stubble – Praying Pint

42.k.. “Let My People Go” – 10.h. Praise and Rejoicing

Exodus 15:1  Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the LORD, saying, “I will sing to the LORD, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider he has thrown into the sea. The LORD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

Revelation 15:3   And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, “Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations!

Philippians 4:13   I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Exodus 15:6  Your right hand, O LORD, glorious in power, your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy. In the greatness of your majesty you overthrow your adversaries; you send out your fury; it consumes them like stubble.

1 Chronicles 29:11-12    Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.  Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all. In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

Exodus 15:11  “Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?

Jeremiah 10:6   There is none like you, O LORD; you are great, and your name is great in might.

Exodus 15:18  The LORD will reign forever and ever.”

Daniel 7:27    And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’

Daniel 4:3     How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation.

This song is the most ancient we know of. It is a holy song, to the honour of God, to exalt his name, and celebrate his praise, and his only, not in the least to magnify any man. Holiness to the Lord is in every part of it. It may be considered as typical, and prophetical of the final destruction of the enemies of the church. Happy the people whose God is the Lord. They have work to do, temptations to grapple with, and afflictions to bear, and are weak in themselves; but his grace is their strength. They are often in sorrow, but in him they have comfort; he is their song. Sin, and death, and hell threaten them, but he is, and will be their salvation. The Lord is a God of almighty power, and woe to those that strive with their Maker! He is a God of matchless perfection; he is glorious in holiness; his holiness is his glory. His holiness appears in the hatred of sin, and his wrath against obstinate sinners. It appears in the deliverance of Israel, and his faithfulness to his own promise. He is fearful in praises; that which is matter of praise to the servants of God, is very dreadful to his enemies. He is doing wonders, things out of the common course of nature; wondrous to those in whose favour they are wrought, who are so unworthy, that they had no reason to expect them. There were wonders of power and wonders of grace; in both, God was to be humbly adored. (Henry)

What a song of worship and praise to God. A song pinned out of humbleness and gratitude. A song reflecting the pureness of raw worship and praise. A simple song with such depth and emotion that comes with a heart-felt presence of God. A song that reflects praise and worship, God’s power, God’s judgment, God’s love, and God’s holiness.

I love old hymns. You can tell people have written them with like hearts and minds. They are songs of thanksgiving, worship, hope, and praise. If you ever get a chance to acquire a hymnal, do it. Read the heartfelt songs in them. Feel the presence of God in these people’s lives. Just because you are not gifted in music or poetry talent does not mean you can’t join in on the praise and worship in them. Your heart and mind certainly can joyfully join in this praise and worship as the writer has expressed.

Let your hearts and minds proclaim the greatness, awesome power, and love of God, though they are pinned by another.

41.x. “Let My People Go” – 6. Boils

Exodus 9:8 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.

Deuteronomy 28:27  The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, and with tumors and scabs and itch, of which you cannot be healed.

Isaiah 47:12-14   Stand fast in your enchantments and your many sorceries, with which you have labored from your youth; perhaps you may be able to succeed; perhaps you may inspire terror.  You are wearied with your many counsels; let them stand forth and save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you.  Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. No coal for warming oneself is this, no fire to sit before!

Psalms 81:11-12    “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.

Revelation 16:10-11   The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

Previously, God announced that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exodus 4:21 and 7:3), and this was the fulfillment of it. Yet it is said at least six times before this that Pharaoh hardened his own heart (Exodus 7:13, 7:22, 8:15, 8:19, 8:32, 9:7). We see that God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was the strengthening of what he already had set himself towards. (Guzik)

“This is the first occasion on which this form of words is used after an actual plague. Previously, the position has always been put from the other side: pharaoh has hardened his own heart. The moral would be that God hardens those who harden themselves.” (Cole)

“‘Harden’ is the expression, not of the divine purpose but of the result of disobedience to the divine appeals. As a matter of fact, all the plagues were intended and calculated to soften, if Pharaoh had been willing to yield.” (Thomas)

Hardness of heart is a figurative expression, denoting that insensibility of mind upon which neither judgments nor mercies make any abiding impressions; but the conscience being stupefied, the stubborn rebel persists in determined disobedience. (Unknown)

Every heart from birth has a root seed of defiance and stubbornness, (sinfulness) that results in a divide between all mankind and God. In this separation, man will come up with millions of ways to accomplish the same thing – deny and disobey God allowing this unholy root to take firm hold of the heart and mind. This is the curse on all man and it will justly be judged by God. The judgment is eternal hell and torment. There is no escape through any of man’s attempts to be made right (should they choose this on their own accord). Separation from God is separation from eternal heaven. Families, cultures, and societies with people with the responsibilities of teaching and governance who are rooted firmly with the seeds of defiance and disobedience will lead whole families, cultures, and societies straight to Hell. This is a fact and not a fairytale. Mankind is separated from God in such a deep and endless way that all are without chance or hope of bridging the gap – forever separated, forever doomed, forever without hope!!

But wait, John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

There is HOPE. Jesus Christ died for the sins of every single person and those that repent of their rooted sinfulness, believe, trust, follow, obey, and rely on Jesus Christ will be saved from eternal hell to inherit eternal life – Heaven.

There is no reason to deny or disobey God other than to promote self-reliance, self-wisdom, and self-assurance.

There is hope in Jesus Christ – yield to His redemption, salvation, and forgiveness and believe/trust/rely on Him alone. There is no need to harden your heart more and more to the point of no return. Hell is no place you want to be. No matter what you may think, Hell is real. Hell is for eternity. Hell is torment. Hell is total separation from God and without any hope of redemption – FOREVER!

32.z. ” Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour”

Matthew 13:24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Matthew 25:1213    But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’  Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

1 Timothy 5:24   The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later.

Isaiah 27:11   For this is a people without discernment; therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them; he who formed them will show them no favor.

Ezekiel 15:7    And I will set my face against them. Though they escape from the fire, the fire shall yet consume them, and you will know that I am the LORD, when I set my face against them.

Malachi 4:1   “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

John 15:6   If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.

They are now the objects of that very same anger and wrath of God, that is expressed in the torments of hell. And the reason why they do not go down to hell at each moment, is not because God, in whose power they are, is not then very angry with them; as he is with many miserable creatures now tormented in hell, who there feel and bear the fierceness of his wrath. Yea, God is a great deal more angry with great numbers that are now on earth: yea, doubtless, with many that are now in this congregation, who it may be are at ease, than he is with many of those who are now in the flames of hell.
So that it is not because God is unmindful of their wickedness, and does not resent it, that he does not let loose his hand and cut them off. God is not altogether such a one as themselves, though they may imagine him to be so. The wrath of God bums against them, their damnation does not slumber; the pit is prepared, the fire is made ready, the furnace is now hot, ready to receive them; the flames do now rage and glow. The glittering sword is whet, and held over them, and the pit hath opened its mouth under them. It is no security to wicked men for one moment, that there are no visible means of death at hand. It is no security to a natural man, that he is now in health, and that he does not see which way he should now immediately go out of the world by any accident, and that there is no visible danger in any respect in his circumstances. The manifold and continual experience of the world in all ages, shows this is no evidence, that a man is not on the very brink of eternity, and that the next step will not be into another world. The unseen, unthought-of ways and means of persons going suddenly out of the world are innumerable and inconceivable. Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noon-day; the sharpest sight cannot discern them. God has so many different unsearchable ways of taking wicked men out of the world and sending them to hell, that there is nothing to make it appear, that God had need to be at the expense of a miracle, or go out of the ordinary course of his providence, to destroy any wicked man, at any moment. All the means that there are of sinners going out of the world, are so in God’s hands, and so universally and absolutely subject to his power and determination, that it does not depend at all the mere will of God, whether sinners shall at any moment go to hell, then if means were never made use of, or at all concerned in the case. Almost every natural man that hears of hell, flatters himself that he shall escape it; he depends upon himself for his own security; he flatters himself in what he has done, in what he is now doing, or what he intends to do. Everyone lays out matters in his own mind how he shall avoid damnation, and flatters himself that he contrives well for himself, and that his schemes will not fail. They hear indeed that there are but few saved, and that the greater part of men that have died heretofore are gone to hell; but each one imagines that he lays out matters better for his own escape than others have done. He does not intend to come to that place of torment; he says within himself, that he intends to take effectual care, and to order matters so for himself as not to fail.

But the foolish children of men miserably delude themselves in their own schemes, and in confidence in their own strength and wisdom; they trust to nothing but a shadow. The greater part of those who heretofore have lived under the same means of grace, and are now dead, are undoubtedly gone to hell; and it was not because they were not as wise as those who are now alive: it was not because they did not lay out matters as well for themselves to secure their own escape. If we could speak with them, and inquire of them, one by one, whether they expected, when alive, and when they used to hear about hell, ever to be the subjects of misery: we doubtless, should hear one and another reply, “No, I never intended to come here: I had laid out matters otherwise in my mind; I thought I should contrive well for myself — I thought my scheme good. I intended to take effectual care; but it came upon me unexpected; I did not look for it at that time, and in that manner; it came as a thief — Death outwitted me: God’s wrath was too quick for me. Oh, my cursed foolishness! I was flattering myself, and pleasing myself with vain dreams of what I would do hereafter; and when I was saying, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction came upon me.” (Jonathan Edwards)

14.i. “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”

Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.

Ezekiel 7:10    “Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has come; the rod has blossomed; pride has budded.

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,

Zephaniah 1:14    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.

2 Peter 3:7    But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

Psalms 21:9-10    You will make them as a blazing oven when you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath, and fire will consume them.

Matthew 3:12    His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Nahum 1:5-6    The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it.  Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.

Isaiah 5:24    Therefore, as the tongue of fire devours the stubble, and as dry grass sinks down in the flame, so their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom go up like dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts, and have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.

To deny Jesus Christ will end with eternal consequences as declared in the culmination of these scriptures. To deny there is one true living God might make the believer of such thoughts feel secure in their decision but it does not eliminate the consequences. To deny God certainly means there is no need for Jesus Christ and will end in judgment and fire. To deny Jesus Christ means there is no need for forgiveness, redemption, or salvation and will end in judgment and fire. To defy God is to willfully disregard the price that was paid for your sin by Jesus Christ and to live a life that is self-centered, self-reliant, and very full of pride. To deny God is to deny He is the creator of all there is and all there is to be. To deny God is to call Him a liar and His Holy Word a book of lies. In these scriptures are clear declared warnings for denying and defying God.

However, will there is still breath in your lungs there is time to repent, seek forgiveness, and trust in Jesus Christ. We like to quote John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” To continue on with verses 17-19 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.

How we live, how we think, how we act, and how we speak is a direct reflection of our commitment, or the lack of, to Jesus Christ. How can we read these scriptures today and not stand in awe, worship, thankfulness, and humbleness for the light of the Gospel opening up our heart, mind, and soul to saving grace knowledge and wisdom found in and through Jesus Christ?

11.p. “No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.”

Nahum 1:9 What do you plot against the Lord? He will make a complete end; trouble will not rise up a second time. For they are like entangled thorns, like drunkards as they drink; they are consumed like stubble fully dried. From you came one who plotted evil against the Lord, a worthless counselor. Thus says the Lord, “Though they are at full strength and many, they will be cut down and pass away. Though I have afflicted you, I will afflict you no more. And now I will break his yoke from off you and will burst your bonds apart.”

Psalms 2:1-4   Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,  “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”  He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.

Ezekiel 38:10-11    “Thus says the Lord GOD: On that day, thoughts will come into your mind, and you will devise an evil scheme

Isaiah 8:9-10    Be broken, you peoples, and be shattered; give ear, all you far countries; strap on your armor and be shattered; strap on your armor and be shattered.  Take counsel together, but it will come to nothing; speak a word, but it will not stand, for God is with us.

Proverbs 21:30    No wisdom, no understanding, no counsel can avail against the LORD.

Who knows the hearts of man, but God? Who knows the intents of actions taken by man, but God? Who speaks with worldly wisdom and knowledge to give counsel to a man that leads them astray? Why is it that man chooses to listen to and follow these worldly leaders giving false promises? Each person chooses to listen and follow after that which fills their heart. The sad part of this is most choose to deny God and willfully will not follow after Him. Proclaiming God does not exist does not free anyone from the consequences of denying to honor, follow, trust, obey and rely on Him. Proclaiming and believing God is love and all mankind will go to heaven upon death will lead many straight into hell. Wide is the doorway to hell and the path is lined with everything to falsely satisfy the earthly soul, totally apart and separated from God. When there is no conviction of sin in the heart of man, there will be no need for a savior, redeemer, and forgiver. When there is no preaching of sin and the need for repentance there will be neglect, complacency, and lukewarm following after and trusting in Jesus Christ. There will be no humble thanksgiving for the atonement and forgiveness of sin. When there is no hunger and thanksgiving for God’s Word and to know and understand the grace, mercy, and love of Jesus Christ more and more, people will become shallow in their belief, understanding, and application of God’s Word in their lives. Hearts and minds that choose to walk in blind, limp, and shallow commitment to Jesus Christ will easily be taken in by those who distort the truth or deny the active power of Jesus Christ in the world today. We do not have to look very hard at the things that are happening in the world today to know the return of Jesus Christ will come and the end is fast approaching. Denying we are in the end times does not make it so, just like denying sin and the need for Jesus Christ does not make it so, just like denying each man will be judged by God does not make it so. If you listen to news media for any short period of time you will seldom or never hear the need for God. You will not hear of living to humbly serve Him. What you will hear is worldly counsel, plots of man, fear, division, confusion, and utter lack of the fear of God. I wonder what our lives would be like if we spent as much tie in God’s Word as we do listening to the meaningless drivel on local and national news. Would our lives be changed? Yes, they would.

10.i. “For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.”

Obadiah 1:10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever. On the day that you stood aloof, on the day that strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress. Do not enter the gate of my people in the day of their calamity; do not gloat over his disaster in the day of his calamity; do not loot his wealth in the day of his calamity. Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off his fugitives; do not hand over his survivors in the day of distress.

For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head. For as you have drunk on my holy mountain, so all the nations shall drink continually; they shall drink and swallow, and shall be s though they had never been. But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape, and it shall be holy, and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions. The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau stubble; they shall burn them and consume them, and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken.

The Edomites were the descendants of the biblical Esau, who was the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham. Deuteronomy 23:7 You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. The Israelites and Edomites were descendant brothers. They were expected to treat each other as brothers. The Israelites were rejected passage through Edom while in the wilderness. Numbers 20:14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom: “Thus says your brother Israel: You know all the hardship that we have met: how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we lived in Egypt a long time. ^fAnd the Egyptians dealt harshly with us and our fathers. And when we cried to the Lord, he heard our voice and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. And here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through field or vineyard, or drink water from a well. We will go along the King’s Highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.” But Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through, lest I come out with the sword against you.” The Edomites eventually disappeared from history. “and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau, for the Lord has spoken” And so it is. They lived in rebellion to God. They lived in pride and arrogance. They despised God and His chosen. They fought against God’s chosen. They even captured and turned over those who had escaped during the Babylonian attack and destruction of Jerusalem. “As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.“

Like the Edomites, there is no hope for those who reject the offer of salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ. Their end is the same, destruction, torment, and eternity in hell, which has been reserved for those who not only reject salvation but despise it and God.

9.x. “For we have made lies our refuge”

Amos 5:18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

Isaiah 28:15-22 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;

Malachi 4:1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

There is a time for all men to be aware of the Day of the Lord. A dark time will come and expose all the lies we have made into a false sense of refuge. Prosperity and ease of life seem to draw us away into these lies and further away from God. What will it take for us to recognize the absolute need to honor and glorify God in all that we think, say and do? How many days go by where our desire to satisfy self is put in higher regard than honoring and glorifying God? Far too many, I think. We get sucked into the vortex of the busyness of life and before we know it God is but a distant thought. We do have time now. Time to set aside self and to start learning what it means to humbly serve and honor and glorify God. We have time right now to intentionally choose to set aside time for growing and seeking God in new and mature ways. We have time to reflect on both sin and forgiveness, weakness and power, fear and courage, and eternity. We have time to spend in His Word. Turn back to Him and determine to stay close. Determine to listen for His Spirit to guide you. And above all give honor and glory to Him. He is worthy of all honor, glory, and praise.

9.f. For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations.

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

Isaiah 2:12    For the LORD of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low;

Ezekiel 7:5-7    “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.  Your doom has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting on the mountains.

Ezekiel 7:10     “Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has come; the rod has blossomed; pride has budded.

Ezekiel 7:12     The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude.

Obadiah 1:15    For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.

Malachi 4:1      “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the LORD of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

1 Thessalonians 5:2     For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night

James 5:8     You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

1 Peter 4:7     The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Ezekiel 12:23     Tell them therefore, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel.’ But say to them, The days are near, and the fulfillment of every vision.

There is a difference between “Day of the Lord” and “Coming of the Lord”. “The Coming of the Lord” is the day the Lord comes back like a thief in the night. He is not a thief to those who are expecting His return. He is a thief to those who remain. He comes to take His bride out of the coming of the “Day of the Lord”. We know this as the rapture of all believers, dead or alive, to be changed and bodily be in His presence forever more. These believers are those who came to an understanding of the gospel, their sin and separation from God, confessing and repenting of their sin, repenting and turning away from their sinful nature, and expectantly looking too, trusting in, and relying on salvation through Jesus Christ. This is not just words on their lips but deep in their heart, soul, and mind. They are changed from the inside and live to humbly serve, honor, follow, trust, obey, and look for the “Coming of the Lord”.

There are those who reject their sin, sinful nature, and the need for redemption through Jesus Christ. They find all they want in this world and do not look for the coming of the Lord. They do not live to honor Him. They live self-centered, self-reliant, and self-satisfying lives. It is hard for them to see any need of Jesus Christ for their eyes are fixed on what this world offers and makes them happy. Day after day they chase after that which can never satisfy their soul and they jump from one thing to another in hopes of finding inner peace, rest, and joy. Their heart is hard to things of God, His Word, and the need for Jesus Christ. There is no looking for the “Coming of the Lord”. For them is reserved the “Day of the Lord”. This is not going to be a time anyone would want to go through. War, famine, disease, plagues, fires, earthquakes, floods, and the wrath and anger of Jesus Christ. The “Day of the Lord” will surely come and will follow the “Coming of the Lord”.

Now is the time of Lord, the time of grace, mercy, hope, peace, rest, and a life with assurance of eternity in heaven.