9.d. “The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast”

Joel 1:15  Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes. Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God? The seed shrivels under the clods; the storehouses are desolate; the granaries are torn down because the grain has dried up. How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle are perplexed because there is no pasture for them; even the flocks of sheep suffer.

Psalms 37:13     but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

Isaiah 13:6-9     Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!  Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.  They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame.  Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.

Ezekiel 7:2-12   “And you, O son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.  Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations.  And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD.  “Thus says the Lord GOD: Disaster after disaster! Behold, it comes.  An end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes.

Zephaniah 1:14-18    The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there.

Revelation 6:17    for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

The “Day of the Lord” is in contrast to man’s day or Satan’s day.  His “Day” is coming.  We see glimpses of what He is able to do and what it will be like throughout scripture.  We see some of His judgments executed here in Joel.  The locust, drought, and fire, but the “Day of the Lord” coming will not be like anything ever seen before. This day will begin right after the rapture of the believers.  This day will come like a thief in the night, unexpected.  It will come upon the whole earth and is given a great deal of detail in Revelation.  We see prophets throughout scripture warning of this “Day”.  And yet, people go about living as though it is not coming.  How long has it been since you have heard someone say “that man / woman is a “God Fearing” person?  Doesn’t is seem like that “God Fearing” is gone?  Living in a soft prosperous culture has a way of getting people to take their eyes off God and more on self and what the world has to offer.  The time of salvation is now.  Not tomorrow.  Not next week. Not when convenient.  Nos is the day of salvation but a time is fast approaching when the “the Day of the Lord” will come.  Believers expectantly look for this day for they will be ushered into His presence forever and ever more. When God is not given thought, sin is not given thought, redemption and salvation is not given thought, repentance is not given thought, honoring Jesus Christ is not thought, reliance is not thought, obedience is not thought…… Each day we must deny self and intentionally choose to humbly serve, honor, glorify, follow, obey, and trust Jesus Christ with all our heart, mind, and soul, and strength.  The “Day of the Lord” is coming soon and with it the rapture of believers and wrath, anger, and judgment on those who have rejected His call to repentance and belief in and through Jesus Christ.

The Day is Near

“Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt.”

 

Joe 1:15
Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes

Joel 2:1
Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,

Psa 37:13
but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.

Isaiah 13:6-9
Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will melt. They will be dismayed: pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labor. They will look aghast at one another; their faces will be aflame. Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.

Ezekiel 7:3
Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations.
And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD.

James 5:9
Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.

Revelation 6:17
for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

I wonder if our commitment to God would be different if we looked at God’s wrath rather than His love.  Think about what is in store for those who have not heard, or have neglected/rejected, or who are just playing christianity. If we believe in His love because of what is told to us about it in scripture then we also have to believe in His coming wrath.  If we believe in His coming wrath and what will happen to those who don’t believe wouldn’t our heart ache to reach them?  How would we reach out to them?  God’s word says “how can they believe unless they hear, and how can they hear unless someone tells them.”  How can we reach out to someone if the word of God is not in our heart?  How can we talk of God and the great things He has done, is doing, and will do if we do not spend time in His word?  How can we be led by God in our conversations and be a light unto a dark world if we do not spend time in His word?  How do we tell others of what God is doing in our lives if we are not spending time in His word?  How do we know His promises of blessing, judgement, and wrath if we do not spend time in His word?  How do we hear that quiet small voice pleading to lead us if we do not spend time in His word?  Scripture says that His word is sharper than a double edged sword and can divide between our thoughts and intends.  If we say our hearts desire is to live to humbly serve and honor God -How can this happen if we are not in His word?  EXACTLY we can not at all expect any of this understanding, knowledge, heart directing and leading if we do not spend time in His word.  Try spending just two days this week reading His word for 5 minutes and write down what God is telling your heart for 5 minutes.  I pray His Holy Spirit will open our heart and mind to an ever increasing and wonderfully deep understanding of His grace, mercy and love.