In Luke 17.26-36 Jesus is describing the events and environment that will surround His second coming.
The first event is more environment than an actual event. He says we will be experiencing “Noah Days”. Luke 17.26–27 says, “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.” This is referring to Genesis 6.5, “And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” So the vast majority of society “thought…evil continually.” That’s it. That is the primary thoughts of the society then, and the society that will be present at His return. Focus on the key to that phrase: thinking. They may have not done evil continually, but they thought it. Specifically it says that “every imagination of their heart…was evil”. There was a continuous thought of bad. It supplies us with another word: wicked. They did (acted) wickedly. As with every usage of the word, it was the result of sin, not the sin itself. So the thinking of sin was the thinking of man, then the action. The biblical account of Noah begins in Genesis 6. Sixteen hundred years had passed since the creation of Adam and Eve. As the earth’s population exploded in number, it also exploded with evil. Long forgotten was the righteous sacrifice of Abel (Genesis 4.4). Verses 11-12 say, “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.” So when Jesus spoke in Luke 17, He was pointing out: although the people of Noah’s day were totally depraved, they were not the least bit concerned about it. They were carrying on the events of their lives without a single thought of the judgment of God. Sound familiar?
The second event is also descriptive of an environment. This one is like “Lot Days”. Luke 17.28-29 says, “Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.” Much like the time of Noah, the time of Lot shows the depravity of man at peak performance. The man-justified ungodly lifestyles of the entire world at the time of Noah was concentrated here with one people, at one place. They were wicked enough to cause the Lord to exact judgement. No one stepped in, stopped to consider it wrong, or did anything to cause any repentance. Sound familiar?
The third event Jesus spoke of is again illustrative of an environment, but one filled with events. This one hits even closer to home: “Our Days”. Luke 17.30-36 says, “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed. In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” Genesis 6.8 says something interesting about this, “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord.” God chose to give Noah grace to accomplish a task in the midst of the generation He was living. A sick and hopelessly lost generation, that needed someone to explain who God really is and to give them an escape. Noah is described as a “preacher of righteousness” in 2 Peter 2.5. He had spent years warning his friends and neighbors what God was about to do. Sadly, no one listened. It’s interesting that God allowed Noah nearly one hundred years to complete the building of the ark. During the entire project, this man faithfully warned everyone of the reality of God’s promises. During this time, and at all times, God patiently waited (1 Peter 3.20). Scripture seems to imply that Noah preached to the people of that time about what was coming (Hebrews 11.7).
The key to this is quite simple: the people of the culture and environment of Noah’s day, chose to not believe Noah. Instead they were content with their wickedness and idolatry. Their hearts were hard and their ears dull. No one repented, and no one cared to seek God. Jesus said that the world will be much the same before He returns to set up His earthly kingdom. He said so in Matthew 25.31–33 which states, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”
This is a time seven years after our departure. He warned in that very text, “…be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” 2 Timothy 3.1-4 gives us a clear picture of the state of the world before Jesus comes: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their ownselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:” It’s becoming increasingly obvious that, to understand what the world was like in the days of Noah, we only need to open our eyes to our own environment.
Much like “Time”, “Life” is relative isn’t it. Our life is bound in our thinking. We are a mind-focused creation. This is how God designed us, and why every New Testament church ought to put much more focus on thinking than just actions. Right and wrong actions are an outcome of our thinking (Romans 8, 1 Corinthians 10). It’s scriptural from cover to cover in fact. Every generation of man has had a thinking problem since the fall. But that is no excuse. Beware of this truth: God has a sin line He will not budge on. It’s a line crossed in the hearts and minds of people. It doesn’t even have to be acted-on all the time. And He still makes it clear that He won’t stand for it.
Do you think we are on that line? Do you think we’ve crossed that line? You need only to look at the text we are reading here. Focusing back on Luke 17.32-33, “Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” She looked back on her old life, her things, her pleasures. Life today is much the same as Sodom, and Noah’s. Verse 31 said don’t turn back. Instead willfully and purposely walk off from it. It’s not your “life” anymore…He is.
Perhaps the main take-away is: you need to decide which life you’re willing to waste.