For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day.
Parallel translations
- WEB for as the lightning, when it flashes out of the one part under the sky, shines to the other part under the sky; so will the Son of Man be in his day.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.
- NASB For just like the lightning, when it flashes out of one part of the sky, shines to the other part of the sky, so will the Son of Man be in His day.
- NLT For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The Son of Man's coming will be sudden and visible to all, like lightning across the sky. No one will need to be told it has happened.
Overview
Lightning flashing from one horizon to the other pictures the unmistakable, universal visibility of Christ's return. Unlike secret arrivals, his appearing will be instantly evident everywhere. This guards believers against deception by setting the global, public character of the second coming.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Matt 24:27For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
- Zech 9:14Then the LORD will appear over them, and His arrow will go forth like lightning. The Lord GOD will sound the ram’s horn and advance in the whirlwinds of the south.
- Mal 4:1–2“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, when all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble; the day is coming when I will set them ablaze,” says the LORD of Hosts. “Not a root or branch will be left to them.”
- Matt 24:30At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.
- Mal 3:1–2“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
- 2 Pet 3:10But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and its works will be laid bare.
- Jas 5:8You, too, be patient and strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.
- 2 Th 2:2not to be easily disconcerted or alarmed by any spirit or message or letter seeming to be from us, alleging that the Day of the Lord has already come.
- Job 37:3–4He unleashes His lightning beneath the whole sky and sends it to the ends of the earth.
- 1 Th 5:2For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
- Matt 25:31When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
- 2 Th 2:8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth and annihilate by the majesty of His arrival.
- Matt 26:64“You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 17:24 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.