Many Christian sects and individuals are often quite concerned with predictions of the end of the world. They often apply different biblical passages in a literal way to match the various contemporary events of our times, hoping to fix the exact moment when all things will come to an end. Similarly, they are trying to determine who is 'inside the system,' those who are saved, and those who are 'outside,' those who are damned. For Luke, as this passage will show, the Parousia, the Second Coming, is already a present reality. In the early days of the Church, they too had been expecting Christ to come on clouds of glory to inaugurate the kingdom. Luke says, in effect, "The kingdom is right now. The Christ has come. The presence of Jesus is among us. Let us rejoice in it, let us live in it. And don't worry about the 'final days'." In other words, the presence of Christ is alive among us now. The date the historical risen Jesus is scheduled to return, is an academic question. In fact, it doesn't matter at all. What truly matters is the 'now'! The Gospel is filled with a sense of God's immanence and the necessity for us to be aware and see. There is no point postulating about the future, if we fail to recognise the kingdom in our midst.