Luke 17:22-37
“For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day... And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.”
King James Version
Jesus describes His day as sudden and universally visible like lightning, coming upon an unprepared world as in the days of Noah and Lot.
Fulfillment References
Matthew 24:27-39 Genesis 7:6-23 Genesis 19:24-25 2 Peter 3:10
How Traditions Read This Prophecy
Apostolic (Oneness) PentecostalThe day of the one Lord Jesus comes suddenly and visibly; apostolic believers live ready, not as the unprepared world.
JewishThe Noah and Lot typology of sudden judgment echoes Jewish use of the flood and Sodom as paradigms of the Day of the LORD.
CatholicThe suddenness and universality of the Lord's day, urging readiness and warning against worldly complacency.
ProtestantChrist's coming will be sudden, visible, and unexpected like lightning; the Noah/Lot pattern warns the complacent.
OrthodoxThe unexpected, glorious day of the Son of Man, calling for spiritual wakefulness.
DispensationalThe visible return after the tribulation; the 'taken and left' imagery is variously applied to judgment or to the rapture.
AcademicLukan apocalyptic with distinctive Lot material; scholars discuss the 'taken/left' sayings and Parousia suddenness.
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Bible Prophecy Explorer · based on J. Barton Payne’s Encyclopedia of Biblical Prophecy catalogue · an openly Apostolic (Oneness) Pentecostal study resource — all traditions presented fairly. Pastor: C. Myles Young, PhD · Bishop: Nathaniel J. Wilson, Ed.D.