On God's Kingdom (1)

This piece was originally delivered orally as a teaching and has been lightly edited for readability.

The topic before us is the Kingdom of God. It will be a Bible study session as always. We will read the Scriptures, trust the Holy Spirit to exegete the Scriptures, look closely at the text, and encourage one another in the faith.

Our text is taken from Luke 17:20–37 (ESV):

Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” 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. And they will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not go out or follow them. 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. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 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. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building—but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.”

A strange apathy in the Church

I’ll start by saying this: there is almost an apathy in mainstream Christianity today toward the topic of Christ’s second coming. For me, that is one of the strangest observations of my lifetime so far.

People are not interested in the topic of Christ’s return as much as they should be, at least not to the degree that Scripture indicates we should be. You may be surprised to learn that there are believers who are secretly wishing Christ will not return in their lifetime.

I believe the reason is simple: materialism and worldliness have eaten up our appetite for the return of Christ. Some people are having such a good life, quote-unquote, that the idea of being snatched away from this world feels intolerable.

I can understand the unbeliever not wanting to hear it. It is not good news to the unbeliever. It is bad news. But for us who have been called into the household of faith, it is good news. The reaction Christ’s return should produce in us should be one of joy, longing, and excitement.

The apostles would say, “Come, Lord Jesus.” There was a desire in them for the manifestation of God’s kingdom. But it is hard to say the same about our generation.

Ask yourself: how many times in churches today do you hear the message of Christ’s return preached? How often do you hear pastors or teachers speak plainly about the rapture, the coming of the Lord, and judgment? Those things are no longer in vogue.

There was a time, when I was younger, that you would see people on the streets announcing, “The kingdom of God is at hand,” like John the Baptist type town-criers. I don’t know if it is still rampant in Nigeria, but I have not seen it personally since I’ve been in the West. I see clips online sometimes, however in my own experience, it is far less common.

Even in churches, in the pews I have sat in, rarely, if ever, is the return of Christ treated as a priority.

Now, I’m not saying people do not believe Christ is coming. Most Christians will say, “Christ is coming back.” It has become a cliché. But what I’m talking about is deeper: the level of interest, the seriousness, the expectancy. People are not as interested as earlier generations were.

I’m thankful for my heritage. One blessing of being born into a Christian home is that, when I was younger, my mother would play Jim Reeves singing, “This world is not my home, I’m merely passing by…” and it would be on repeat. And even as a child, it built in me a sense of expectation that at any moment there could be a reckoning, and believers would be caught up to meet the Lord.

We need to return to that sense of expectation. I want to challenge us, especially as young people, and as the next patriarchs and matriarchs of the next generation: let us bring this consciousness of Christ’s return back into mainstream Christianity.

Let's get interested in eschatology.

“Eschatology is hard”

Now, I know eschatology can be difficult to wrap one's head around. Eschatology is simply the doctrine of the events that will occur in the last days. Many of us have read the book of Revelation and we are still reeling from how complex it can feel. So I understand why people avoid the subject. Some people think, “It’s too difficult, so why bother? Let’s focus on what we know.”

But that is not a good enough excuse.

It’s not a good excuse because your eschatology has far-reaching implications, more than many people realise. If you believe Christ is coming back, the way you understand the manner and sequence of His coming affects how you prepare, how you teach, and what you emphasise.

Just to give one example: some believe the Antichrist will appear and believers will endure that period of persecution. Another camp believes the rapture will occur before the man of sin is revealed. Those positions are not just theoretical. They shape the kind of preparedness you encourage. If you expect believers to go through the tribulation, you will prepare in a certain way. If you believe the Church will be taken before that period, your line of preparation will look different. So even though this is an area where there are differing views, it is not an area that is irrelevant.

Next time, I intend to give us an “eschatology for beginners” session. We will look at some of the major eschatological views at a basic level, without drowning in details. But I do not want to preempt that discussion in this round.

I want us to focus on the text before us: Luke 17:20-37. I want us to walk through it carefully and understand what our Lord Jesus Christ is communicating. These are the words of Christ Himself. If you have a red-letter Bible, you will see that this passage is marked in red. So we must apply diligence to understand it.

The immediate context: Jerusalem, the Pharisees, and the Kingdom

Our anchor text becomes clearer when we place it in context.

Jesus was delivering this message while He was on His way to Jerusalem. He had a mission to accomplish there. That was where His passion would take place, where He would be crucified, and where He would complete His earthly ministry.

So as He travels, He has different engagements: Pharisees, sceptics, doubters, disciples. And one theme keeps reappearing: Jesus was always talking about the Kingdom.

If you read Luke, you see this repeatedly. For example:

Luke 12:32 (ESV)

“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

He speaks in parables about the Kingdom. He explains what the Kingdom is like. He constantly frames His mission in Kingdom language. It is one of the defining features of His ministry.

So in Luke 17:20, the Pharisees ask Him a direct question: “When is this Kingdom going to come?”

And Jesus answers them:

“The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed… for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Luke 17:20–21, ESV)

Jesus is saying there is no scientific calculation, no hostile examination, no observational method that will yield the timeline they are looking for. And this is instructive for us too, because people still try to do exactly that: calculate dates, build timelines, predict events with mathematical certainty. Jesus shuts that down immediately.

But there is another layer here. The Pharisees were not asking a neutral question. They had an expectation of what the Kingdom should look like. They wanted a political, visible, national restoration. They wanted a Messiah of their own making. Remember the context: Roman occupation. The Jews were under the thumb of the Romans. The longing in the nation was for liberation, for independence, for a visible kingdom. So when Jesus spoke about the Kingdom, many people expected a political Messiah who would break the Roman grip. And this helps explain the resistance. Jesus was not the kind of Messiah they wanted.

So when Jesus says, “the kingdom of God is in the midst of you,” He is not saying the Kingdom is inside every human heart in a generic sense. He is saying the Kingdom is already present among them because the King is standing among them. In other words: you are looking for the Kingdom, but you cannot see what is in front of you because you have rejected the King.

Then Jesus turns to His disciples

After addressing the Pharisees, Jesus turns to the disciples in verse 22:

“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.”(Luke 17:22, ESV)

If you read it closely, there is a contrast there: the Kingdom is in your midst now, but a time is coming when you will long for the days of the Son of Man and you will not see it. This begins a different portion of the teaching. Jesus is now preparing His disciples for His departure and for what will follow. And He immediately warns them that after He is gone, deception will increase:

“They will say to you, ‘Look there!’ or ‘Look here!’ Do not go out or follow them.”(Luke 17:23, ESV)

False messiahs will arise. People will claim special revelation. People will call others to secret sightings and hidden appearances. Jesus says: do not follow them.

Then He gives a clear standard:

“For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky… so will the Son of Man be in his day.”(Luke 17:24, ESV)

Meaning: when Christ returns, it will not be secret. It will not be hidden. It will be undeniable. It will be public, visible, global. The whole world will know.

(...to be continued).