Waters of Life

Biblical Studies in Multiple Languages

Search in "English":

Home -- English -- Luke -- 100 (Statements About the Coming of the Kingdom of God and the Second Coming of Christ )

This page in: -- Arabic -- ENGLISH -- Indonesian -- Russian

Previous Lesson -- Next Lesson

LUKE - Christ, the Savior of the World
A Bible Study Course on the Gospel of Christ according to Luke

PART 4 - JESUS' MINISTRY DURING HIS JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM (Luke 9:51 - 19:27)

26. Statements About the Coming of the Kingdom of God and the Second Coming of Christ (Luke 17:20-37)


LUKE 17:26-30
26 “And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 
30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.”

How will the world appear at Christ’s coming? Will the kingdom of God have changed the hearts of men? No, on the contrary, multitudes will be living without God, neglectful and concerned about themselves, except some watchful and attentive individuals who will expect the coming of their Lord impatiently.

Is it a sin to eat, drink, and make love? No! Is it wrong to buy, sell, plant, and build? Absolutely not. But the people who are preoccupied with these things are in fact sinners, for they do not think of God, but prove to be slaves of their selfishness, thinking only of themselves, and not of the everlasting Creator. Wickedness prevailed exceedingly in the days of Noah and Lot, until God sent flood and rains of fire and destroyed these corrupt men. As was then, so it is today, with multitudes in the world leading wicked and impure lives. They belittle their crimes and impurities, not having known God in their hearts, or worshiped him with respect and commitment. Thus they lost reverence for God, and fell into a delusion of freedom. They are senseless, becoming increasingly corrupt.

Jesus has described the time shortly before his coming, and likened it to the days of Noah and Lot. Therefore we have to expect people at the end of the world to be overcrowded in large cities, living with all kinds and forms of indifference, prostitution, and licentiousness, as already seen today.

It is to be mentioned that Noah and Lot were saved in the last day, at the last moment, when Noah entered into the ark with his family, and Lot, guided by the angel, fled from Sodom into the wilderness. Even so will we expect to be caught up to meet Christ a few moments before his coming, in salvation and deliverance of the faithful, and in manifestation of divine life residing in them.


LUKE 17:31-33
31 “In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.”

Are you prepared for the coming of Christ? In this corrupt world, believers who overcame their worldly desires by the Holy Spirit, work, build, and plant as others, but are waiting for their Lord at any moment. Marriage and work are not wrong, but he who marries and works without Christ is a reprobate sinner. The Lord must be first and last in our life. He is our aim and hope. This truth will appear openly at his coming, for his own will come to him joyfully, while unjust unbelievers will seek protection from his shining light, but will not find it. Some of them will try at the last moment to save their relatives and get their valuables, not knowing what may occur after the coming of Christ. This is why Christ commands us to observe the maxim: Leave everything and meet God. Do not turn back like Lot’s wife, who longed for her people and past pleasures, and became frozen in her yearning for earthly material things. Forget everything and come to your Lord. At that moment, will you keep yourself out of sight until you have quickly prepared yourself more properly to meet Christ, and then waste away in the fiery storm of condemnation? Or will you rise in faith and feel assured in the fire, as the three courageous men walked in the fiery furnace in Iraq, at the time of Nebuchadnezzar? As such you will live trusting in Christ’s blood and Holy Spirit, for God’s life in us is not woven of gold, material, and flesh, but with the Spirit, life, and light. So abide in Christ and he in you, then you will deny yourself, and remain from now on with your Lord, who is coming again to this world.


LUKE 17:34-37
34 “I tell you, in that night there will be two men in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.” 37 And they answered and said to Him, “Where, Lord?” So He said to them, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.”

The coming of Christ means a clear separation between the world and the hidden kingdom of God. Today you cannot exactly determine who is on God’s side, and who is on the side of Satan. But at Christ’s coming, there will be two men sleeping in one room in the middle of the night; one of them will be awakened by the shining light of Christ, rise and go to his Lord joyfully. The other will be burnt in the rays of God’s condemnation. Two women will be grinding at the mill and conversing together in the middle of the day; one of them will rise with cries of joy, and go to her Lord quickly, having expected him everyday. The other is left, wishing she could cease to exist, for her faults have appeared openly in the light of God.

Do you hide a certain sin? Are you bound to a bad habit? Ask Christ to purify, sanctify and redeem you, for now is the time of preparation. Do not think that the coming of Christ will give an opportunity for quick purification, for your true nature will suddenly be apparent, and you will be either light or darkness.

Eagles live in the wilderness. They discover and scent prey from afar, and come prematurely if they sense that a sick animal is about to die, or a thirsty man is about to give up the ghost. Similarly, eagles hovering about your head are a token of the imminent end. In his Spirit Christ saw eagles hovering about his nation, and he warned them, particularly his disciples, of the coming hour of judgment. Today also Christ sees men’s dissolution, corruption, hatred, and envy. Shortly before the coming of Christ the birth-pangs of judgment and hopeless darkness will increase, as a sign to the saints that the Lord is near, and that their heavenly happiness is drawing near to them.

Dear brother, save yourself today. Come to Christ that you may be untroubled by the pains of judgment. Accept his life that you may not die but have his power in you. Christ in you is the hope of glory.

PRAYER: O Lord, we thank you for your love and salvation, and rejoice even now at your imminent, glorious coming. Sin is accumulating in our world like a high mountain, and the atmosphere is poisoned with lies that are sear our minds, but your Holy Spirit is centered in us, and your power prompts us to do works of love. Strengthen our hope that we may be ready for your coming.

QUESTION 109: How did Christ prepare his disciples for his coming?

www.Waters-of-Life.net

Page last modified on March 22, 2017, at 11:12 AM | powered by PmWiki (pmwiki-2.3.3)