The Coming Day of the Lord*

There seems to be a persistent feeling in the Church that the Rapture, the catching away of the Church, means that we don't have to be concerned about the coming Day of the Lord. However, scripture has some sobering prophecies concerning that day, and those prophecies are directed to God's people. When Israel, Judah and Jerusalem are mentioned in scripture, the Church also needs to pay attention, because we are not exempt from the truths being revealed. The Church does not replace Israel by any means, but we are part of "the people of praise". We are grafted into that holy root. The prophet Amos begins our look at the day of the LORD, and what it should mean to us: "Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel. The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up....For thus saith the LORD unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live...Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel." (Amos. 5:1-8, excerpt). The LORD has said here that His people are fallen, and they need to seek His face if they want to live. He is calling His people to repentance (see also 2 Chron. 7:14). The LORD continues to speak through His prophet Amos: "Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light...Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?" (v.18-20). Do we understand what the day of the LORD entails, and towards whom it is directed? The LORD also told His people that their feast days, their offerings, and their songs did not please Him, and would not save them from the coming day. The LORD said instead: "But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream." (v. 24). The LORD points to His people's idolatry, and its consequences: "But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Molech and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore, I will cause you to go into captivity..." (v. 26-27). The nature of the gods and idols mentioned, Molech and Chiun, are very much with us today as well, even amongst the people of God. Molech required the sacrifice of children, and millions of unborn children, innocent blood, today have been destroyed in the abomination of abortion. The god, Chiun, is a god of male virility and fertility. Our culture today is filled with idols representing this same type of god. The LORD spoke this prophetic word concerning the day of the LORD to His prophet Joel: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness...A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth...The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?" (Joel 2:1-11, excerpt). The warning of the trumpet here is to God's people, to Zion. As He spoke to the prophet Amos, the LORD also spoke to Joel, calling His people, regardless of circumstances, age, or station, to repentance: "Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Who knoweth if he will return and repent, and leave a blessing behind him; even a meat offering and a drink offering unto the Lord your God? Blow the trumpet in Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly..." (v. 12-15). If His people will repent, the LORD will hear them and answer: "Then will the Lord be jealous for his land, and pity his people...And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." (v. 18, 32). Another prophet, Zephaniah describes the same things regarding the day of the LORD: "That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord: Their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy...” (Zeph. 1:15-18). On 9/11 we saw the towers fall in New York City. We saw the dust of the devastation and ruin cover everything, including the faces and clothes of those running from the horrible event. Wicked and evil will be judged, and we are seeing it. Isaiah described a widescale execution of judgment that involved the whole world: "Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is therein; the world, and all things that come forth of it. For the indignation of the LORD is upon all nations, and his fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter...And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scrole: and all their hosts shall fall down...my sword...shall come down upon Idumea...For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion. And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into brimstone, and the land therof shall become burning pitch." (Isa. 34:1-10, excerpt). Again we read something that could be described in our era as a nuclear holocaust, that will involve all the nations. The apostle Peter also wrote of this total destruction involving the burning up of the elements, and the heavens (2 Peter 3). Peter also made clear that considering that we are looking to the coming events of the day of the Lord (v. 12), there is also an expectation upon the people of God" "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent, that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation...seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. (2 Pet. 3:14-18). Peter's recommendation to us in view of the coming day of the Lord was not to be looking toward a catching away of the Church, but because we know these things are coming, we are to be even more serious about being without spot, blameless, in the peace of Christ, growing in His grace and in the knowledge of Him. Without this preparation and "diligence", we come in danger of being led away with the wicked. We are seeing the pestilence of COVID, and nations of the earth lining up according to the prophecies regarding the last days. God's people, who are expected to know the signs, should be concerned about the coming day of the Lord, and turning back to Him in repentance, and bringing the Gospel and the opportunity of repentance to others: "Seek the LORD, and ye shall live." *Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 6/13/21 message to the church. To contact: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX 76705 OR Everlastingovenant@ymail.com You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and endtimeschool.com