 But today we're in Luke chapter 17 verses 20 through 37 and so let's begin reading together here in Luke chapter 20 rather chapter 17. Let's begin reading together at verse 20 and I'll read verses 20 and 21 and we'll get into our study. Luke chapter 17 verse 20 and 21. Luke writes now when he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come he answered them and said the kingdom of God does not come with observation nor will they say see here or see there for indeed the kingdom of God is within you. Now the question that the Pharisees asked is one of those questions that was asked commonly during the time of the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a great deal of interest concerning prophetic events when Jesus was walking the face of the earth even as there still remains a great interest in prophetic events. You see the Jews during this time especially were interested in the kingdom of God and it being established because they were under Roman tyranny and they wanted that Roman rule to be to be off of them they wanted to be released from it. You see for many centuries the nation of Israel had been enduring many foreign rulers as you study your scriptures you see that that they were subjugated to the Assyrians and the Babylonians the Medo-Persians to the Greeks and and even during the time of the writing of the gospel of Luke they were being subjected to rulership by the Romans and and they longed to be free they wanted to be free from foreign tyranny. Now as they would examine their scriptures they would see that many times God had through the prophets promised them deliverance had promised that that he would establish his kingdom on the face of the earth and as they read their prophets they saw that the Messiah would do that they they could go through scripture after scripture and and the scriptures in the Old Testament were pointing to the time that that God would give to them a Messiah who would bring them into peace and prosperity and that's what they desired and they could read various prophets you see it throughout Ezekiel you see it in in in the book of Isaiah you you see it in Jeremiah for example in Jeremiah chapter 23 verses five and six the Bible says behold the days come says the Lord that I will raise unto David a righteous branch and a king shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth in his days Judah shall be saved and Israel shall dwell safely and this is his name whereby he shall be called the Lord our righteousness and so there were so many scriptures that gave promise to deliverance and blessing and so naturally that would be on the mind of the Pharisees the people were greatly desiring Messiah's rule and his reign and because of this particular expectation the Pharisees approached the Lord Jesus Christ and asked the question when is the kingdom of God going to arrive that was a common question during that time and they wanted to see it happen even in their day you see during that time the Jews were expecting an outward invisible kingdom that they themselves would be prominent in they were expecting armies and battles they were expecting proclamations and excitement but the problem is as they had a misconception a misconception of the kingdom of God and that's why Jesus answers in the way that he does because when it says in verse 20 that he was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come notice his answer he answered them and said the kingdom of God does not come with observation nor will they say see here or see there for indeed the kingdom of God is within you God's rule actually begins in the hearts of men God's rule is not intended to be forced on man but rather is to be received by a willing choice God's kingdom actually begins within a person because wherever Jesus is honored there you will find the kingdom of God you see when he says the kingdom of God does not come with observation the word observation the way we see it and the way that it was it was intended to be understood may be a bit different because for us the word observation cares with that the connotation of something that we are looking for when in reality the word observation speaks of an outward show and so that's what Jesus is speaking about here he's saying the kingdom of God isn't something that is outward show they're expecting battles and they're expecting trumpets and they're expecting all kinds of outer kinds of things where they're going to be raised and be prominent on the face of the earth but the point Jesus is making is that's not how the kingdom of God arrives in verse 21 he clarifies that when he says nor will they say see here or see there so he's speaking very specifically of the fact that the kingdom of God actually begins invisibly it begins at the heart of the person it begins in you it begins in me when we received Christ's Lord and Savior he is our Lord he is our king his kingdom has arrived within us and that's basically how he begins to approach their question by first and foremost saying listen the kingdom of God isn't what you expect it to be notice how he says indeed the kingdom of God is within you once again we could take that word within and we could say that that means something that is simply inside but that's not the entire meaning of the word because the word within also means amongst you and so what you have to see is the context of what's taking place what's taking place is Pharisees are basically surrounding Jesus and as he's standing there in the midst of these people they're saying when is the kingdom of God going to arrive and so as he's surrounded by people he's saying listen it doesn't come with outward manifestation I realize that you guys I read the prophets and I understand your expectation and and and during the time of Christ there was something called a Jewish eschatology there were certain events that they were anticipating that related to in their mind the last days and all in and obviously he fit into some of the structure of what they were expecting as they studied the Old Testament scriptures because they knew that that there would be certain things accompanying the arrival of their Messiah they knew for example that that there would be a great stress and and great tribulation and and they would be assuming that to be the rulership that they were enduring under Rome in the various centuries that they'd been under foreign rule they also knew that there would be a forerunner who was to come and Malachi had made that clear in Malachi chapter 4 verse 5 when he spoke concerning the one who was like Elijah who would come in the last days and all and so there were various things that they were anticipating expecting that were to be the events that ushered in Messiah and that's why the Pharisees approach him and and seeing that there was one by the name of John the Baptist who who preached in the spirit and power of Elijah well perhaps Jesus is capable of giving them insight concerning his kingdom when is the kingdom going to arrive now it doesn't necessarily mean that they are embracing him as Messiah what it means is they're coming to him as a rabbi asking for instruction and so that's what's taking place here there's this expectation but you see the kingdom of God begins within us according to Romans chapter 14 verse 17 the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy and the Holy Spirit so the rulership of God produces within you the fruit of the Spirit and it demonstrates that God is actually active within you and so here we have the context they're asking questions concerning the kingdom of God is quick answer to them is it doesn't come with observation it's not simply an outward kind of show of any sort the kingdom of God is here Jesus Christ himself personifying that kingdom and and the kingdom of God begins with a relationship with God through Messiah Jesus but he continues on and begins to speak concerning conditions of the last days now let's begin to look at that in verse 22 it says he said to the disciples the days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man and you will not see it they will say to you look here look there do not go after them or follow them for as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven so also the Son of Man will be in his day but first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation and as it was in the days of Noah so it will also be in the days of the Son of Man they ate they drank married wives they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all likewise as it was also in the days of Lot they ate they drank they bought they sold they planted they built but on the day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed in that day he was on the house top and his goods are in the house let him not come down to take them away and likewise the one who was in the field let him not turn back remember Lot's wife and so Jesus begins to give to us here in the gospel Luke certain things that relate to the return his return you have to compare this with a variety of other scriptures and obviously if you were to study Matthew carefully you would look in Matthew chapters 24 and 25 and you would see that Jesus unfolds history for us in great detail here in Luke he doesn't do that and Luke he basically gives to us Luke under the inspiration the Holy Spirit gives to us a basic synopsis of these things and and as I was preparing this study I realized that if I was going to give this study in detail it would take several several Bible studies to do that we can actually take this apart and look at it in chronological order and we could tie in the book of Revelation and a variety of other books and you can see how it actually unfolds before you obviously we're not going to do that today I'm just going to give you a basic kind of teaching related to this and so I'm going to do the best that I can to give you some some insight into it and so as we look at verse 22 he said to the disciples the days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man and you will not see it well when he says you're going to desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man that phrase the Son of Man is another way of speaking of Messiah you're going to desire to see the rulership of Messiah you're going to desire to see that time the Son of Man is actually an Old Testament title for Messiah if you take notes it's found in Daniel chapter 7 verse 13 and there we have the term the Son of Man and it says I was watching in the night visions behold one like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven he came to the ancient of days and they brought him near before him and so he's speaking concerning the times of Messiah and the times he's saying will be so difficult that you will yearn for the peace that comes when I rule now you're going to desire to see that you're going to want to see one of the days of the Son of Man but notice what he says here he says you will not see it you're going to long to be delivered from the various struggles and afflictions that you'll find yourself enduring the things that you're suffering but you're not going to be delivered from them because Jesus is making it clear that he is not returning in their lifetime so they're going to long for his return but it isn't going to occur while they are alive these are first century believers and he's simply saying I'm not going to return during your days you're going to have a desire for me to return and that's going to be the cry of the church for 2,000 years and I find it interesting in the book of Revelation chapter 22 the last chapter of Revelation verse 20 and John says he who testifies to these things says surely I am coming quickly even so come Lord Jesus I mean the desire of the church has been from the beginning for Jesus to return yet Jesus is saying to these first century disciples you're going to long to see that but you will not be seeing that it will not occur in your lifetime but what is going to be taking place in the ensuing years in between Jesus's departure as he ascended into heaven and his return in what we call the second coming well he speaks in verse 23 and he says they will say to you look here or look there do not go after them or follow them the desire for Messiah can be so great that deceivers will use that desire to their great advantage false teachers are going to arise and will deceive many and the times are going to grow very hard it's interesting when you look at Matthew's account of Jesus's discussion it's called the the message he gives on the Mount of Olives an amount of all of it discourse it's called when you see that Jesus is asked a question relating to the his return because his disciples had approached him and had pointed out the beauty of the temple a temple that had been reconstructed over for over 40 years and and so they were just in such awe of it and it was such a beautiful and such an extravagant place in all and and so the disciples wanted Jesus to look at the beauty of that temple and and Jesus said listen you need to know that this temple isn't going to survive it's going to be destroyed not a stone is going to remain standing and for them the thought of of a massive massive stones that weigh some stones weighing 70 tons are going to be dislodged and this whole place is going to be destroyed was so beyond them and the thought that this immense and beautiful temple this glory of Jerusalem this center of worship was going to one day be gone was so beyond them they couldn't believe it and so they went spoke to him later on and said well what is the sign of your coming when are these things going to be and I want to know I mean if you're saying that this temple is going to be destroyed I want to get some detail on this in all and and that's when Jesus begins to speak to them and the very first thing he says is is be careful that you're not deceived and and so when he's speaking here in chapter 17 and he says at verse 23 in the gospel of Luke they'll say do you look here or look there do not go after them or follow them he's alluding to the fact that there'll be a rise of false teachers seducers who will be bringing deception in it's what he had said earlier or in more detail in Matthew 24 you see this as a theme throughout scripture you can see the same kind of thought about deception in 1st Timothy in chapter 4 verses 1 through 3 you can see the same thing in 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 through 7 you can see the same thing being spoken of in 2nd Peter chapter 2 verses 1 through 3 in various places in scripture where there are warnings related to false teachers under this incredible pressure that you're going to be going through in this desire to be released from it to have a Savior rumors will arise rumors will arise that Messiah has come that's why he says they'll say to you look here or look there but then he warns them do not go after them or follow them do not be following after the false teachers because false teachers will mislead false teachers will seduce they're going to say they know the exact time of his return they're going to say to you I know the exact place that he is he says do not listen these are false prophets and ultimately they will get you killed under the incredible pressures of the times you can be tempted to listen to what they're saying when Paul was writing in 2nd Thessalonians in chapter 2 verses 1 through 3 Paul said brethren concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him we ask you not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled either by spirit or by word or by letter as if from us as though the day of Christ had come let no one deceive you by any means even during the time of Paul the Thessalonian believers were hearing rumors that that the rapture had occurred that Christ had already come for the bride and they were greatly disturbed even refers to what's being done in order to to cause this disturbance he says that either by spirit or by word or by letter by spirit would be speaking of spiritual utterances where people were prophesying that the Lord Jesus Christ had already taken the church when he speaks concerning word it would be another way of saying that someone was saying well I spoke to Paul or one of the leaders of the church and they said it's already occurred when he says or as letter by us there are circulating rumors that Paul had written a letter that this day had already arrived he says don't let anybody deceive you so this was taking place at the beginning of the history of the church this anticipation of the return of Jesus Christ and false teachers already claiming things that were just not true false prophets during the last days they'll get even worse and worse they're going to be some who will be even performing miracles in an attempt to draw people to their side Paul speaks of that in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 verses 13 through 15 he said such are false apostles deceitful workers transforming themselves into apostles of Christ no wonder Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light therefore it's no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness whose end will be according to their works so there'll be rumors there are going to be false works there's going to be so many various things taking place deceivers that will arise and so he says in verse 23 here in Luke 17 they're going to say to you look here or look there do not go after them or follow them well why not well verse 24 says for as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven so also the Son of man will be in his day my return will be an obvious event it will be something that occurs suddenly and will be known completely there is a particular organization called Jehovah's Witnesses who in their early pamphlets their handouts stated that Jesus has returned and that Jesus is ruling and reigning right now in Brooklyn New York seriously in the watchtower organization because they claim themselves to be prophets in the name of God and so in their writings you could you could see this for yourself Walter Martin in his book kingdom of the cults documents this that Jehovah's Witnesses stated that Jesus has returned invisibly and now rules and reigns through the watchtower organization in Brooklyn New York in the early 1900s during World War one there was such a fear that this war was the war to end all wars and there were so many people that were afraid they were going to be wiped out that the Jehovah's Witnesses at that time stated well this is the foretaste of the return of Christ and then went so far as to say that he had returned and that he was ruling and reigning through the organization called the watchtower organization there in Brooklyn New York and so this is exactly what Jesus was saying when he says they're gonna say do you look here or look there do not go after them or follow them why for as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven so also the Son of Man will be in his day my return will be an obvious event it occurs suddenly it occurs completely now he says in verse 25 but first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation so he's saying listen you're going to be longing for my day you're going to be afflicted and suffering going through very hard times and incredible persecution but you need to remember something and notice how he puts it in verse 25 he must suffer many things and be rejected even as Jesus was rejected and suffered even so will his followers be rejected and also experienced suffering and his followers have done so for centuries so he is saying to them don't delude yourselves into thinking that you will avoid difficulties they've rejected Messiah they will reject you but he goes on in verse 26 and says and as it was in the days of Noah so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man they ate they drank they married wives they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all and so he begins to give them some insight now one of the things when you study the book of Genesis and you look in chapter 6 that introduces you to the conditions that were in existence in the early history of the world and you start seeing things that that were occurring during that time the one thing that you'll see in Genesis chapter 6 the events that precluded the that that went before the flood was that those days were incredibly evil evil was rampant and that's why God brought judgment down on the earth and so Jesus is making it clear that judgment came upon them when they were not expecting it and even so judgment is going to come you see when he speaks concerning them buying eating drinking marrying being given in marriage etc that's just common every day occurrences and so he's speaking concerning the fact that that the judgment came in an unexpected way and even so the return of Christ is going to be unexpected also it'll come in a way like that the conditions are going to be absolutely evil though you see in Noah's day because evil was rampant God did something first God extended to the world a season of grace that occurred when Noah was busy building the ark the ark that Noah built as we all know was on a an air and a plane if you will and because Genesis tells us that there was no rain in the early days of the history of the world but that a mist would water when when Noah began to preach and indeed he was a preacher people weren't listening to him they they didn't hear him they didn't want to hear what he had to say but God was giving them opportunity to hear a message that they might repent in 1st Peter in chapter 3 verse 20 the apostle writes the long suffering of God waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared wherein few that his eight souls were saved by water Noah was saved in the ark as well as his wife his three sons and their wives eight people is what he's referring to but God was giving to them a season of grace he gave to them some time to repent and and he does that because he cares Romans 2 verse 4 says do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness tolerance and patience not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance you see God didn't bring instant judgment because God was extending mercy sometimes we can think that because we haven't gotten hammered by the Lord that he must approve of what we're doing but i've discovered that that's not the way the Lord works what God does is he he gives to us a space of time to repent he gives us opportunity to to repent prior to him bringing the judgment that that that he needs to bring on on on me when i you know the the chastening that he brings on me when i do something wrong and prior to coming to christ i might have thought that my lifestyle was was okay and that the Lord was blessing it because you know i didn't seem that any any dire consequences occurred in my life but in reality what paul would be saying would he would he does say in Romans chapter 2 verse 4 is listen just because you haven't been hammered doesn't mean that God's pleased with it it's kind of like my kids you know when they were growing up and and they'd be doing something that wasn't right and and you know and i i noticed it you know it wasn't like like i didn't know they were doing something wrong i did you know i mean any parent knows this when your kids are in a room and it gets quiet something bad's happening and you know something's going on and so i didn't always come down on them immediately i i gave them a chance i'd give them a chance and then ultimately then i'd have to extend the the discipline you know i remember my son david who's 29 years old now but when he was a little boy a little guy i was trying to teach him the concept of grace and so he did something that deserved a spanking and and i remember saying to him son i'm going to teach you a lesson about god's grace you know what you did really deserves a spanking you know but what i'm going to do is i'm going to explain to you this was wrong and i don't want you to do it again and i'm giving to you grace now grace is is undeserved favor and and you deserves to be spanked son but i'm going to give to you favor i'm giving to you god's grace i'm going to give to you a father's grace right now and i'm not going to spank you thanks dad i really appreciate that and i said oh of course you do of course you do and then he did something wrong shortly thereafter and i go walking in and i said man he says well dad grace grace and he started screaming grace grace i said grace nothing it's law time you're getting the law boy but god gives to us and you know this i'm speaking to people understand this god gives to us a season to repent he did that in the time of noah he didn't bring the flood immediately he gave them a season to repent the bible tells us that noah actually would preach he was preaching for them to repent in second peter's second peter chapter two verse five it says god did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people but protected noah a preacher of righteousness and seven others so he was referred to as a preacher of righteousness because one he had a message god gave to the people and two in his actions his activities of building that ark so that he might be saved when god's judgment came it demonstrated that he believed god even though it had never rained even though he would be saying god is bringing judgment and he could speak concerning the rain how god is going to bring the rain at that time there was a water belt and so the atmosphere was perfect it was perfect because the sun would be filtered through this water belt and that's why people had longevity that's why they could live over 900 years but god punctures that water belt and that's where the rain comes from and that's where the flood occurs and so god got to the end of his patience but during that time you have a man noah who is a preacher of righteousness but eventually because god's patience was reached he brought judgment the flood came suddenly but not without warning noah had preached but they rejected and that's why in second peter three fifteen the apostle could say bear in mind that our lord's patience means salvation he gives you opportunity to repent but ultimately you come to the end of your opportunity and then judgment falls and god's patience the end of his patience was reached now in verse 28 and 29 likewise as it was also in the days of lot they ate they drank they bought they sold they planted they built but on the day that lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all verse 30 even so will it be in the day when the son of man is revealed and so it was business as usual when judgment hit the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah now those are proverbial cities guys i mean people who don't even believe in the bible can talk about Sodom and Gomorrah you may be thinking that those are the only cities that were judged actually Sodom and Gomorrah had also what were called sister cities there are other cities involved in this judgment Deuteronomy 29 verse 23 says the whole land is brimstone salt and burning it is not sown nor does it bear nor does any grass grow there like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah Adma and Zeboim which the Lord overthrew in his anger and his wrath so there were other cities that were there that were taken in this tremendous judgment that he's speaking about now when he's speaking of lot he's speaking obviously of Sodom and Gomorrah Sodom and Gomorrah we could preach an entire message on this by itself when you read the bible concerning Sodom and Gomorrah you might find this interesting Sodom and Gomorrah had what we would today call a false security they had a false security that was based on on food on luxuries a life of ease and what had happened is this had all given rise to neglecting the poor and neglecting those in need and it even gave rise to sexual perversion when you study the bible in Genesis in chapter 19 it speaks concerning how God brought judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities now several years ago I was reading some material put out by an organization that called itself a Christian church but was actually not a Christian church it was a church that catered to homosexuals and didn't ever encourage homosexuals to repent from their sin and be transformed they they said that that you were created that way and therefore it's okay to to live out your life in the way that you feel is best for you and I read some of their material and and one of the things that they said is that God brought judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah not because of the sin of sexual perversion but because they were inhospitable to the angels who had come and as a result of that God brought judgment for inhospitality not sexual perversion is that true is that what the bible teaches well in Ezekiel if you take notes Ezekiel chapter 16 verses 49 and 50 we read this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom she and her daughter had pride fullness of food and abundance of idleness neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy they were haughty and committed abomination before me therefore I took them away as I saw fit so they had a false security based on luxury items as well as sexual immorality now Jude tells us in his book in verse seven Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in similar manner to these having given themselves over to sexual immorality gone after strange flesh are set forth as an example suffering the vengeance of eternal fire Sodom and Gomorrah is proverbially known for being absolutely wicked cities and the materialism and the luxury and their lack of love and their pride and their perversion all were reasons for God bringing judgment on those cities it isn't difficult for us today to draw parallel with what was taken place then and with what we see today it's not difficult to do that whatsoever there are some who would say and I've heard this in argumentation who would say Jesus never condemned homosexuality that's what Jesus is referring to here in this passage as we're looking at it he's referring to Sodom and everybody knew who was reading at that time what he was speaking about and all of us today because we have the old and New Testament we understand exactly what he's talking about he was talking about the sins of Sodom their indulgence and the perversion that resulted in their judgment that's what he's speaking about and Jesus is making it clear that in the last days just prior to his return those conditions will continue to exist and will actually be accelerated which is what we're seeing in our day that's what he says in verse 30 even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed and so he's saying this these are the conditions there's going to be wickedness there's going to be this kind of indulgence there's going to be a rejection of the message there's going to be a lack of repentance there's going to be an escalation of luxury a neglect of the poor a sexual perversion and that's going to be the conditions that are in effect prior to the return of Jesus Christ and so the second coming actually has with it a time of judgment even as there was judgment on the world during the days of Noah and even as there was judgment on Sodom Gomorrah and the other cities surrounding them and so when Revelation 19 speaks concerning the return of Christ we read in verses 11 through 16 I saw heaven opened behold a white horse he who sat on him was called faithful and true and in righteousness he judges and makes war his eyes were like a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns he had a name written that no one knew except himself he was clothed with a robe dipped in blood his name is called the word of God and the armies in heaven clothed in fine linen white and clean followed him on white horses now out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should strike the nations he himself will rule them with a rod of iron he himself treads the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God and he has on his robe and on his thigh a name written king of kings and lord of lords and so the return of Christ as we see it is a time when he comes and he is making war and that's the point that he's making here some of us have been raised with pictures of Jesus meek and mild where he's kind of walking around with a kind of a kind of a wimpish look carrying a little you know a little lamb around you know but the picture that that that we get from the book of Revelation is anything but that I don't even know where we got the idea that Jesus was some effeminate European I don't get it excuse me but you know what I'm talking about I mean look at some of this old art and that's what you see you know an effeminate European man you know and I don't know where they got that idea from I really don't I mean Jesus Christ was a carpenter he was a master craftsman he worked with his hands he walked everywhere he went he had a he had a very strong back he was only 33 when he died so he is in the peak of his of his life you know when he was going to build something he didn't call Bethlehem lumber and say could you please deliver some two by fours I mean he would go out there and he would cut this down himself I don't think he'd say you know table be made and it was perfect I don't think so you know he worked with his hands you know he had calluses he had a strong back he was a truly a man's man this was the kind of guy who could walk into the temple and he could overturn tables from money changers and these people weren't going to give up their money that easily but when he walked in and he threw those tables this is a house of prayer and you have made it into a den of thieves this was not a wimpish guy carrying a lamb I mean this forgive me but I mean and and and so we got the wrong idea of who Jesus is we have the wrong idea of what he's like but revelation describes for us what he's like this is a general this is a warrior this is a king this is somebody who says I've told you what to do and now I'm enforcing my word that's why it's wise for me to bow my knees now because as scripture says every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father you see and so as we look at scripture he's making it very clear listen the days are going to be evil the days are going to be like in the days of Noah when nothing was going well the imagination of man was only evil continually only evil continual I was sharing just yesterday with my staff how that we have people today who are speaking concerning AIDS and all HIV AIDS and I and I said you know the thing that really amazes me about all of this is various things that amaze me about this one I said the average people don't realize that AIDS or perhaps don't remember the word AIDS was was something that actually was a secondary name the first way that it was referred to and some of you are old enough to remember this and back in 1983 when when it first began to appear here in the United States when people actually were being diagnosed with this disease this horrible disease it was not called AIDS acquired immunodeficiency syndrome it was called grid do you remember that how many you remember that how many you remember that it was called grids gay related immunodeficiency syndrome that's what it was called but because it was so offensive to homosexual lobbyists the name was actually changed to AIDS it was originally called grids that was what it was referred to because it was gay related because those were the cases that's what people saw that's what those who those were the ones who were having it you know there were times in the history of the United States there was a syphilis epidemic I have some in this in this congregation right now might remember it was during world war two and a state an entire state was quarantined because of syphilis a state in the United States was quarantined I'm old enough to remember that as a little boy if somebody had chicken pox or measles or some communicable disease we actually had little signs that you would put on in the window how many you remember anybody remember that I know some of you do there were little signs quarantine which meant you can't come up and open knock on the door because someone here has measles or somebody has chicken pox or something like that you're gonna get it and so we actually had signs you would put on here on your window quarantine telling people you shouldn't come in here because somebody in here has a disease but today a surgeon can be doing an operation on somebody who has HIV AIDS and every surgeon any surgeon will tell you that when you're doing surgery because the scalpel is so sharp you inevitably will cut yourself surgeons cut themselves all the time but they don't have a legal right to know that this patient has AIDS because it's been blocked they can't know that and I was telling my staff this just yesterday I was saying these people in that produce the movies and produce the tv programs that that casual sex is fun and and with no consequences and then they wear their little their little ribbons there that that symbolize their fight against AIDS if they really wanted to end AIDS they wouldn't be advertising casual sex with no consequences they would do everything they could to help people by not promoting casual sex but they don't they have more problems with you smoking a cigarette than you have in an abortion there is something wrong with the nation that we live in that allows this and promotes this and has no problem with it and the thing that is problematic to me is even the church has been lulled into silence because the speech that I'm speaking right now can be denoted as hate speech there are laws being passed in nations right now that would put me in prison for saying what I just said to you Canada just recently passed a hate speech bill that's what's taking place right now and Jesus said in the days of Noah like it was in the time of Lot so it shall be sexual perversion will be rampant luxury people living with indifference towards the poor and not caring about others will be rampant you're gonna long for my rule but it isn't going to occur in your lifetime there are various things that must take place before that now he says in verse 31 in that day he who is on the housetop and his goods are in the house let him not come down to take them away and likewise the one who is in the field let him not turn back remember Lot's wife whoever seeks to save his life will lose it whoever loses his life will preserve it I tell you in that night there'll be two men in one bed the one will be taken the other will be left two women will be grinding together one will be taken the other left two men will be in the field one will be taken the other left they answered and said to him where Lord so he said wherever the body is there the eagles will be gathered together materialism don't leave the roof and run down to get your stuff get out of there as soon as you can it's another cry against materialism and then to amplify that he says I think this is interesting he simply says remember Lot's wife you guys remember Lot's wife what was her first name I don't know I just miss his lot remember Lot's wife yeah salty you know the story I don't have to go through it with you the angels come they give a warning they say get out of here do not look back you have to escape do not even turn around and look back and so we we cannot bring judgment until you are safely delivered judgment will not fall until you are safely delivered and then we will bring judgment which is a picture of the rapture the Lord removes the church and judgment falls we will not bring judgment until you are out but the Bible tells us in Genesis 19 verse 26 his wife looked back behind him she became a pillar of salt I looked up that word when it says she looked because I wanted to make sure on this it's not that she simply was running and she glanced over her shoulder that's not what happened is it for me I'll wait you through I know her that's why I'm teasing her that's you know if I didn't know her I just ignore this but she causes problems all the time when it says looked that word looked speaks of a longing she didn't just glance she was gazing back with a longing her body left Sodom her heart remained there that's why he says remember Lot's wife she was delivered physically but never was truly delivered and he's simply saying you aren't going to escape if your heart doesn't escape and if you have this material desire the same kind of desires that Sodom had with their luxury the same kind of desire that motivates so many people in their material cravings well you can get your body out of an area and your heart remains there so remember Lot's wife she was judged now when he says whoever seeks to save his life will lose it whoever loses life will preserve it those in Noah's and Lot's day had one thing in common they wanted something other than God so he's saying that the world is not worth losing heaven for remember in chapter 12 of Luke in verse 23 how he had said life is more than food and the body is more than clothing so heaven requires self-denial and self-sacrifice but the end is worth it and then he finally says and we'll close briefly here in verse 34 through 37 he finally says in that night there'll be two men in a bed one will be taken the other left two women grinding together one taken the other left two men in the field one taken the other left basically what he's saying is my coming is sudden and it's unannounced men will be asleep which speaks of night women will be at work making bread which speaks of morning and there'll be men working in a field which speaks of afternoon and so he's basically saying that in different places on the earth when he returns it'll be different time that's all but one is taken and the other is left this would be in the second coming this isn't the rapture one is going to be taken in judgment and the other is going to be recognized as having true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and so the answer and they say in verse 37 where where lord he said wherever the body is there the eagles will be gathered together well vultures hovering over a carcass are visible for miles so similarly he's saying my return will be obvious and evident to all near and far away so this pictures the judgment that will take place on earth when he returns he's basically just given a warning you're going to desire for me to return i will not do so in your lifetime but in as much as people want to know what the conditions are going to be these are going to be the general conditions of that day prior to my return it will be worse and it will get worse but ultimately he's saying but i will return and when i return i bring judgment because people have been given a space to repent but even as they did during the time of Noah when the word was given to them and a warning was given they rejected it even so to the very end people will continue rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ to their own hurt