The Eschatological Kingdom Luke 17:20-37

Good morning. Isn't it a gorgeous day out there? Thank you, Lord. Welcome to Faith Bible Church this morning. And I'd like you to turn your bulletin to the announcements if you have it. Missionary of the Month, Darcy Bergland.

She serves with Ethnos 360 in Indonesia as a Bible translator. And there's been some great celebration with translation being put out and they're working on finalizing even more. On Wednesday, this Wednesday at 5 .30 is Bible study.

We're going through a.

Book,.

Praying with Paul,.

And.

There's a lot. It goes to scripture and there's a lot there learning how to pray like Paul did. The next leadership board meeting is on Wednesday, May 8th at 6 o 'clock. Men's breakfast on the first Saturday of May.

This coming Saturday, men's breakfast at 9 o 'clock. Okay, here in the fellowship hall. Let's pray. Dear Father, again, thank you so much for this beautiful day and the opportunity to gather together in your name and worship you and learn from your word.

And we give you this time in Jesus name.

Amen.

Our first song is entitled. He will hold me fast. And this is a song that actually was written in 1906. The words and and the thoughts behind it and then it was picked up again just a handful of years ago and put to a different tune.

But the words are original and in part, it's it's like to read John chapter 10 starts at verse 27. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.

Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand. I and my father are one. Isn't that assuring assurance knowing that the God of the universe has it in his hand if we put our faith and trust in him and there's no better place than to be there.

So if you would all please let's stand together as we sing. He will hold me fast.

Let's turn in our in the Lord's Word to 1st Thessalonians 3 chapter 3 verses 11 through 13. 1st Thessalonians 3 verses 11 through 13 is a prayer for the church. Now many are God and father himself and and our Lord Jesus Christ direct our way to you and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all just as we do to you so that he may establish your hearts blameless and holiness before our God and father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.

May the Lord add his blessing to the reading of his word.

Let's stand with me again as we're about to sing one day. This is a song again. Some of the ones that were written a hundred years ago are still timeless. This song in particular. It just literally goes from Christ's birth to his second coming and as believers we have the blessing of anticipating our Lord's return.

It gives us hope it gives us that assurance that he will come again. But in the meantime, he is with us here today.

Please turn with me to let. Luke chapter 17. Luke chapter 17 verses 20 through 37. Luke chapter 17 verses 20 through 37. Now when he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come he answered them and said the kingdom of God does not come with observation nor will they say see here or see there for indeed the kingdom of God is within you.

Then he said to the disciples the days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the son of man and you will not see it and they will say to you look here or look there. Do not go after them or follow them for as the lightning that flashes out of the part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven.

So also the son of man will be in his day but first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the son of man. 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 likewise as it was also in the days of Lot. They ate they drank they bought they sold they planted they.

Built.

But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so will it be in the day when the son of man is revealed. 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. Remember Lot's wife whoever seeks to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life will preserve it.

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. Two women will be grinding together the one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field the one will be taken and the other left.

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. This is the word of the Lord. Let us pray father we stand before you and we are grateful.

That.

The coming of your son Jesus Christ to restore this world is as sure as his first coming and we pray that you would prepare our hearts to long for him until we meet him face to face and that we would desire his will and his presence.

We pray that your spirit would help us to understand your word and live it. Help us to look ahead to what's coming rather than focusing on the little things of our daily struggles. Help us to know that Jesus words come true and that we can trust him for everything in his name.

We pray.

Amen.

Now this passage this eschatological passage.

Follows.

Immediately after Jesus healed the ten lepers and there was only one who responded in faith to come back to give thanks and really bow down in praise. Now the Pharisees have seen this miracle and they asked Jesus is the kingdom coming.

So this question we have to know that it's not. It's not a question of curiosity but more of a pointed jab. Yes, so what. When's the kingdom coming. And here we have two interactions about God's eschatological plan.

Eschatological means regarding the last things. Regarding the last things. Concerning the last things. Eschatos in Greek means last. So eschatological means the things that happened in the last days. So in this eschatological interaction the first two verses cover Jesus first coming while the second giant half really more than half right.

The giant section versus 22 through 37 actually cover the second coming. The first covers the inauguration of the kingdom of God while the second covers the consummation of the kingdom of God. Now this I rarely preach on eschatology and that's because I'm just not as well educated on the last things.

I'm learning myself. Those are hard texts. However, I think eschatological lessons and teachings and preachings are very important because what you believe about what's going to happen in the end shape how you live your lives now.

I'll give you an example non-believers live for the present because there's no eternity in their mind. They splurge, they do whatever they please, they follow their hearts because their eschatology is that you only live once.

Right.

To not have an eschatological view is not an option if you believe that this life is all there's to it that is your eschatological view.

Now.

I would say all genuine Christians share the same eschatology. I know we kind of talked about how there are so many different flavors earlier during our Sunday school at 930 but this is what we must all hold to.

Despite what denomination, what tradition you're from Jesus will physically come back the second time to judge the wicked and vindicate the faithful. We may disagree on the specifics but that's the major that we all have to agree on.

And when this is your eschatology you don't have to be angry when you face or see injustice in the world. You don't have to take vengeance when you are abused or mistreated. And that's because even though the wicked live so comfortably right now and they live long lives we know what they will face in the end.

We don't have to grumble that life's unfair. Justice will be done. And in the end their exit interview with Jesus will be smoky.

Now.

Here.

Jesus tell us in this passage about the coming Messiah himself and how his kingdom will come. The Old Testament shows the Messiah the Davidic King and how he will rule over God's people for all eternity.

It's not only that temporally it's eternal but also the amount of land that he will rule over is expansive. His rule is absolute. Now I've spent some some time this week researching eschatology and the reason why I had to do that is because my generation did not focus on eschatology.

So I have to learn as you are learning right now. Not only that my seminary as I was attending dropped premillennialism from the statement of faith so you can see how my systematic theology did not really cover eschatology and which means there are older saints here who can explain to you.

Better just look for people with gray hair. This church's view is pre-tribulation premillennialism. It is a view that Jesus will rapture or rescue his people his church at an unknown date. We don't know when without a sign before the seven-year Big T tribulation the judgment against the wicked.

And then.

After the seven years he will come back physically and reign for 1 ,000 years and that's the second coming. So the rapture happens in the second coming. In this way the rapture and the second coming are actually viewed as two different events.

The former only involves the church while the latter will involve the whole world. Now if you're not sure what your view is or your view is different we still welcome you here and we love fellowshipping with you but that's just the church's view.

Now today's passage on his return I believe is not about the rapture but the second coming and I had to really pray about this and and read it over and over again because I wasn't sure at first. The first reason is the judgment follows his coming.

In the second chunk of the passage the judgment quickly follows the coming. Second those who are taken are judged. In verse 37 the disciples ask where Lord and Jesus answers where the vultures are or the eagles are.

And.

Vultures or eagles are actually a sign of a judgment of birds eating the flesh. The rapture would be the opposite you would be taken not to be judged but to be rewarded to be with Christ. Verses 23 to 37 also seem to portray the full consummation of the kingdom so I think what's going to follow is Jesus millennial reign on earth.

And also verse 24 shows that the return of Christ will be publicly obvious the whole world will know it. There won't be any debate. For that reason I believe.

We have.

The first coming in the first two verses and then the last in the last verses we have the second coming. So the main point of this text is. How will the kingdom of God impact the world. How will the kingdom of God impact the world.

First because the arrival of the king signifies the inauguration of the kingdom we must focus on the king to experience his kingdom. Now when he was asked by the pharisees when the kingdom of God would come.

And when you consider the context comparing to the last section this is the context of the kingdom of God. This question is a bit absurd. Jesus just healed not only one but ten lepers publicly and one of them of Samaritan recognized the importance of Jesus and responded in praise and thanksgiving.

They are seeing God's plan of restoration unfolding right before their eyes. How many times do normal people see ten lepers get healed. And not only that a Samaritan giving worship to the true God. There's a there's a glimmer and hint of God's restoration.

Yet the Pharisees ask when is the kingdom coming. Translation. Your miracle was great but we don't really buy that right. Or can you do another one. When do we really have to pay attention compared to the humble Samaritans faithful response.

The Pharisees ironically respond unfaithfully. The ones who know scripture are devoted to scripture cannot recognize the coming kingdom. In response Jesus describes the coming of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God does not come with observation.

Observation here actually means the signs that the Pharisees are looking for show some other things. Show some extra. And remember the ancient Jews actually thought that the arrival of the Messiah the Christ the chosen one of God will come with a huge heavenly sign when God's kingdom is inaugurated.

Ironically they're so busy searching for such a sign. They're ignoring the restorative miracle that Jesus has been performing. Because they're looking elsewhere. They're actually missing God's work through Jesus Christ.

They're missing the signs themselves because they're looking elsewhere. Hence in verse 21 Jesus warns them what they must do to recognize God's kingdom. Nor will they say see here or see there because the kingdom of God is not about searching for hidden signs.

We do not say see here or see there. We're not hunting for signs. Whether it's not up to you to find the signs it's it's up to God to bring the kingdom. So instead Jesus tells them for indeed the kingdom of God is within you.

And this answer needs to be unpacked. First of all the preposition within can mean inside or amongst in the midst. So in this context within cannot mean just internal as in inside the Pharisees heart.

Because if we trace Jesus interaction with the Pharisees so far it's only been getting worse because of their unbelief. It would not make sense that Jesus would claim the kingdom of God is inside them already when they are rejecting the king himself.

Second in the New Testament the kingdom is where the believers enter into not the kingdom entering into us. This is because the idea that the solution is inside you is rather false. The solution is not inside you.

The solution is outside you. The solution is the person of Jesus Christ. In fact the thing any claim that the answer is inside you the meaning of life is inside you. The solution is inside you. That's more Eastern mysticism in modern psychology.

So what does within mean? I think some of the modern translations have it right. The kingdom of God is in the midst of you. The kingdom is among you. Well what would this mean? Well Jesus is talking about himself.

They do not need to search for the kingdom because the king has arrived. The location of the kingdom depends on the location of the king. Jesus is saying don't look elsewhere for the kingdom of God because it is here where I am.

The kingdom represents the rule of Christ and wherever Christ is there's the kingdom. Now the kingdom has been inaugurated because the king has entered the world that he has created. And this is not the final consummation of the kingdom but it's just the beginning.

Ever since Jesus entered the world there has been this tension of already but not yet through Jesus the effects of sin are being undone. The lepers are cleansed the dead are raised thousands of demons are casted.

So there is this tension through Jesus. We can experience his kingdom. We can belong to his kingdom for us the moment we believe. That's our new citizenship. That's our new identity. We can be forgiven and adopted into his kingdom.

When we trust that Jesus died for our sin suffered the wrath that we deserved and rose from the dead. And the Holy Spirit dwells in all of those who belong to the kingdom the moment we believe. So we can taste a glimpse of his kingdom when we gather to worship the king.

Yet his reign is not fully realized until his second coming when he rules physically. There was an internship seminar that I had to attend during seminary and I'm sure my wife remembers it because I just grumbled about it.

After it's gone for the whole day, Saturday I was placed in a group of with few other men who are in ministry. So pastors, pastoral interns, associate pastors, right? We were all told to share the purpose statement of our ministry.

So what is the goal? What is the purpose of your ministry?

Right?

One pastoral intern shared a purpose statement about serving others, pursuing social justice and doing the kingdom work. What was oddly missing was any mention of the gospel or the king. While I would have said some brutally honest things one brother rather gently corrected him brother, there is no kingdom without the king.

There's no kingdom without the king. You cannot seek the kingdom without the king. You cannot enter the kingdom without the king. We often desire passionately passionately the results of the kingdom without desiring the person of the king.

We want peace in the world. We want sorrows to be over. We want poverty to end.

Yet.

If we seek those things apart from Jesus Christ we are building a different kingdom that is foreign to Christ. Any ministry that seeks to build Jesus kingdom yet the king is not the center unfortunately is not building upon his kingdom.

It's building their own kingdom. It's idolatrous. That's why all the social justice and social gospel is wrong. On the surface it may seem like doing right the right thing by caring for the oppressed but in the end without the king it is not the kingdom.

In the end our hope is that when the king comes back there won't be any oppression because he is the one who ends it. Ultimately the very entry to God's kingdom requires us to share the very good news of Jesus Christ the fact that in order for us sinners to enter his kingdom the king himself had to lay down his life for our sake.

The king himself laid down his life to bring his subjects home. Our entry to the kingdom is not a passport in an interview but the trust in the person and works of Jesus Christ alone.

Now.

How are the subjects of his kingdom to live before the return of the king. We need to faithfully endure until the concrete consummation of the kingdom. We need to faithfully endure until the concrete consummation of the kingdom.

After speaking to the Pharisees Jesus addresses his disciples regarding the kingdom the very ones who have recognized the king himself the conversation is actually different and it is longer. The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man and you will not see it.

Although the kingdom has been inaugurated at Jesus first coming it has not been fully consummated it has not been fully completed. After all there are oppositions in the world against his kingdom. The days of the Son of Man is the reference from the Old Testament and it signifies the eschatological day in which the Messiah King rules physically and his saints are vindicated.

The term Son of Man comes from Daniel 7. There's a vision. Thrones are placed that tells you something. There are multiple thrones. What's going on? One God. Multiple thrones. In the ancient of days God himself takes a seat and the one who looks like the Son of Man comes and to him to him someone who looks like a man he is given dominion over all the nations that is the Son of Man and that's whom Jesus calls himself.

And he is the divine figure to whom God hands over all the nations and his kingdom will be eternal. And on the days of the Son of Man his saints will no longer be shamed or oppressed and they would be viewed as righteous not just by themselves and Christ but by the whole world.

They will be vindicated. It will be shown physically and publicly that they were in the right all along. That's the day of the Son of Man. Now similar to the warning that Jesus gave to the Pharisees he tells the disciples don't go hunting for it look here look there.

And they will say to you look here or look there. Do not go after them and follow them. Just as the coming of the kingdom is based upon the palpable presence of the king so will the final consummation when when the kingdom is final here finally here it's because the king is here.

And this is important because so many cults try to claim that their leader is either Jesus Christ himself or the only person that Jesus Christ talks to. This is a warning. Leave that group. Verse 24 tells us how obvious the coming of the Son of Man will be.

For as the lightning that flashes out one part under heaven and shines to the other part under heaven so also the Son of Man will be in his day. When Jesus comes back his return will be so obvious like the lightning flashing in the sky.

Even if you're inside you will notice it. You don't have to search for him because his return will be public. Now what must happen before the consummation. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.

Jesus makes clear that his total reign comes only after his atoning death on the cross. In order for Jesus to rule and judge the world he himself must face God's judgment for our sin on the cross. That is the only way to deal with sin justly without eliminating his followers.

Forgiveness cannot happen by fiat. Forgiveness cannot happen just because you say so. Forgiveness is costly but it's freely given now. Jesus illustrates the unexpected timing of his return to the unbelievers in the following four verses.

The first two verses describes the days before Noah's flood and the second two describes the time before Sodom and Gomorrah's demise. Verse 26 through 27. And as it was in the days of Noah so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man.

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. Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot. They ate they drank they bought they sold they planted they built.

But on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Both of these examples are from Genesis the first book of the Bible. And they're both examples of cataclysmic judgment that God poured out on the wicked people where only the faithful.

Lived.

Because of God's gracious deliverance both examples show that these wicked generations they were carelessly carefree living normal lives without any concerns for God. They were eating drinking marrying selling planting and building.

Right.

Those activities only happen if you think there's no judgment. You just think that it will go on and on and on. There's no end to their current lives. They expected their lives would go on indefinitely.

Then one day God's judgment literally rained down from the sky. For both instances different substance though. In verse 30 Jesus tells us. These examples illustrate what will happen when the Son of Man appears.

Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.

First.

This shows that Jesus viewed Noah's flood and Sodom and Gomorrah as real historical events. You can't believe in Jesus and believe that the first 11 chapters of the Bible's fable because Jesus didn't think so we also need to believe these events to be historical.

They actually happened.

In our world.

In its own time.

Second.

The Son of Man's eschatological judgment against the wicked will likewise come at an unexpected time. They will be busy living their lives not caring about God not listening to God's warning to repent just like the Sodomites and the contemporaries of Noah.

Now Christians who have read the book of Daniel will know that the tribulation takes seven years so you may be wondering why would this be unexpected for the very people who are going to.

Face.

Jesus who are living on earth for one we do not know how long the time span will be after the rapture and before the tribulation that's one but if you're well versed in Revelation you might know when it will all start.

But consider this how much do non-believers today know the Bible. They probably can't even find the book of Daniel. So how much less will they know when the world is more wicked under the influence of the Antichrist and when the church is no longer present to teach Scripture and who knows what how many resources are even left.

Right.

Maybe Scripture will be even more difficult to obtain for them. The judgment will come at an unexpected time.

Third.

Jesus eschatological judgment will wipe out all who do not belong to Christ. Similar to these two historical judgments all non-believers will experience the full wrath of God. No wicked will escape God's judgment for all their evil deeds.

Jesus will not miss a single thing. In verses 31 to 32 tell us how people need to respond to the coming judgment in that day. He who is on the housetop and his goods are in the house let him not come down and take them away.

And likewise the one who is in the field let him not turn back. Remember Lot's wife whatever you're doing wherever you are you better flee. Now some of you might question wait, how can you go downstairs?

How can you stay up there and not go into the house to go downstairs? And that's because we have staircases inside only in the ancient houses. The stairs were actually outside so you could you could it to go inside.

You would actually have to go downstairs enter the door. So it was actually you had to go outside you if you were on the roof and the judgment started happening going inside would be the longer way. And that's because you are concerned for your livelihood.

But Jesus is saying there's something more important than your possessions. And verse 32 is the historical example of this. Lot's wife longingly looked back at Sodom where she lived the fertile land she turned into a pillar of salt.

She couldn't leave her former life behind. She couldn't leave her possessions behind. And for those who are living through the tribulation they must leave everything behind. Verse 33 is the summary point of this.

Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it and whoever loses his life will preserve it. The point is that life is defined by not what you have but whom you know. True life that will survive in the end is life with Christ not the possessions accrued over time.

Despite the suffering and trials God promises life to those who trust him until the end rather than their stuff. And verses 34 through 36 show the immediate manner of the judgment how swiftly it will take effect.

Now some translations do not have verse 36 and the reason for that is some of the earliest copies of the New Testament manuscript. The Greek manuscript don't have that either way. It does not change the meaning.

So I don't think it's something to argue about. So verse 34 I tell you in that night there will be two men in one bed and one will be taken one left. Same thing for two women grinding as in grinding mill together with the grindstone.

One will be taken one left and so on the other two in the field. These verses tell us that people are doing rather ordinary things in life. They're living their lives. There's no urgency. They're just living their lives whether sleeping or working.

Jesus judgment will swiftly take the unbeliever away from the other. No one would know. No one would expect it. And the reason why I believe these verses do not signify the rapture is because of verse 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 question of where logically goes back to where these people are taken to Jesus answer is rather serious.

Where the body is the Eagles or vultures will be gathered. The result is actually the opposite of the rapture. The ones taken actually live avoid the judgment. For this reason I believe the text is not talking about the rapture but the second coming the full consummation of the kingdom.

What must occur before the physical kingdom is established on Earth. And this vulture language comes from Revelation 19 as well. You can even check that where the vultures will eat the flesh of all the rebels who attempt to fight against Jesus.

What it shows is especially in a culture where bearing the dead is so important it's showing that the judgment is so comprehensive. There will be no one to bury the dead. The Beast was captured first 20 from Revelation 19 and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the Beast and those who worshipped its image.

These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur and the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Same language here when Jesus comes back all who oppose him will be swiftly judged while those who are on his side will enjoy his full fully consummated kingdom. And what we must remember is that Jesus work on earth did not end after his first coming.

After the ascension the King will physically return to judge and rule the whole world. And you you trust not only Jesus accomplishment on the cross for salvation but you can trust his final return to fully restore his creation.

Just as he saved you he will come back to rule. And just as Jesus message to his immediate disciples was to endure. Do not turn back like lots wife. Our message today is to endure that Jesus kingdom will be fully consummated and the wicked will be swiftly put down in the end.

Christian life is about endurance. It's not about how fired up you are for Christ the first year or two. It's about trusting in Jesus and faithfully living daily all the days of your life. In fact it is unpopular to publicly announce your faith in Christ.

There's actually social and relational cost to this friendships end families this own because of your loyalty to Christ or at least the intimate bonding you had is visibly and palpably decreased. For some there's financial cost.

Businesses get sued for the views and practices that align with the Bible's gender and sexuality. Doctors lose their licenses if they choose not to perform baby slaughtering. The question on our minds maybe how long.

Oh Lord when will this all end. And this text tells us his return is not only obvious but the vindication will immediately take place when he comes back. This text tells us that his return will make all things right swiftly.

If you have suffered for Jesus sake just wait until his kingdom is consummated. If you have been wronged or abused for Jesus sake you can long for his guaranteed return. He will personally address the wicked.

In the end the focus is still on the king. Whether the inauguration or the consummation or hope lies solely on the physical presence of the King Jesus. And for some of you this may be the only thing that allows you to continue living this week.

This may be the only thing that allows you to wake up in the morning and get out of your bed. The fact that you know Jesus is coming back. And that's what we have to hold on to. I will end with what my old pastor said from pastor from Illinois he would say this a lot.

We don't know what the future holds but we know who holds the future. Let us pray father we come before you. And I confess that I really don't know what's going to happen this year. It seems like all the things that all the institutions and systems that once were trustworthy are just falling apart.

And it seems like there's just no trust even among people who live in the neighborhood and even in the family. And we don't know what's going to happen whether this year will be far worse than ever. We don't know we don't know the result of the election and we don't know how this country will last.

But we do know the very person of Jesus Christ. And we do know his faithfulness. We do know his compassion. We do know his power. We do know that he will keep his promise to return. That he will keep his promise to take us back.

And we pray for that day. And we pray for that day in which all the evil doers will be punished. The very people who think they will get away with it because they can. We pray that your kingdom will come in Jesus name.

I love the pastor's emphasis on no kingdom without a king and I think of the scripture says that there's a special reward given to those who look forward to his coming. Are you looking forward to the Lord's coming to rule on earth.

Let's stand together as we close and sing praises to our Lord from whom all blessings come.