When Christ Returns — E.A. Johnston

Christ’s Return and the Church’s Spiritual Dullness

I believe, friends, that we are living in the last days before Christ's return. Society grows more evil as the church seems powerless to do anything about it. It's as if a gray fog has descended upon us and encompasses us, and we can't find our way out as we trip over our own feet.

The church and society stumble along together while one drags the other lower and lower. The Gospel of Luke, in chapter 17, can speak to us today about Christ's return. Jesus is speaking here about the day when the Son of Man is revealed, and he likens it to two other ages that form a crossroad as a sign of his imminent return.

The Days of Noah and the Coming Judgment

Let's begin this chapter by reading verse 26. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of Man. We must ask ourselves, what does the Bible have to say about the days of Noah?

Well, let's look at Genesis 6 .11. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. Is this not the time in which we live, friends? Blood fills the streets through violence in the land.

Jesus said his return would be at a time when the earth was like the days of Noah, a time of violence. Now, look at verse 28. Likewise also, as it was in the days of Lot, we must ask ourselves, what does the Bible have to say about the days of Lot?

Sodom, Lot, and Sexual Perversion

Well, in Genesis 19, and in verses 4 and 5, it reads,. But before they laid down the men of the city, even the man of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter.

And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? Bring them out unto us, that we may know them. This describes a day where the entire populace of a city was overrun with homosexuals who demanded sex with men as they gathered in a large mob.

Go visit any pride parade, and you will soon see things that would make Sodom blush. The days of Lot were a day of sexual perversion. Is this not the world climate today, where just about every world government has legalized sodomy and promotes it?

The Moral Crossroads of the Present Age

I never thought I'd live to see such a day as the one in which we live, friends. There is a crossroad here in our text in Luke that has two ages meeting at an intersection of historical proportions. We are living in the days of Noah and the days of Lot, and this is what Jesus has to say about it in verse 30.

Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. When Christ returns, it will be a day of violence and sexual perversion in the land. Is this not our day in which we live? What are we doing about it?

Spiritual Vigilance for Christ’s Return

I fear the gray fog that has engulfed us has dulled our senses and robbed us of our vision, as we're focused as fast on the things of this world when we as believers should be looking up toward the sky with our hand cupped to our ear to hear the trumpet blast announcing His return.

A Call to Prayer

Let us pray.