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Apocalypse of the Heart

Apocalypse of the Heart

Words of Faith 11-14-18

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2018

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Luke 17

    [26] "Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. [27] 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.

    [28] "It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. [29] But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all.

 [30] "It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. [31] 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. [32] Remember Lot's wife! [33] Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. [34] I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. [35] Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left."

 

        Where I live we are just approaching the end of hurricane season.  Every year we hear a great deal about preparation and watchfulness.  Recent years have taught us that lesson.  Storms can come rather suddenly and even with modern warning systems there can be very little time to gather items, secure property and evacuate.  But what if there was no warning at all?

        Jesus continued to teach about the day of the Son of Man.  His coming will be sudden and obvious, "like the lightning" so rumors of seeing him in various places here and there cannot be true. In verse 30, Jesus used the word apokalupto or apocalypse.  This "revelation" literally means to take off the cover and disclose. The lid will come off suddenly and all will be revealed. 

        This is the coming of the Son of Man.  Everything will be revealed about Him and about us. We will face a personal apocalypse either at the coming of Jesus or at the conclusion of our earthly life.  This apocalypse is the revealing of Jesus and a revealing of the truth of our lives. 

        Jesus gave two examples from Scripture to remind us of the way that the judgment of the Lord comes.  There was the judgment in the time of Noah and the time of Lot.  The coming of the Son of Man will be like this. 

        In the time of Noah, people were carrying on life as usual without any particular concern for God.  They were eating, drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage when suddenly the judgment of God was upon them. Our day to face the Lord will come when we least expect it. It may happen at a meal or at a marriage feast, at anytime.  His coming will be at any moment.  It will be business as usual and we won't expect it.

        The coming of the Son of Man will immediately set in place our response to the Kingdom and our decisions between the eternal and the temporal.  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. 

        The point here is not that we will have such opportunities but that the condition of the heart will be set.  If our hearts are tied to material possessions this will be revealed at the coming of the Son of Man. Lot's wife, reluctant to leave her old life, looked back to Sodom and was forever frozen in that place of the heart (Gen 19:26). Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. 

        We do not know when this will happen but there will be a separation.  One whose heart is surrendered to the King will be taken to Him in fellowship while those who are not of His Kingdom will be left.  The revealing of the Son of Man is a revealing of our hearts, an apocalypse of the heart.

       Now, you may ask:  Am I reading something strange from an obscure passage in Daniel?  Am I reading some strange interpretation into a symbolic story?  No.  Jesus said emphatically: "I tell you" these things. Jesus tells us emphatically that 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."

         Even those closely associated in bed and at work are separated.  One "will be taken" has the normal sense of being taken into fellowship or in Noah's case, into safety, rather than being taken into judgment. The one "left" is thereby abandoned to judgment.  These activities tell us that the lid could come off at any time in the day or night.

        So how is your heart with God?  Have you recognized the Kingdom of God that is in our midst?  Have you surrendered to the King?  Have you trusted His grace alone?  Have you set your heart on Him rather than on earthly things?  There will be no storm tracker alerts or Doppler radar reports.  When the lid comes off, all will be revealed. 

 

        Father God, ready my heart to meet You.  I want the Kingdom in my life.  I want the Master as my King.  I surrender in readiness for You.  Help me to walk today with You in a way that can be readily revealed without regret at Your coming.  In Jesus' name.