Luke 17:22-37   Jesus talks about the "days of the Son of Man"  He gives us specific information that we need to pay attention to:

We will long for it... waiting and waiting, until we are tempted to run after lesser things.

His coming will be unmistakeable.  There will be no denying it when He comes.

Life will be similar to the days before Noah went into the ark and when Lot left Sodom.   In both cases men were doing whatever they wanted to do and it was very corrupt and immoral.  In both cases there was an opportunity to be saved, but only a few took it.

There will be only two possibilities - either we are taken or we are left.  Received near or laid aside.
" Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it."  Jesus warns. 

keep - (peripoieomai) - to make around oneself, to acquire , purchase
life - (psuche) - soul/spirit
lose -(apollumi) - destroy, perish
preserve -(zoogoneo) - rescue, be saved from death.

When we claim our lives as belonging to ourselves; ignoring the fact that we have a Creator and Master; we will actually destroy ourselves.  We see this every day in the lives of unbelievers around us. Our culture is full of prideful and arrogant men and women who think that they own themselves and will not held accountable for their sins. Why are we shocked when their lives unravel?

It is only those who "lay down their lives", taking up their crosses and following Jesus who will be saved from death; rescued, redeemed.

Jesus ends this discourse with these final words, " Where the body is, there also will the vultures
 ( eagles) be gathered."   Matthew 24:28 says it this way, " Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather."   There are several Old Testament references that help us to understand this better.
Job 39:27 - 30 " Is it at your command that the eagles mount up ....From there he spies out food; His eyes see it from afar.  His young ones also suck up blood; and where the slain are, there he is."
Ezekiel 39:17 " And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, 'Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, "Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you many eat flesh and drink blood. " 

This speaks of the day of great judgement.  Armageddon.  With the coming of Christ there will be a separation of those who believe in Him and those who have rejected Him.

Again the call to us is clear, we must come to Him humbly and repent.  We must choose to follow Him. To walk in faith, giving glory to God with earnest thanksgiving for what He has done for us.

Father in heaven, we bless Your Name,  we give glory and honor to You alone.  You are our Creator and our Savior. You are our King and Master.  We long for You. We wait for the return of Our Lord.
We lay down our lives, presenting ourselves as living sacrifices, acceptable to You, for this is our spiritual service, our true worship.  May we not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds, through Jesus Christ. That we may discern and do Your will as faithful servants.  Complete Your purposes in our lives today we ask. Amen.