They came to Yeshua with that question everyone still asks in one form or another. When is the kingdom of God coming? When does God finally step in and set everything right? People love timetables. Humans always have. Give us a date, a sign in the heavens, a countdown so we can prepare at the last minute. The Pharisees were no different, and honestly, neither are people today.
But Yeshua did not give them a calendar. He said something far more disruptive. He said the kingdom of God is en hymasin, which can mean “within you” or “among you.” Luke 17.21. Either way, it was not up in the sky where they kept looking. It was not a political takeover. It was not “look here” or “look there.” That is His whole point. It does not arrive with spectacle like people expect. It never has.
The Greek word basileia does not mean kingdom in the sense of land on a map. It means rule, reign, authority. So He was not talking about borders or armies. He was talking about the rule of God breaking into the human heart. Quiet. Steady. Real. Already happening while the world is too distracted to notice. The King was standing right in front of them, and they still could not see Him.
If the kingdom is within us, you will know it because it changes something. The Spirit does not move in quietly without waking anything up. Paul later explains the nature of that reign in Romans 14.17. The kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. Not eating. Not drinking. Not the outward things we obsess over. Righteousness is right alignment with God. Peace is shalom, the Hebrew sense of wholeness. Joy is not emotion, it is evidence that the presence of God is near. Those are signs of His reign. When the King takes His place in the heart, sin loses its throne. Pride loses its grip. Something softens that used to be stone. You can feel Him ruling. You can feel Him correcting. You can feel Him loving you into obedience.
That is how you know the kingdom is present. Not because you had chills in a worship song, but because obedience begins to bloom in the soil where rebellion used to grow.
After telling the Pharisees this, Yeshua turned to His disciples, and His tone shifted. He called Himself the Son of Man, huios tou anthrōpou, the title from Daniel 7. He told them they would long to see the days of the Son of Man, but they would not see them yet. They would ache for justice, for His return, for the world to be put back into order. And He warned them not to run after rumors. Do not follow the people who say they have found Him in the wilderness or in some hidden room. Because when He appears, it will be as obvious as lightning that flashes across the entire sky. No one will have to point. No one will be confused. It will be unmistakable.
But before that moment, Yeshua said He must suffer and be rejected by that generation. This was the part His disciples always struggled with. The King had to die first. The seed had to fall into the ground. John 12.24.
Then He told them what the world will look like when He returns. And He did not paint a dramatic movie scene. He said life will look normal. People eating, drinking, buying, selling, building, planning. Just as in the days of Noach. Just as in the days of Lot. People were not wicked because they ate or got married. They were wicked because they lived without any awareness of God, any fear of judgment, any desire for righteousness. Life felt regular, and that regularity lulled them to sleep spiritually. Then judgment came suddenly. That is the danger.
He warned them not to look back the way Lot’s wife did. Her backward glance showed where her heart truly lived. Whoever clings to this life, the Greek says zētēsei sōsai autēn, whoever tries to save it on their own terms, will lose it. But whoever releases their hold on this world, who lets go of its illusions, will be saved.
Yeshua described two people in one bed. One taken. One left. He described two people working side by side. One taken. One left. This is not about geography or sleeping positions. It is about the heart. It is about who belongs to the kingdom, and who never allowed the kingdom to take root inside them. Yeshua is telling them the division will happen at the level of the soul.
The disciples asked Him, “Where, Lord.” Luke 17.37. His answer sounds cryptic unless you understand the language. He said, “Where the corpse is, there the aetoi gather.” Ptōma is the word He used for corpse. It means something fallen, ruined. Aetoi can mean vultures, but it can also mean eagles (which are just prettier vultures). That picture is layered. It is about judgment gathering where spiritual death has settled. Wherever decay is, wherever the rejection of God festers, that is where judgment arrives. They will know the place by its condition, not by its coordinates.
The whole passage is not about predicting dates. It is about recognizing the nature of His kingdom, and the condition of our hearts. If His reign is truly inside us, we are already living in the kingdom. And if it is not, no amount of searching the sky will help when He comes.
The Jews wanted Messiah to bring a sword to Rome. But the sword was already swinging, just not against Rome. It was slicing between soul and spirit, judging the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4.12.
His kingdom arrives like yeast in dough, quiet but unstoppable. Like seed hidden in soil. It starts small but grows with certainty. And when His kingdom arrives in fullness, it will not knock politely. It will split the sky.
So Yeshua’s call is simple. Stay awake. Stay soft. Stay surrendered. Stop looking out there for signs, and let Him reign in here (your heart) where the signs actually take place.
Because when lightning flashes from east to west, no one will need an announcement. They will already know.