The return of the king

Read > Luke 17:20-37

Since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert! (Mark 13:33).

In his booklet 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will Be in 1988, Edgar Whisenant predicted that the rapture would take place between September 11 and 13, 1988. Many Christians believed his prediction, and 4.5 million copies of this booklet were sold. As the time approached, a Christian broadcaster even provided special instructions on how to prepare for the rapture. When the predicted event did not take place, Whisenant revised his predictions many times to various dates in 1989, 1993, 1994, and 1997. But he died in 2001 without seeing the rapture.

As we read Luke 17, it’s important to note that the Jews were looking for the Messiah to come, to deliver them from bondage, and to rule over them. They now wondered if Jesus was the Messiah (Luke 7:19). So the Pharisees asked Him, “When will the kingdom of God come?” (v. 20).

Jesus said that God’s kingdom would not come with a great outward show so that people could speculate over its timing (vv. 20-21). It would not be “detected by visible signs.” While many will predict Jesus’ return, they won’t see it happening (vv. 22-23). It’s futile to calculate the date of His coming, for it will come as suddenly and quickly as lightning (v. 24).

Jesus compared His second coming to the flood (vv. 26-27) and the destruction of Sodom (vv. 28-30). The times of Noah (Genesis 6) and Lot (ch. 19) were consistently evil – corrupt, and filled with violence (6:6, 11) and unnatural relationships (19:5) – not unlike our world today. Likewise, Jesus’ second coming will be a time of judgment on this wicked world, for God “destroyed them all” (Luke 17:27, 29).

Jesus is coming again. But the kingdom is “already among you” (v. 21). It’s within your reach, for the King is already here. And those who take Him now as Saviour are certainly ready for His return as King. Are you? – K. T. Sim

More >

·         Mark 13:3-8

·         Mark 13:32-37

·         2 Peter 3:8-15

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Do you want Jesus to return in your lifetime? Why or why not? What should you be doing as you wait for His return? (2 Peter 3:11-15).