Luke 17:22-24 22And 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. 23And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. 24For as the lightning, when it flashes from one part of the sky and lights up into the sky, so will the Son of Man be in his day.

The following verses are eschatological, meaning, they deal with the doctrine of the end of the age. The big clue is the phrase the days are coming. Jesus describes future events that will help the disciples navigate the difficult days ahead. There are three significant events mentioned in these verses. The first is a reference to one of the days of the Son of Man. This phrase could be interpreted in two ways. One is a reference for when Jesus walked the earth. The day would come for the disciples when he would no longer be physically present with them. A second option is to see this as a reference to Jesus’ second coming. The disciples will long for his second coming. Either option is possible, but verse 26 repeats the phrase looking forward to the second coming. The disciples will long for when Jesus comes on the clouds because it will mark the end of the struggles of this present age. Death will be no more, and sin and its effects on us will be ended. It will be a glorious day! It takes great faith for each generation to keep this promise before us.

The first “sign of the times” Jesus gives is a warning about false claims that Jesus has come. The subject of the verb in verse 23 is a generic they. This word refers to false messiahs and people who claim to be Jesus. There are many stories, especially in our day, of people claiming to be Jesus. There are also many people who claim to have figured out the secrets of end time chronology. Even famous and well-meaning preachers have claimed certain events of the world fit into the symbolic and cryptic descriptions in Daniel or Revelation. They even work out specific years, months, and days when Jesus would return. They have all been proven wrong. Jesus is clear about listening to such claims: do not follow. Do not listen to such claims. The false promises will deceive people, harm the witness of the church, and disappoint believers who long for the day of the Lord.

Jesus enhances this warning even more in verse 24. The short illustration about the flash of lightning emphasizes the quickness and unexpectedness of Jesus’ second coming. It will happen without warning and in full glory. Everyone will see it when it happens. Lightning can be blinding and powerful. It shakes the earth with its thunder. The glory of the Son will be obvious and evident. There is no need to be wondering about certain events or be caught up in false claims. There will be events that we can clue us in that the time is drawing near, but we must be cautious about interpretations and claims about the end times.

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