Part XX1.1 - Finding The Faith..

FindingTheFaith When He Comes The heart of the Bride of Christ cries out for her lover. She cries out, "Come, Lord Jesus! Hurry, my Beloved!" This is to be the cry of the Lord’s people; and throughout the two millennia since our Lord’s going away to receive a kingdom, there have been saints who have maintained this heart until they shed their earthly tents-now absent from the body but present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:8NKJ). In these last days immediately before our Lord returns, we are faced with a question that our Lord Jesus posed regarding the days that will precede His coming: "But the Son of Man having come, shall he find the faith upon the earth?" (Luke 18:8YLT). The answer to His question is that the Son of Man will not find the faith when He comes. As presented in chapter 15, the faith speaks of all that pertains to the Word of the Kingdom and coming into the Reign of the Heavens. Every Christian is exhorted to continue in the faith. In light of the judgment seat of Christ, Paul reminds us that we walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7-11); those who do so are the ones who are continuing in the faith, pressing on toward the goal for the prize (Php 3:14), being prepared as a bride.

Dear brethren, we are nearing the end of Man’s Day; the Kingdom has not come yet, but it is coming very soon. We have very little time left before the arrival of our Lord. Just the thought of this glorious event should bring joy to our hearts. Soon, the cry of the Bride will be answered, and He will appear. However, we must be ready to appear before His judgment seat. [For a detailed review of being prepared in the last days, the reader is encouraged to read the author’s book titled Watch!.] This matter is extremely important to those who long to be His Bride, and for this reason, we must examine what the Lord meant by this question to see how we can avoid falling victim to the day in which we live. The Lord asked this question in conjunction with a series of teachings that He spoke in reference to the Kingdom of God (or, of Heaven) and, specifically, His Second Coming when He takes the scepter of the Kingdom. It was at the conclusion of a parable about a persistent widow that the Lord asked this question; however, the key to understanding the depth of the Lord’s question is discovered in the entire context of what He taught before and after this parable (Luke 17:20-37; Luke 18:1-34). The entire dialogue needs to be understood to understand this question about the faith. To this end, we begin at Luke 17:20. When Will The Kingdom Come? The Lord Jesus began to speak to those that had gathered around Him and He focused on one issue raised by the Pharisees: When was the Kingdom of God coming? It is on this basis that He began to unfold many truths regarding the coming of the Son of Man.

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here {it is!’} or, ‘There {it is!’} For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst." (Luke 17:20-21) The Pharisees were the elite of Israel and they asked the Lord questions, oftentimes not out of curiosity but to assail Him, seeking to catch Him in something that He might say, that they might accuse Him (Luke 11:53-54NKJ). But His answers, which were always the truth, exposed the hypocrisy in the hearts of His assailants. On this occasion, the Pharisees came to Jesus and asked about the coming of the Kingdom of God. The Jews were looking for a visible manifestation of the Kingdom in which Messiah would set up His reign on earth and Israel would be the head of the nations, no longer under Gentile rule. Jesus answered them that the Kingdom does not come with observation (Luke 17:20NKJ). In other words, in their day, there would not be a visible manifestation of the Kingdom, as they were expecting. One day, when the Son of Man comes, the Kingdom will be with observation for all the world to see. In that day, there will be only one King and there will be no confusion as to who is in charge. When He comes, the Kingdom comes and is manifested as the reign of righteousness over this earth, for He is the King of Righteousness (Hebrews 6:5; Hebrews 7:1-2). This will be a visible, literal manifestation of the Reign of God. When the Lord declared, "For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst" (Luke 17:21), He was speaking to the Pharisees. Some translations state within you rather than in your midst, and this has led some to teach that Jesus meant that the Kingdom resided in them, in their hearts, and that it was present in some form of mystery. As we will see, this was not possible then, and it is not possible today. At that very moment in history, as Jesus, Messiah, the King of the Jews, stood amongst the lost sheep of the house of Israel, the Kingdom was present because their King was in their midst or within the house (standing in the midst of the house of Israel). The Lord was not referring to the Kingdom being in mystery in the very persons to whom He was speaking, the Pharisees. Why? First, there was no mystery about the One standing in their midst. All of the prophetic Scriptures foretold of His coming.

Second, the Pharisees were the very ones who had rejected the Kingdom (Matthew 12:22-45). Later, Jesus wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41-44); but in the comparable verses in Matthew, it is recorded: "Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’" And Jesus came out from the temple (Matthew 23:38-39; Matthew 24:1). Jesus walked out of the house of Israel, the house He was in the midst of or within, and fulfilled the promise He previously had made: "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you, and be given to a nation producing the fruit of it" (Matthew 21:43).

Israel has been set aside for two days or 2,000 years. At the end of the Great Tribulation, Israel’s Messiah once again will stand in their midst (Joel 2:27), their eyes will be opened to see Him, their sickness as a nation will be healed, their transgressions will be forgiven (Hosea 6:1-2) and, finally, they will be delivered into the literal Kingdom on earth as Messiah sits upon the throne of David (Luke 1:32-33).

Thus, for the Lord to mean that the Kingdom of God was residing within the person, namely, within the Pharisees, is totally out of context, for the Lord had removed the Kingdom from them due to their unbelief and sin against the Holy Spirit. Further, the Lord never stated nor implied that His Kingdom was ever to be in some mysterious form residing in a people for the 2,000 years of His absence. Some people teach that the Kingdom has come and is now in mystery within every Christian, based partly on the translations that state "within you" rather than "in your midst." This has led to the conclusion that the Kingdom today is within the Christian; therefore, the Kingdom has come already. This conclusion is contrary to the context of these Scriptures and all prophetic Scripture, as well.

It is true that Christ is to rule in the hearts of Christians, and to this extent, they are brought into the reign of Christ in this life; but the Kingdom of God, which is the literal and absolute reign of Christ over all the affairs of this world, does not come until the Son of Man returns to this earth. There are mysteries of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:11); but these refer to the mystery that God is taking from among the Gentiles (and a remnant of Jews) a people for His name (Acts 15:14) who are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17NKJ), a one new man in Christ (Ephesians 2:15), and who are to become the sons of the millennial Kingdom-a thought unheard of by the Jews. For the last 2,000 years, these sons have been hidden in the world amongst the tares (Matthew 13:24-30). The creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God (Romans 8:19). One day soon they will be raised from the dead and caught up in the air along with those who are alive and remain when He comes (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17); then the sons of God will be made known, and they shall shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father (Matthew 13:43). The Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven (the Reign of the Heavens) refers to a literal reign of Christ over this earth, and this does not come into view (or observation) until the Son of Man comes. Today, this world lies in the power of the evil one, not in the full manifestation of the power and authority of the Lord Jesus. The day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Php 2:10-11). In that day, even Satan himself, as he is cast into the pit, will have to bend his knee and confess Jesus Christ is Lord. Oh, hallelujah! The Days Of The Son Of Man With this background, we can begin to understand what the Lord Jesus began to unfold to His disciples. From Luke 17:22-37; Luke 18:1-8, Jesus turned from the Pharisees and began to speak to His disciples specifically about His coming as the Son of Man. They would look for His coming but would not see it. It is significant that instead of referring to the day of His coming, the literal day in which He will step foot on the earth once again, He referred to the days of His coming, the days of the Son of Man; and He likened them to the days of Noah and the days of Lot.

"And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all." (Luke 17:26-27NKJ {ea}) By using days instead of day, it appears that the Lord was trying to draw their attention to the fact that there would come a period of time that would be representative of His coming which would precede the day when the Son of Man literally is revealed on the earth (Luke 17:30). The Lord has left us with a view of what the days of the Son of Man will look like. They will be like the days of Noah in which people ate, drank and married until the day Noah entered the ark. Noah, the man who found grace in the eyes of God because he was righteous, faithfully built the ark as the world around him went from bad to worse. Every intent of the thoughts of man’s heart was evil continually (Genesis 6:5). No one was righteous in the sight of God and He regretted that He had made man in the first place. Fallen angels even had entered the daughters of men and produced offspring. This is how bad the situation had become on the earth. This condition continued until Noah completed the ark and he and his family entered it. In that day, they were delivered safely through the flood and brought into a new day on a refreshed earth, free from the abominable corruption. When Noah entered that ark, destruction came upon all the inhabitants of the earth who had been eating, drinking and marrying. In other words, during those years of Noah building the ark, their lives continued, as if they were in no danger from the wrath of God. They had no expectation that God was going to break into the history of man and forever change their lives. Their hearts were not for God and His righteousness but instead they were set on their own sinful pleasures. It was an abomination in the sight of God. The days of Lot did not look much better than the days of Noah.

"It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed." (Luke 17:28-30)

During the days of Lot, outwardly the things of life continued, but inwardly the heart of man was filled with wickedness. Righteous Lot (2 Peter 2:6-9) lived amongst the total depravity of man as men sought after men (Genesis 19:1-29). God looked down at Sodom and saw that it was full of moral filth and had to be destroyed. Two angels were sent to Sodom to remove Lot and his family before the city was destroyed. The angels said to Lot: "Escape for your life! Do not look behind you, and do not stay anywhere in the valley; escape to the mountains, lest you be swept away" (Genesis 19:17). In the Scriptures, mountains are a type of the Kingdom and the plains a type of the world. Another way of stating this is that Lot was commanded to escape the things of the world and flee to the things of God (the Kingdom). The warning from the Lord was very clear; however, not all that heard heeded the dire warning. The men who were to be married to Lot’s daughters refused to leave, for they were most likely caught in the sin of that day, as well. They saw no danger in their actions. They thought the warning was a joke (Genesis 19:14), for their hearts had become hardened with the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13). Only Lot, his wife and two daughters heeded the call to leave, but only after the angels took them by the hand and brought them outside the city. The Lord was merciful to Lot even though he wanted to linger despite knowing that great destruction was coming. Even then, Lot refused to head toward the mountains and begged to go to another city. It wasn’t until he saw the total destruction of Sodom that he feared and went to the mountains and dwelt in a cave (Genesis 19:19-30). On the day Lot was removed from the city, God rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed all the inhabitants of the city.

Remember Lot’s Wife

Within the context of the days of Lot, the Lord Jesus gave a very direct warning to His disciples: "Remember Lot’s wife!" (Luke 17:32). In other words, don’t forget what happened to her; take heed to what happened for it can happen to you, as well. What happened to Lot’s wife? Very simply, she looked back (Genesis 19:17; Genesis 19:26). To understand the significance of what happened, we need to start with Lot. First, Lot, as the head of the family, failed to heed the warning not to remain in the plains and to flee to the mountains. Instead, he bargained with the angels and he took his wife and daughters to another city in the plains, not to the mountains. It was when Lot became afraid and decided it was time to head toward the mountains that his wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt. It was Lot’s hesitation to flee that left his wife vulnerable to looking back. What is our lesson? Follow the Lord’s orders to the letter. He desires obedience. Because of his hesitation, Lot lost his wife. Second, Lot’s wife was disobedient in her fleeing and she looked back. But why did she look back? Most likely, she still had some attraction to the city, even though it was morally bankrupt. Her heart was in the plains and not in the mountains. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Luke 12:34). As a result of looking back, Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt and lost her soul. In reference to Lot’s wife, the Lord warned: "Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses {his life} shall preserve it" (Luke 17:33). By now, the reader should recognize that these words of our Lord are similar to those discussed in chapter 10 regarding the salvation of the soul. The Lord’s teaching on this matter begins with: "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life[soul-life] shall lose it; but whoever loses his life [soul-life] for My sake shall find it. For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul [soul-life]? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul [soul-life]?" (Matthew 16:24-26{ea}). Lot’s wife failed on all counts and she failed to reach the mountains. She is a type of the Christian who will save his soul-life while in the body only to lose it in the Kingdom Age. The Lord’s call to remember Lot’s wife is a direct reference to entering His Kingdom and, to do this, a believer’s soul must be saved.

It is interesting that the one who turned into a pillar of salt was a wife. She had every opportunity to continue as Lot’s wife if they both had escaped to the mountains. But what did she do? She looked back at that which was contrary to the mountains that were set before her. She ignored the warnings and she had not set her heart on what was ahead. She was saved from the wrath of God being poured out on the city, but she did not make it to the mountains. This is the same thing that will happen to Christians who have the same heart as Lot’s wife. They will be saved from the wrath of the Lamb, but they will not be allowed to enter into the Reign of the Heavens. They will have had all the potential of entering the Kingdom as part of the Bride of Christ, the Wife of the Lamb, but they will have squandered it by not holding to the faith, and worse, they will have continued in their fascination with the things of the earth. Their minds will have been set on the things on earth and not on the things above where Christ is. They will be saved from the wrath but will forfeit their soul-life during the Kingdom Age. They will have gained their soul-life only to lose it in the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a most serious matter.

We are living in the days of the Son of Man. We are warned not to set our hearts on the things of this world but to set our hearts on the one thing that is set before us, namely, the coming Kingdom. In speaking of the cost of discipleship, the Lord said, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). Lot’s wife is our example of one who looks back and loses the right to reign in the Kingdom.

Paul exhorted the Colossians in a similar way: If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth (Colossians 3:1-2). We could re-phrase Paul’s words as such: You are in Christ, the One who is coming from heaven. Set your mind on the coming Heavenly Kingdom and not on the world which lies in the power of the evil one. Look up for your Lord is coming.

We must understand that we are living in the days of the Son of Man, days which are like the days of Noah and the days of Lot. Why? Because the fig tree (Israel) has put forth leaves [is once again a nation in the Promised Land (Matthew 24:32)]. As recorded in Matthew, the Lord spoke the parable of the fig tree in the context of the coming of the Son of Man and the days of Noah. When the nation of Israel was once again on the land (which occurred in May, 1948), then, according to the Lord’s words, the world either entered the days of the Son of Man or was already in those days. In either case, these are the days which will lead to the literal coming of the Son of Man, the day of the Son of Man.

Given the thought that we are in the days of the Son of Man, it is imperative that we understand what it means to look back. When we look back at this world instead of looking on toward the Heavenly Kingdom, we are looking at a world that hates God (James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17), is in rebellion against God and has become a place of moral depravity. Just look around you and you do not have to look too far to see that this is true. Our major cities are cesspools of filth and moral decay. Looking back means that we have some hidden attraction to an unrighteous world; we are trying to keep one foot in the world and one foot heading toward the Kingdom. It will not work! We need both feet moving toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We must forsake all that the world has to offer and pursue the abundant entrance into the Kingdom to receive the full reward of reigning with Christ. Lot’s wife walked by sight, not by faith, and this is why she looked back. She had no goal set before her except what the plain (the world) had to offer. If she had seen what was ahead, she would not have looked back but would have walked by faith to the mountains with her family. We are warned not to follow her way to destruction. The Kingdom is set before us and we must set our eyes on what lies ahead and walk by faith, continuing in the faith until our King comes. Remember Lot’s wife! The Parable Of The Persistent Widow

It is with this thought that we come to the parable of the persistent widow that ends with the question of whether the Son of Man will find the faith on the earth when He comes. Luke gives us the Lord’s purpose of the parable: Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart (Luke 18:1). This parable was spoken to come alongside of or to add to what Jesus previously had spoken to His disciples about the days of the Son of Man. Jesus was telling His disciples, and us as well, what we are to do in these days. In other words, in the days of the Son of Man, which are like the days of Noah and the days of Lot, when our righteous souls are in torment over the unrighteous adversaries both without and within, there is a danger of losing heart; of becoming despaired over the conditions, maybe even fearing whether we will make it through to the end; of being overcome rather than overcoming. The answer to this dilemma is to pray so that we do not lose heart. However, the prayers have a very specific focus. The Lord used an unrighteous judge and a widow who demanded justice from her adversary as the example.

"There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ "And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’" (Luke 18:2-5NKJ) The widow was being tormented by her adversary, so she kept going to this unrighteous judge who did not fear God nor regard man. The judge realized that she was not going to go away but rather would continue to pursue him to the point of wearing him out, so he finally avenged her against her adversary. Then the Lord said: "Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily" (Luke 18:6-8 a NKJ).

If an unrighteous judge will do this, then how much more will God do it? The Lord Jesus, in so many words, said the same thing elsewhere.

"Or what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" (Matthew 7:9-11)

It is our righteous soul that is to be crying out day and night to our righteous Judge who will deliver us from all our adversaries. This same cry of the heart is seen in David who faced many enemies. At the end of his life, he testified: It is God who avenges me (2 Samuel 22:48NKJ). As the sweet psalmist of Israel, David wrote: Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us (Psalms 62:8). Pouring out our hearts before God is an act of continuous, fervent, watchful prayer, day and night. Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and the Colossians to devote themselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful (Colossians 4:2NIV). How much more vital is it to pray as we near the end of Man’s Day, especially as we see the Day of Christ approaching? Peter wrote: But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers (1 Peter 4:7NKJ). We are much closer to the end than when Peter wrote these words. How much more relevant is this exhortation 2,000 years later? Prayer is vital to all who are seeking to be counted worthy of the on-high calling (2 Thessalonians 1:11; Colossians 1:9-12) to enter the Reign of the Heavens that is coming very soon. In these last days, we must be watchful and this must be joined with prayer (Matthew 26:41; Mark 13:33NKJ; Luke 21:36NKJ). We watch so that we can see the adversaries, the dangers and the evils that surround us, tempt us and seek to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8-9). Watching must lead to praying all the more diligently in order to escape the evils that are in this earth today and will intensify as the Day approaches. Let us not forget that there is a host of adversaries in the heavenly places that are in battle against all who are holding to the faith and seeking to enter the heavenly places to rule and reign with Christ (Ephesians 6:10-20). In concluding his exhortation on withstanding the evil day (Ephesians 6:13), Paul encouraged the Ephesians to keep praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints (Ephesians 6:18NKJ). This is the heart of the persistent widow. "Shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily." The Lord bears long with His people, which means that He "patiently endures"; and He will avenge us speedily, which means "a brief space of time." For 2,000 years He has been bearing with His people, but this has been merely two days in the mind of God. Until the Son of Man comes, we are exhorted not to lose heart but to continue to come to our Lord, even as the persistent widow who wearied the judge, never ceasing to cry out for deliverance from an evil world full of adversaries. This is the faith for which the Lord is looking! It is believing and expecting the Lord to do it. The faith says that He will deliver me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His Heavenly Kingdom (2 Timothy 4:18). The faith speaks of the one thing that is essential to not losing heart and to approaching our Lord, and that is holding fast to our confidence that our God will avenge His people and that avenging will come when our Lord comes. This is one of the reasons why we are exhorted to continue in the faith (Acts 14:21-22), stand firm in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13), be steadfast in the faith (1 Peter 5:9NKJ) and contend earnestly for the faith (Jude 1:3). This faith is believing in and holding to the return of the Son of Man and the coming of His Kingdom.

He Will Not FindTheFaith "But the Son of Man having come, shall He find the faith upon the earth?" (Luke 18:8YLT {ea}) In the Greek, the Lord’s answer to the question is: "No; He will not find a people holding to the faith when He comes." In other words, many of His people will not be like the persistent widow but will have given up on pursuing the righteous Judge to deliver them. Why? Because they will be like those who lived in the days of Noah and the days of Lot. They will be oblivious to the dangers that surround them. Instead, they will be living as if there are many days, even years, to follow, with their hope set on their treasures that are being stored up on earth. Some might be like Lot; when the angels come to remove them from this earth in the day of rapture, they will have to be seized by force to break them away from the earthly attractions. To some, the need for escape may be a joke and they will ignore all the signs around them. In short, their souls will not be exercised over righteousness. They will not hunger and thirst for righteousness, seeking to be satisfied; instead, the earth and what it has to offer will be their satisfaction, even their refuge. They will not be crying out for deliverance from their adversaries, for they will not see adversaries. In fact, many will be doing what is right in their own eyes. Their eyes will be set on the things of the plains.

It is shocking that recently there was a news article that declared there is a "spiritual awakening" in the United States. This statement was based on what are the two top-selling books. The first book is about there being no such thing as good and evil. This theme is so grotesque that it is almost unimaginable that it would be taken so seriously, but it is because we are living in a world where many are doing what is right in their own eyes. This is humanism, an age-old lie from Satan. This belief can lead only to moral depravity. The other best-selling book encourages Christians in how to receive blessings from God, as if we are to be seeking after blessings rather seeking the Blessor Himself. Besides, Christians have been blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). This is far greater than any blessing we ever will know on earth. Seeking blessing on earth sounds spiritual and may have some basis in Scripture, but what is the end result in the atmosphere of this self-indulgent world of today? Does it lead the Lord’s people into an intimate relationship with their beloved Lord? Does it lead them to long for the coming Kingdom and to love the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ? Or does it lead His people to live with an earthly view; to live on the plains, seeking after the "good life"? Oh, they might not be into the grossly immoral things of the world, but their hearts are focused on this life and not on the coming of our beloved Lord. The sad truth is that a book like this could lead the Lord’s people to hunger and thirst for blessing on earth and lead them away from a hunger and thirst for the righteousness that is coming. Either way-living unaffected by the unrighteousness all around; or living for today, seeking after the things (even blessings) of this earth instead of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places that are set before us-the end result will be the same. There will be unpreparedness in the days of the Son of Man that are leading to the return of the Lord. Remember Lot’s wife! The overall condition of the Christian world today is one of apostasy, lukewarmness and holding to a leavened, corrupted Word of the Kingdom. However, the Spirit is speaking: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 13:9NKJ). We are exhorted to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). We are not to be caught by surprise but rather are to be aware of the times and the season. We are in the season which is the days of the Son of Man. Let us be like Abraham who lived on the high places and sought for the city whose builder and architect is God (Hebrews 11:9-10). Let us persistently pursue the One who will deliver us safely into His Heavenly Kingdom. Let us continue in prayer so as not to lose heart. Let us pursue righteousness. Let us continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, not moved from the hope of the gospel of the glory of Christ. The Son of Man is coming! The Parable Of The Pharisee And The Tax-Gatherer

After speaking the parable of the persistent widow, the Lord Jesus spoke another parable. Luke tells us the reason: And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt (Luke 18:9). He used two types of people who went into the temple to pray-the religious elite, the Pharisee; and a tax-gatherer. Listen to the heart of the religious leader.

"The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, ‘God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’" (Luke 18:11-12) The one who thought he was righteous viewed himself as better than everyone else. In his eyes, he was not like the others, even the tax-gatherer who entered the temple with him to pray. He then recounted some of the good things that he did, such as fasting and paying tithes.

Now, the tax-gatherer viewed himself totally opposite from the way the Pharisee viewed himself.

"But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’" (Luke 18:13)

What a heart of humility in this tax-gatherer who was disdained by the Pharisee. He could not even look up to heaven. He saw his true condition before God. The Lord Jesus saw the humility and said, "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted" (Luke 18:14). In the days of the Son of Man, whom are we to trust? We are to trust in the One who is righteous, our Lord Jesus. We are sinners saved by grace through faith. This does not give us a license to look down upon others and think that we can trust in our own righteousness, as if we are something to behold. Never!

What is to be our hope in this day? For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith (Galatians 5:5NKJ). Our righteousness comes when the Righteous One comes. In the days of apostasy, lukewarmness and leaven, our cry must be the same: "Be merciful to me, a sinner saved by grace." As Paul told the Corinthians: "But by the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). Our God bears long with us and is merciful; He will be our merciful Judge at the judgment seat, so let us humble ourselves today that we will be exalted in that Day. Our Lord is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any of us should perish but that all of us should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9NKJ). This parable builds upon the parable of the persistent widow, for both parables deal with prayer in the last days, prayer that is pleasing to the Lord and which will bring us through to the end. The persistent widow and the tax-gatherer saw their total dependence on the Lord-one for deliverance from her adversary and the other for deliverance from his own self-righteousness. Both people saw their need.

We might be tempted to think that both people showed a lack of faith. After all, hasn’t the Lord overcome all the adversaries and isn’t He our righteousness? Wasn’t the persistent widow actually being a nag to the judge? Wasn’t the tax-gatherer showing a lack of faith? By the way, the tax-gatherer does not represent a lost person, for he was going into the temple to pray. He was a Jew who had applied the blood of the lamb just like the Pharisee, so he does not represent one who was lost. He had a true assessment of his condition before God. He needed God’s mercy. The fact of the matter is that both people exemplified character that pleases God and that all of us must have-we can do nothing without our Lord. God does not view persistence on our part as nagging or crying out for mercy on our part as a lack of faith. No; it is a sign of faith and an acknowledgment that we need our Lord. We must not leave our righteous Judge alone. The persistent widow and the tax-gatherer were alike in the Lord’s view, and they both give us a proper view of how to pray in these last days.

King David, the man after God’s heart, is a great example of one who knew the mercy of God. He was so transparent before God. Consider this small sampling of the words of his heart.

Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your lovingkindnesses, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions; according to Your mercy remember me, for Your goodness’ sake, O LORD. (Psalms 25:6-7NKJ) For Your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity, for it is great. (Psalms 25:11NKJ) Look on my affliction and my pain, and forgive all my sins. (Psalms 25:18NKJ) But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. I will praise You forever, because You have done it; and in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good. (Psalms 52:8-9NKJ) This is the heart of a man who knew God and trusted in His mercy. Like the persistent widow, David never turned from the Lord but kept pursuing Him, even when he sinned against God. Like the tax-gatherer, David, as a sinner, cried out for mercy.

What is the prayer in the days of the Son of Man that we are to cry out to our Lord day and night? "Lord, deliver me! Save me from this wicked world of unrighteousness! It is tormenting my soul. Lord, it is only by Your grace that I am what I am. In me, there is no good thing. Have mercy on me, a sinner saved by grace! I hunger and thirst for righteousness! Apart from You, beloved Lord, I have no righteousness. You alone are my righteousness. Thank You that my life is now hidden with Christ in God; and when You are revealed, I will be revealed with You in glory. Come, Lord Jesus, and deliver me into Your Heavenly Kingdom!" This is a prayer of faith, which is holding fast to the faith. When He comes, will He find the faith in you? Let us continue in unceasing prayer with a view to His sudden return.

Receive The Kingdom As A Child

Now, following these parables, the Lord continued teaching His disciples through a child and a rich ruler, both of which deal with receiving and entering the Kingdom. This is significant because it adds more weight to the finding of the faith on earth when He comes. Clearly, entering His Kingdom was on the Lord’s heart throughout the passages that we are reviewing, and this should leave little doubt that the faith primarily pertains to the Kingdom.

After speaking the parable of the Pharisee and the tax-gatherer, some people brought infants to Jesus that He might touch them. However, when the disciples saw this, they rebuked the people. In response to this, Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said: "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it {at all} (Luke 18:16-17).

We would expect the Pharisees to rebuke those who brought the infants to Jesus, for they were the proud ones who had all the knowledge and religious stature amongst the people. But the disciples were the ones who did the rebuking. The ones who were the closest to Jesus, who heard all His teachings and were personally taught by Him, were in danger of being as proud as the Pharisees. We could say that they were developing an attitude: We have arrived. In response to this arrogance, the Lord taught them ("I say to you") that as His disciples, they had to receive the Kingdom like a child if they were to enter it.

We need to make note that the Lord divided His teaching into two parts: receiving and entering. In other words, first they had to receive the Kingdom as a child, and only after doing this was the entrance to the Kingdom set before them. Through the children, Jesus was teaching that disciples of the Kingdom must receive the Kingdom like children who are dependent on their parents. The infants were brought to Jesus; they did not go to Him on their own. This speaks of dependence and faith.

Disciples are dependent on the Lord Himself and the Holy Spirit. In John’s gospel, Jesus answered Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.""Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God" (John 3:3; John 3:5). The Lord taught Nicodemus on two truths: the need to be born again (saved) to see the Kingdom (only see, not enter), and the need to be baptized and led by the Spirit to enter the Kingdom (after seeing). Thus, He presented the process by which the Kingdom is set before a person. The lost must be saved (born again) before they even see the Kingdom. It is after believing (born again) that the reality of the Kingdom comes into view, but this is not enough to enter the Kingdom. There is a second step. The believer must be born of water.

Born of water speaks of being baptized and the Spirit speaks of being led by the Spirit, after one is born again. This is a two-step process, as well: First, being baptized in water (immersion in water of a believer), and second, following the Holy Spirit.

We discover the same thing in type with the nation of Israel when they were delivered out of Egypt (type of the world). Moses was called to deliver Israel out of Egypt (Christ came to deliver us out of the world). The blood was applied (they were saved; a type of the Christian applying the blood of the Lamb and being saved) and then they passed through the Red Sea (baptized into Moses; a type of the Christian’s baptism into Christ). Once they were on the other side of the Red Sea, they followed the pillar of fire and the cloud to lead them on their wilderness journey (a type of the Spirit as the Christian is led through the journey of life). When Israel came out, they were children of God who were to go on to be sons of the Kingdom. As they went out, they were to go out by faith, believing God for all that He had promised, looking for their inheritance of the land. It is the same way with Christians today. We are children of God who are to walk by faith, believing God for all of His promises that are in Christ, looking for the heavenly land, the Kingdom of Heaven. As we walk by faith, we begin to grow up to be sons who will be qualified to enter the Kingdom.

Thus, through the children (infants), Jesus was teaching His disciples that they had to receive the Kingdom by faith-the simple, believing, trusting faith of a child. The Kingdom is not for the proud, the ones who trust in their own ability and their own self-righteousness, nor for the ones who walk by sight. A true disciple of the Kingdom recognizes that he knows so little about the Kingdom. He is a learner who is dependent on his Teacher. He must be led to the Kingdom by the Spirit, not by his flesh. If we live by the Spirit (born again),let us also walk by the Spirit (the wilderness journey) (Galatians 5:25{ea}). In this way, we will enter the Kingdom. The One Thing

After touching the children, Jesus was approached by a certain rich ruler who wanted to know how to inherit eternal life. The context of these verses is inheriting the Kingdom; therefore, eternal life in this case means life for the age, for the Kingdom Age. [In the Greek, eternal can mean either age or ages; therefore, the context must be understood to properly understand whether it means the eternal ages or a specific age, such as the coming Kingdom Age.] And a certain ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" ["what having done-shall I inherit life age-during? (Luke 18:18YLT)] And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother.’" And he said, "All these things I have kept from {my} youth." (Luke 18:18-21) This ruler was earnestly seeking entrance into the Kingdom and he had done all that was required of him under the commandments. He most likely saw himself as a good person, for he had kept all the commandments since his youth. We could say that he was a religious person, even a religious, rich person. By his question, he probably thought that all that was necessary was to do something good to add to what he had done already; he needed to do another good thing. Jesus went to the heart of man’s idea of goodness and declared that no one is good except God. Being good does not lead one into the Kingdom. There was something in this man’s life that hindered him inheriting the Kingdom. And when Jesus heard {this,} He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when he had heard these things, he became very sad; for he was extremely rich. And Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." (Luke 18:22-25)

What was the issue, the one thing? It was faith. To be sure, the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil (1 Timothy 6:10), but the one thing was not about money, per se. It was about walking by faith and, we could say, coming into and holding to the faith. An extremely rich person does not have to walk through life by faith. In the case of this man, he also was a ruler, which meant that he could order people to do what he wanted. So here was a religious, rich ruler who saw himself as a good person. Essentially, he had all that the world could offer and all his earthly needs were met. His soul was satisfied. Why should such a one walk by faith? This is why it was so difficult for this very rich ruler to enter the Kingdom. He had it all and he could not give it up. To such a one, the Lord’s words apply: "For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). This same heart was exposed by the Lord in another parable about a rich fool who had all the world’s goods and who said to his soul: "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years {to come;} take your ease, eat, drink {and} be merry." "But God said to him, ‘You fool! This {very} night your soul is required of you; and {now} who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God" (Luke 12:19-21). In commanding His disciples to seek the Kingdom, Jesus told them: "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves purses which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near, nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Be dressed in readiness, and {keep} your lamps alight" (Luke 12:33-35).

Walking by faith means that our heart is set on the Kingdom; our treasure is heavenly, not earthly. One whose treasure is on earth will not seek the Heavenly Kingdom and will not inherit it. The Lord knew the heart of the rich ruler. He was attached to the things of this earth and the only way he could become unattached to them was to sell all. It was a drastic measure for this man, but isn’t denying self a drastic measure for all disciples of Christ?

James, who elaborated on his Master’s teachings, wrote: Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world {to be} rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? (James 2:5). Why are the poor rich in faith? Because they have so little of what the world has to offer. They must trust in God for their daily provisions, unlike the rich. However, it is the rich in faith who will inherit the Kingdom.

Now, when Jesus spoke these words about the rich ruler, those who were listening wondered how anyone could be saved. And they who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But He said, "The things impossible with men are possible with God." And Peter said, "Behold, we have left our own {homes,} and followed You." And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life." (Luke 18:26-30)

Truly, all who were listening were not rich, most of all, the Lord’s disciples. This question about being saved must be looked at in context and the context is inheriting the Kingdom which, as we have seen, can refer only to ones who are saved (born again). Therefore, we must view saved not as initial salvation but as the salvation of the soul and entering the Reign of the Heavens. This is made apparent by the Lord’s closing words about the age to come and eternal life. The age to come is the Kingdom Age, and eternal life in this context is the life of the age (coming Kingdom) or life age-during (Greek rendering). All of this is in perfect harmony with what has been taken up in this chapter, along with other teachings of the Lord presented in this book.

Thus, the hindrance to the one thing of faith is not money, per se, but any thing that hinders a saint from pressing on toward the goal for the prize. Once again, we are brought to the Lord’s word in regard to inheriting the Kingdom and receiving the reward: "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24). If we do this, then all things are possible with God. Peter confirmed this thought when he stated to the Lord: Behold, we have left our own homes, and followed You. Jesus’ encouraging word is that anyone who forsakes all to follow Him not only will receive much in this world [needs met (Luke 12:22-34)] but also will receive the salvation of his soul to enter into and inherit the Kingdom.

It all comes down to denying our soul-life, taking up our cross and following our Lord; and in doing so, we are walking by faith, not by sight. If we walk by faith, we are continuing in the faith. We will be like Abraham who by faith lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign {land}, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:9-10). On The Third Day In concluding this portion of Scripture, we discover Jesus took aside His twelve disciples and explained to them that He was going to be crucified and rise from the dead on the third day.

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. For He will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again." And they understood none of these things, and this saying was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said. (Luke 18:31-34)

All things written in the Scriptures as spoken through the prophets were about to be fulfilled. The prophets had foretold of the day in which Israel’s Messiah would be crucified. However, like many of the elite rulers of Israel, the disciples had no understanding of what was staring them in the face. They did not comprehend what their Master had taught them. On the third day, He was going to rise from the dead.

Dear brethren, is it any different today? Do the Lord’s people comprehend what the Lord Jesus and His disciples left us in the written Word of God, specifically, in the prophetic Scriptures? In recalling the day in which he and two other disciples were on the mountain when Jesus was transfigured in their sight as a picture of the coming Kingdom and Glory (Matthew 17:1-13), Peter wrote: And {so} we have the prophetic word {made} more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts (2 Peter 1:19). The prophetic word is the Word of the Kingdom. Peter was given a prophetic view of Christ coming in all His glory as the King, and he never forgot that day. It was given to Peter and the others after six days, on the seventh day. It was not only a prophetic view of the event but also of when it is going to occur, 2,000 years from Peter’s day at the end of Man’s Day of 6,000 years (6 days). On the third day, Jesus rose from the dead. In other words, after two days, on the third day, He arose. The two days (2,000 years) since His death and resurrection are almost over; the third day is coming. On the third day, when He comes, He will raise from among the dead those who are asleep in Jesus and seize them up in the air along with those in Christ who are alive and remain on the earth. This day is coming soon! Are you ready?

Today, there are many men speaking to the Lord’s people who call themselves prophets, and people are listening to them as if they are true prophets. But are they? What are they prophesying? Is prophesying about events in people’s lives, about events in the world, about the future without a view to the coming of Christ truly from God? We are living in the last days in which there will be great deception. It seems that much so-called prophecy today feeds the soul. It excites people with things of this earth leading them away from the truth of the prophetic Word of God. The result is people run to and fro listening for prophecy as if God is speaking forth countless prophetic words to entertain us. This is not God’s way. God’s people must wake up before it is too late. During the coming Tribulation, there will be many false Christs and false prophets who will deceive, if possible, even the elect (Matthew 24:24). We are not in that day yet, but even in his day, Peter warned: But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves (2 Peter 2:1).

We are living in days like the days of Noah and the days of Lot. There is much deception already in the Christian world and in a day of moral corruption. Moral corruption leads people into all sorts of deception.

Regarding the last days, Peter has left us a very specific warning in reference to the Lord’s return: Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with {their} mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming?" (2 Peter 3:3-4). The mockers are among us now. Where are the men who are teaching the truth as revealed in the prophetic Scriptures? It does not matter if they are called prophets or not. (In fact, considering the fallen condition of the Christian world, it is probably better if they are not called anything but a disciple of Christ or a brother in Christ.) What matters is that the truth about the Word of the Kingdom and the soon coming of our beloved Lord is taught to the Lord’s people to prepare them for the Day of Christ. They must be led to understand the faith and then to continue in the faith until the Lord comes to take the scepter of the Kingdom of Heaven. Many teachers will shrink back in shame at the judgment seat because of their utter failure to properly teach the Lord’s people and lead them into all truth. And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now shall not God bring about justice for His elect, who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:6-8) The Lord has given us the answer to His question. He will not find the faith on the earth when He comes. Today, the majority of the Christian world is not listening to the truth: For the time will come [has come] when they will not endure sound doctrine; but {wanting} to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4{ea}). This is the day in which we live. When the masses are not listening, what are we to do? First and foremost, we need to sit at the feet of our beloved Lord Jesus, wait on Him and listen for His still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-12). We are living in days when it is to he who has an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says. Do you have an ear to hear? Are you listening? Are you waiting? Are you holding to the faith? Do you see the Day approaching?

If your answer is yes to all of these questions, then your heart, as one who has the heart of the Bride of Christ, should be speaking forth, "Come, Lord Jesus!" May we hear the reply of our Beloved: "Yes, I am coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, in order that no one will take your crown" (Revelation 22:20; Revelation 3:11).

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!