When Does The Kingdom Of GOD Come?
Luke
17:20-37
“Having been asked by the
Pharisees when the Kingdom of GOD would come, JESUS answered them saying, ‘The
Kingdom of GOD does not come with intent watching, nor shall they say, “Look
here!” or “Look there!” For look, The Kingdom of GOD is in your midst (within
you)!’”
JESUS answered the question they
asked, not the question they implied! The Pharisees asked when GOD’s Kingdom
would come and it was already there; they just did not see it because of their
religious blindness. JESUS Is The Kingdom Of GOD! (John 5:37-40; Colossians
2:8-10; Hebrews 1:1-4)
Then He went on and answered the
implied question to the disciples about the signs to watch for, verses 22-37.
There are many Christians and
non-christians trying to figure out the End of Time, looking for and
interpreting the signs they see but not understanding The Scriptures.
We must be careful in saying the
Scriptures say something other than what they actually say. In this section
there are two common errors.
Verses 26-29 JESUS talked about what
it will be like when He is Revealed, He said as it will be as in the days of
Noah and Lot. Many describe this as days of giants and monsters and great sin
and they apply it to the Last Days, the Great Tribulation. But that is not what
JESUS is saying! JESUS said when He is Revealed people will be going about their
life as normal. JESUS said the people would be eating and drinking and getting
married, buying and selling, building and planting, everything will be normal.
In the Great Tribulation nothing will be normal, many people will not take the
mark or name of the anti-christ and they will not be able to rent or buy a
home, go shopping for groceries or do any normal activities; they are going to
be persecuted, imprisoned and murdered for their Faith in JESUS or rejection of
the government.
Verses 31-37 JESUS said two will
be together in bed, in the field, or in the kitchen and one will be taken and
the other left; many teach this is the rapture, it is not, why? Because in
verse 37 the disciples ask JESUS where the ones taken will be taken to. JESUS
tells them they will be taken to where the eagles are gather together, some
translations say vultures*.
The Rapture is about being caught
up to Heaven where JESUS is waiting for us, that is not where these people were
taken, they were taken to a place of death. This section of Scripture is
talking about the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple and the dispersion of
the Israelites through the know world, there was a great slaughter of the people.
Why? Remember that GOD Judged Israel
for 70 years for missing 490 years of Sabbaths.
The historical reason is that the
Roman’s got tired of The Israelites rebelling, GOD’s reason is that after they
rejected their Messiah JESUS of Nazareth they were practicing a false religion,
Judaism. Instead of receiving and worshipping their Messiah JESUS they
continued to practice animal sacrifice – that was a total rejection of GOD’s Plan
of Salvation for humanity. (Study Hebrews 10. Vs.1&39 “For The Law (Torah),
having a shadow of the Good things to come, not the very image of the things,
can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year after
year, make those who approach perfect…But we are not of those who draw back to
perdition (destruction), but of those who Believe to the Saving of the soul.”
So in 70 AD GOD brought His Judgement on Israel that lasted 1,878 years.
So in this passage JESUS was not
talking about the End Days, the Great Tribulation and the Rapture. He was
warning them of the coming Judgment of the nation.
*Eagle = aĕtŏs “an eagle”
(also a vulture), is perhaps connected with aēmi, “to blow”, as of the wind,
on account of its wind-like flight. In Matthew 24:28 and Luke 17:37 the
vultures are probably intended. Vines Concise Dictionary Of The Bible, Thomas
Nelson
No comments:
Post a Comment