SM1150: THE DAY OF THE LORD!

ISAIAH 13:6-13

If there is one thing that tends to scare people as they read the Bible or hear people talking about the Scriptures, it is the Day of the Lord or the judgment of God. And this fear has been intensified as we prepare for the next millennium, which is only some 14 months away. I am sure we are going to be hearing more of the end of the world in the days and months ahead!

Now, are we justified in having those feelings of fear and doom or are they just something we have developed in our own minds and brought this fear on upon ourselves? Make no mistake about it, the Day of the Lord is real and it is devastating. And don't think of it as a literal day, for it is a period of time that begins with the rapture of the church, and the start of the tribulation period, including the Great Tribulation period, and it goes into the millennial kingdom and then into the creation of the new heaven and the new earth.

What most people tend to focus upon is a period known as the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob's trouble, which is the last 3 1/2 years of the 7 year tribulation period. And in this period of time we do see great destruction, cataclysmic events, over one-half of the earth's population will be destroyed, over 3 billion people. In fact, it gets so bad that Jesus said of this time that "...there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of heaven will be shaken." Luke 21:25-26.

Some people, as they enter into this period of time, will be so terrified at what they see happening around them, that their hearts will fail, they will drop dead! It must be pretty bad for that to occur, especially when you see what man has grown accustomed to today.

Every day we see death, murder, rape, and-so-on, come bursting forth through movies, books, television, games, and-so-on. It has almost become a matter of fact to see murder, real and entertainment, that it no longer bothers us. We have grown accustomed to it. In a sense our hearts have grown cold to what we see. And yet, during the tribulation period it is so bad people would rather die than be exposed to the judgment of God. They can't take what they are seeing any longer.

In Isaiah chapter 13, beginning in verse 6, Isaiah is going to give us a very descriptive picture of what the Day of the Lord, specifically the Great Tribulation period, is all about. So lets begin reading in Isaiah chapter 13, starting in verse 6.

ISAIAH 13:6-13

Now many have a hard time dealing with passages like this found in the Scriptures. They can't understand how a God of love can also pour out so much wrath, cause so much destruction upon His creation. People that have a hard time understanding this also don't understand the love of God. Now you may not agree with that, but hear me out. You see, many people speak of God's love, but the reality of what they are saying is based upon their own preconceived ideas of what God's love is all about. And because they don't understand God's love, they don't understand His judgment.

This morning we are going to look at God's love, His wrath, and what the tribulation period is all about. In going through this, I pray that you get a clear understanding of these issues that are very misunderstood in the church today. That God's love shines through to you and the fear of this Day is put in proper perspective by all!

First we are going to look at God's love so that we can understand what His love is all about. Again, this is very important in our understanding of His judgment that is coming. Turn to John chapter 3, and lets begin reading in verse 16. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16-17.

God's love is manifested in action, He loved us so much He sent His son to pay the penalty for our sins. You see, Jesus came the first time as "'...The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" John 1:29.

He did not come in judgment, condemning the world for their sin, their rebellion against Him in His first coming. He came as a lamb, a perfect sacrifice, to pay the penalty for our sins. He came from heaven to earth to save us from our sins. You see, God's love for us is seen in what He has done for us, paying the penalty for our sins by His death on the cross of Calvary. Paul tells us in Romans 5:8 that "...God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

But today, when people speak of God's love, they do so with the idea that God doesn't care what we do. He is this benevolent creator with a long gray beard and a white robe that accepts whatever we do - for He is love!

This point is expressed by a letter to Time magazine, dated April 29, 1996. Norris Jewett Chumley, of New York City, wrote: "I am the co-executive producer and director of the TV movie The Gospel According to Jesus mentioned in your report. Neither history nor science has ever proved the existence of ghosts, much less Holy Ones. The Gospels as we know them were written by ordinary people from generations of oral accounts of a very special prophet's teachings. Because they were written by humans, they may indeed contain factual errors and embellishments. Nonetheless, Jesus taught us that ordinary people are valuable teachers and that we should accept and forgive. The precise points of what Jesus said or didn't say, did or didn't do, are irrelevant to me. What I get from his teachings is that God exists and that I don't need to worry if I "love God with all my heart and mind and love my neighbor as myself."

The problem with that kind of relationship with God, is that Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7 that if we hear His words and don't do them, then we don't know Him, and He doesn't know us!

And again, the problem with that kind of relationship with God, as this person believes, is the Scriptures don't support it. Notice how politically incorrect John is when he says in Revelation 21:8, "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Also, Paul is very un-loving when he says in I Corinthians 6:9-10, "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God."

Now understand this. It is not un-loving to speak the truths of God found in His Word. It is un-loving and uncaring to ignore what God has said and lie to make people feel comfortable, to feel good about their actions. Jesus came to save sinners but today we are not sinners, we have a disease or a weakness. That is ridiculous! Paul said in Romans 3:23 "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Do you know what the Greek word "all" means? It means everything, everyone, all of us, have sinned! ALL MEANS ALL, it is not a trick word, as some like to make it out to be!

Paul goes on to say in Romans 6:23 the result of that condition and then the only solution to free us from the condition we are in. He said "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." What we see in sin is death, eternal separation from God. But God has given us the free gift of eternal life that is found in Jesus Christ. There are only two ways to go, and if you really want to experience God's love, receive His Son into your life, the free gift of God, and your sins will be cast as far as the east is from the west, to be remembered no more!

Turn with me to Luke chapter 4, for in this section of Scripture we see the reason for Christ's first coming and it will then lead us into the reason for His second coming. Starting in verse 16 we read, "So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: 'The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.' Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.'" Luke 4:16-21.

Jesus came the first time to give us the good news, the gospel message. In that message there was a healing of the brokenhearted. There was a release of those bound, those captive in sin, they were set free. There was physical healing, spiritual healing, all fulfilled in Christ's first coming. And thus, we see God's love as He sent His Son to set us free from the bondage of sin, to heal us!

Interestingly enough, Jesus is quoting from the scroll of Isaiah, but as He speaks these words, He stops right in the middle of a sentence, He doesn't finish quoting the verse He is teaching on in Isaiah. Why? Let me quote the rest of the verse and I think you will understand why. In the last part of Isaiah 61:2 we read "...And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn."

You see, in Jesus' first coming He came to save. That is why Jesus stopped there as He taught from Isaiah. Now there is a gap found which is known as the church age, and for almost 2,000 years we have been living in a period of God's grace. But that is coming quickly to an end and when Jesus comes back a second time it won't be as a lamb but as a lion from the tribe of Judah pouring out His wrath upon a Christ rejecting world.

Listen to how Joel describes the Day of the Lord beginning in Joel 2:1. We read, "Blow 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 is coming, For it is at hand: A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness, Like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, The like of whom has never been; Nor will there ever be any such after them, Even for many successive generations...The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness. The LORD gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?" Joel 2:1-2, 10-11.

Also, in Amos chapter 5, beginning in verse 18 we read, "Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! For what good is the day of the LORD to you? It will be darkness, and not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion, And a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, Leaned his hand on the wall, And a serpent bit him! Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?" Amos 5:18-20.

Now to understand His judgment, you have to understand His love. God has done everything possible to save us from our sins, all we must do is receive that free gift. God won't force us to take it, we have the free will to choose. But by refusing the free gift of God, you are rejecting His love, and you will die in your sins.

Now there are some Christians who have terrified themselves by believing we, as Christians, are going to go through the tribulation period. But that is wrong for it goes against God's Word. In Isaiah chapter 13 we are told who this Day is for. We read, "And He will destroy sinners from it." Isaiah 13:9. And in verse 11 we read "I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, And will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible."

God is pouring out His judgment upon those who have rejected Him, SINNERS! We are not sinners for we have been washed in the blood of the lamb. Now some like to say that in teaching that the church doesn't go through the tribulation period, you are not preparing them for what lies ahead! I disagree. I do think tough times are going to come upon us.

The thing we must understand, the thing we must remember is where that persecution is coming from and where the judgment is coming from. Jesus said in John 16:33, "These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." In this world we will have tribulation, persecution, and the source of that is Satan.

But in the tribulation period the source of tribulation is from God upon a Christ rejecting world. And that is the point, God would not pour out His wrath upon His children, that makes no sense at all! Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:9, "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." And so I want to spend the remainder of our time this morning showing you some of the reasons I believe the church, believers will not be here during the tribulation period, but will be raptured, caught up to be with the Lord in the air, prior to the start of this last 7 year period. And understand that this is not an exhaustive list, but it will point you in the right direction to do your own searching.

Lets begin by looking at II Peter 2:9, which says, "then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment." Notice, God is going to remove us, take us out before He pours out His wrath, for His wrath is for the unjust, and not the just. And remember, the only reason we are just before a holy and righteous God, is because of God's righteousness imputed to us!

Turn now to II Thessalonians 2:3, and we will see one of the things that needs to occur before the Day of the Lord begins. We read, "Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition." The Greek word used for "falling away" is APOSTASIA. It speaks of a falling away from the truth of God by religious people, by the church! Do we see that happening today? Yes, and at alarming rates!

We have moved away from God's Word to let the Spirit tell us what is right and what is wrong, what is truth and what is error, instead of allowing the Spirit of God according to the Word of God, guide us in all truth. And because of this error, of just going by feelings, letting the Spirit guide, the church has gotten into all kinds of bizarre doctrine, and even legalistic issues.

We see teachings such as: you are god, there is power in our words, we can create our own reality, if you had the same knowledge as Jesus did you could go to the cross and do what He did, Jesus was tortured in Hell, Jesus is the brother of Satan, we see people barking like dogs, drunk in the spirit, laughing uncontrollably, and-so-on. And in all of that the focus is on us and not the Lord, and it is not according to His Word and thus, it is not the Holy Spirit that is leading them!

You see, we don't hear too often that people are sinners separated from God, but they are made to feel good. Yes, the falling away, the apostasy, has started, and it must come before the man of sin, the antichrist is revealed!

Lets continue looking in II Thessalonians chapter 2, by reading in verse 4, where Paul says of the antichrist that he is the one, "who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way." II Thessalonians 2:4-7.

This is a very important portion of Scripture for it is telling us that the antichrist can't be revealed UNTIL that restraining force is taken out of the way. Now the question is, "Who is the one who restrains?"

Now one teacher, who believes we will go through part of the tribulation period, till just after the 3 1/2 year period, says this concerning who this restrainer is: "The one who had the job of hindering the antichrist will step aside; that is, he will no longer be a restraint between the antichrist and those the antichrist is persecuting...The Bible is explicit that the Archangel Michael is the personage who will step aside...The word of God teaches that the restrainer is the Archangel Michael..."

The Bible does not teach that Michael is the restrainer! That is ridiculous. Then who is this restrainer? Well, who is the one who restrains lawlessness in the world today? The Holy Spirit, and specifically the Holy Spirit working in the lives of believers. Thus, the Holy Spirit must be removed from His present working in the church, in the lives of believers, for the antichrist to be revealed. The only problem with that is the Bible tells us that Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit and that He would never leave us. How can this be? If the church is taken home to be with the Lord, the Holy Spirit will not function in us as it did while we were on this earth, there would be no need, we are with the Lord, we aren't left alone.

Thus, when the church is taken up to be with the Lord, the antichrist is revealed, and the tribulation period begins. And we see this clearly in Revelation 6:1-2, "Now I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals; and I heard one of the four living creatures saying with a voice like thunder, 'Come and see.' And I looked, and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer." The tribulation period opens up with the antichrist coming on the scene as their savior, and the world will welcome him. But for him to be revealed, the church can no longer be here!

Now when you look at the book of Revelation, you will notice that it is broken down into 3 distinct sections. In Revelation 1:19, we are given these sections, "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this." The things that John has seen are found in chapter 1 of the book of Revelation. The things that are, are found in chapters 2 and 3, and are the letters that Jesus wrote to the seven churches in Asia Minor.

As you study these churches you will notice that they follow church history very closely. Ephesus represented the Apostolic church of the first century. Smyrna represented the persecuted church from the end of the first century to the middle of the forth century, where millions of Christians were martyred for their faith. Pergamos represented the church that was married to the world when Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion. Thyatira represented the corrupt church, Roman Catholicism, which allowed all kinds of corrupt practices into the church. Sardis represented the dead church of the reformation, which was needed but ended up packaging God and they became dead in their orthodoxy. The Church of Philadelphia is the faithful church, in which Jesus said of this church, "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth." Revelation 3:10. It is those believers that will be kept out of this time of tribulation, God's wrath, for this time is for earth dwellers and not for those whose citizenship is in heaven. And lastly, the church of Laodicea or the end time apostate church where things are happening, but Jesus is on the outside knocking to get into His church.

Then, in Revelation chapter 4 John opens this section up with the Greek words, META TAUTA, which speaks of our last section, "after these things." Interestingly enough, that as soon as John finishes speaking of the church age, he uses the Greek words that Jesus used to divide the book up into the final section. And it is then that we read beginning in verse 1 of Revelation chapter 4, "After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, 'Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.' Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne."

What happens at the close of the church age? The church, as John was, is immediately caught up to be with the Lord, as the trumpet sounds and the Lord calls us to be with Him. And John, like the church, will "immediately" be in the presence of God!

In I Thessalonians chapter 5, Paul is writing to comfort believers, for some were teaching that those who died in Christ where going to miss out on the blessings of the rapture. And Paul, in speaking of that Day, said staring in verse 4, "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing." I Thessalonians 5:4-11.

Paul wants us to take comfort, not to fear, for we have not been appointed to receive God's wrath, but salvation through His Son! For those that are spiritually asleep, spiritually drunk, unsaved, they will miss this Day and sudden destruction will come upon them and they will not escape God's wrath.

There is no doubt that the Day of the Lord, specifically the Great Tribulation period, is a horrible, devastating time upon the earth for those that have rejected Christ. It is so bad, that by the end of the tribulation period, as the sixth seal is opened, men are going to want to die! In Revelation 6:12-17 we read, "I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?'"

They refused to repent of their sins, but wanted to hide themselves from God's wrath. You won't be able to do it! You won't be able to escape it outside of Christ! You see, Isaiah said, "...He will destroy sinners from it." From the earth!

God has come to free us from sin, we saw that and we continue to see that today, that in His first coming He paid the penalty for our sins and set us free. But He is coming again, not as a lamb to take away the sins of the world, that was already done, but as a lion from the tribe of Judah to punish those who have rejected Him.

For us as Christians, let us not fear, let us not be afraid, for God has not appointed us to wrath. Yes, things may get intense, but that tribulation is from Satan, and not from God. God is not going to pour out His wrath upon those who love Him, His children, but on a Christ rejecting world! Let me leave you with these words from John, when he said, "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." I John 4:18.