Luke 17:22–24

Context

In Luke 17:20 the Pharisees ask when the kingdom of God will come. Jesus answers that the kingdom of God does not come with observable signs. Beginning in verse 22, he turns to his disciples and speaks of "the day of the Son of man." "Son of Man" is the title Jesus uses for himself in the Gospels, and its background is generally traced to "one like the Son of man" in Daniel 7:13. The passage is followed by the statement that the Son of Man must first suffer many things and be rejected (v. 25), and by a warning drawn from the days of Noah and Lot (vv. 26–32). Similar sayings appear in Matthew 24.

Interpretation

• The Second Coming reading: Commentary traditions across many denominations generally read this passage as referring to the Second Coming of Christ. The image of lightning is taken to mean that the Second Coming will not take place secretly in some hidden location but suddenly, in a way that everyone can recognize.
• "One of the days of the Son of man": Opinion on this phrase is divided. One view holds that amid suffering and persecution the disciples will long for the day when the Son of Man comes. Another holds that they will long for the days of Jesus' earthly ministry, when they were with him.
• Already and not yet: Many scholars read this passage together with verse 21, "the kingdom of God is within you." They interpret it within a framework in which the kingdom of God has already begun with Jesus but will be consummated on the day of the Son of Man.

Debates and Issues

• Interpreters differ over whether verses 34–35 of the same chapter ("the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left") should be connected with the Rapture, or whether the entire section describes a single public Second Coming. This difference is especially pronounced between dispensationalism and other eschatological traditions.
• The phrase "in his day" in verse 24 is absent from some ancient manuscripts. For this reason, modern critical editions reportedly print it in brackets.
• Translations render the wording of verse 21 differently. The Korean Revised Version has "within you," while the New Korean Standard Version has "among you." The difference is discussed in connection with whether the kingdom of God should be understood as an inward reality or as a reality already present in the person of Jesus.

In the Korean Church

Verse 23, "See here; or, see there," is frequently cited in sermons warning against groups that present a particular individual as the returned Christ. It is also used alongside Matthew 24:23–27 in cult counseling training, where it is offered as evidence that the Second Coming will be seen by all, like lightning, in contrast to claims that it takes place secretly in a single location or through a single person. The groups under criticism, for their part, are known to offer different interpretations, such as reading expressions like "lightning" and "the east" figuratively or spiritually.

Related Passages

• Luke 17:20–21
• Matthew 24:23–27
• Matthew 24:30–31
• Mark 13:21–23
• 1 Thessalonians 5:1–11