“And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. 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.” ~ Luke 17:22-24
Jesus taught His disciples about the coming of the kingdom. He warned them not to dwell so much on His return that they ended up doing nothing else. This is a good warning to all of us. We should look for His return and long to see Him come, but at the same time, we should be busy doing His work for His Kingdom when He comes.
His coming will affect the whole world, so it is foolish for anyone to follow false prophets who say, “He is here!” or “He is there!” Satan knows how to take advantage of our longings and we must be on guard so as not to allow him to deceive us. In this passage Jesus tells His disciples and each of us flat out – don’t follow these kinds of enticing invitations. It is His clear warning! Do not follow!
Jesus’ coming will be as sudden as a flash of lightning. While a study of scripture helps us understand the general characteristics of the time of His coming, it will also teach us that we cannot know the day or the hour. If the Bible tells us we cannot know it is futile to even try to figure it out.
Lord, Help me tonight to be an obedient disciple – ready for Your return and showing that by being about Your business. Open the doors that You would have me to work in and close the doors of distraction. Help me to joyfully get busy building Your Church sharing the Gospel and teaching all things You have commanded. Help me to love as You love…one soul at a time. In Jesus Name! Amen!
“When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” ~ Acts 1:6-11
“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” ~ Matthew 24:27
“And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” ~ Matthew 24: 30
“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” ~ Matthew 25:13
“Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.” ~ Luke 12:40
a lamp and a light 