greatestchange atthe personalcoming of Christ, of which the words
in their highest sense are alone true.
Copyright Statement

Bibliography
Jamieson, Robert, D.D.;Fausset,A. R.; Brown, David. "Commentary on
Luke 17:24". "CommentaryCritical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -
Unabridged". https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/jfu/luke-
17.html. 1871-8.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(24) Foras the lightning.—See Note on Matthew 24:27. There is, however, a
noticeable variation in the form; the two “parts under heaven” taking the
place of the “east” andthe “west,”and the “day of the Son of Man” taking the
place of the more formal “coming,” orparousia, which, as far as the Gospels
are concerned, occurs onlyin St. Matthew. There is also, perhaps, more
pictorial vividness in the two words, “lighteneth,” “shineth,” than in St.
Matthew’s “comethout,” and “appeareth,” which is probably the right
rendering of the word there translated“shineth.” In any case, the words in St.
Matthew are less vivid in their force.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Luke 17:24 “Forjust like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the
sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.

KJV Luke 17:24 Foras the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part
under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son
of man be in his day.
as Job 37:3,4;Zechariah 9:14; Matthew 24:27
in Malachi3:1,2; 4:1,2; Matthew 24:30; 25:31;26:64;1 Thessalonians 5:2;2
Thessalonians 2:2,8;James 5:8; 2 Peter3:10
Luke 17 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Luke 17:20-37 The Presentand Future Kingdom - StevenCole
Luke 17:23-25 7 Characteristics ofthe Coming King, Part 2 - John
MacArthur
SECOND COMING:
VISIBLE GLOBALLY
For (gar) is a term of explanation, which should always beg a question from
the engagedreader - What is being explained? In this contextJesus is clearly
explaining why we do not have to listen to reports of appearancesofChrist or
to those who set dates about His return, etc. We do not have to run after these
false reports.
Like the lightning - As lightning illumines the entire sky, the whole world will
see the coming kingdom. As lightning strikes suddenly so too will be the
return of the King! When the King returns, His arrival will not be subtle but
obvious, not slow but quick, not localbut global (how He does that I am not
sure) for Jesus Himself taught "And then the sign of the Son of Man will
appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will
see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with
powerand greatglory." (Mt 24:30-note)John adds "BEHOLD (idou), HE IS

COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who
pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be.
Amen." (Rev 1:7-note) There will be no need to turn on your televisionto
check CNN or FoxNews and no need to look at your Iphone or send a text
alert to a friend, for all you will need to do in this day of His glorious return is
lift up your eyes to the heavens from whence He comes!
Regarding the suddenness of His return just as lightning is sudden, I often
swim laps and if the guards hear thunder they know lightning is potentially
nearby so they clearthe pool so no one is electrocuted!When Jesus returns
there will be no time to "clearthe pool" of your life (figuratively speaking),
for if you have rejectedHim while today is still calledtoday (Heb 3:13), like a
lightning bolt suddenly striking a swimming pool, it is too late and your fate is
sealedforever!Today is the bestday of your life to enter into Jesus'Kingdom
(Jn 3:3-5). Do not procrastinate or delay. James gives us a sobering warning
writing "Come now, you who say, “Todayor tomorrow we will go to such and
such a city, and spend a yearthere and engage in business and make a profit,
for you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a
vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." (James 4:13-14)
J C Ryle - This suddenness of Christ's secondadvent is a solemnthought. It
ought to make us study a continual preparedness of mind. Our hearts' desire
and endeavorshould be to be always ready to meet our Lord. Our life's aim
should be to do nothing, and say nothing, which could make us ashamed if
Christ were suddenly to appear. "Blessed,"says the apostle John, "is he who
watches, andkeeps his garments." (Rev. 16:15-note)Those who denounce the
doctrine of the SecondAdvent as speculative, fanciful, and unpractical, would
do well to reconsiderthe subject. The doctrine was not so regardedin the days
of the apostles. In their eyes patience, hope, diligence, moderation, personal
holiness, were inseparably connectedwith an expectationof the Lord's return.
Happy is the Christian who has learned to think with them! To be ever

looking for the Lord's appearing is one of the best helps to a close walk with
God. (Luke 17 Commentary)
Morris - No matter how difficult the situation becomes, the believermust
always rejectany claims that Christ has already come and is hiding
somewhere (Luke 17:21; Matthew 24:26). When He does first come, believers
will suddenly be translated from this earth into His presence (Luke 17:34-36;
1 Thessalonians 4:16,17). WhenHe later finally comes againto the earth itself,
His presence will hardly be secret, for it will be seenall over the world.
JIM BOMKAMP
VS 17:23-24 - “23 “Theywill say to you, ‘Look there! Look here!’ Do not go
away, and do not run after them. 24 “Forjust like the lightning, when it
flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the
Son of Man be in His day.” - Jesus tells His disciples that when He returns
that it will be unmistakable therefore they should never be led astrayby those
saying, ‘Look there! Look Here!’
4.1. In verse 23, when Jesus tells His disciples not to go awayor
run after people saying to look here or there, He may be referring to the false
Christ’s that He tells us in Matt. 24:4-5 will be around in the days leading up
to His SecondAdvent, “4 And Jesus answeredand said to them, “See to it that
no one misleads you. 5 “Formany will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the
Christ,’ and will mislead many.” In this Olivett Discourse in Matt. 24, the

first sign that Jesus points to in regardto the coming of God’s Kingdom is the
emerging of many false Christ’s.
4.1.1. Ibelieve that the many false Christ’s that we have in our world today,
men claiming to be God or Jesus Christ, is a fulfillment of these words and an
indication that we are very close to Jesus’SecondComing. Maitreya, for
instance, is a man today who believes that He is Jesus Christ.
4.2. In verse 24, Jesus speaks ofthe suddenness of His appearing
at His SecondAdvent. Lightning travels across the sky at the speed of light
and Jesus tells us that when He finally appears for His SecondAdvent that He
will appearsuddenly just like a flash of lightning across inthe sky.
4.3. Spurgeon in his preaching has saidthe following about
Christ’s SecondAdvent, “What a comfort it is to us to think that our name is
on one of the stones of that glorious breastplate!He is glorious, too, in his
secondadvent. We expecthim soonto come. It is earth’s highest hope, the
church’s most fervent prayer. Come quickly, Lord Jesus!To see thee we
would fain give up the sight of everything beneath the stars. To see the King in
his beauty come riding through the streets!To behold him with the rainbow
wreath and robes of storm! Ay, but to have one glimpse of that greatwhite
throne, though it were but a distance!But to hear him sayone word was a

kind of everlasting heaven; but for once to have seenhim, but for once to have
heard him! It might make men content to bear a thousand trials, but for once
with heart, and eye, and soul, to drink a full draught of the glory of Christ.
Brethren, our soulfires as we proceed, and we long to praise and sing.
On anotheroccasionSpurgeonpreached, “…OurLord’s first coming in our
flesh hath given us eternalsalvation; His coming to us by His Spirit hath
wrought in us a living faith, and His secondcoming by-and-by is the grand
objectof our hope. That day and hour no man knoweth, for the Father
keepethit in his own power;but the consummationof all our hopes is
wrapped up in it, and therefore do we cry, “Come quickly; even so, Lord
Jesus, come quickly. Amen.” So, you see, brethren, it is the presence ofGod
with us in Christ which is the ground of all our hope.”
THOMAS CONSTABLE
Verse 24-25
Jesus" return would be unmistakable (cf. Matthew 24:27;Matthew 24:30).
The messianic kingdomwill not creepup on people. People living on the earth
then will not discoverthat it began some time ago and that they are then in it.
Everyone will know when it begins. Howeverbefore the Son of Man begins
His reign He first had to suffer and experience rejectionby the unbelieving
Jews ofHis day (cf. Luke 9:22; Luke 9:41; Luke 11:29;Luke 11:31-32;Luke
11:50-51;Luke 24:26;Luke 24:46; Matthew 16:21;Acts 17:3).

BOB DEFFINBAUGH
The Coming of the
Kingdom and Excessive Zeal
(17:22-25)
22 Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see
one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 Men will tell you,
‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son
of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky
from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be
rejectedby this generation.
The disciples of Jesus face a different danger, and for different reasons. The
Pharisees rejectedthe kingdom of God because they rejectedthe Lord Jesus
as the Messiah. The disciples, on the other hand, had come to love Him and
were deeply committed to Him. Jesus warns His disciples of the dangers that
face them because oftheir love for Him, and their desire to see Him.
The disciples’understanding of the coming kingdom and how it will be
establishedis distorted, too. Jesus must therefore remind them of His coming
rejectionand death. In addition to this, Jesus will not be physically present
with them after His ascension, and thus for a time they will yearn for His
physical presence. This personal, physical presence will take place (on earth)
at the time of the secondcoming, at the time when the kingdom of Godis
establishedon the earth.

In His physical absence there will be hard times for the followers of Jesus,
who will be rejectedand persecutedevenas He was to be. In such times of
adversity, a greathunger for Christ’s kingdom and His presence on the earth
will be experiencedby those who love the Messiah. This eagernessfor His
coming has its potential problems, for the danger will be to be distracted from
their devotion and duty by going off after everyone who claims or who is
thought to be a “messiah.”We know from other texts on the coming kingdom
that many will arise with messianic claims, some of whom will do mighty signs
and wonders. These will tempt some to follow them, and thus to be distracted
from their devotion to the true Messiah, andto what He has calledthem to do
in His absence.
There is a “cultishness”in all such movements, for in order to follow such
“messiahs”they will have to leave their present place of service. Eachof these
false messiahs will have a following, but they will not be regardedby all as
God’s Messiah, nor will they institute the kingdom. Jesus instructs the
disciples here that chasing after messiah’s, as though they might miss His
coming is foolishand unnecessary. When He returns, it will be universally
known and evident. There will be no mistaking it. Thus, there is no need to
worry about missing out on this kingdom and no need to follow-up everyone
who claims to be the king.
When I was younger and lived in the Northwest, I used to go salmonfishing.
Usually, this meant using a large plate, calleda dodger, which was followedby
a hook, on which a herring was placed as bait. That dodgeraccomplished
severalthings. First, it flashedin the water, attracting the attention of the fish
(or so the manufacturer told us). Second, the dodger wobbled in the water,
due to its shape, causing the herring to appearinjured, so that the salmon
would think it was an easycatch.

The dodgerdid something else, though—it tugged on the line, appearing to
the novice to be a fish. To the inexperienced fisherman, more precisely, to the
eager, inexperiencedfisherman, every little tug on the line gives the promise
of a catch, and so the line is constantlybeing reeled in to see if a fish is there.
It won’t be. But all the time that the line is being reeledin, the chances of
catching a fish are reduced. The poor herring on the end of the line is being
worn out (and thus must be replaced).
The experiencedfisherman knows that these little “tugs” are to be expected.
He also knows that when a salmon is on the hook, there will be no doubt about
it. You know when you’ve hookeda salmon! Thus, the key to effective fishing
is patience and endurance. This is precisely what Jesus is teaching His
disciples—notto be confused or mislead by every tug on the line, every hint of
a claim to the messiahship, but to faithfully endure, trusting, worshipping,
and serving Him, knowing that His coming will not be missed, by anyone.
Being over-eagercantherefore have its dangers. Our eagerness shouldbe
expressedthrough those energies whichserve Him, not those which seek to
discoverHim in some false messiah.
Rev. Bruce Goettsche
24 For the Sonof Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and
lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many
things and be rejectedby this generation.
Jesus warnedhis disciples to be level headed rather than running after those
who have the latest “insight”. In fact, Jesus plainly told the disciples that,
“they will not see that coming”. He was preparing his disciples for the reality
that His coming would not be in their lifetime. He told them that bad times

were aheadand it would start when he was rejectedand killed. Jesus was not
surprised by any of the events that transpired.
We must face the fact that Christ may not come in our lifetime. It sure seems
(to us) like the timing is ripe for the return of the Lord, but we cannot “figure
out” when He will return. We can only be ready.
Sometimes people feel unprepared because they don’t understand all the
prophecy stuff that is out there. They are confused by the terms and don’t
understand where people getall the “signs of His coming”. Let me put your
mind at ease. Jesusstatedplainly, “You don’t have to worry about missing
His coming. When He returns, the whole world will know it. Like a big bolt of
lightning accompaniedby earth shaking thunder that awakens youfrom a
sound sleep, you will not miss His coming. It will be unmistakable.”
MATTHEW HENRY
. That Christ and his kingdom are not to be lookedfor in this or that
particular place, but his appearance willbe generalin all places at once (Luke
17:23,24):"They will say to you, See here, or, See there here is one that will
deliver the Jews out of the hands of the oppressing Romans, or there is one
that will deliver the Christians out of the hands of the oppressing Jews here is
the Messiah, andthere is his prophet here in this mountain, or there at
Jerusalem, you will find the true church. Go not after them, nor follow them
do not heed such suggestions. The kingdom of God was not designedto be the
glory of one people only, but to give light to the Gentiles for as the lightning
that lightens out of one part under heaven, and shines all on a sudden
irresistibly to the other part under heaven, so shall also the Son of man be in
his day." (1.) "The judgments that are to destroy the Jewishnation, to lay

them waste, and to deliver the Christians from them, shall fly like lightning
through the land, shall lay all waste from one end of it to another and those
that are marked for this destruction canno more avoid it, nor oppose it, than
they can a flash of lightning." (2.) "The gospelthat is to set up Christ's
kingdom in the world shall fly like lightning through the nations. The
kingdom of the Messiahis not to be a localthing, but is to be dispersedfar
and wide over the face of the whole earth it shall shine from Jerusalemto all
parts about, and that in a moment. The kingdoms of the earth shall be
leavenedby the gospelere they are aware ofit." The trophies of Christ's
victories shall be erectedon the ruins of the devil's kingdom, even in those
countries that could never be subdued to the Roman yoke. The design of the
setting up of Christ's kingdom was not to make one nation great, but to make
all nations good--some, atleast, of all nations and this point shall be gained,
though the nations rage, and the kings of the earth set themselves with all
their might againstit.
JOHN MACARTHUR
SevenCharacteristics ofthe Coming King, Part 2
Sermons Luke 17:23–25 42-224 Nov12, 2006
A + A - RESET
We come this morning to this wonderful 17th chapter of Luke's gospel. Luke
chapter 17 and our theme is the SecondComing of Jesus Christ. We're
dealing with verses 22 through verse 37; Luke 17:22 through 37. This is a
prolonged presentationof our Lord's SecondComing that comes from His
own lips. You might say this is Jesus onHis SecondComing. We are hearing
it straight from the Lord Himself. It is not a presentationof the chronologyof
His SecondComing, or the sequentialevents. There will be a more sequential,
chronologicalpresentationby our Lord in the 21stchapter of the gospelof

Luke. But here we have not a chronologicaltreatmentof His coming but a
description of it. This is to help us with the nature of that event, and in one
particular aspect, andthat is that it will be a judgment. While we as believers
look forward to the SecondComing of Jesus Christbecause it will bring Him
glory, and because He will establish His kingdom on earth and He will bind
Satanand righteousness andtruth and peace will prevail over the earth as He
reigns literally and physically in Jerusalemoverthe world, and that's all
positive, and that kingdom will be launched only with those who are the
Savior's own by faith, we look forward to that. We look forward to the
kingdom aspects ofChrist's return. We long for that day when we will reign
with Him and enjoy the fullness of all the blessings and promises originally
given to the patriarchs and to David and even to the prophets in the New
Covenant. But that's not all that occurs in the SecondComing of Christ. It's
not just the kingdom and glory and blessing and prosperity and righteousness
and peace prevailing in the earth. Before that happens there will be the most
horrific, consummate complete devastating judgment the world has ever, or
will ever know. And so as our Lord talks about the SecondComing in this
particular text, it is a focus on the judgment. It is looking at the nature of His
return as a judgment event. This is all precipitated by the fact that Jesus
talkedabout the kingdom all the time. He preached about the kingdom all the
time. And in a mocking, scoffing way, the Pharisees sayto Him in the query
that is certainly in their minds if not on their lips, verse 20, "Whenis the
kingdom of God coming? You keeptalking about it.” I think it's a sarcastic,
scornful, mocking approachbecause they had already rejectedHim as their
King and their Messiahand He was much an unlikely King, He didn't appear
to be the King that they had anticipated by all their understanding of Old
Testamentprophecy. There was no splendor. There was no glory. There
was...There were no signs in earth and signs in heavenof massive proportions
and He of course attackedtheir religion rather than confirming it. For all
those reasons and others they had rejectedHim as King. And now I think in a
mocking way, they ask, "Whenis that kingdom you keeptalking about going
to come?" And He answers them, "It's not coming with signs to be observed.
The first phase of this kingdom is not external. It's not universal, it's not
physical. Rather,” verse 21, He says, “the kingdom of God is within you.”

The first phase of His Kingdom is spiritual, personal, internal. And if you're
not a part of that kingdom, you will never be a part of that external,
worldwide, physical kingdom. We talkedabout the internal, personal
kingdom, verses 20 and 21, and now we're talking about the external, visible,
manifest, earthly reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. He launches, in a sense, that
first kingdom in His first coming. He launches that secondaspectin His
SecondComing. It is crucial then to any understanding of the life and
ministry of Jesus to major on the Second Coming. In fact, one could argue
that it is the most important of all doctrines because it is the consummation of
all doctrines. Every other doctrine, every other element in redemptive history
ends up with the glorificationof Christ in His kingdom, which is earthly and
then in its final phase eternal. You cannot minimize the SecondComing of the
Lord Jesus Christ. As we said last time, it is a cardinal doctrine of the
Christian faith. It cannot be minimized.
And because it is important, it is laid out for us clearly. It is not obscure in
Scripture. It’s not hard to find. It is all over the place, both in the Old
Testamentand the New Testamentand with amazing specificity. Our
contemporary evangelicalworldhas become comfortable with the fact that
there are all kinds of views of the SecondComing of Jesus Christas if it is an
absolute impossibility to understand the reality of it. In fact, books are
written which share the multiple views and the multiple perspectives ofalmost
every aspectof the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, as if God had not spoken
clearly on the matter. So it's important for us to get a good, biblical, sound,
solid look at this massivelysignificant event, the SecondComing of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
And to start with something that is very clearand very straightforward and
unmistakable, let me read a verse from Acts 1. And it's verse 11. Justlisten to
this. Jesus had ascendedinto heaven. He was standing there in one moment
talking with His disciples and after He had completedwhat He had to say, He

beganto go up, just ascending into heaven by His divine power. He went up
and as He went up, they gazedintently, staring with a fixed gaze at this
phenomenal occurrence and He disappearedin the clouds. Thatis the
ascensionof Jesus describedfor us there in Acts 1.
While they were in that startled, stunned condition of gazing at Jesus leaving,
two angels appeared. And this is what the angels said, "This Jesus who has
been takenup from you into heaven will come in just the same wayas you
have watchedHim go into heaven." That is unmistakable, unambiguous,
crystal-clear. He went up physically, bodily, literally, visibly, and disappeared
behind the clouds. That is precisely the way He will come back; through the
clouds visibly, physically, bodily, literally coming down and placing His feet
on the Mount of Olives. This is not mystical and there's no secretmeaning to
this. It is a promise of the literal, physical, bodily, visible return of Jesus
Christ to earth. And this is the great, culminating moment in God's
redemptive history. It must happen. It cannotbe set aside.
Let me just give you a few things that demand the SecondComing of Christ.
And I want to...Iwant to secure your foundation before we look at our text.
First of all: The promise of God demands that Jesus Christ return; the
promise of God demands that Jesus Christ return. In the Old TestamentGod
made a number of promises that there would come a Messiahwho would set
up an everlasting kingdom. In 2 Samuel7 this Messiah, this King was to be in
the line of the greatKing David and He was to come and establishHis
kingdom and build a house and establish a throne that would last forever, 2
Samuel chapter 7. In Psalm 2 God actually speaks. In fact, He speaks outof
anger, verse 6 of Psalm 2, "As for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion,
My holy mountain. I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord. He said to me,”
writes the psalmist, “Thouart My Son, today I have begottenThee. Ask of Me
and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance."

God says I will establish My King upon Zion, My holy mountain. God says to
His own Son, "You are My Son, today I have begottenYou. Ask Me and I
will give you the nations as Your inheritance, the very ends of the earth as
Your possession." The first time Jesus came, that did not happen. That did
not happen. Of the 300-plus messianic prophecies relatedto the coming of
Jesus Christ, about a third of them were fulfilled in His first coming. That
leaves two thirds, about 200-plus, that have not been fulfilled. That
necessitatesa SecondComing of the Lord Jesus Christby the very promise of
God. The integrity of God, the credibility of God, the truthfulness of God
demands that Jesus Christ return and fulfill those prophecies.
Secondly, the teaching of Jesus demands that He return; the teaching of Jesus
Himself. If you were to jump aheada little and look at Luke 21, you would
hear the words of our Lord as He speaks ofHis own SecondComing, verse 25
of Luke 21, "There will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the
earth dismay among nations and perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the
waves, men fainting from fear and the expectationof the things which are
coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shakenand then
they will see the Sonof Man coming in a cloud with powerand greatglory.
But when these things begin to take place, straightenup and lift up your heads
because your redemption is drawing near." Here Jesus discloses His own
SecondComing.
You have a parallel passageto that in Mark 13. You have a parallel passage
to that in Matthew chapter24. In Luke 17 Jesus Himself is speaking here
about the days of the revealing of the Son of Man, verse 30. In John 14 He
said, "If I go away, I will come againand receive you unto Myself, that where
I am there you may be also." The trustworthiness of God demands the Second
Coming and the trustworthiness of Jesus demands the SecondComing.

Thirdly, the word of the Spirit demands the SecondComing. The Spirit is the
author of Scripture. All prophecies of the SecondComing are written down by
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, who is then the divine member of the
Trinity assignedthe responsibility to inspire the writers to write and the Spirit
then has spokenin the Word and every prophecy calling for the Second
Coming is a prophecy that has come by means of the Spirit to us in the written
Word. And therefore, the Spirit, who says He will come, being trustworthy,
necessitatesthat coming.
In Revelationchapter 3 and in verse 11 — you don't need to turn to it, I'll just
mention it to you — Jesus says...Revelation3:11, "Iam coming quickly. Hold
fast what you have in order that no one take your crown." On this occasion
He's speaking about His coming which is a plus for those who believe, for
those who believe to hold onto their crowns so that when He's here they
receive a full reward. Two verses later, our Lord Himself says, "He who has
ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." WhenHe
writes a letter to the church, it is a letter that comes by way of the Spirit. So
listen to what the Spirit says about the Lord coming quickly.
The promise of God, the teaching of Jesus, the Word of the Spirit demands
the SecondComing. God's plan for the church demands a SecondComing.
It cannot be over for the church. John 14, I just mentioned to you that He will
come and receive us to Himself. He is now preparing a place for us. First
Thessalonians 4, "If we believe that Jesus died," verse 14, "and rose again,
even so, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleepin Jesus.” Here
is how it's going to happen. “The Lord Himself will descendfrom heaven with
a shout, the voice of the archangel, the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ
shall rise first. We who are alive and remain shall be caught up togetherwith
Him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be
with the Lord." The greatrapture of the church. This is God's plan for the
church. The history of the church culminates when the Lord calls for His
church. John 14, 1 Thessalonians4, and 1 Corinthians 15:"In a moment, in

the twinkling of an eye we're changed” and transported into heaven. That's
what triggers the events surrounding the SecondComing of the Lord Jesus
Christ. His plan for the church demands that the church be gatheredto Him
in glory and then, according to Revelationchapter19, after having been
gatheredto Him in glory, before He comes all the way to earth to set up His
kingdom and to judge the ungodly, we spend some time with Him in
fellowship and when He comes, we come with Him. Revelation19 pictures
Him. Heaven opens in verse 11, Revelation19. A white horse, the one sitting
on it is calledFaithful and True. In righteousness He judges and wages war.
He comes, first of all, in judgment. And it tells us in verse 14, "The armies
which are in heaven" that would be all the believers gatheredthere, "clothed
in fine linen, white and clean." I think the clothing of the redeemed,
"following Him on white horses." He comes for us and then later we come
with Him. He comes back with His glorified church and all the glorified
saints. The plan for the church demands that Christ come for His church,
that He bring His church to Himself in glory and then return to earth with His
glorified saints to dwell here in His kingdom.
But not just the church, the future of Israel also demands that Jesus come
again. And that is laid out for us, perhaps as clearlyas anywhere, by the
prophet Zechariah. In Zechariah chapter 12 and verse 10 we read this,
looking at the future, “I will pour out on the house of David and on the
inhabitants of Jerusalemthe Spirit of grace and of supplication so that they
will look on Me whom they have pierced and they will mourn for Him as one
mourns for an only sonand they will weepbitterly over Him like the bitter
weeping over a firstborn." In the future, the people of Israel are going to
recognize whatthey did to their Messiah. They're going to recognize they
pierced their own God and they're going to mourn. And it will be a great
mourning. The land will mourn. Every family will mourn. The wives will
mourn. The families here and there by name will mourn. And in that day,
chapter 13, verse 1, a fountain will be open for the house of David, the
inhabitants of Jerusalemfor sin and for impurity. Salvationwill come.
They'll recognize Christ. They'll recognize the sin of rejection. They'll
embrace the true gospel. Theywill be cleansed. And then, chapter14 follows

up, verse 4, "In that day His feet,” that is the Lord who goes forth out of
heaven, “will stand on the Mount of Olives,” whichis in front of Jerusalemon
the east, and the Mount of Olives will be split in its middle from eastto west
by a large valley so that half the mountain will move towardthe north, the
other half toward the south. Once Israelunderstands what they have done,
turns to their Messiah, they are savedand that triggers the final return of the
Lord who comes out of heaven in judgment and as well to establishHis
glorious kingdom. Verse 9, chapter14: "The Lord will be King over all the
earth. In that day the Lord will be the only one and His name the only one."
The future of Israel demands a SecondComing to establishthe promised
kingdom which will occur after Israel's salvation.
There's another very important matter that demands the return of Christ.
Let's call it the corruption of the world. The last chapter of world history
cannot be the one we're living now. For anybody to say this is the final
kingdom, to me is ludicrous. The final chapter has not yet been written. The
corruption of the world in the hands of the evil usurper, Satan, is not the last
part of God's history of redemption. In fact, 2 Thessalonians chapter1 verse
7 tells us that the Lord Jesus shallbe revealedfrom heaven with His mighty
angels in flaming fire. It's not just the Lord that comes back. It's not just the
glorified saints that come back. It's the angels who come in flaming fire as
part of the judgment, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God
and to those who do not obey the gospelofour Lord Jesus, and these will pay
the penalty of eternaldestruction, awayfrom the presence ofthe Lord and
from the glory of His powerwhen He comes to be glorified in His saints on
that day. So it's two-fold. He comes to be glorified in His saints, to establish
the kingdom, comes with His saints, comes to meet His saints who have come
to believe here on earth and saints alive and saints glorified go into that
glorious kingdom, but not until there is judgment. And none of this happens
until Israelhas come to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. This corrupt and evil
world will be judged when the Lord comes back and the paradise lost will be
the paradise regained. That's why in Revelation6:10, the martyrs under the
altar saying, "How long, oh Lord?” How long are You going to wait until You
vindicate Yourself? Until You come and destroy the wickedand the ungodly.

And that leads us to the next demand for the SecondComing, the exaltationof
Jesus Christ. This world has not seenthe last of Jesus. Theyhave made Him
into a cartooncharactertoday. They mock Him freely. They scornHim.
They rejectHim. They treat Him with trifling attitudes and indifference. But
they have not seenthe last of Him. In Matthew chapter 24 and verse 29, Jesus
says, "Immediately after the Tribulation of those days, the sun will be
darkened. The moon will not give its light. The stars will fall from the skyand
the powers of the heaven will be shaken." The skyas we know it will go into
collapse. Itwill become black, blackerthan ever in history. And then, "The
sign of the Sonof Man will appear in the sky." He will light up the sky. "And
all the tribes of the earth will mourn and they will see the Son of Man coming
on the clouds of the sky with powerand greatglory." He's coming with great
glory, massive glory. Notthe humility that He came with, in the humble
stable in Bethlehem.
So when you're talking about the SecondComing, you're talking about
something that must happen. The promise of God demands it. The teaching
of Jesus demands it. The Word of the Spirit demands it. The plan for the
church demands it. The future of Israeldemands it. The corruption of the
world demands it. The vindication and exaltationof Jesus Christ demands it.
And the destruction of Satandemands it. The destruction of Satandemands
it. Genesis 3:15 says that though the enemy will bruise the heel of the
Messiah, the Messiahwill crush his head. He will crush his head. We read in
the 20th chapterof Revelationhow that when the Lord Jesus returns, He ties
Satanup in a greatchain and throws him into a pit with all the demons, after
which he's loosedfor a little seasonand then thrown forever into the eternal
Lake of Fire prepared for the devil and his angels and all others who reject
Christ. The destruction of Satandemands that Jesus come back, that He take
the scroll, as describedin Revelationchapter 5, unroll the scroll, which is the
title deed to the earth. And eachtime one of the seven seals is broken,
judgment will come on the face of the earth. He will mete out that judgment
as He takes back whatis rightfully His from Satan, the usurper.

And finally, the hope of the saints demands it. First Thessalonians 1:10, "We
wait for the coming of the Lord." Titus 2:13, "We are looking for the blessed
hope and glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." You will
dismantle evangelicaldoctrine — you will dismantle the gospel — without a
proper understanding of the consummate significance ofthe SecondComing
of Jesus Christ. Yes, it's wonderful to celebrate the internal kingdom, the
personal, spiritual Kingdom. Yes, it's essentialto have the King dwelling
within you. It's essentialto have the Trinity take up residence in your heart,
to have Christ in you and the Father make His abode there and the Spirit take
up residence. That's essentialto be a part of that spiritual kingdom. But it
does not preclude that final, physical, universal, external kingdom. In the
first one, Christ reigns over an individual life. In the secondone He reigns
over the whole world. Both are critical to the purposes of God.
But in spite of this, and because of it, because it is the way the story ends, and
because it is the truth, it is attacked.
Just like the deity of Jesus is attacked, like the Trinity is attacked, like the
gospelof grace is attacked, like every true doctrine is attacked, this one is
attacked. And as we get closerand closerto the day that it's going to happen,
perhaps the more frequent the attacks become.
Look at 2 Peter, chapter 3 for a moment. This gives you a perspective. And
it's been a long time since we discussedthe SecondComing of the Lord, so it's
goodto fill in the goodand necessarycomponents ofa foundation for a sound,
biblical eschatology. In2 Peter chapter 3 and verse 3, Petersays this, "Know
this, first of all," getthis in your head, don't be surprised, expectit, "it is
certain that in the last days,” the days since Messiah'sfirst coming, in the last
days “mockers willcome with their mocking, following after their ownlusts,”
driven by their own lusts, their ownignorance. And here's what they say,

"Where is the promise of His coming?" Theymock the SecondComing of
Jesus. Theymock His return. They scoffat it. And their argument is the
argument of uniformitarianism, that everything is always the same, nothing
cataclysmic everhappens. Verse 4, "Ever since the fathers fell asleep, all
continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." Nothing ever
changes. This is the theory of uniformitarianism that feeds evolution.
Everything goes along the same pace, nothing ever varies. Nothing ever
changes. Everything is simply going at the same speed all the time. That's
their theory. Their idea is, nothing like this could ever happen because it
never has happened, which is a pretty ridiculous argument. It's like saying, "I
won't die; I never have."
But they're even wrong about their supposed uniformitarianism, for when
they maintain this, verse 5 says, it escapestheir notice conveniently that “by
the Word of God the heavens existedlong ago and the earth was formed out of
waterand by water.” And what he's referring to is creation. Theyforget that
this world as we know it is not a product of continuity, of forces moving at a
uniform rate. This universe, this earth on which we live is the result of a
massive cataclysmcalledcreationin which in six days God createda mature
universe with full-grown adults and full-grown animals and plants, and full-
grown systems, alllife systems in full powerof operation and absolutely
perfect. And He did it in six twenty-four-hour days. That is a cataclysmin
which everything was sped up at an infinite rate by the creative power of God.
Everything is not operating on a uniform time basis.
Further, he says at the end of verse 6...orat the end of verse 5, that the
shaping of this earth as we know it was done as God moved the water and the
earth around. He formed it and shaped it in the greatcreation. First it was all
coveredwith water, then He brought up the continents and put the water
where He wanted the water to go and shaped the earth by moving the water
around. And speaking of water, he goes onin verse 6 to refer to the Flood
through which the world at that time was destroyed, being flooded with water.

All things have not continued the same since the beginning. You have two
greatcataclysms:the cataclysmofcreationin six days, and the cataclysmof
the Floodin which Godliterally reshaped the surface the earth, broke up the
masses ofland and reappointed the water to new places. The watercame
pouring up from underneath the earth, pouring down from the canopy over
the earth and shapedthe earth as we know it today. These were cataclysmic
events.
And just as there have been these cataclysmic events in the past, verse 7, the
present heavens and earth by His word are being reservedfor fire, kept for
the Dayof Judgment, destruction of ungodly men. There's coming a
cataclysmin the future that's going to be, in a sense, the reverse of creation.
It's going to be the uncreation when the entire universe implodes. Verse 8,
"Don't let this one fact escape your notice." What's that? Beloved, with the
Lord, one day is like 1,000 years and 1,000 years is one day.
Somebody is going to say, "WellHe hasn't come and it's been 2,000 years
since Jesus was here. And where is He? He hasn't come. He isn't going to
come. Everything is going to continue the same way it is. We're all going just
to keepgoing along this way." There are even evangelicalChristians who
believe that. There's not going to be any cataclysmic return of Jesus Christto
this earth. It hasn't happened. It won't happen. But you forget, Godis
eternal, and with God one day is 1,000 years and1,000 is one day. And he
says then in verse 9, "The Lord is not slow about His promise." That's not the
issue, as some count slowness. "Butis patient toward you, not wishing for any
to perish but all to come to repentance." The Lord is not going to come until
all have come to repentance. The patience of God is waiting for the
completion of the redeemed. But, verse 10, when it happens “The Dayof the
Lord will come like a thief in which the heavens will pass awaywith a roar,
the elements will be destroyedwith intense heat, the earth and its works will
be burned up." Don't be foolish. Don't join the mockers. It's going to
happen.

And then he poses the important question in verse 11, "Since all these things
are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy
conduct and godliness?" Youbetter be ready, looking for and hastening the
coming of the day of Godon accountof which the heavens will be destroyed
by burning and the elements will melt with intense heat. That's an atomic
explosionwhen God splits all the atoms in this createduniverse and it goes out
of existence.
Yes, there will be a return of Jesus Christ. Yes, He will come. He will come
for His church and gatherus to Himself. Then on earth will come a series of
judgments, precursors to the day of the Lord that comes at the end of that
seven-yearperiod. When Christ returns He will return because Israelhas
come to salvation, along with vastmultitudes across the earth. He will return.
He will judge all the ungodly. And He will then setup His glorious kingdom.
It's really unmistakable. It's not hard to understand, it's hard to
misunderstand. You have to do all kinds of convoluted things to come up with
anything else. Now let's go back to Luke 17.
Is our Lord concernedthat we understand the SecondComing? Absolutely,
as we're going to find out starting here in chapter17, verse 22, all the way
through chapter 21, we're going to be running into His teaching on this great
coming event. He wants us to understand that He is coming. And as I said, in
this particular section, it’s not the sequence, or the chronology, it's the nature
of the event. And in particular here, He focuses onthe judgment aspectof it,
the judgment aspectof it because we needto understand the terror of the
Lord. The disciples to whom He says this, according to verse 22, need to
understand it. The Pharisees who are there listening need to understand it,
that if you're not in the spiritual kingdom, you'll never be in the material
kingdom. If you're not in the internal kingdom, you'll never be in the external
kingdom. They need to understand this is a reality. And, of course, as I told
you lasttime, the Jews were allthinking, "We're alreadyin. When the Lord

comes we're going to be part of the kingdom." And what He's saying to them
is, what you're going to do is experience devastating judgment. You'll never
see the kingdom. If you're not in the spiritual kingdom, you'll never be in the
physical kingdom. If you're not in the personalkingdom, you'll never be in
the universal kingdom. And so, it's really warning that He lays out here,
describing the judgment nature of the kingdom.
Now, lasttime we talkedabout verse 22 and we said there are severalpoints
that I laid out for you. First of all, He wants us to understanding that Jesus'
coming will be desired by believers. So in verse 22, "The days will come when
you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, you will not see it."
You'll desire it, and it's true, we wait for His coming, we long for His coming,
we look for His coming. We say with the apostle John, "Evenso, come Lord
Jesus." We lookedatthat last time.
The secondpoint that I want you to see... And be patient with me because this
is important enough for us to work our way slowly through it. I'm not going
to sermonize this. I just want to unfold the passage foryou. But the second
point is, Jesus'coming will not only be desired by believers, and that we know
to be true, but it will be visible globally. It will be visible globally. Look at
verse 23, "And they will say to you, 'Look here,’ or ‘Look there,’ do not go
away, do not run after them." If somebodycomes along and says, "Jesusis
coming over there. Oh, Jesus is coming over here, or He has come over there,
or He has already come over here,” do not go away. Don'trun after them.
Don't head off at their bidding into those directions. For, verse 24, "Just as
the lightning when it flashes out of one part of the sky shines to the other part
of the sky, so will the Sonof Man be in His day."
Now His first coming was quiet and obscure in Bethlehem in a manger with
no real fanfare. But the secondtime He comes there won't just be a few folks
who know about it. The next time He comes, everybody is going to know

about it because it's going to be visible all over the world. And this is a good
warning because evenbelievers come to the point where we get a little eager
for the coming of the Lord. We get a little susceptible to the deception. I
remember when people running out buying prophecy books that Jesus was
going to come in this generationand it started in 1948 and a generationis
forty years so He's got to be here by 1988 and all kinds of people were
anticipating that. There have been lots of people who have predicted that
He's going to come. There are people who say, Christian people who say, well
He already came, He came in 70 A.D., that's the only coming that He'll ever
have, that was it, and it was a spiritual one. Or there are those Christians who
say He comes wheneversomebody is savedand that's it. You can't see it, the
world can't see it but it's happening spiritually. There are some cults who say
He came at a certain time and did some cleansing work and establisheda false
religion while He was here, strange thing for Him to do. And only the people
who were in the secretknowledgeknow that. There are all kinds of views.
But this simply obliterates all of that. Whenevera false teachersays, "Look
there, look here," don't believe them. Again in chapter21 and verse 8, Jesus
says, "See to it that you be not misled for many will come in My name saying,
'I am He,' and the time is at hand, don't go after them." Don't go after them.
Don't chase every so-calledMessiah, everyso-calleddate. Don't run after
everybody who says, "Iam the Messiah,"orwho says, "The Lord is at hand,
He's coming here, He's coming now." Don't do that.
Again in Matthew 24, the same warning is given by our Lord. It's...starts in
verse...Wellwe'll start it in verse 23, "If anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is
the Christ,' or 'There He is,' don't believe him.” False Christs, false prophets
will arise, show many signs and wonders so as to mislead, if possible, even the
elect. “I've told you in advance, if you...if therefore they say to you, 'Behold
He is in the wilderness,'don't go overthere. Or, 'Behold, He's in the inner
rooms,'don't believe them." Why? "Forjust as the lightning comes from the
eastand flashes to the west, so shall the coming of the Son of Man be."

What's He saying? He's saying it's not going to be anything somebody has to
point out to you; it's going to be obvious. It's like lightning, it's like a
lightning storm and it starts at one end of the sky and flashes across to the
other end of the sky. That's the imagery here. The SecondComing of Christ
is not some secreteventthat happened in the destructionof Jerusalem. It was
not some private thing that occurred to a group of apostles. Itwas...Itis not
something that happens personallyto individual believers. It is a worldwide,
globalevent that is visible. Rejectallother ideas. Rejectall other ideas.
When the King returns to judge and when He returns to setup His kingdom,
no one will need to give us the secretknowledge. Everybodyis going to know.
It's going to be like lightning flashing from one end of the skyto the other end
of the sky, and it's a Greek idiom that means preciselythat.
How visible will it be? Turn to Revelationchapter 1. We already readin
Matthew chapter 24 how visible it's going to be. How could it be mistaken
when just what I read you it tells us there that, verse 29, the sun will be
darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky. The
powers of the heavens will be shaken. Thatought to be clearto everybody.
Nobody could possibly miss the collapse ofthe universe. "And then the sign of
the Sonof Man will appear in the sky."
But look at Revelation1:7. "Behold, He is coming with the clouds and every
eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him” and those who belong to the
company of those who rejectedHim, all unbelievers. “All the tribes of the
earth will mourn overHim.” Even so amen, it is time for His vindication. Let
the unbelievers mourn. Every eye will see Him.
Well there's no question that when Jesus comes, nobodyis going to be
wondering if it happened. Again chapter 19, we lookedatearlier, "Heaven
opens. Out comes a white horse. Sitting on the horth...horse is the One called
Faithful and True." Then He comes. Now remember, the universe is black

and dark. There's no sky, as we know it. There are no stars, no moon, no sun
as we know it. The whole thing rolls up. One blazing, flaming Shekinahlight,
the signof the Son of Man in heaven; He appears. He is distinguishable in this
vision as one whose eyes are a flame of fire. "On His head are many
diadems,” verse 12, “a name written on Him which no one knows except
Himself.” I can't tell you how many people have askedme what that name is.
He's clothed with a robe dipped in blood. His name is called The Word of
God. It's another name. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine
linen, white and clean, following Him on white horses. Outof His mouth
comes a white sword. With it He will smite the nations, rule them with a rod
of iron. Tread the winepress of the fierce wrath of God the Almighty. On His
robe, on His thigh, has a name written: “King of kings and Lord of lords."
There's no question that this is going to be visible globally. It's like lightning.
It goes from one end of the sky to the other. It's unmistakable. Everybody
who can see seesthe lightning. And the lightning expresses suddenness and
unmistakable visibility. Now remember, this is not the rapture. The rapture
is that event where the Lord takes His church to glory, then starts the
judgment, precursors to the day of the Lord, redeems Israeland a massive
multitude, as we learn in the book of Revelation. And when that time is
completed and Israel has come to faith, a fountain of cleansing has been
opened to them, then He comes back to bring the promised kingdom for them
and for all the saints and establishes His kingdom on earth after having
judged the world of ungodly men and women.
There's one other point in Luke 17 that I would just mention to you. And we
will move a little faster, but these were very foundational truths for today. A
third point, His coming will be desired, His coming will be visible, thirdly, His
coming will be delayed. It will be delayed. Verse 25, "But first He must suffer
many things and be rejectedby this generation." FirstHe must suffer many
things and be rejectedby this generation.

It's goodthat He said that. He saidit often. I won't take you through every
time He said it, but just in Luke's gospelHe told them He was going to suffer:
Luke 9; Luke 12;Luke 13. It comes up againin chapter18. And, of course,
look back at it in chapter24. In chapter 24 verses 6 to 8, the womenwho
came and realized what had happened to their Lord, it says, remembered
what He had said. It helped to strengthenthem. He kept telling them, "I'm
going to suffer.” I'm going to suffer. He would have to suffer for sin as a
substitute or there wouldn't be any internal kingdom or external kingdom
because He had to redeem His own who would then inhabit His kingdom.
And so He cannotset up His kingdom until He suffers. And, He says, He must
be rejectedby this nation, this genea, this nation. What nation? Israel. Israel.
The Pharisees,ofcourse, but the nation Israel, they rejectedHim. And as
long as they keeprejecting Him, then He does not come to establishthe
kingdom.
How did He characterize that generation? With greatsadness. Chapter9
verse 41, He said, "Oh unbelieving and perverse generation." Youare an
unbelieving, faithless, perverse nation, speaking ofIsrael. Chapter 11 and
verse 29, "This nation is a wickednation.” Perverse, faithless, wicked.
Chapter 11 verse 50, "The blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation
of the world may be chargedagainstthis nation. From the blood of Abel to
the blood of Zechariah who perished betweenthe altar and the house of God,
I tell you, it will be chargedagainstthis generation." Theymurdered the
prophets. They killed the prophets. They killed their Messiah. Itis a
perverse and faithless and wickedand murderous generation. Chapter7
verses 31 and 32 He said, "You're an obstinate generation." No
matter...You're like children. Somebody wants to play a game with happiness
and you won't play. Somebody wants to play a game of sadness, andyou
won't play. You're just indifferent, apathetic and obstinate. This is the
generationthat rejectedJesus Christ.

When the rejectionof Jesus Christ by Israel ends and Israelis savedand they
will be, all Israelwill be saved. Paul says that in Romans absolutely
unequivocally. Then they will be purged from their sins and the kingdom will
come. Notuntil.
Now we're not waiting for that because the rapture of the church happens
first, then the judgments begin to fall on the earth. And it's during that time
of Tribulation, that seventiethweek of Daniel, that Israelis converted.
There's nothing that needs to happen prophetically before the rapture, and
we're gone. And then all hell at the hands of God breaks out in this world.
But He cannot come until He suffers many things; His death, but also His
rejection, ongoing rejectionby the people to whom the covenantof a kingdom
was first promised. There will be a day when Israelrepents and believes and
are cleansedandreceives that glorious kingdom and we'll come back with
Christ to establishthat kingdom and reign forever with Him.
Our Lord's coming will be desired. It is desired, visible. No one will miss it,
and delayed until God's time is perfect for the salvationof Israel. Next time
we'll look at His coming will be unexpected, OK?
Father, we thank You for the Word and its clarity. It's hard to understand
how people can be confused about what is so clear. Save us from over-
speculating about minutia and details and overanalyzing the things that are
happening around us in our day. Help us to live just in the glory of the
coming of the Lord Jesus, knowing that it will happen just as surely as the
first coming happened and as every other promise in Scripture is true, this
one is as well. And we look for that day, we long for it all to begin. We long
for You to come and take Your church so that we can fellowshipwith You and
that You canbegin the purging and salvationof Israel that leads to the return
of Christ and His exaltation and the establishment of His glorious kingdom.
So we saywith John, "Even so, come Lord Jesus," andmay we who know

these things to be true be the kind of persons we ought to be, believing in
Christ and living as He would have us to live. We thank You in His name.
Amen.
Luke: What You Must Know About the SecondComing
Sermon by J. Ligon Duncan on March13, 2011
Luke 17:22-37
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The Lord’s Day Morning
March 13, 2011
“What
You Must Know About the SecondComing”
Luke 17:22-37
The Reverend
Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III

If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Luke 17 as we
continue to work our way through the gospeltogether. And I want you to note
just a couple of things about this passagebefore we read it together.
The first thing that I want you to notice as you look through it, we’re going
to be looking at verses 22 to 37, is that in some of your Bibles you may not
have a verse 36, or in some of your Bibles verse 36 may be bracketedor in
italics. The reasonthat is, your English translators of your Bible are telling
you that that verse is not found in some manuscripts. Now lest that cause you
some problem, I want to let you know that that verse is found in the gospelof
Matthew, so there’s no question at play as to whether what is said in Luke
17:36
is Biblical or not — it is.
Secondly, I want to set your heart at ease. There is nothing in Luke 17:36
that is not a reiterationof what is said in Luke 17:35. It is utterly
consistentwith it. It is a matter of what text we ought to read. One of the
things that the Lord has done for us is He has given us literally thousands of
manuscripts of the Greek New Testament. More than any book that comes to
us from
the ancientworld by magnitudes, by orders of magnitude. And one of the
things

that comes along with having those thousands of manuscripts is sometimes
there
are small variations within those manuscripts and scholars ofthe Greek New
Testamenthave to wrestle with — What is the best manuscript reading? In
this
case, it ends up not mattering because the entire verse is found in another
gospelin the original manuscript. But I want you to know that and I don’t
want
you to be unsettled by that. And if you have any questions about that, I’d be
delighted to talk to you about the service today. I’m sure Derek would as well
or any other of our ministers.
The secondthing I want you to see though, before we read the passage, is the
context. If you’ll remember, go aheadand peek back to verses 20 and 21
because
it’s been over two weeks now. Before the Missions Conference,we were
looking at
John 17:20-21 and we parked on those verses thinking togetherabout “What
is the
kingdom of God?” because that’s a major theme in Jesus’teaching, it’s a
major
theme in the gospels, it’s an important Biblical theme to understand. And so
we
parked on that theme and contemplated it together. But notice what
prompted that

discussion, especiallyverse 20. The PhariseesquestionedHim, what? “When
the
kingdom of God was coming” — so they were asking Him questions about the
timing
of the coming of God’s kingdom and they were apparently questioning Him
about
signs of the timing of the coming of God’s kingdom because Jesusimmediately
answers them and addresses the question of signs. So they’re interested about
the timing of the coming and the signs of the coming.
Now in this passage, Jesus turns to His disciples. He’s answeredthe
Pharisees,but now He turns to His disciples and He zeros in on them and He
says, “Now look, there are some things that are very important for you to
understand about the secondcoming.” So the words He’s addressing now are
not
primarily in response to the Pharisees, rebuking them for their unbelief, but
He’s telling His disciples what they need to know about the secondcoming.
And
because we are disciples of Him through His disciples, we need to know what
they
needed to know about the secondcoming.
And there are three things in particular that I want us to look at today. I
want to tell you what they are ahead of time so that you can’t miss them. And
the first one is this — Jesus wants His disciples then, and us now, to

understand that His coming will be unmistakable. And I’ll explain to you why
that’s important. Secondly, He wants us to understand that we will not be
ready for the secondcoming unless we understand His cross. We will not be
ready for the secondcoming unless we understand His cross. His first coming
precedes His secondcoming, and the work that He came to do in His first
coming
is absolutely essentialto the secondcoming being goodnews for us.
And third, I think you’ll see here that Jesus is telling us that we are
not ready for the secondcoming unless He is more important to us than the
world
is. If this world is more important to us than Jesus, we’re not ready for
the secondcoming. This passagesays a lot of things, but those three things in
particular I want us to zero in on.
Now again, before we read God’s Word, let me give you just one more word of
introduction to this because I really want you to be into the flow of argument
in this passageand a goodNew Testamentcommentatorsays this in a very
brief
paragraph about the passagewe’re aboutto read.
“Jesus’answerto the Pharisees’ questionis followedimmediately by a long
discourse addressedto the disciples. Don’t forgetthat — this is for disciples

that Jesus is saying this. They too are concernedabout what is to happen in
the
future. So His own disciples have questions about when the secondcoming is
going to happen and what the signs are going to be. A time will come when
they
will long to see some visible evidence of the coming of the Son of Man but
there
will be nothing to see. It is true that people will spreadrumors of the coming
of the eschatologicalevent — the coming of Christ — but the disciples must
not
be misled by them, for when the Son of Man appears, there will be no
mistaking
His appearance in glory, a glory that contrasts with His earliersuffering and
rejectionby this present generation. This same generationwill give itself up
to worldly, Godless living as in the days of Noah and Lot. It will pay no
attention to the Gospel, and consequently, the day of the Son of Man will take
it by surprise with all its sudden judgment and destruction. If that day brings
the redemption of God’s people, it also brings the judgment of the ungodly.
Therefore, let the disciples not be attractedby worldly desires which may
divert them from being instantly ready for the Son of Man. Even Lot’s wife,
though rescuedfrom Sodomand Gomorrah, fell under the same judgment.
Only those
who are prepared to lose their lives will survive the judgment which will come
and separate betweenmen. It is as senseless to ask for a map of what will
happen as it is to ask for a timetable. Just as the locationof a corpse in the

wilderness is obvious from the crowd of circling vultures, so the Son of Man
will appearfor judgment in an unmistakable manner and there will be no
need to
ask where He is.”1
Now that’s his summarization of the passagethatwe’re about to read. And I
read that only to help you prepare to hear the reading of God’s Word. And
the
most important thing we can do for that is pray, so let’s pray together.
Lord, this is Your Word. Every word of it proceeds from the mouth of God,
and
in this passage, everyword comes from the lips of our Lord Jesus. So when
the
world says that any teaching in this passageis repugnant to it, grant that the
heart of every believer would say, “But these words are the words of my Lord.
These are the words of the One who bled and died for me. I believe them; I
embrace them.” Grant that that would be our heart. But Lord, if there are
those
here who have not embraced the Savior, who stand off from Him, who
question Him,
who do not believe Him, by Your Spirit today, convince them of who He is and
grant that they would believe. And edify us all in the reading and hearing of
Your Word. We ask it in Jesus’name. Amen.

This is the Word of God. Hear it:
“And He said to the disciples, ‘The days are coming when you will desire to
see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will
say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For
as
the lightning flashes and lights up the skyfrom one side to the other, so will
the Sonof Man be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be
rejectedby this generation. Justas it was in the days of Noah, so will it be
in the days of the Sonof Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying
and
being given in marriage, until the day when Noahentered the ark, and the
flood
came and destroyedthem all. Likewise, justas it was in the days of Lot —
they
were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on
the
day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and
destroyedthem all — so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house,
not come down to take them away, and likewise letthe one who is in the field
not turn back. RememberLot’s wife. Whoeverseeks to preserve his life will
lose
it, but whoeverloses his life will keepit. I tell you, in that night there
will be two in one bed. One will be takenand the other left. There will be two

women grinding together. One will be takenand the other left.’ And they said
to
Him, ‘Where, Lord?’ He said to them, ‘Where the corpse is, there the vultures
will gather.’”
Amen, and thus ends this reading of God’s holy, inspired, and inerrant Word.
May He write its eternal truth upon all our hearts.
The Pharisees hadaskedJesus aboutthe timing of the coming of the kingdom.
They wanted to know when it was coming and they wanted to know what He
thought
the signs were that they ought to look for. Having responded to the Pharisees,
Jesus now turns His attention to His disciples and He says, “I don’t want you
to
be focusedand fixed on the things that they are focusedand fixated on. When
you think about the coming of the kingdom, when you think about My second
coming, I want you to be thinking about different things. I want your
preoccupationto be in a different place. I want your hearts to be concerned
with deeper, more soul-affirming and refreshing things than the Phariseesare
lockedin on.” So what are the things that we ought to be thinking about? How
should we think about the ultimate coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and the
coming of His kingdom? Well, Jesus points us to three things in this passage
and
I want to look at those with you very briefly today.

First, He points to the fact that the coming of the kingdom will be
unmistakable. Second, even while talking about the coming of the kingdom in
the
future, He points His disciples to the cross and to His present suffering. And
He says to them, “They won’t understand the coming kingdom unless they
understand the significance ofHis present suffering.” And third and finally,
He
points them to living a life in which the kingdom and the Savior is more
valuable to us than this world and worldly possessions andworldly prestige
and
worldly comforts and temporal blessing. Let’s look at those three things
together.
The first thing that I want you to see that Jesus saidabout His second
coming is — you will not be able to miss it. You will not be able to miss it.
You know, over and overand over through Christian history, and especially
for
some reasonin the lasttwo centuries, there have been people who have
denominated themselves as prophecy experts, who spend their lives informing
the
people of God about the precise nature of the timing of Jesus’return and the
events of the end times and what to watch for. And from time to time, even
though Jesus saidno one knows when He will come, they will even predict its

date. Someone onthe way out of the sanctuary this morning handed me a
tract
that she had receivedat Kroger this week, announcing that May 21, 2011 will
be
the day when Jesus returns again. The man who is making that prediction, by
the
way, has predicted three other times the return of Jesus Christ, beginning
back
in 1984. LastI checked…he’s missed.
So why all this preoccupationwith the timing of Jesus’return? It’s just
like the Pharisees. It’s just like the Pharisees.And Jesus says here, “Look,
you should not be preoccupiedwith signs because no one will miss when I
come.
It will be the most public event in the history of the world.” You all remember
last Tuesdaynight when the big thunder and lightning storms were rumbling
over
our city? Sometime at “o-dark-thirty,” Sarah Kennedy ended up in our
bedroom
because the whole house was shaking. And Jesus is saying, “When I come, it
will
be like that for the entire world, and every man, woman, and child will know
that I have returned. There will not be need for a newscasterto get on and
say,
‘Reports are that a secondcoming may be occurring.’ Everybody will know.”

That’s the whole point of what He says. Look at His words here, for instance
in
verse 24. “As the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the
other, so will the Son of Man be in His day.” You will not be able to miss it.
Just like when the lightning flashedon Tuesdaynight, it was as bright as day
for the seconds that those lightning bolts lit up the sky. And then the other
two illustrations that He gives of Noah and the flood. No newscasterhad to
say,
“It’s raining,” when Noah’s flood came. No newscasterin Sodom and
Gomorrah had
to say, “It’s raining fire and brimstone.” Everybody knew.
And Jesus ends the passageby saying — when the disciples say, “Where,
Lord?
Where will we look for you?” He says, “You know when you’re in the desert
and
you see the vultures circling? You know where the corpse is.” Jesus is just
saying in multiple different ways this is unmistakable. He’s saying that, “My
secondcoming is unmistakable so do not believe anyone who comes and
claims to
be Me because you won’t be able to mistake it when I come. You won’t need
somebody to tell you, ‘I think that the Messiahmight be here,’ or ‘I’m the
Messiah!’because you will all know when the Messiahhas come.” And yet
what

have we seenover and over through the years? We’ve seenpeople say,
“Here’s my
evidence that He’s come,” or“I’m Him. Follow me to Jonestown.”And Jesus
is
saying, “Don’t believe anyone who comes and claims to be Me because it will
not
be possible for anyone in the entire world to mistake My return. Everybody
will
know it. And therefore disciples, don’t get hung up about signs. That’s not
what
you need to be hung up about.” Instead, Jesus points His disciples to two
things
that He does want us to lock in on.
JOHN GILL
Verse 24

appearance with power, and greatglory: Thus we readF6 for Solomon, ‫,ותעשב‬
"in his hour", that is, in his glory, in the time of his kingdom, when he was in
his greatestmagnificence.
ROB SALVATO
"Foras the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the
other part under heaven, so also the Sonof Man will be in His day.
In other words Jesus is saying when I come back it is not going to be
something of an esoteric mystery – it is going to be obvious
it is going to be like Lightning that lights up the sky – All are going to see
Have you ever been in a Lightning storm? When we were moving here
driving back from Oregon– Siskue Mts – before Shasta – Radicalstorm
The Lightning was loud & Bright – Lit up the Sky – felt it was going to hit the
Car .
That is what Jesus is saying – When I come again– you will Know it will be
obvious . / not going to be some secretive thing

J. C. RYLE
We are taught, secondly, in this passage — that the secondcoming of Jesus
Christ will be a very sudden event. Our Lord describes this by a striking
figure. He says, "Foras the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one
end to the other — so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes."
The personalsecondcoming of Christ, is the real fulfillment of these words.
Of the precise day and hour of that coming — we know nothing. But
wheneverit may take place, one thing at leastis clear — it will come suddenly,
instantaneously, and without previous notice. The whole tenor of Scripture
points this way. "The Son of Man will come when leastexpected." He shall
come "as a thief in the night." (Matthew 24:44; 1 Thessalonians 5:2.)
This suddenness of Christ's secondcoming, is a solemn thought. It ought to
make us study a continual preparedness of mind. Our hearts'desire and
endeavor— should be to be always ready to meet our Lord. Our life's aim —
should be to do nothing, and say nothing, which could make us ashamed if
Christ were suddenly to appear. "Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief!
Blessedare all who are watching for Me." (Revelation16:15.)
Those who denounce the doctrine of the secondcoming as speculative,
fanciful, and unpractical — would do well to reconsiderthe subject. The
doctrine was not so regardedin the days of the apostles. In their eyes —
patience, hope, diligence, moderation, and personalholiness — were
inseparably connectedwith an expectationof the Lord's return. Happy is the
Christian who has learned to think with them! To be ever looking for the
Lord's appearing — is one of the best helps to a close walk with God.

Home » GospelReading » Gospelfor Today
The Days of the Sonof Man – Reflectionon Luke 17:24
2020-05-30
The Days of the Sonof Man – Reflectionon Luke 17:24
Today’s Gospel
For as the lightning, that lightens out of the one part under heaven, shines to
the other part under heaven; so shall also the Sonof man be in His day. –
Luke 17:24
Reflection
This verse shows us that the Lord will return in the last days as the Son of
man, just like lightning. Here lightning refers to the greatlight and the true
light, and also refers to the words of God. That is to say, the utterances of the
returned Lord of the last days come forth just like flashing lightning. That
indicates that the work God does when He comes againwill be done very
quickly. We all know that in the Age of Grace, the Lord Jesus did the work of
sowing. In the last days, when He comes again, He will do the work of reaping,
that is, the work of ending the age, which canbe finished within a short time
instead of lasting two thousand years like the work of sowing in the Age of
Grace. So it is calledflashing lightning. Thus, we should be cautious. In the
last days when God is about to end the age, if we want to welcome the second
coming of the Lord and be raptured into the heavenly kingdom, the key is to
seek the utterances of the returned Jesus, that is, the words of the Holy Spirit
to the churches. Only then canwe follow God’s footsteps and return to God.
https://www.testifygod.org/reflection-on-luke-17-24%c2%a0.html

Jesus was seeing a day when he would light up the sky

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