Good morning, I'd like to welcome you back to a new week and another edition of our Anchored in the Word morning reflection. The passage we're going to work our way through this week is Luke chapter 17, verses 20 through 37. And I know that it's Thanksgiving this week, so my plan is to record messages every single week or every single day this week. But it's possible that I may run into a challenge, but more than likely, that is the plan starting right now. So, if you have your Bibles, let's turn together to that text and we'll begin reading. Again, this Luke chapter 17, we'll begin in verse 20. And when he, that is Jesus, was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, the kingdom of God cometh not with observation, neither shall they say lo here or lo there, for behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto his disciples, the days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, see here or see there, go not after them nor follow them. For as the lightning that lighteneth out of the part under heaven shineth from one part under heaven to the other, so shall also the Son of Man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be in the days of the Son of Man. Now, I'd like to begin with some introductory thoughts as we set the stage this week. First of all, this is a very complicated passage of Scripture. And it's complicated because it's dealing with the topic of eschatology. And there are several other passages in the Gospels that record the content of what we look at in this passage of Scripture. For instance, in Matthew 24, we see Jesus teaching on this issue. Again, in Mark 13, we see him teaching on this issue. And then it's not just in Luke 17, but it's also in Luke 21 that this topic is being addressed. So if we want to discuss this topic, we're going to have to look at all of those passages of scripture and what he has to say about that. We also have to recognize that there's a lot talked about in the Old Testament that leads up to this and then also in the epistles and in the book of Revelation. So this is a topic that involves a lot of technical information, a lot for us to dig into. But in order for you to just have a greater appreciation of what's discussed in this passage, I want to give you a brief overview of some of the concepts in the scriptures that deal with this issue of eschatology and the coming of the Lord. The first topic we're going to address is the topic called the last days. The last days are that time from the ascension of Christ until the rapture of the church, when God will rescue his people and they are to be anticipating his imminent return. The word imminent means it could happen at any time. There's no sign or no season that has to take place before Christ does this. We should be ready as if it were to happen today. In 2 Timothy 3, verse 1, it says, in the last days, perilous times will come. Luke 12, 40. Be therefore ready, the Son of Man cometh at an hour when you think not. So we talk about the last days, we're talking about the time we're living in now, in anticipation of the return of Christ. The second concept that I want to mention is the concept of the day of the Lord. That word day in this particular context and with this particular concept isn't referring to a 24 hour period of time, but rather a period where Christ will be establishing his right to rule over his creation. And then he'll be coming to establish his kingdom. And we talk about his kingdom. We mean his millennial kingdom. We'll talk about that later in this in this topic. In First Peter, chapter one, verse 13, it says, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober to the hope, to the end of the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. The revelation of Jesus Christ is referring to this period known as the day of the Lord. What we read about in the book of Revelation. 2 Peter 3.10, the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, the elements shall melt with a fervent heat, and the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. And so when he talks about the day of the Lord, he's saying this period of time will come as a thief. It will catch those who are not ready for it by surprise. And so it's not going to catch the believer by surprise. We're anticipating the return of Christ. we're going to be raptured out of here and we won't have to live through the horrific events that are going to take place during that period of time but There are people that will be caught by surprise who are not anticipating the return of Christ. Another concept, the rapture of the church. That is the concept that God is going to rescue his people from the wrath to come that is going to be experienced during the day of the Lord. We talk about the rapture. We see in First Corinthians 15, he says, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye. at the last trump, the trumpet so sound, the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 1 Thessalonians 4 14 We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. These passages of scripture tell us that there will be a generation of believers who are not going to face physical death, but rather they will be brought to be with the Lord immediately and they will be joined together with others who have died and we will all be resurrected to be with the Lord in a moment. And so the rapture is going to take place before those terrible events that are talked about in the book of Revelation. Another concept, the second coming of Christ. There's a difference between what we call the day of the Lord, the second coming of Christ, and the rapture. The second coming of Christ is going to take place during that period called the day of the Lord. at the end of that period before the millennial reign of Christ. Christ will come to vindicate his people and to establish his millennial kingdom. I heard a great voice, much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia, salvation, glory, honor, and power unto the Lord our God, for true and righteous are his judgments. Then in verse 11 it says, And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and he that sat upon it who is called faithful and true. In righteousness he doth judge and make war, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, and he hath on his vestures and on his thigh a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. reference to the second coming of Christ. And then the last concept that I want to mention is what's called the millennial reign of Christ, where Christ will reign and rule for a thousand years with his saints as he promised in both the Old Testament and reaffirmed in the book of Revelation. Here's what the text says in Revelation 20 verse 4. And I saw thrones and they that sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them, and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the word of God. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. And they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years. Now you say, what's the point of all of these concepts being mentioned in a very general way? The point is to help you to realize this is a very delicate topic. It is an involved topic. But the whole point of all of these things is to emphasize being ready for the return of Christ. And so I would summarize what we're going to deal with this week in the following way. Christ's chief concern in this passage is to warn people to be ready for the return of Christ. be anticipating it. He answers the question of the Pharisees by saying, listen, your question reveals that you have some wrong assumptions about the kingdom of God. You need to be ready for his kingdom rather than distracted by the things that you're assuming. We have to live with anticipation of his imminent return. And so that's what I'd like to leave you with this morning. As you think about the fact that there's a lot to digest this week from Luke chapter 17, I hope the biggest thing you'll walk away with is saying, hey, I want to be ready for the return of Christ. Being ready means I place my faith in Christ. I've trusted in his finished work. I'm saved. And I'm trying to live a life that, in fact, is faithful as I wait on the return of Christ. Have a blessed rest of your morning. And Lord willing, we will be working our way through this passage of scripture throughout the rest of the week by now.