I’ve been posting about how Christ will reveal Himself at His return. We’ve talked about Jesus’ teaching in Luke, chapter 17, on the days of Noah and Lot.
Remember that He already said in verse 24 that when He’s revealed on that day, every eye will see Him. It will not be a private return. He’s coming in all of His glory.
“On that day no one who is on the roof of his house, with his goods inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left.”
Luke 17:31-36
Many interpret this verse to mean that the one taken is taken into heaven and the one left is the one that’s going to be judged. How can this be? In both of His examples, the stories of Noah and Lot, the Lord clearly states that the unrighteous are taken in judgment and the righteous ones are left.
The disciples wanted Jesus to clarify what He was teaching them. They asked the obvious question: Where was it that they were taken to?
“Where, Lord?” they asked.
He replied, “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather.”
Luke 17:37
Jesus makes it clear that those taken are dead bodies. The Greek word for carcass is what the NIV translates as dead body. Also, the word Jesus used for vulture is a generic term that could be used for any carrion bird that feeds on dead bodies.
So in answer to the question “Where are they taken?” Jesus said, “Do you want to know where the carcasses are taken? Then look for the vultures.” Personally, I don’t want to be taken like that. I want to be one of the ones who are left.
What, then, have we learned in this portion of Scripture? First of all, I see a time of warning leading up to the time when Christ is revealed. We then come to a day – a literal, twenty-four hour day – during which He will reveal Himself.
Christ uses two examples, Noah and Lot, to explain His point. In both cases the day starts out with some saints. They are then somehow supernaturally protected during the events of that day. In Noah’s case he was put in the ark and in Lot’s case he was taken out of the city.
On the day that they were protected, salvation was then closed and judgment fell. After judgment had fallen, at the end of the day, the saints were left. That’s the way I read it and that’s the way I believe Christ meant it to be read.
Questions: Are you prepared for that day? How have you prepared?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, day of Christ, eagles, every eye will see him, glory, Jesus, judgment, Lot, Noah, rapture, return of Christ, righteous, second coming, taken, vultures
I’m posting about Christ’s teaching on the Last Days in Luke, chapter 17. After talking about the days of Noah, the Lord goes on to describe the days of Abraham’s nephew, Lot.
“It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.
“It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed.”
Luke 17:28-29
This event is recorded in Genesis 19. You can read through that chapter to get the whole story.
Two angels arrived in Sodom to visit Lot. Lot invited them into his home, knowing who they were.
When the men of the city heard that travelers were in Lot’s house, they demanded that Lot turn them over to the crowd. According to the Bible, they wanted to rape these angels. Lot then tried to reason with the men of the city but they wouldn’t listen.
You probably know what happens in the city of Sodom. The two guests, who happen to be angels, come to Lot’s defense. They bar the way into Lot’s house and bring blindness upon all the men of the city who are trying to get in.
With the coming of dawn, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Hurry! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away when the city is punished.”
When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the Lord was merciful to them. As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!”
Genesis 19:15-17
With the coming of the dawn – THE DAY – judgment came upon Sodom and Gomorrah. Once Lot and his family were out of sight of the city it was all over. The day that Lot left the city was the day that judgment fell. Now bear in mind that the inhabitants of those cities had some warning. Lot spent the whole day before trying to convince them.
The angels told Lot that if he had any loved ones in the city he should go and warn them. The Bible says that he went to his sons-in-law and they laughed at him. The city was warned. But because Lot wasn’t as in tune to the Lord as Noah, they didn’t have as much time to prepare. In both Noah’s day and in Lot’s the people ignored the warning.
Now I’ll ask the same questions I asked in my last post. When it was all said and done, who was left? According to Scripture it was Lot. Who was taken? Again, according to Scripture, it was the inhabitants of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Twice in the verses from Genesis 19:15-17 the angels said that the inhabitants would be “swept away.” That concept is very important.
We need to understand what will happen when Christ reveals Himself at His return. In my next post we’ll look at how Christ summarized His teaching on this future event.
Question: How does this knowledge affect how we live for Christ?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: angels, Christ, days of Lot, fire, Jesus, judgment, left, rapture, return of Christ, second coming, Sodom, taken, the last days
I’ve been posting about how Jesus compared the last days to the days of Noah in the Gospel of Luke, chapter 17. Noah obeyed God and built the ark to save his family. When the rain was about to fall, God told Noah and his family to enter the ark.
At that point, when all were safe inside, God shut the door. That was it, there was no turning back. No one could leave, and no one else could enter the ark of salvation. This is an important point in the principle Jesus is trying to get across to His disciples.
When all these things had taken place, the judgment of God fell upon that ancient world.
Everything on dry land that had the breath of life in its nostrils died. Every living thing on the face of the earth was wiped out; men and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds of the air were wiped from the earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the ark.
Genesis 7:22-23
Now it’s important for me to ask you another question. According to the Scripture above, who was left? The answer is simple yet ignored. It clearly states that Noah and everybody in the ark were left. Who was wiped away from off the face of the earth? Every person and animal not in the ark.
It’s so clearly stated that you might ask why I’m emphasizing this issue. There’s a very important reason. Most of the people, who interpret this section of Scripture, rip it from its context, reverse it, and say that Noah was taken and the rest were left. We’re not going to do that today. I believe this verse as written and refuse to do any scriptural gymnastics to try and make it say something that it doesn’t. A parallel passage of Scripture is Matthew 24:39.
“…and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
Matthew 24:39
Even in His comments concerning the flood Jesus makes it abundantly clear that it was the sinners that were taken and Noah who was left. This is a very important concept to grasp. It goes against most of the teaching in the church today. Yet it’s vital that we agree with what Christ says no matter what a man teaches.
Question: Does this challenge or confirm your beliefs about the second coming of the Lord? How?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, day of the Lord, Jesus, judgment, left, Noah and the day of the Lord, rapture, return of Christ, second coming, taken
In my last post I talked about a statement that Jesus made to the church. In it He warns us that the last days before His return would be similar to the days of Noah. What was that like? Things were going along business as usual.
The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
Genesis 6:5
That sounds very familiar. God saw how great man’s wickedness had become. People’s thoughts would turn in the direction of evil all the time. Our society is like that today. The main concern of most people is, “How can I satisfy myself?” That’s fallen man’s cry from morning until night. Both Noah’s society and what we see happening around us today sound the same to me.
You know the rest of the story. God shows Noah His plan. Noah obeys and builds the ark for the saving of his family. But what does all that have to do with the return of Christ? Jesus is making a comparison here.
The world was filled with violence during the days of Noah. Our society is plagued with the same things as well. We see wickedness, evil thoughts, corruption, and violence all around us. If you live in the inner city, violence is a way of life. Unfortunately, it’s moving out more and more into the countryside, just like it was in the days of Noah. What is this leading to?
On that very day Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his wife and the wives of his three sons, entered the ark. They had with them every wild animal according to its kind…Then the Lord shut him in.
Genesis 7:13-16
Just like it was in THE DAYS of Noah, they were eating, drinking, and marrying right up until THE DAY Noah entered the ark. Scripture says “the very day” Noah entered the ark. At that point the flood came.
Did they have any warning that the flood was coming? They sure did! Noah had been warning them for about one hundred years. That’s how long it took him to build the ark.
What we need to understand is that when the door to the ark was finally shut it was too late. Here is a very important question. Who shut the door to the ark? Please pay careful attention to this fact. It was God who shut the door. Noah didn’t shut it, and he couldn’t open it.
Once that door was shut, no one could change their mind and get in. It was too late. I’m sure that when the rain started falling, there were people pounding on that door. But when God shuts the door, the time of repentance is over.
I believe that there will be a day when God will close the door to salvation. That’s why it’s imperative that we preach the Good News while God’s ark of salvation remains open.
Question: What are you doing to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: business as usual, Christ, evil thoughts, fallen man, good news, good news of Jesus Christ, Jesus, Noah's ark, obedience, obey, repentance, return of Christ, salvation, second coming, the days of Noah, the last days, violence, wickedness
I have been posting about the return of Christ. We saw the warning He gave to His disciples that He would not return in their lifetime.
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. Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.”
Luke 17:22-24
He had to tell them the truth. They weren’t going to see the days of the Son of Man. Now that’s a term we need to understand. He had never yet used that term with His disciples before that day.
The days of the Son of Man. What does the Lord mean by that? We’d better find out. Let’s look carefully at the words of the Lord as He explains it to His disciples.
Even though this was for the disciple’s benefit we must not miss the very important statement that Jesus made. He talked about the days of the Son of Man culminating in His day. Notice that He says in verse 24, “For the Son of Man in his day…” – singular.
The word day means one literal twenty-four hour day. So what we see are “the days of the Son of Man” leading up to “the day of the Son of Man.” Thankfully He’s not finished with His explanation.
“But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.”
Luke 17:25
Here Jesus explains to them what He’s going to do. He still hadn’t died yet and the disciples needed to prepare themselves for the shock of seeing their Messiah hung upon a cross. Unfortunately, the disciples never really heard what Jesus said, and ultimately were taken by surprise by the death of the Lord.
We are now going to look at verse 26. Please read it carefully because a lot of people use these comparisons out of context and twist them all around to mean something other than what’s written.
“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 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.”
Luke 17:26-27
Notice that Jesus again uses the phrase “the days of the Son of Man.” It will be just like in “the days of Noah.” Notice “the days of the Son of Man” culminates in “the day of the Son of Man.” Compare that to “the days of Noah” culminating in “the day Noah entered the ark.” It was on that day that the flood came and destroyed them all.
This is important, and I will talk about it in detail in my next post.
Question: Do you see the importance of the particular words Jesus used to teach His disciples? Why are they so important?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: cross, day of the Lord, days of the son of man, last days, Lord's return, return of Christ, second coming
In my last post we saw Jesus answering the Pharisees’ question about the kingdom of God. When they leave, the Lord turns to His disciples and starts teaching them about the last days.
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.”
Luke 17:22
Jesus begins to tell them what the Pharisees were really asking about. He told them that they would not see one of the days of the Son of Man. It turns out that there’s a special reason why He gave this teaching to His disciples. He needed to warn them that none of the disciples would be alive when Jesus Christ was to return.
“Men will tell you, ‘There he is!’ or ‘Here he is!’ Do not go running off after them. For the Son of Man in his day will be like the lightning, which flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other.”
Luke 17:23-24
The Lord knew that as soon as He died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, there were going to be people who claimed to be the Messiah. There would be those who proclaimed, “Jesus has returned, He’s back again”.
After all, even when Jesus was ministering, the people thought He was the return of Elijah or Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. He knew that there would always be those who claimed to be a new incarnation of the Christ. In this teaching, the Lord wanted to nip that heresy in the bud.
He told His disciples clearly that if anybody said that the Lord had returned, they would automatically know it was a lie. They wouldn’t have to check it out. They wouldn’t have to verify it. He was saying, “Know for sure that I will not come back in your lifetime.”
This verse then was specifically for the disciples. As it turned out, they were very glad that the Lord gave them this wisdom. Following the ascension of Christ, there were plenty of false Messiahs that came along. The disciples were fortunate in knowing that they didn’t have to worry about whether they were the real thing or not.
Even Paul ran into this problem. He had to write to the Thessalonian church dealing with this issue. They were all upset because somebody told them Jesus had already returned and they had missed it. Paul had to tell them, “No, it hasn’t happened yet.” He didn’t have to go find out. He didn’t have to call up anybody or check it out. He knew with a certainty that Christ had not yet returned.
As a matter of fact, Jesus said, “When I come, it’s not going to be in secret. It will be like lightning flashing from one end of the heavens to the other. Everybody is going to see Me.”
I believe that we are the generation that will see His return.
Question: Are you ready and looking forward to the day Christ will appear?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, Christ return in our lifetime, days of the son of man, disciples, every eye will see him, Jesus, lightning, private return, return of Christ, second coming
There are some things about the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ that I think we’ve lost sight of. I want to take a few posts to take a detailed look at the Gospel of Luke, chapter 17. There are some very surprising things that Jesus said in that text. But first, He had to correct the Pharisees’ view of the kingdom.
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does not come visibly, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”
Luke 17:20-21
The Pharisees were always looking for an occasion to accuse Jesus. They wanted to find something against Him. So they came up with this question. When is the kingdom coming? They knew that the Messiah was supposed to establish the kingdom. So they decided to see how smart He was.
Please understand what these men were doing. They didn’t want to believe in Him. They weren’t looking for the arrival of the kingdom of God. They were just looking for a chance to test the Lord and to trick Him into saying something that would open Him up to some accusation.
How does Jesus respond to their question? In dealing with these men, He turns the tables on them and gives them an answer that refers to the spiritual kingdom instead of the physical. The Lord’s exhortation to them is that you will not find it by careful observation.
They first needed to understand what “kingdom” means. A kingdom can be any place. A king-dom is the domain, or place of dominion of a king. It’s any place or person over which the King has authority.
So, if the King of kings has authority in your heart, that’s where the kingdom of God is. Wherever the King has authority to rule is where the kingdom has been established. The kingdom of God could be among you or in you. It all depends upon whether or not you have received the King.
If you’re submitted to the King, you’re a part of the kingdom. If you’re not submitted to the King, then you are not in the kingdom and the kingdom is not in you. Instead, you will find that the kingdom of God is among you, just like in the parable of the weeds and the wheat (Matthew 13:36-43).
The wheat is a part of the kingdom, the weeds aren’t. Jesus was explaining the same concept to these Pharisees. He gives them the spiritual truth even though it wasn’t what they wanted to hear. They were asking Him for the physical manifestation of the kingdom.
The same applies to us today. Many believers want to receive the blessings of the kingdom without submitting to the King. We need to learn that you can’t have one without the other.
Question: What does it mean to be submitted to Christ as King?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: among you, arrival, Christ, domain, dominion, establish, God, in you, Jesus, king, King of Kings, kingdom, kingdom of God, Luke, Pharisees, second coming, submission, submit, understanding the kingdom of God
My last post talked about positioning yourself to flow in God’s power. It all comes down to the truth that agreement with Christ is the place of power. Do we always agree with Him? Or do we make excuses?
“You can’t know God’s will for certain.” “He may not want to heal.” After all it can’t be our fault. We feel there’s nothing wrong on our end so it must be God’s decision not to manifest His power.
In some cases we’re more like the Pharisees than we want to admit. Jesus explained their problem to them. I believe that it’s our problem as well. We need to hear the Lord, and meditate on His words.
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
John 5:39-40
Many believers spend a great deal of time pursuing the study of Scripture. There are radio and cable channels devoted to the study of the Word of God 24/7.
Just like Jesus said to the Pharisees, many of us think that by them we possess life and power. We believe that if we just know the Word enough, it will increase our faith to the point where nothing will be impossible for us.
The Scripture is given to testify about Christ. It was NOT given to grant us access to power or life. Jesus Christ is the grand focus of the Word. It’s IN HIM that we have power and life.
Our problem is that we refuse to go to Christ to have access to power and life. Jesus said, “I have come that you would have life and have it to the full.” (John 10:10) Power rests solely in Christ. If we don’t abide in Christ, then we don’t have access to the power.
The very Scriptures that we recite, confess, and memorize are telling us who Christ is and what He’s done. This should cause us to run to Him. Instead, we embrace the Word and think that it will give us power. It’s so much easier to live for ourselves and quote promises, then to abide in Christ. That requires spiritual effort, and we like to look for the shortcuts.
This is the instant generation. We want everything now without any waiting. By constantly using our credit cards we will give away our future for a momentary pleasure. We have to have everything now.
Well, this is something that’s impossible to get instantly. It requires the work of an intimate relationship with God. Power flows from Christ to us if we’ll do what it takes to position ourselves to receive it. It’s time for the church to wake up and view relationship with Christ as the priority of the hour.
Question: Are you willing to wait in God’s presence rather than seek for instant success?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: abide, abide in Christ, Agreement, agreement with Christ, Christ, confess, confession, excuses, healing, in Christ, Jesus, life, manifestation, memorize, position, positioning, power, power is agreement with Christ, power of God, promises, recite, relationship, Scripture, study, testify, testify to Christ, word of God
I’ve been posting about how Christ walked and ministered in the power of God. It’s all about how He positioned Himself to receive it.
A good example of this is found in a parable that the Lord told to His disciples. We usually call it the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax-collector. They were both in the temple praying next to each other. The Lord lets us in on what they were saying.
The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: “God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”
Luke 18:11-12
We read this, but we don’t take it to heart. We know how it ends and who the Lord commends. But do we really listen to the prayer of the Pharisee. If we look closely at it, it sounds like a prayer that a modern Christian would offer up, filled with good confessions.
“I thank you that I’m the head and not the tail, above only and not beneath. I thank you that because I tithe you will rebuke the devourer and open the windows of heaven so that I cannot contain your blessing.”
His prayer was filled with good confessions and it was all true. He was different than the tax-collector. He did fast and tithe. The problem was that he had no power.
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Luke 18:13
Which prayer produced life changing power? Christ was clear about it.
“I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:14
It’s obvious, from the Lord’s perspective, that the person who dealt with relationship tapped into God’s power. The Pharisee was focused on self. The tax-collector was dealing with that which separated him from God.
Is the power of God about what I’ve done or what the Holy Spirit wants to accomplish in and through me? When I go before God, my telling Him what I’ve done doesn’t impress Him. It will never move Him to work through me.
It’s only as I work on my relationship with Christ that I’ll see the changes necessary. If you want to flow in the power of God, then your relationship with Him is the positioning agent. It’s not about what you’ve done, but what He is able to do in you.
Questions: How well are you positioned for the move of the Holy Spirit? What do you need to do to make it better?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, good confessions, Jesus, life changing, ministry, Pharisee, position, positioned to receive spiritual power, power, power of God, power of the spirit, pray, prayer, praying, publican, receive, relationship, self, sinner, spiritual power, tax-collector
In my last post I talked about how Christ ministered on a different level than the Pharisees. The power of God flowed out of Him without His control. In the case of the woman with the issue of blood, it was even without the Lord’s knowledge.
Now that’s a definite problem for us in modern day Christianity. We want control. We want to be able to turn it on and off. We want people to know who the power came from.
It seems to me that God wants us to be a hose, and we want to be a faucet. This brings my mind back to a post I wrote months ago. It was about II Timothy 3:5.
This was the verse in which Paul warned us that in the last days there would be those who had a form of godliness but denied the power. If you remember, the Greek word for deny was a-rheo – not flowing.
So many people want to control instead of flow. We cannot have that kind of attitude and be greatly used by God. We must see ourselves as a channel of the Lord’s power, and not a container.
When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases…
Luke 9:1
This is the next logical step in this line of thinking. Because the power of God flows, it can be given and received. Jesus was able to give the disciples power because it flowed through Him. This is good news for us also, because we have the same Holy Spirit living in us that Jesus had within Him.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
What a great verse! Power is given by the Holy Spirit and we can receive it. This seems a little too simple for our liking. We try to make it so complicated. So we have come up with all kinds of laws, disciplines, steps, and rituals that we say are necessary in order to walk in this power.
We have placed tithing, confession, and a whole host of other requirements in people’s path. But the truth of the matter is that I must abide in Christ. Then the power will flow through the Holy Spirit to me if I’m in a position to receive it. It’s actually all about positioning ourselves correctly. That’s what a majority of my blog is about.
I’m trying to get the church to reposition itself for revival. That’s where we need to be. In a position to receive the power of the Holy Spirit the same way that Christ did. Then, the world will see the difference and be drawn to the Lord. After all, it’s all about Him, not us.
Question: How would our church look different if we ministered like Jesus?
© Nick Zaccardi 2013
Tags: Christ, church, control, disciplines, flow, flow in power, flow in the Spirit, Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit within us, in control, Jesus, laws, out of control, position, power, power of God, revival, rituals, steps, submitted to Christ, walking in power
I’ve been posting about how Christ will reveal Himself at His return. We’ve talked about Jesus’ teaching in Luke, chapter 17, on the days of Noah and Lot.
The Spirit and the Word 