“Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. 23 People will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. 24 For the Son of Man in his day[d] will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. 29 But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.” Luke 17.22-29
If you were wondering why Jesus’ popularity waned over time, read no further than this passage. Most of us would rather read about a happy Jesus—sweet and gentle, full of grace and love. Not many of us want to read about the end times, when generations reject Christ, when He must suffer, and when destruction comes upon the whole of humanity.
I’d rather read about the easy days without suffering, walking in the Garden next to the Lord. I would rather read about those days than about the day of retribution and judgment that is coming.
Jesus speaks a lot about the end times to the disciples. He tells of a day when we will long to see the Son of Man, but instead we will see the destruction of disobedient people, just as in the days of Noah and the days of Lot. Destruction will come to those who reject His word and His offer of salvation.
Near the end of His ministry on earth, Jesus spoke more and more about His death, suffering, and eventual resurrection. The disciples did not understand what was going to happen. Although we do not walk with Jesus in the flesh, we have the blessing of knowing the “rest of the story,” as Paul Harvey was so famous for saying.
We know what did happen, and we believe what will happen. Jesus ascended to the Father and will return just as He went. There will be no mistaking when the Son of Man returns—people will be taken, lightning and lights will flash across the sky. Believers will be taken, and the world will be shaken!
One way to know for sure that when we die we will go to heaven is to trust Jesus as Savior—to receive Him in our hearts and believe that what He did upon the cross was and is for us. When we trust Christ, the Holy Spirit comes and lives within us. When we give up control and submit to God, we receive assurance of our salvation. John Wesley spoke about this often. In his sermon “The Witness of the Spirit,” he says:
“The testimony of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God; that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given himself for me; and that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God.”
Jesus is not just playing around here. He is seeking to save a lost and disobedient world from eternal punishment and separation from God.
So turn to God.
Trust in Him.
Find assurance—
A welcome in heaven.
In the stillness,
In the time,
In the waiting,
In this line…
We will see Jesus,
We will find Him true.
So trust in the Savior,
Because He died for you.
“O Lord God, thank You for loving us. Thank You for the assurance of salvation, which erases any fear or doubt. We know You are good and just. Thank You for pouring out Your grace upon Your people. I love You, Lord, and praise Your name. For You are good, and Your love endures forever.” Amen.