Today, we are asking a very serious question: What if Jesus returned tonight? We are looking at three warnings every Christian should know and pay attention to frequently. Jesus says in verse 26, just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating, drinking, marrying, and being given in marriage until the day Noah entered the ark and the flood came. It will be the exact same on the day the Son of Man is revealed. The Bible is a book full of warnings. God never throws a sucker punch at His people; He always warns us before judgment falls, just as He warned Adam and Eve. However, it is not easy for us to stay awake and hold onto the thought that Jesus is coming soon. We get busy with normal everyday life, and we stop caring for the return of the King. But the Lord warns us that He will come for sure. It is his promise and absolute reality.
Before His coming, the world will look as usual, but we must not be consumed by it. Look at how Jesus describes the days of Noah and Lot. People were eating, drinking, marrying, buying, selling, planting, and building. Jesus never says that marriage or eating or building is a bad thing. God is not against these normal human activities. The problem is that these things progressed to consume their entire attention while they completely ignored God’s warning. They were intoxicated with everyday life, living as though this world is the only world that matters.
We see this exact spiritual blindness in Daniel 5. King Belshazzar threw a great feast for a thousand of his nobles, drinking wine and enjoying a grandiose party. He acted like nothing was happening, even though a great invading army was right outside his kingdom. That very same night, Belshazzar was killed. His judgment was sudden and unexpected because he was entirely focused on his earthly pleasure.
If we set our minds primarily on earthly things, our pilgrim spirit dies, and we stop being homesick for heaven. This is what the Bible calls worldliness. Worldliness is not simply having a job or participating in society; it is adopting the values, desires, and priorities of a world that lives independently of God. It is when we push God and eternity to the margins of our lives. If our hope is bigger for earthly success than it is for having Jesus Christ, we are worldly. Colossians chapter 3, verses 1 and 2 command us that if we have been raised with Christ, we must keep seeking the things above, setting our minds on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. We apply this by making Jesus our supreme treasure and prioritizing the word of God to renew our minds. We must also fight worldliness with real prayer. Real prayer is not just talking; it is true communion and intimacy with God. When we practice real prayer, we realize that nothing in this world can satisfy us but God alone.
When Jesus returns, it will be a complete and sudden judgment for those who are spiritually asleep. Jesus repeats that the flood came and destroyed them all, and fire and brimstone from heaven destroyed them all. God emphasizes the totality of the judgment. For 120 years, the people in Noah’s day ignored the warning. They probably looked at the sky, saw no black clouds, and thought Noah was just joking or going through a midlife crisis. But the day came when Noah entered the ark, and God closed the door. The judgment arrived suddenly, decisively, and completely. For unbelievers and those who are spiritually asleep, His coming will be a dreadful sucker punch. They will be knocked down because they are not ready.
Why does Jesus warn His chosen disciples about this severe judgment? Because genuine believers need this exhortation to remain watchful. The warning prepares us to live differently. Think about it, if you take this seriously and believe Jesus could come tonight or tomorrow, how would you calibrate your life from now on? This warning also equips us to warn others. God preserves His people through warnings, and He calls us to wake up those around us. If we truly believe judgment is coming, we cannot stay silent about the gospel to our family members and friends who are living in spiritual darkness.
His coming is absolutely certain and real, so we must live faithfully right now. Jesus treats Noah, the ark, Sodom, and Lot as real historical beings and events. This is not an allegory or a metaphor. Just as the flood was real, the return of the King is real. God never breaks His promises, because if He broke even one promise, we could not trust Him at all. God is faithful, and He never speaks falsely. In Luke 17:30, Jesus uses what we call a futuristic present tense, saying the Son of Man is revealed because it is so incredibly certain that it is as if it is happening now.
How do we prepare for a coming that is so sure? We do not prepare by trying to predict the date, but by waiting watchfully and faithfully. Watchful means living each day with the awareness that Christ could return at any time. We prepare by abiding in Christ, making Him our only true home. When you have a heavenly perspective, you remember that this earth is not your final resting place. There was a defector whose family had to worship secretly in North Korea, risking execution. Her grandmother would tell her that their true home was over there in heaven. That heavenly perspective is what allows a believer to endure anything, knowing we are just stopping by this place.
We also prepare by remaining faithful in our ordinary duties. We do not quit our jobs or stop living normally. Instead, we honor and glorify Christ in our daily responsibilities. Revelation 2:10 tells us that if we are faithful unto death, He will give us the crown of life. We must be like the believers in 1 Thessalonians 1:7-8, where the word of the Lord sounded forth from them in every place as they waited for His Son from heaven. Waiting is not idleness. It is a life of faith, holiness, and service.
What if Jesus returned tonight? Are you ready to welcome Him? We can avoid being swallowed up by this world of simply eating, building, and planting if we continuously stay watchful. If a man truly fears God, he can love his wife and pursue his work with extraordinary skill and diligence, all while eagerly waiting for the glorious return of his King. Waiting for His return is not a crazy thing at all. It is a central part of our Christian life, and it must drive us to do our absolute best for His glory every single day.
BIBLE COMMUNITY CHURCH 
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