Yeshua (Jesus) was asked by Pharisees (religious leaders) when the kingdom of God would come, as recorded in Luke 17:20-21.
His answer has been translated in different ways (See bottom page comments) that can lead to confusion. However, by carefully looking at his entire answer, it is possible to understand what he meant.
Let’s look at a simple summary of Yeshua’s complete answer, in two different ways, to help get the true understanding (Luke 17:20-37):
- The coming of God’s kingdom is not observable. The coming of the flood in Noah’s day was not observable. The coming of the fire and sulphur on Sodom was not observable
- When God’s kingdom arrives, justice is speedily executed and the wicked are killed. When the flood arrived, justice was speedily executed and the wicked were killed. When the fire and sulphur arrived, justice was speedily executed and the wicked were killed.
- When God’s kingdom arrives, all will definitely know it has arrived. When the flood came, all involved definitely knew it had arrived. When the fire and sulphur came, all involved definitely knew it came.
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- The coming of God’s kingdom is not observable
- When God’s kingdom arrives, justice is speedily executed. The wicked are killed.
- Upon arrival, all will definitely know it has arrived
- When God’s kingdom arrives, justice is speedily executed. The wicked are killed.
- The coming of the flood in Noah’s day was not observable
- When the flood arrived, justice was speedily executed. The wicked were killed.
- Upon arrival, all definitely knew it had arrived
- When the flood arrived, justice was speedily executed. The wicked were killed.
- The coming of the fire and sulphur on Sodom was not observable
- When the fire and sulphur arrived, justice was speedily executed. The wicked were killed.
- Upon arrival, all definitely knew it had arrived
- When the fire and sulphur arrived, justice was speedily executed. The wicked were killed.
Now, let’s look at the account at Luke 17:20-37 (ISV):
20 Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come. He answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with a visible display. 21 People won’t be saying, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ because now the kingdom of God is among you.”
22 Then Jesus told the disciples, “The time will come during which you will long to see one of these days when the Son of Man is with you, but you won’t see it. 23 People will say to you, ‘Look! There he is!’ or ‘Look! Here he is!’ But don’t go and chase after him. 24 Because just as lightning flashes and shines from one end of the sky to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his time. 25 But first he must suffer a great deal and be rejected by those living today.
26 “Just as it was in Noah’s time, so it will be in the Son of Man’s time. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed all of them. 28 So it was in Lot’s time. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But on the very day when Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed all of them. 30 The day when the Son of Man is revealed will be like that.
31 “The person who is on the housetop that day must not come down to get his belongings out of his house. The person in the field, too, must not turn back to what’s left behind. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, two will be seated on the same couch that night. The one will be taken, and the other will be left behind. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together. The one will be taken, and the other will be left behind.”
37 Then they asked him, “Where, Lord, will this take place?”
He told them, “Wherever there’s a corpse, that’s where the vultures will gather.”
Comments:
- Verse 21; “People won’t be saying, ‘Look! Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ because now the kingdom of God is among you.”
- This is Jesus talking about how people will react once the kingdom arrives. Everyone will definitely know. That’s why people will not have to show others that it is here. Jesus explains further in verse 24 that the arrival is like lightening that crosses the sky. He further explains that it will be like the flood in Noah’s day and the fire and sulphur in Lot’s day. The arrival will be dramatic and will see justice executed.
- Misunderstandings have arisen due to not understanding the context. Some translations promote the thought that Jesus was saying that the kingdom was in the Pharisee’s hearts or that the kingdom of God was in their midst, at the time. In a way, the kingdom was in their midst, as Jesus (Yeshua) was there and had the spirit of God. But that was not what the Pharisees had asked about. They were asking about a future event.
- Verses 22-24; 22 Then Jesus told the disciples, “The time will come during which you will long to see one of these days when the Son of Man is with you, but you won’t see it. 23 People will say to you, ‘Look! There he is!’ or ‘Look! Here he is!’ But don’t go and chase after him. 24 Because just as lightning flashes and shines from one end of the sky to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his time”
- Yeshua speaks of people yearning to see his return.
- False teachers will claim that Yeshua is here, in one way or another and will try to mislead others. However, Jesus sets things straight by using the examples of lightening, the flood, and the fire and sulphur, to explain how how everyone will definitely know when he arrives. All will know.
- Verses 26-30; 26 “Just as it was in Noah’s time, so it will be in the Son of Man’s time. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage right up to the day when Noah went into the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed all of them. 28 So it was in Lot’s time. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But on the very day when Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed all of them. 30 The day when the Son of Man is revealed will be like that.
- Notice how Jesus states that people were doing everyday things up to the day of the flood, in Noah’s day and up to the day that it rained fire and sulphur, in Lot’s day. He used those examples to show that just as there was no visible warning back then, there would not be for the arrival of the kingdom of God. The arrival would be sudden and dramatic!
- The nations will be caught off guard. However, Yeshua has left teachings to help his followers and additional signs to watch out for which are mentioned in Daniel. Just as the righteous were saved in Noah’s and Lot’s day, there is the narrow path that is available for all to take, which leads to salvation. (Matthew 7:14 AMP)
- Verses 31-37; 31 “The person who is on the housetop that day must not come down to get his belongings out of his house. The person in the field, too, must not turn back to what’s left behind. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever tries to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it. 34 I tell you, two will be seated on the same couch that night. The one will be taken, and the other will be left behind. 35 Two women will be grinding grain together. The one will be taken, and the other will be left behind.”
37 Then they asked him, “Where, Lord, will this take place?”
He told them, “Wherever there’s a corpse, that’s where the vultures will gather.”
- It is a somber thought that many will be destroyed. However, many will be saved.
The word translated “coming” or “presence” is a Greek word (parousia) that actually takes both meanings into one. An example of this is to say that an owner of a store is on his way here to take care of business, once he arrives. We don’t see him as he is coming but when he arrives, he does his business and we see him.
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- The book Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words defines it as: “parousia (…,3952), lit., ‘a presence,’ para, ‘with,’ and ousia, ‘being’ (from eimi, ‘to be’), denotes both an ‘arrival’ and a consequent ‘presence with.’ For instance, in a papyrus letter a lady speaks of the necessity of her parousia in a place in order to attend to matters relating to her property there.”
Links to compare English translations of Luke 17:20 and 21:
This is to show why it is very important to read Yeshua’s (Jesus’) entire answer.
Luke 17:20 (Multiple translations)
Luke 17:21 (Multiple translations)
Compare: What happens with Jesus’ coming , arrival, and the end of the age?
Compare: When is Jesus’ coming and arrival?