In Luke 17 Jesus tells us that when he comes it will be quick and sudden. He put it like this, “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.” To give you an idea of how quick and sudden we’re talking, the speed of which lightning strikes is 270,000mph. I read that’s enough speed to travel to the moon in 55 minutes. That’s how sudden Jesus will appear. The point Jesus is making is that when he comes it will be instant.
Jesus also taught that when he comes it will be unexpected. He said, “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 begin 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.”
When Jesus comes, as it were in the days of Noah and Lot, people will be going about their daily lives and then suddenly, and without expectation, Jesus will come. Many will be caught off guard because of their complacent living, unaware that the day of Judgment has arrived, and when it arrives it will be so quick and so sudden that nothing can be done about it. It will be too late.
In the days of Noah and Lot the people were warned of the coming judgment. No one listened. No one cared to listen. The reason for that was because of their lukewarm, complacent living. Folks were happy to go about their normal, daily routines. Some probably thought that if what Noah and Lot were saying were true, it wouldn’t happen in their lifetime. Others likely thought Noah and Lot were crazy for believing such supernatural events could happen. That is, until it happened. But by then it was too late to do anything about it.
And so it is today. People today are being warned that Jesus is coming (consider this your warning) and to get ready for it. Yet, many consider that message as ludicrous. Some think that to believe in such a message is to have a low IQ. Some believe in the message, like church folks, but have grown complacent to it. Their lives are lukewarm. Their faith has become careless, apathetic, and unconcerned. They are not living their lives with the expectancy of Jesus’ return.
How does one get ready for Jesus’ return? If you’re not a believer you need to repent of your sin, confess Jesus as Lord of your life, and believe that God raised him from the dead, so that your sins will be forgiven. God loves you and He promises that if you do what was just stated, you will be forgiven. If you are a believer, stay ready. Stay expecting. Stay prepared for his arrival. Live each day with the anticipation that today could be the day Jesus comes.