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THE RETURN OF
THE KING
Luke 17:20-18:8
Where’s the
Kingdom?
Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the
kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The
kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will
they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the
kingdom of God is in your midst."
The Return of the King.
And He said to the disciples, "The days will come when you will
long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not
see it. They will say to you, 'Look there! Look here!' Do not go
away, and do not run after them. For just 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. But first
He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.
And just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it will be also
in the days of the Son of Man: they were eating, they were
drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage,
until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and
destroyed them all. It was the same as happened in the days of
Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying,
they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but
on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and
brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just
the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed. On that
day, the one who is on the housetop and whose goods are in the
house must not go down to take them out; and likewise the one
who is in the field must not turn back. Remember Lot's wife.
Whoever seeks to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses
his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night there will
be two in one bed; one will be taken and the other will be left.
There will be two women grinding at the same place; one will be
taken and the other will be left. Two men will be in the field;
one will be taken and the other will be left." And answering
they said to Him, "Where, Lord?" And He said to them, "Where the
body is, there also the vultures will be gathered."
Staying Strong Until the King Returns.
Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they
ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying, "In a certain city
there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man.
There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him,
saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' For a while
he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though
I do not fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow
bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by
continually coming she will wear me out.' " And the Lord said,
"Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring
about justice for His elect who cry to Him day and night, and
will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring
about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man
comes, will He find faith on the earth?" |
