Luke Series #77 August 25, 2002
Title: The Kingdom of God for Dummies Part 2
Email: pastorsarver@yahoo.com
Website: www.newlifeinchrist.info
Introduction: Welcome to New Life in Christ. This morning we are in Chapter 17 of the Book of Luke in our verse-by-verse teaching series out of that book.
Read Luke 17:20-37
Opening Prayer
The title of today’s message is: The Kingdom of God for Dummies. A took the title from the popular line of dummies books, which take a complicated subject, and sticking to the basics, explain it in easy to understand terms. This is what I am trying to do regarding the Kingdom of God teachings found in these verses. Last week I covered verses 20-25. These verses convey two important things or characteristics concerning the Kingdom of God.
1. The Kingdom of God is present today. (Expound briefly.)
2. The full manifestation of the Kingdom of God will be obvious to everyone.
These verses deal with the return of Jesus the King, which is connected to the establishment of the Kingdom of God. The two events are simultaneous and closely connected.
Last week I also shared with you a simple definition of what the Kingdom of God is, which was: The Kingdom of God is the manifestation of God’s authority, power, and purposes, whether in a person or place.
Before I move on to teaching these other verses, I want you to understand that Jesus is not teaching the chronology or timing of events regarding the end times in this passage, rather he is teaching about the nature of the second coming and the Kingdom of God. With that said, let’s look at verses 26-30, which convey another important characteristic concerning the Kingdom of God.
Read Luke 17:26-30
3. The full manifestation of the Kingdom of God will be preceded by a terrible judgment, which comes suddenly and unexpectedly.
The Kingdom of God itself will be wonderful! Where God rules there will be no more suffering, sin, Satan, death, tears, etc… In essence, it will be a paradise, where Jesus himself rules, but before this happens, there’ll be a terrible judgment. Jesus doesn’t describe the details of that judgment in this passage, but you can read about in the Book of Revelation and other parts of the Bible. There’ll be death, war, disease, and "natural disasters" experienced on a scale that has been unknown to this day. This time period is not just fate, but it is the judgment of God upon the world, in the same way as he judged the world in Noah’s day and the city of Sodom and Lot’s day.
3. The full manifestation of the Kingdom of God will be preceded by a terrible judgment, which comes suddenly and unexpectedly.
Jesus emphasis in this passage is on the suddenness and unexpectedness of this judgment. He says it will be just like it was in the days of Noah and Lot where people were "eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage" till the judgment suddenly came. In other words, life will go on as usual until suddenly and unexpectedly judgment comes.
Read 1 Thessalonians 5:1, 2
This theme of sudden, unexpected judgment is important because people tend to expect some prior warnings, some gradual change indicating the end is near. The final judgment that precedes the full manifestation of the Kingdom of God will not happen like the warning light in your car which indicates low fuel. It will not be like the weather man telling us to expect a tropical storm or hurricane in the next 48 hours. The final judgment will come suddenly and unexpectedly like an earthquake.
Life will be going on as usual, when suddenly and unexpectedly the whole world will change! The passage does not indicate that this sudden judgment only last for day. It will be like the "days" (plural) of Noah and Lot, when judgment came violently and suddenly, but also lasted for some time. In my opinion, the Bible clearly says that there will be seven years of terrible judgment before the full manifestation of the Kingdom of God at Jesus Second Coming. This will be a time that could accurately be described as Hell on Earth.
3. The full manifestation of the Kingdom of God will be preceded by a terrible judgment, which comes suddenly and unexpectedly.
It could happen anytime. It may begin on the very day you get a raise or promotion. It may occur as you are shopping for groceries, watching a football game, or mowing the lawn. It may occur before this service is over!
People will foolishly mistake the continuance of life as normal before the judgment as indicative of no judgment to come. Some will disbelieve, others will ignore, and some will even laugh at the idea of a sudden, unexpected, and cataclysmic judgment. The Bible warns us about just such an attitude.
Read 2 Peter 3:3-10
3. The full manifestation of the Kingdom of God will be preceded by a terrible judgment, which comes suddenly and unexpectedly.
There is an old joke that fits well here. A guy calls his insurance agent and says, "Can I get some fire insurance?" The agent says, "I’ll have to inspect your house first." The man replies, "Well, then, you better hurry, because it is in flames right now!" Obviously you can’t wait until the house on fire to buy insurance and the same thing is true regard to the return of Jesus Christ. You can wait until judgment suddenly and unexpectedly comes to try and get right with God. The point Jesus is making in these verses is that we need to be prepared today! We need to be ready for this terrible judgment by being right with God through Jesus Christ. Those who are in a right relationship with God by genuine faith in Jesus do not have to worry about this terrible judgment. Why not? Because they will not be here for the judgment, as is indicated in the text. This leads us to the fourth characteristic or thing that I wish to share with you concerning the Kingdom of God.
4. God’s people will be taken to heaven before the terrible judgment of God is manifest.
This event is referred to as the rapture. This is when Jesus comes, not to set up his Kingdom, but to supernaturally take his people from this world immediately before the terrible judgment begins. One Scripture that refers to this glorious event is found in 1 Thessalonians.
Read 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18
4. God’s people will be taken to heaven before the terrible judgment of God is manifest.
Now I want to go back to our passage in Luke and show you how the Lord Jesus taught us this principle in the passage we are studying today. I want you to notice verses 27 and 29, which clearly indicate that life continued as usual and judgment did not start until God’s people were out of danger. Jesus makes a point of noting that the very day God’s people were taken to safety, was the day that judgment began.
This point is only strengthened when you look at the stories of Noah and Lot in Genesis and realize that in both cases the Scriptures indicate that judgment did not and could not begin until God’s people were safe. In Noah’s case, not one drop of the flood rains fell, until Noah was sealed inside the ark. In Lot’s case, the judging angels specifically told Lot that they could not judge Sodom until he was safely out of the city (Genesis 19:21). Of course the final judgment is against the whole world, so we are not taken out of a particular city but out of the world itself.
4. God’s people will be taken to heaven before the terrible judgment of God is manifest.
Jesus makes another reference to this fact in verses 34 and 35.
Read Luke 17:34, 35
When Jesus refers to people being "taken", he is referring to people being taken to protection in heaven, in the same way that Noah was taken into the ark, and Lot was taken out of the city for protection from God’s wrath. Jesus is referring to his people being taken into the Kingdom of God before the judgment begins. Those who are "left", are those who are left behind for judgment.
In these verses, Jesus notes that no matter how close two people are, figuratively or literally, they may be separated at the rapture in the beginning of the judgment. Two people may sleep in the same bed, one will be taken and one left behind. Two people may work together as friends, like the women grinding grain, but only one escapes judgment. It is very clear that when the Rapture occurs, some husbands and wives will be separated, some brothers and sisters will be separated, some parents and children will be separated and some friends will be separated. Some will be taken to be in glory with Jesus Christ, but others will be left behind to face a terrible judgment. The message for us is to be prepared and not be left behind.
Last week and this week I’ve so far shared four characteristics concerning the Kingdom of God.
1. The Kingdom of God is present today.
2. The full manifestation of the Kingdom of God will be obvious to everyone.
3. The full manifestation of the Kingdom of God will be preceded by a terrible judgment, which comes suddenly and unexpectedly.
4. God’s people will be taken to heaven before the terrible judgment of God is manifest.
Now let’s look at a fifth thing related to the return of Jesus and the Kingdom of God.
Read Luke 17:31-33
5. In view of the coming Kingdom of God, keep your priorities straight.
Everything Jesus taught was not meant to be taken with absolute literalness. Everything he said was true, but sometimes he used figurative language to express spiritual truths. I believe that this is the case in these verses. Jesus is not saying that we will have time to go back in the house and grab our Rolex, or my case Timex, when he returns.
Jesus is using figurative language to describe what our priorities should be in order to be ready for his sudden return and the full manifestation of the Kingdom of God. The picture here was of an invading army which could be seen from one’s rooftop or in the fields. In New Testament times every person knew that such a situation demanded swift action and correct priorities. If one tried to save their material goods, they would lose their lives. In drastic situations such as an invading army, they needed to have their priorities straight and be focused on escaping.
In a similar sense, in view of the coming judgment, return of Jesus, and the full manifestation of the Kingdom of God, we need to have of our priorities straight, not looking or focusing on the things of this world (possessions, pleasures, position,) but rather looking ahead to Jesus’ return. In the Gospel of Luke’s other major passage on the return of Jesus a similar warning is given.
Read Luke 21:34-36
5. In view of the coming Kingdom of God, keep your priorities straight.
In verse 32, Jesus clarifies his previous phrase by saying, "Remember Lot’s wife." Lot’s wife, you may recall, did not escape the judgment upon Sodom because she looked back, i.e. her focus was on the things of the world, instead on escaping to safety.
There is great danger in worldly preoccupation! Jesus warns of that danger in verse 33 where he says, "Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it." In other words, the person who tries to hold on to a worldly life, which is focus on things like possessions, pleasures, position, will lose their life in the judgment to come, but the one who "loses his life", i.e. doesn’t focus on or pursue worldly things, will preserve his life, i.e. be safe from the judgment to come. The main point Jesus is making here is this. . .
5. In view of the coming Kingdom of God, keep your priorities straight.
In the same way that a child focused on a ball the rolls into the street is in danger of being hit by car, so people distracted by the things of this world as their priorities are in danger of the judgment that precedes the full manifestation of the Kingdom of God.
Now let’s look at verse 37 before I close. What is the world does this verse mean? To be perfectly honest with you, I’m not quite sure. There are many possibilities, and I wouldn’t be dogmatic about any one of them. In my opinion there are two strong possibilities as to what this verse means. One possibility is that the disciples were asking Jesus where he would return and Jesus answer is they don’t need to worry about that because his presence will be obvious in the same way as the presence of vultures indicates the dead animal. Another possibility is that the disciples were asking where the judgment that Jesus had referred too would take place. If this is the case, then Jesus answer means that wherever there are spiritually dead, judgment will come. In any case, the primary points of Luke 17:20-37 are clear.
1. The Kingdom of God is present today.
2. The full manifestation of the Kingdom of God will be obvious to everyone.
3. The full manifestation of the Kingdom of God will be preceded by a terrible judgment, which comes suddenly and unexpectedly.
4. God’s people will be taken to heaven before the terrible judgment of God is manifest.
5. In view of the coming Kingdom of God, keep your priorities straight.
Closing Prayer
