Sunday, 14th October, 2007 - Luke 17:20-37 [The Coming of the Kingdom of God]

1. The day of everlasting destruction

Today we will meditate on the Last Day of the world. The believers of the first generation Church witnessed the resurrection of Jesus, which convinced them that He was the very Messiah. And the Old Testament prophecy was that the arrival of the Messiah was to precede the final destruction of the world.
So the disciples thought the final day of this secular world was close, because they believed that Jesus was about to return. Consequently they sold their personal properties and began to live in a sort of commune, by sharing money, accommodation, daily food, and spending time by praying together.
But the Last Day did not come. The world did not come to an end. Jesus did not return. After waiting and waiting, the people became more involved in the secular world, rather than living in a state of expectation of the last day.
Actually, we too, are the same! However the Bible makes us face-up to the question: Is that the right way of living? By reading Luke, chapter 17, we will focus on this very issue.
In the verses to follow, Jesus teaches about the Last Day, which had a particular meaning for the Jews of that era. In order to understand it correctly we need to look at the social and political conditions of that time. Israel was ruled by the Roman Empire, and furthermore, before that, it was dominated by other powers like Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, and Greece.
The dominant period of Jewish rule and independence was only when David and Solomon were kings. The Jewish people always considered themselves as a people elected by God. So, they believed God would send a Messiah who would destroy the foreign ruling powers, and liberate Israel. The ¡Ælast day¡Ç for them would be a day of liberation.
The Pharisees shared the similar notion. They aspired to the coming of God’s kingdom and the recovery of their sovereignty. So much so, they even asked Jesus when? However, they found his answer to this question very perplexing:
¡ÈOnce, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:20-21).
The kingdom of God is not like an earthly kingdom with geographical boundaries. Instead, it begins with the work of God¡Çs spirit in people¡Çs lives and relationships.
Another verse, (below) which lists proof for Jesus¡Ç being the messiah are significant. They consist of observable deeds, not theories - actions that Jesus¡Ç contemporaries saw and reported for us to read today:
So he replied to the messengers, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Luke 7:22).
All of this phenomena reveals just one thing - God’s kingdom is already here, it came with Jesus, and yet, so many cannot seem to recognize this fact. The pharisees also were not convinced by the answer, so Jesus stopped speaking to them, and began to talk to the disciples about secret principles of God’s kingdom:
” . . . the time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation¡É (Luke:17:22-25).
And he continues to give advice, by referring to Noah and Lot, advocating the inevitability of the Last Day:
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building¡É (Luke 17: 26-28).
Perhaps Noah’s neighbors, in seeing the sunny and brilliant sky, might have sneered at the warning of the flood. And in Lot’s case, when he said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!” His sons-in-law thought he was joking (Gen. 19:14).
Nevertheless, everything that God said, did come true! Thus, Jesus tells us, we must be on our guard, preparing for the Last Day, if not, we will be faced with destruction. Watch and pray!

2. How we must conduct ourselves and prepare for: The Last Day Prophecy?

Today’s invocation verses are from Luke 21:34-36
“Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.”
As I told you already, we as humans, in this modern world, don’t take seriously the Last Day, nor the second coming of Christ. Such prophecy might seem like a fantasy to contemporary minds. Anyway, we prefer to focus now on our comfortable and material lifestyle. But the Bible still warns us about the coming of the Last Day!
Even though it might seem too far-fetched to contemplate the Last Day, perhaps we could imagine for a moment that we are preparing for our own death.
Let this be an object lesson in which we can all participate! Death is perhaps beyond our comprehension. What we become after death is totally unknown, and it scares us. Humans always try to avoid thinking about death by diverting their attention to other things - like Noah’s neighbors, or Lot’s sons - in - law!
There are those who consider their life to be filled with evil. They deny the reality of life on earth, and only aspire to a spiritual realm after death.
However such attitudes and beliefs do not free us from the fear of death. The Bible teaches us another way to live - to be watchful, and to face the fact of death.
We as mortal humans will die some day, so we must look at death. Let’s imagine that our life was limited to one year, because of a terminal disease such as cancer, for example. Then our way of living would change. We would not fancy the luxurious house, nor the beautiful car, because such things would soon be useless.
Social renown and business success would be of no value for such a short time of life. If we put ourselves into this situation, we might see what we really need in this ephemeral life, and begin to live by looking at what is really meaningful and precious to us.
Now perhaps we can understand the meaning of the Last Day in a more realistic way, its similar to the day of our death, because after the physical death, we will be raised on the last day.
Paul explained his notion of the resurrection body: “in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52).
Understanding life and death issues certainly focuses our perspective when thinking about what is important, and what is not. Jesus too, was talking about death, resurrection, and his return, when he said: ¡ÈI tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away¡É (Luke 21:32-33).
But if we, as Christians, understood precisely that the Last Day of this secular world is not a fantasy, we would not be so obsessed by earthy possessions. True Christians should always try to store-up riches in heaven, rather than trying to grasp what they can on earth. We can do this through prayerful support, by helping others, and giving to the poor.
I invite you to read together from James, verses, 5:7-9, to finish today’s speech.
“Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! “(James 5:7-9).
The Lord is already on our doorstep, as it is written in Revelation:
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life¡É (Revelation 22:17).

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