And when the Pharisees asked when the Kingdom of God would come, the Lord answered them, "The Kingdom of God will not come in a visible way, and they will not say, 'Behold, it is here,' or, 'Behold, it is there.' For the Kingdom of God is within you.

And he said to his disciples, "The days will come when you will desire to see even one of the days of the Son of man, and you will not see." And they will say to you, "Here," or, "There," do not walk and do not chase. For as the lightning flashing from one end of heaven shines to the other end of heaven, so will the Son of Man be in his day.

But first He must suffer much and be rejected by this generation.

And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: they ate, drank, married, and were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Just as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, drank, bought, sold, planted, built; but on the day that Lot came out of Sodom, a rain of fire and brimstone poured down from heaven, and destroyed them all.

So it will be in the day that the Son of Man appears.

On that day, whoever is on the housetop, and his belongings in the house, let him not go down to take them; and whoever is in the field, do not turn back. Remember Lot's wife. Whoever saves his life will destroy it; but whoever destroys it will revive it.

I say to you, That night there will be two on the same bed; one will be taken, and the other will remain. Two will grind together; one will be taken, and the other will remain. Two will be on the field; one will be taken, and the other will remain.

And they said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said to them, Where there is a carcass, there the eagles will be gathered.

140. The Parable of the Unrighteous Judge

Lux. 18, 1–8

The Lord also told them a parable that one should always pray and not lose heart, saying: "In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and was not ashamed of people." In the same city there was a certain widow, and she came to him, saying, "Protect me from my adversary." But he didn't want to for a long time. And then he said to himself: although I do not fear God and am not ashamed of people, yet as this widow does not give me peace, I will protect her, so that she will not come to trouble me any more.

And the Lord said, Do you hear what the unrighteous judge says? Will not God protect His elect, who cry out to Him day and night, although He is slow to defend them? I tell you that He will give them protection soon. But when the Son of God comes, will He find faith on earth?

141. The Parable of the Publican and the Pharisee

Lux. 18, 9–14