The Day of the Lord… (6 things)

• The day of the Lord is coming… vs. 1
  • The phrase the Day of the Lord – is used 32 times in the Bible…
    • Used 27 times in the Old Testament / 5 times in the New Testament…
    • The Day of the Lord is not a single day – but an epic culmination of Bible Prophecy!
    • The Day of the Lord – begins with rapture of the church…
    • The ‘Rapture’ – from the Latin translation of the Greek word – Harpazo – I Thessalonians 5:2
  • When the rapture of the church happens – concludes the time of the gentiles – Romans 11:25
    • God against begins to deal with Israel – begins the 70^th week of Daniel – Daniel 9:27
    • It is also known as the time of Jacob’s trouble – Jeremiah 30:7
    • The 7 years of Tribulation laid out in Revelation 6-18…
    • II Thessalonians 2:3 – “That Day [the Day of the Lord] will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition…”
  • The Day of the Lord will continue to the 2^nd coming of Jesus Christ…
    • Through the Millennial Kingdom and reign of Jesus on the earth…
    • And the Day of the Lord will conclude – with the destruction of the earth – II Peter 3:10
    • But in reference to our passage today – the Day of the Lord refers to 6 things!

• 1^st – The Judgment… vs. 1-2
  • 1^st – The Day of the Lord brings the Judgment of the Lord…
    • Joel 2:11 – “For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; who can endure it?”
    • Zephaniah 1:15 – “That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation…”
    • This judgment of the Lord is for all who have rejected the Lord…
    • All who receive the Mark of the Beast – who worship the Antichrist – Revelation 13:16-18 
    • But the judgment of the Lord is also for the nation of Israel…
    • All the nations will come to battle against Jerusalem – the city taken / the houses plundered…
    • Just two thirds of Israel will perish in the Tribulation – Zechariah 13:8
    • ½ of the population of Jerusalem will be taken into captivity – but ½ the city will be spared!
  • 2^nd – This devastation on Jerusalem occurs throughout the Tribulation…
    • It likely will begin with the Magog invasion of Israel – Ezekiel 38-39
    • Culminating in the battle of Armageddon – Revelation 16:16 / 19:19

• 2^nd – The Victory… vs. 3-5
  • 1^st – The Lord – Jesus – will go forth and fight against those nations… vs. 3
    • The very same nations that He used to punish / bring judgment to His people…
      • Battle will begin in Bozrah – where the remnant of Israel is hidden for 3½ years Isaiah 63:1
      • Jesus will depart from there to the Valley of Jehoshaphat – Joel 3:14
      • To the Valley of Megiddo – Armageddon – where Jesus will destroy the armies of Antichrist!
    •  Jesus will be victorious – because He will fight the battle alone…
    • Although we will be with Jesus – He will come with His saints – Revelation 19:14
    • But we are just bystanders – Jesus will fight the battle alone!
    • Which is great news for us – because Jesus is just as capable of winning the battles today!
    • Whether we realize it or not – we are in a war – with our sin / the world / satan…
    • But it is not a battle that we have to fight – it is a battle Jesus wins for us!

II Corinthians 10:4-5 – “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

• If we come at satan / sin in our own power / strength – we are doomed to fail…
• The only way to take on our enemy is with in the power of God!
• I John 4:4 – “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
• Then our enemy does not stand a chance – Jesus has ultimate power and authority!
• In Christ we have victory – no weapon can defeat us – Isaiah 54:17!

• 2^nd – Jesus will stand on the Mt. of Olives… vs. 4
  • When Jesus arrives in Jerusalem – He will set down on the Mt. of Olives…
    • Coming from the Battle of Armageddon – He will touch down on the east of Jerusalem…
    • When Jesus departed after His resurrection – ascended into heaven from the Mt. of Olives…
    • Acts 1:9-12 – the angels told the Disciples Jesus would return in ‘like manner’!
  • When He touches down the Mountain will split in two – to the north and south…
    • Pushing Mt. Scopus to the North – and Bethany to the South…
    • The split will open a valley for the Jews to flee Jerusalem to the east (Azal)…
    • The split will come with an terrible earthquake – like in the days of Uziah – 792 BC
    • They Jews trapped in the city will be able to flee from those who are attacking them – vs. 2
    • Only gate of Jerusalem facing the Mt. of Olives is called the Golden Gate / Gate Beautiful…
    • Presumably where Jesus will enter in the 2^nd coming – when He returns to the Mt. of Olives…
    • In fact Muslims sealed the Gate and put a cemetery (unclean) in front of it…
    • In an attempt to try to keep Jesus out of the City when He returns!
• 3^rd – And all the Saints with Him… vs. 5
  • The good news is we will not be here for during this time of terror…
    • We will not be raptured at the end of the Tribulation – Post-Trib…
    • Because no man knows the day or the hour – Matthew 25:13
    • If we are in the Tribulation – if we count 3 ½ years from the Abomination of desolation…
    • We would know the exact day that that rapture of the church would take place!
  • We will not even be here for the first half of the tribulation – Mid-trip…
    • I Thessalonians 5:9 – tells us we as believers are not appointed to wrath…
    • Yet the Tribulation is all about the wrath of God being poured out!
    • People hold a mid-trib view because of the last trumpet – I Corinthians 15:52…
    • They see this as last of the 7 trumpets blown in Revelation 11:15
    • Believing the wrath of God only begins half way through the Tribulation…
    • But the wrath of God – the Day of the Lord – is not just the last 3 ½ years…
    • The trumpet judgments come after the 7 seal judgments (before the bowl)…
    • By the time the 6^th trumpet is blown – 60% of the world has already perished! 
  • We – all believers – will be in heaven with balcony seating to the events of Revelation!
    • On the Day of the Lord – in THE Day of Wrath poured out on the earth!
    • And When Jesus comes out of Heaven on a white horse – King of Kings / Lord of Lords…
    • He will return with us – ten thousands of His saints – Jude 1:14
    • Jesus will judge the nations – those who survived the Tribulation – Matthew 25:31-46
    • Then Jesus will establish His Millennial Kingdom – Revelation 20:1-4!
    • Then we – the church – will rule and reign with Him for 1000 years – I Corinthians 6:2-3
    • Revelation 2:26-27 – “He who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations…  He shall rule them with a rod of iron…”
    • Revelation 5:10 – “And we shall reign on the earth.”

• 3^rd – The Light… vs. 6-7
  • 1^st – A day which in ONLY known to the Lord…
    • There was a bunch of chatter in the news last week about the end of the world – April 23
    • Funny enough April 23 came and went without and incident!
    • No one knows when the Day of the Lord will begin – with the rapture of the church…
    • Only the Father in heaven knows the exact day – Mark 13:32
  • 2^nd – In that Day there will be no light…
    • In the Day of the Lord – the sun / moon / and stars will dim and no longer give light…
      • Instead even at evening time there will still be light – from where – from Jesus!
      • Isaiah 60:19 – “The sun shall no longer be your light by day, Nor for brightness shall the moon give light to you; But the LORD will be to you an everlasting light…”
      • Revelation 21:23 – “The city [New Jerusalem] had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.”
      • The world today is determined to try and find a purpose to life outside of Jesus…
      • They look to the sun – to time their days / get up and earn lots of money…
      • They look to the moon – to go out and night / party and have a good time…
      • They look to the starts – hoping to find the extraterrestrial life – the origins of life…
      • But all of these things will fade away – because none of them will even fulfill us!
      • John 8:12 – “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness…”
    • We are called to reflect that light – but we only will as long as we look to Jesus…
      • If we loose that focus – get our eyes off Jesus and onto anything else – darkness…
      • Be careful what we allow your eyes to see – what we spend you time watching…
      • We choose daily what we fill our minds with – by choosing what we watch on TV…
      • What do we fill our heads and hearts with – this world / or with the Word of God…
      • As we are full of Jesus – we shine as a light of Jesus for all to see!

• 4^th – The Water… vs. 8-11
  • 1^st – In that day living waters will flow from Jerusalem… vs. 8
    • When the Mt. of Olives splits in two – water will flow out down the new valley…
      • It will flow to the east – to the Dead Sea / and to the west – to the Mediterranean Sea…
      • The river will flow out from under the Temple in Jerusalem – Ezekiel 47:1-12…
      • The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth – 1200ft below sea level…
      • Although water flows into it – the land is to depressed and cannot flow out in the Red Sea…
      • The results is the water has a salinity of content of 33% (ocean water is 3.5%)…
      • Nothing can live in the Dead Sea – neither plant nor animal – it is dead!
    • When the Mt. of Olives splits – it will bring the Dead Sea to life!
      • There are two bodies of water in Israel – the Sea of Galilee / Dead Sea…
      • Both have the same water flowing into them – but only one supports life…
      • The difference in only the Sea of Galilee has water flowing out as well…
      • As believers we are not to just receive the Word of God – His blessings…
      • We are also called to give them back out – we are to be the Sea of Galilee…
      • If we only take from others – from the Lord – we will be like the Dead Sea…
      • The blessing of God flows into our lives – and we pass them onto others!
  • 2^nd – The Feast of Tabernacles commemorates the 40-years in the wilderness…
    • 8^th day of the feast – the priest would pour down water from Siloam on the Temple steps…
      • Remembering the water God brought from the rock for Israel – Exodus 17:6
      • According to I Corinthians 10:4 – that Rock was Jesus Christ!
      • Tradition was the priests would take 7 gold jugs of water from the Gihon spring…
      • They would pour it down the ‘Steps of David’ – remembering the water from the rock…
      • John 7:37-38 – “On the last day, great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

• The water Israel drank only satisfied for a moment – they were thirsty again…
  • Did you ever notice how things in this world never seem to satisfy for long…
  • If you get a new cell phone – you are satisfied – for a day or a week…
  • If you get some new clothes – you are happy – till they get their first stain…
  • If we only look to be satisfied from the world – we will be thirsty again!
• But the water that comes from our Rock – Jesus – is Living Water!
  • When we drink deeply from the Living water – we will find true joy / contentment…
  • We were not created by God to buy a cell phone / or wear the latest fashion…
  • We were created by God to know Him – worship Him – John 17:3
• 3^rd – The is One… vs. 9-11
  • The Land will be turned into a plain – from Geba in the north – to Rimmon in the south…
    • As a result of the great earthquake – the land around Jerusalem will be leveled…
    • And Jerusalem will be re-inhabited – a list of gates is given encompassing the whole city…
    • At which point Jerusalem will be safe – because The Lord is King there!
  • In that Day the Lord is One (echad) – and His name One – perhaps a hint at the trinity…
    • Deuteronomy 6:4 – Every Sabbath day – in every synagogue – in every nation of the world…
    • This verse is ready by every Jew – the statement there is ONLY ONE God…
    • Hear O Israel:  The Lord (Yahweh) our God (Eloheem) is one Lord (Yahweh)…
    • Yahweh is the name of God / Eloheem is more literally translated ‘gods’…
    • The word ‘one’ – is the Hebrew word  ‘echad’ – properly interpreted united as one!
    • This passage should read: Hear O Israel – YAHWEH our Gods is untied into one YAHWEH!

• 5^th – The plague… vs. 12-15
  • 1^st – The Lord will send a plague against on all the nations…
    • Any nation who came against Jerusalem and Israel will be stricken…
    • Their flesh will dissolve while they stand on their feet – their eye / tongues will dissolve…
    • In a graphic display reminiscent of Indiana Jones – God will destroy His enemies!
    • It will cause great panic – no kidding – and everyone will turn on his neighbor!
    • The plague will even strike the livestock – camel / donkey / cattle – of the enemies of Israel!
  • 2^nd – There are some scholars who think the plague is nuclear…
    • The plague is very similar to the description of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki!
    • And in Ezekiel 39 we have a description of the aftermath of the Magog invasion…
    • God will send fire down on Magog (Russia) and the Muslim nations – Ezekiel 39:6
    • The people will use the weapons from the battle to power Israel for 7 years!
    • It will take Israel 7 months to clean up the dead – cleanse the land – Ezekiel 39:12
    • The will have professionals who go out and ‘mark’ any bones found – Ezekiel 39:15
    • All of which reads like a manual for the cleanup of a nuclear fallout!
    • Could God use nuclear weapons – sure – could it just be the hand of God – sure!

Or like Daniel – do we purpose in our heart to be set apart for the Lord!

6^th – The feast… vs. 16-21

1^st – All who are left will go up every year to celebrate the feast of Tabernacles… vs. 16-19

If there are any families who do not come up to worship in Jerusalem…

Then God will withhold the rain (blessing) from them – even if it is a nation (Egypt)…

Instead God will unleash the plague (presumable the melty one) on them!

All that to say it is a VERY good idea to make sure to get to Jerusalem for Succoth!

But why the Feast of Tabernacles…

Of all the 7 feasts of Israel – why is this one required even in the Millennial Kingdom…

I have to think because it is the feast that commemorated the wilderness wandering…

Israel was never to forget the journey the led them to the Promised Land!

In the same way we have been ‘wandering in the wilderness’ for many years…

And when we get to THE Promised Land – God does not want us to forget!

If we do not remember what we were saved from – we might want to go back…

We think back on all the ‘good times’ we had – all the fun – before we knew Jesus…

We forget about the hangovers / the conviction / the lack of purpose in life…

When we remember what we were saved from – sin and death – power of satan…

We hold on all the tighter to Jesus – determined never to go back!

If we do not remember – we think we are better than others…

There is also the danger of forgetting we are no better than any other sinner…

We become judgmental of others – ‘holier than thou’ – super spiritual…

Forgetting we are just as much a sinner – but have been redeemed from the world!

2^nd – In that day Holiness to the Lord… vs. 20-21

Even the harness bless of the horses will be inscribed with Holiness to the Lord…

No more Coexist – think Jesus bumper stickers on every car!

In fact every cooking pot in Jerusalem will be Holy to the Lord…

There will no longer be any Canaanites (unclean vessels)!

Paul tells us in II Timothy 2:20 – in a great house there are many pots…

Are we going to be a HOLY pot used for extraordinary purposes – or an ordinary pot…

I think a lot of people are baffled at why the Lord does not use them more…

The better question is – how much of ourselves do we give to the Lord to be used!

There is no limit to what God desires to do with our lives – Ephesians 3:20

But we can limit what God does with our lives – by how we live our lives…

Do we choose to live for this world – living for ourselves / momentary pleasures…