Kingdom Principle: The narrative of the coming of Jesus the King is simply but profound. Jesus the King has come, Jesus the King has gone away (for a time), but Jesus the King will come again. And his return will be un-expected and un-mistakable.
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The Return of the King will be ____-_____________________ (sudden)
Luke 17:26–30 (ESV) 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all… 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.
The issue in this text isn’t the activities that the world is engaged in. It is their pre-occupation with those activities.
Genesis 19:26 (ESV) 26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
Genesis 19:15–17 (ESV) 15 As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. 17 And as they brought them out, one said, “Escape for your life. Do not look back or stop anywhere in the valley. Escape to the hills, lest you be swept away.”
Are you ready to go?
Revelation 19:17–18 (ESV) 17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly directly overhead, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all men, both free and slave, both small and great.”
Revelation 19:21 (ESV) 21 And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.
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The Return of the King will be ____-______________________ (spectacular)
Luke 17:22–24 (ESV) 22 And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.
“When Christ comes, there will be no need to publish the tidings of it in the newspapers, no need to send the herald from town to town to tell that he has come; for as the lightning is seen from one end of heaven to the other, so shall the coming of the Son of man be.”
–Charles Spurgeon
Jesus wants us to understand that not only will his return come unexpectedly but it will also affect all peoples. It will be universal. It will be unmistakable.
Revelation 1:7 (ESV) 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen
Questions to Consider
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Are you greatly anticipating Christ’s return? If not, why not?
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What are some things on this earth that are holding you back from fully embracing Jesus’ second coming? How is the Lord asking you to let go of those things?
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In what ways might you let those around you know that Jesus is coming back so that they are not completely unaware?
