The kingdom of God is the most urgent commodity in want for
all humanity. We even unconsciously miss the invisible kingdom of heaven,
yearningly desiring to know what it really is and to get hold of it. We don’t
really satisfy and fulfill our lives unless we come to fully understand and
grasp the kingdom of God. The fallen humanity has desperately been searching
for the true kingdom but no avail. So, they have unwittingly been trying to build
the earthly kingdom which is visible and tangible to their eyes and minds. In
history, it was manifested by the people who built the tower of Babel in order
to make a name for themselves and not to scatter over the face of the whole
earth, which is recorded in Chapter 11 of Genesis. The people of Israel also
longed for the kingdom of God which they believed the kingdom of David as the
hope of nation. The kingdom of David is the shadow of the kingdom of God. The
real kingdom is invisible and given to those who come to the Father through the
Son Jesus Christ.
“Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of
God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The coming of the kingdom of God is not something
that can be observed, nor will people say, “Here it is,” or “There it is,”
because the kingdom of God is in your midst.’” (Luke 17:20-21)
The Pharisees asked Jesus when the kingdom of God would
come. They were told what our Lord Jesus said when he began his earthly
ministry, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The Jews believed
that when the Messiah came he would build the earthly kingdom like the one King
David built after destroying and conquering the Gentile kings and nations. They
were eager to know whether Jesus was the one to come. That’s the reason they
asked to him. In replying the question, Jesus says that the kingdom of God
cannot be observed but is in our midst, which means within us. The visible
universe is the manifestation of the invisible reality, Jesus Christ the Lord,
who is the Creator of all things. Nothing was made that has been made without
him, says Apostle John. Paul asserts that Christ is the supremacy of all
things.
“The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on
earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or
authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before
all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the
body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so
that in everything he might have the supremacy.” (Colossians 1:15-18)
Our mental faculty area is invisible and untouchable, but
all kinds of psychological force like anger, frustration, resentment, protest,
and happiness and enjoyment are visibly displayed and observed in our midst.
Some say, “Here it is” or “There it is.” It may mean a particular group or
organization, philosophy, politics, science and technology, arts, sports,
material wealth, location, or lifestyle. That’s what the world says. They
proudly present that they can offer the satisfaction of life with lofty and
glittering ideas, but actually deliver nothing. The kingdom of God is in
invisible realm and under the authority and rule of the Creator God. He owns
and controls his kingdom according to his good will and plan. There is also in
the kingdom of God the evil one who rebels against the Lordship of God and is
called the devil. He is the liar and the murderer from the beginning and
powerfully and cunningly deceiving people with invisible force, the demonic power.
That's the kingdom of God where good and evil are fighting and clashing each
other.
Then he said to his disciples, “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.
People 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.” (Luke 17:22-24)
Jesus turned to his disciples and told them the mysterious
and cryptic words, “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.” Our Lord Jesus leaped up the time beyond his suffering and resurrection
and mentioned of his second coming. People will say, "There he is!"
or "Here he is!" But Jesus warns his disciples not go running off
after them because the Son of Man in his day will be visibly seen and observed
like the lightening, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the
other. The Day of the Lord will be a global event that the whole world will see
it. In the last days, many false prophets will come and say, "There he is!"
or "Here he is!" They will try to deceive many, even the elect.
"At that
time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do
not believe it. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform
great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. See, I have
told you ahead of time." (Matthew 24:23-25)
Then, our Lord Jesus added this phrase of strange rejection
and opposition for the Son of Man by the people of the world. The kingdom of
God never comes except through the Son Jesus Christ who came to the earth and
went back to the Father through the way of cross. In order to give his kingdom,
first Christ must suffer many things and be rejected by this wicked generation.
"But first
he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation." (Luke
17:25)
The
suffering of Christ includes the arrest, the trial in the Sanhedrin court, the bloody
scourge by the Romans, the mocking, the cruel nailing down of his hands and
feet on the cross, the bloodshed by the piercing, and the orphan cry of the
Son, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!" As Prophet Isaiah
prophesied he was pierced, wounded, smitten, and crushed and cut off in our
place. He was rejected by his own people and even by the loving Father in
heaven when he was made sin for the world. Although he came to the earth and to
his people just as it was foretold and prophesied by Moses and the Prophets,
the people of his own nailed him on the cross. Our Lord Jesus is still having
been rejected by this warped and crooked generation as Apostle John says in the
Book of Revelation.
“Let the
one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be
vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person
continue to be holy.” (Revelation 22:11)
In the
meantime until the day of the Lord will be visibly seen and observed, we shall
be watched and alert for no one knows the day of the Lord. It means no one
knows when their last breath of life comes. The Scripture says that we are
living in the last days. Apostle John said in the first century that it was the
last hour (1 John 2:18). Apostle Paul said that in the last days perilous times
shall come (2 Timothy 3:1). So, our Lord Jesus further explains what would be
look like in the days of the Son of Man.
“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. But the day Lot left
Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.” (Luke
17:26-29)
It will be in the days of Noah. The people were eating,
drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered ark. Eating,
drinking, and marrying indicate that they had just been living as usual as any
other day in life. Those activities are the essential elements of everyday
lives. It doesn’t condemn the daily activities of people’s lives but indicates
the stealth of the coming of the Son of Man. No one knows of his coming because
he will be coming like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2). Another example
was given in Sodom and Gomorrah. It will be the days of Lot. People were eating
and drinking, trading, and planting trees and building houses. But the day Lot
left Sodom led by the angels, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and
destroyed them all. While they were busy in daily and routine business in
living, the day of the Son of Man suddenly came upon them. It indicates that
the day of the Lord is the day of God’s judgment.
“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is
revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside,
should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for
anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it,
and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two
people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will
be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left. ‘Where, Lord?’
they asked. He replied, ‘Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will
gather.’” (Luke 17:30-37)
On that day no one should go back to get anything for Lot’s
wife looked back and became a pillar of salt. It is significant for us not to
hold on the transient things of the world. Otherwise, we will lose our life. It
is indeed the last hour if it was so in the first century. How closer we are to
the day of the Lord since the building of the church has begun in the first
century! What we ought to do is to praise God with thanks as the unworthy
servants. That’s our duty before the living God who loved us first by giving
the Son Jesus Christ for our sins.
“Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever
loses their life will preserve it,” says our Lord Jesus. This is the greatest
principle of life in Christ Jesus. In fact, that’s what Jesus demonstrated in
public by giving his life for the sin of the world. By not saving himself up,
he saved the lost humanity with his blood of atonement. He did not live for
himself but for the Father God and for us. Jesus Christ obeyed the will of the
Father, the redemption of the race, to the point of death.
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision
of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having
canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and
condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having
disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them by the cross.” (Colossians 2:13-15)
We have been made alive by faith in the death of Jesus
Christ who has taken away the wages of sin, nailing it to the cross. Jesus
conquered the death by the cross. Since we are made cleansed by faith in Christ,
we shall continue to live in him, following the way of the cross. Again, no one
knows the hour of his coming (Matthew 24:36). So, we shall continue to deny ourselves,
take up the cross, and follow our Master Jesus Christ. On that night, two
people will be on bed, one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be
grinding grain together, one will be taken and the other left. It indicates
this will be a global event which happens all over the places of the earth. People
are working in one side of the earth and sleeping in the other side.
The disciples asked, “Where, Lord?” Jesus replied, “Where
there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.” After everything has
been accomplished according to the good will and plan of God made before the
creation of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ will appear on the clouds of
heaven with power and great glory. All peoples on earth will see him just as lighting
that comes from the east is visible from the west. That’s the meaning of Jesus’
answer to his disciples.
Prayer: Thank our Father in heaven for letting us know the
mystery of life, Jesus Christ the Lord who is the beginning and the end and
holds the keys of life and Hades. Thank you Father for enabling us to enter the
kingdom of heaven through the faith in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ and
to have eternal life now and forevermore. Help us Father to be watchful and
alert for the day of the Lord Jesus Christ and not to dare to try to save
ourselves but always to lose our life, following him. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
February 13, 2016
© 2015-2016 David
Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.
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