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As in the Days of Noah and Lot
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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 sulphur 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." (Luke 17: 23 - 36 ESV)
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Two facts not told about this passage
Firstly, although we understand God to be a God of love, wanting all people to be saved, why did He bring destruction on those living at the time of Noah and Lot? How can that be love? Universalists think because God is Love He will relent and instead of condemning sinners on judgment day (Rev 20: 15) He will let everyone into His heavenly kingdom. According to Universalists no one will be lost. Wrong! What is misunderstand and forgotten is the fact that God is also a God of righteousness and judgment – who hates sin and rebellion.
God wants to rid this universe of sin once and for all. Sin brings death, destruction and every kind of evil and human wickedness. Allowing unrepentant sinners into His heavenly kingdom won’t get rid of sin. Instead, it would perpetuate it forever. Unless we turn away from sin and follow Jesus in this lifetime we will never enter God’s kingdom.
Some Christians believe that the God of the Old Testament (OT) is different from the God of the New Testament (NT) – an angry God v’s a loving God. But God’s nature doesn’t change: He demands righteousness and justice as well as love.
Secondly, there are preachers and scholars who take the above scripture passage out of context. They focus on the evil these people were committing to prompt God’s judgment and not the emphasis of the passage as a whole. Yes, these were evil people who deserved God’s anger and punishment, and this fact would have been understood by the Jews and the NT church. But this is not what Jesus was saying. Jesus said that on the day Noah went into the ark and closed the door, and on the day Lot left Sodom, life was normal. To the people in these places it was just another day, they woke up in the morning and went about their business as they normally did. So will it be on the day Jesus returns (Luke 17:30).
For most people living on the last day this event will take them totally by surprise – it will be totally unexpected. However, for God’s people they will be ready like Noah and Lot and rejoice at His coming. We can be sure it won’t take them by surprise.
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PeterF
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