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 Berglund she serves with ethnos 360 in Indonesia as a

Bible translator and There's some bit. There's been some great celebration with Translation being

Put out and they're working on finalizing even more on Wednesday This Wednesday at 530 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 here in the fellowship hall

Okay, 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 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 I'd like to read

John chapter 10 and it 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 first Thessalonians 3 chapter 3 verses 11 through 13

First 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 in 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 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 the 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 is 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 covered 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 in the last things.

I'm learning myself Those are hard texts

However, I think it's got 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 escape

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 true 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 in 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

Lot 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

Because the arrival of the king signifies the inauguration of the kingdom of God We must focus on the king to experience his kingdom

So after right after seeing the ten lepers healed the

Pharisees asked him a question 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 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 asked 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 Rather 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 mistress mysticism and 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 Because 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 calm 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

Well, 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 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

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 this 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 and the Ancient of Days God himself takes his 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 in 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 there's 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 what why would this be on expect unexpected for the very people who are going to face

Jesus We're 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?

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 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 And that's because you were your concern for your livelihood, but Jesus is saying there's something more important than your possessions

And Verse 32 is the historical example of this lots 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 of 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 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 may be 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 our 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 gonna 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