20 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; 21 nor
will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is
within you.” 22 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.
23 And
they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them
or follow them. 24 For
as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the
other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day. 25 But
first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 And
as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of
Man: 27 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. 28 Likewise
as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they
sold, they planted, they built; 29 but
on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven
and destroyed them all. 30 Even
so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 “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. 32 Remember
Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever
seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve
it. 34 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. 35 Two
women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other
left. 36 Two
men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.” 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.”
Commentary
Vs. 20-21 20 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; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
In this section of the Gospel of Luke (17:20-37) the Lord Jesus Christ after He answers the Pharisees question about the Kingdom of God, will instruct the disciples on His Second Coming. But first the Pharisees question about when the Kingdom of God would come, for it will serve as a launch point for His instructing the disciples on it and His Second Coming. And so the Lord Jesus Christ in answering the Pharisees question about when the Kingdom of God would come, says to them, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Vs. 20-21
Now for centuries the Pharisees (indeed all Jews and all the various factions of it) believed that the Kingdom of God would come to them in a very powerfully and visible way, vanquishing all their enemies before them. Now the Kingdom of God is very Grand, very visible, and exceedingly powerful, and God will vanquish all of His enemies (Ps. 37:20). However, in its incarnation on earth it must first come to them in the Person and Message of the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the door of it, by which all must enter in (John 10:9-10; 14:6 etc.). And so, in answering their question, Jesus tells them that the Kingdom of God does not come with observation, by which one could say, see it is over here or over there, rather Jesus tells them that the Kingdom of God is within them, that is amongst them already. For Jesus had not only been declaring it to them, and to all, but He was also doing the works of it, revealing it to one and to all, so that all who believe may enter into it by faith in His Person. The Kingdom of God’s establishment on earth then does not come until all of its citizens have first entered into it. For only then does the Kingdom of God come within oneself, when one first accepts, believes and receives its King! And so, the Pharisees in looking for the Kingdom of God were missing it all by not looking to Christ. Something not unique to them, as often people get caught up in the Kingdom of God and end times speculations, and forget that this is now the Day of Salvation!
Vs. 22 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.
Having addressed the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God is here and now, Jesus now turns to His disciples and says to them, “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.” Thus, Jesus is now telling them that the days would come when they would long for His Person being with them again, just as when He was preaching, teaching and doing the works of Kingdom of God amongst them. For they were exceedingly privileged to have God’s Son live and dwell and interact with and amongst them all. An yet His departure (though temporary,) would have to happen in order for the Scripture to be fulfilled, and thus for them and all who believe in Him to have eternal salvation (John 16:16-17:26).
Vs. 23-24 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. 24 For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.
Therefore, Jesus now warns them (and us all) that after His departure back to God the Father, people will say of Him or even of the Kingdom of God, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ However, Jesus warns us all not to go after them or to follow them. Because as He says His Return or Second Coming will not be as innocuous as when He first came. Rather it will be awesomely frightful and powerful when He returns for His bride the church and then destroys those who remain on the earth (Isaiah 2:11-22; 13:6-13; Rev. 19:1-21). Thus, all those who now say, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ have only been deceived by Satan, (or are servants of him), or are outright liars. For when Christ returns the heavens will thunder and the earth will shake for great and terrible will be the day of the LORD for those who remain on it.
Vs. 25 “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
However, before any of these would occur, first Jesus must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Thus, He would suffer their reproach and ridicule before being beaten and then crucified by them.
Vs. 26-27 26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 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.
In foretelling and warning us about the nature of His Coming the Lord Jesus Christ now describes the way in which people will be totally caught off guard by His Second Coming, comparing it to the days of Noah when the unbelieving people of his generation likewise lived indifferent lives to God, saying: they ate, they drank, they married wives or were given in marriage, however when the flood came it destroyed them all. And so, though there will be tell tale signs before the Lord Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, for most people they too will be living their lives totally oblivious to what is taking place, until it is to late for them. For as in the days of Noah when the rain came people did not immediately panic, not until it was to late for them.
Vs. 28-30 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
Similarly in the days of Lot before God rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness, (which itself parallels the Godless generation of today, which also practices, approves of, and justifies the very things which brought about their destruction), the people there to were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, thus they to were all wrapped up in their own lives pursuits (vs. 28). However, as Jesus says, “but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” Vs. 28-30 Thus, just as with Noah, first being placed safely in the Ark, and then in Lots removal before Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction, we clearly see the churches removal, (or rapture), before the Lord Jesus Christ destroys all those who remain behind. Even so, it will seem to them, and to all, just like any other day before the Son of Man is revealed in heaven, and all these things take place. Now when the Son of Man is revealed to the whole world, it will not be for their salvation, as it was when the Lord Jesus Christ’s first appeared on earth, being born of a virgin to a humble and Godly married Marry and Joseph in an obscure place, where Jesus by the Will of God was quite deliberately at the right times concealed, protected, and guided throughout His life until He fulfilled His Will by dying on the Cross for us all. And so, unlike those days when unbelieving people were speculating about just who Jesus’ Person was, when the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed this time, it will be to the whole world as the Lord of heaven and earth. Everyone then will fully know who He is, and who they have either accepted or rejected. Thus, there will be great rejoicing for the one, and great dread and terror and sorrow for the other.
Vs. 31-33 31 “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. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
Therefore because of the urgency of that Day the Lord Jesus Christ says we should flee and leave whatever possession we have behind, and or forsake whatever work we are then doing (vs. 31-32), linking turning back to these to Lot’s wife (vs. 32). That is Lot’s wife when she and Lot and their family were being delivered out of Sodom and Gomorrah by the angels before God destroyed it, she stopped and looked back to it, that is in her heart she wanted to return to it, and when she did she became a pillar of salt, thus she was destroyed with it! The Lord Jesus Christ then is warning us all that when He is revealed to the whole world that we also not turn back to it, to gather our possessions out of it, or return to finish our works that were being done in it, and thus belong to it, for they all will be burned up with it (2 Peter 3:10). Warning us all that, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” Vs 33
Vs. 34-36 34 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. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”
The fact that two men (i.e. people) will be in one bed and only one will be taken is again a clear indication of the churches rapture before God’s Judgment. Note verse 34 is not indicating a perverse homosexual or immoral “relationship”. For the word being rendered men is an inserted word to help clarify the text, thus if used it really should read/indicate people regardless of gender or age. Better yet just leave it out. Again, in verses 35-36 the Lord Jesus Christ warns that there will be people working together at various things and at various times of time day, and yet where there are two working side by side, only those who have repented and believed will be saved, the other one will be left behind to suffer their own fate.
Vs. 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.”
Having heard these things, the disciples now ask the Lord Jesus where will these things would occur, now in answering them He says, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ in answering them via a metaphor is describing for them a global judgment from God on all the rebellion against and rejection of Him. (In this consider Ezek. 39:17-20, and specifically Rev. 19:17-21).
Commentary
Vs. 20-21 20 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; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”
In this section of the Gospel of Luke (17:20-37) the Lord Jesus Christ after He answers the Pharisees question about the Kingdom of God, will instruct the disciples on His Second Coming. But first the Pharisees question about when the Kingdom of God would come, for it will serve as a launch point for His instructing the disciples on it and His Second Coming. And so the Lord Jesus Christ in answering the Pharisees question about when the Kingdom of God would come, says to them, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” Vs. 20-21
Now for centuries the Pharisees (indeed all Jews and all the various factions of it) believed that the Kingdom of God would come to them in a very powerfully and visible way, vanquishing all their enemies before them. Now the Kingdom of God is very Grand, very visible, and exceedingly powerful, and God will vanquish all of His enemies (Ps. 37:20). However, in its incarnation on earth it must first come to them in the Person and Message of the Lord Jesus Christ, for He is the door of it, by which all must enter in (John 10:9-10; 14:6 etc.). And so, in answering their question, Jesus tells them that the Kingdom of God does not come with observation, by which one could say, see it is over here or over there, rather Jesus tells them that the Kingdom of God is within them, that is amongst them already. For Jesus had not only been declaring it to them, and to all, but He was also doing the works of it, revealing it to one and to all, so that all who believe may enter into it by faith in His Person. The Kingdom of God’s establishment on earth then does not come until all of its citizens have first entered into it. For only then does the Kingdom of God come within oneself, when one first accepts, believes and receives its King! And so, the Pharisees in looking for the Kingdom of God were missing it all by not looking to Christ. Something not unique to them, as often people get caught up in the Kingdom of God and end times speculations, and forget that this is now the Day of Salvation!
Vs. 22 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.
Having addressed the Pharisees that the Kingdom of God is here and now, Jesus now turns to His disciples and says to them, “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.” Thus, Jesus is now telling them that the days would come when they would long for His Person being with them again, just as when He was preaching, teaching and doing the works of Kingdom of God amongst them. For they were exceedingly privileged to have God’s Son live and dwell and interact with and amongst them all. An yet His departure (though temporary,) would have to happen in order for the Scripture to be fulfilled, and thus for them and all who believe in Him to have eternal salvation (John 16:16-17:26).
Vs. 23-24 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ Do not go after them or follow them. 24 For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.
Therefore, Jesus now warns them (and us all) that after His departure back to God the Father, people will say of Him or even of the Kingdom of God, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ However, Jesus warns us all not to go after them or to follow them. Because as He says His Return or Second Coming will not be as innocuous as when He first came. Rather it will be awesomely frightful and powerful when He returns for His bride the church and then destroys those who remain on the earth (Isaiah 2:11-22; 13:6-13; Rev. 19:1-21). Thus, all those who now say, ‘Look here!’ or ‘Look there!’ have only been deceived by Satan, (or are servants of him), or are outright liars. For when Christ returns the heavens will thunder and the earth will shake for great and terrible will be the day of the LORD for those who remain on it.
Vs. 25 “But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
However, before any of these would occur, first Jesus must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Thus, He would suffer their reproach and ridicule before being beaten and then crucified by them.
Vs. 26-27 26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 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.
In foretelling and warning us about the nature of His Coming the Lord Jesus Christ now describes the way in which people will be totally caught off guard by His Second Coming, comparing it to the days of Noah when the unbelieving people of his generation likewise lived indifferent lives to God, saying: they ate, they drank, they married wives or were given in marriage, however when the flood came it destroyed them all. And so, though there will be tell tale signs before the Lord Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, for most people they too will be living their lives totally oblivious to what is taking place, until it is to late for them. For as in the days of Noah when the rain came people did not immediately panic, not until it was to late for them.
Vs. 28-30 28 Likewise as it was also in the days of Lot: They ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
Similarly in the days of Lot before God rained down fire and brimstone on Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness, (which itself parallels the Godless generation of today, which also practices, approves of, and justifies the very things which brought about their destruction), the people there to were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, thus they to were all wrapped up in their own lives pursuits (vs. 28). However, as Jesus says, “but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. 30 Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” Vs. 28-30 Thus, just as with Noah, first being placed safely in the Ark, and then in Lots removal before Sodom and Gomorrah’s destruction, we clearly see the churches removal, (or rapture), before the Lord Jesus Christ destroys all those who remain behind. Even so, it will seem to them, and to all, just like any other day before the Son of Man is revealed in heaven, and all these things take place. Now when the Son of Man is revealed to the whole world, it will not be for their salvation, as it was when the Lord Jesus Christ’s first appeared on earth, being born of a virgin to a humble and Godly married Marry and Joseph in an obscure place, where Jesus by the Will of God was quite deliberately at the right times concealed, protected, and guided throughout His life until He fulfilled His Will by dying on the Cross for us all. And so, unlike those days when unbelieving people were speculating about just who Jesus’ Person was, when the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed this time, it will be to the whole world as the Lord of heaven and earth. Everyone then will fully know who He is, and who they have either accepted or rejected. Thus, there will be great rejoicing for the one, and great dread and terror and sorrow for the other.
Vs. 31-33 31 “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. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.
Therefore because of the urgency of that Day the Lord Jesus Christ says we should flee and leave whatever possession we have behind, and or forsake whatever work we are then doing (vs. 31-32), linking turning back to these to Lot’s wife (vs. 32). That is Lot’s wife when she and Lot and their family were being delivered out of Sodom and Gomorrah by the angels before God destroyed it, she stopped and looked back to it, that is in her heart she wanted to return to it, and when she did she became a pillar of salt, thus she was destroyed with it! The Lord Jesus Christ then is warning us all that when He is revealed to the whole world that we also not turn back to it, to gather our possessions out of it, or return to finish our works that were being done in it, and thus belong to it, for they all will be burned up with it (2 Peter 3:10). Warning us all that, “Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it.” Vs 33
Vs. 34-36 34 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. 35 Two women will be grinding together: the one will be taken and the other left. 36 Two men will be in the field: the one will be taken and the other left.”
The fact that two men (i.e. people) will be in one bed and only one will be taken is again a clear indication of the churches rapture before God’s Judgment. Note verse 34 is not indicating a perverse homosexual or immoral “relationship”. For the word being rendered men is an inserted word to help clarify the text, thus if used it really should read/indicate people regardless of gender or age. Better yet just leave it out. Again, in verses 35-36 the Lord Jesus Christ warns that there will be people working together at various things and at various times of time day, and yet where there are two working side by side, only those who have repented and believed will be saved, the other one will be left behind to suffer their own fate.
Vs. 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.”
Having heard these things, the disciples now ask the Lord Jesus where will these things would occur, now in answering them He says, “Wherever the body is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” Thus, the Lord Jesus Christ in answering them via a metaphor is describing for them a global judgment from God on all the rebellion against and rejection of Him. (In this consider Ezek. 39:17-20, and specifically Rev. 19:17-21).
Scripture Quotations
New King James Version (1982): Thomas Nelson
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