The Day of the Lord
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2Peter 3:10-13)
“THE DAY OF THE LORD" occurs 31 times in the King James Bible. The phrase applies to several different situations in the Bible, at which time God manifests Himself in unusual and powerful ways to a nation or group of people. Twice we read of a day of visitation.
In this passage, Peter “goes the distance” and speaks of the ultimate Day of the Lord, when at last, the heavens and the earth are transformed with fervent heat into a liquid state, accompanied by great noise. McGee makes a good summary statement in the next paragraph that is held by many Bible teachers today.
“BUT THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL COME AS A THIEF IN THE NIGHT." There is some argument as to whether this takes place at the coming of Christ to establish His Kingdom or at the end of the millennial Kingdom. I am convinced that the Day of the Lord is an extended period of time which opens with the Tribulation, followed by the thousand-year reign of Christ, the brief rebellion led by Satan, and the judgment of the Great White Throne. Then, as we find in the Book of Revelation, the new heavens and the new earth come into view.” (McGee) McGee sees a very long Day of the Lord.
I TAKE THE POSITION THAT'S CALLED: Pre-millennial, Pre-tribulation rapture. That is, that Christ will return to earth before the His thousand-year reign on the earth; and that Christians will be raptured or withdrawn from the earth before the 7-year tribulation period.
WE EXPRESS THE "COMING OF THE LORD" AS BEING IN TWO PHASES. The first is when Christ comes for the saints and we are suddenly taken away. This happens “in the air.” Christ will not set His feet on the ground to do this. There are NO SIGNS for this part of His coming. (The signs, or indicators relate to when He comes to set up His kingdom to rule and reign.)
Then, seven years later, Christ will come back with the saints and His feet will descend to Mount Olivet in Jerusalem; the mountain will split in half and a stream of water will gush from it to give water to the area. Christ will then be enthroned upon the Throne of David in Jerusalem and reign over the entire earth for one thousand years. These three paragraphs require a book to explain and be properly referenced to Scripture. So, I’m not going to do much of that here.
WE ARE RELATING TO THE WORDS OF PETER AT THE TOP OF THIS PAGE. Peter goes beyond the thousand-year reign of Christ at which time the earth will be burned with fire and a new earth and the heaven around the earth. There will also be a new city that we call Heaven that will descend from God that is a cube of 2,500 miles and will hover over the earth.
PETER ADMONISHES HIS READERS (which includes us today) to live right, seeing that ultimately the earth is going to burn and be recreated. In other words, don’t get too attached to this earth because it is very temporary.
CHRIST'S COMING FOR THE CHURCH AND RAPTURING IT OUT AS A THIEF in the night, is a very special event, but it is not a time of judgment and therefore is not really a part of the Day of the Lord. McGee, above, is expressing what many Christians believe today who are looking for Christ’s return. That, after the Christians, the Body of Christ is taken from the earth, then will begin the Tribulation of seven years.
THIS IS THE 70TH WEEK OF DANIEL AND EXPLAINED IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION. It is a time of tribulation upon the land of Israel and also the whole world when one third of the world’s population will perish. The Jewish Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Roman general: Titus It will be rebuilt on the site where it stood before. Of course, this means that the Islamic claim to that location where the Muslim mosque now stands will be cleared off before the Temple can be rebuilt. That’s another subject that is too big for here except to say, read Ezekiel chapters 38-39.
THIS WILL TAKE PLACE BEFORE OR AT THE VERY BEGINNING of the seven-year tribulation period. Islam will partner with Russia to come against Israel and both will be destroyed by God when the mountains come apart and kill a big portion of the Russian armies and the Islamic allies. It will be very big and will make a stinking mess. The fowls will be summons by God to come and help dispose of the dead. It will take seven months to bury the dead.
WITH THE RUSSIANS AND ISLAMIC FORCES OUT OF THE WAY, the anti-Christ will be free to make a covenant with Israel. It will look great for Israel on the surface. But the peace will last only 42 months. The anti-Christ will break his covenant with Israel and hunt them down like wild dogs. At that time, Israel will recognize that they killed their promised Messiah and will become the greatest Christian evangelists the world has ever seen.
BUT EVERYONE WHO WILL NOT RECEIVE THE MARK OF THE BEAST on their hand or forehead will be subject to death. To be saved in that day will be to take your head in your hand. Decapitation will be a favorite method of execution of Jews and Christians. Enoch and Elijah, the two prophets that never died, will come back to earth and park in Jerusalem and will be the source of agitation to the anti-Christ.
AT LAST, THEY WILL BE KILLED AND WILL LIE IN THE STREET OF JERUSALEM for three days and the whole world will see them. People will celebrate. But, after three days, thee two prophets will rise from the dead and that will be very big problem for the anti-Christ. Well, this is the briefest of summaries, but this takes place before the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Christ in Jerusalem.
PETER'S PROPHECY BEGINS A THOUSAND YEARS AFTER THE ABOVE. He mentions a new Heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. So, we are to get our minds off the present pleasures and challenges and give some thought to the long haul. God is in charge and we won’t be here long. Live for God. Work at sharing the Word of God. Got it? Be sure you get it. Ω
Read Through the Bible in a Year
JUNE 14, 2018 – THURSDAY
A.M. Ezra 6-8 P.M. John 21
(Bible Gateway will read this to you if you like. Look for the speaker icon.) You can navigate from one of these references to any place in the Bible. If you are behind in reading, read the passage for today and then go back.
Good Memory Verses:
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. (1Thessalonians 4:16-18) Write verses on scraps of paper and put in your pocket to memorize like President Abraham Lincoln did.)
Song for Today:
There’s A Great Day Coming (1:32) – (The King’s Heralds – Acapella )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrTzHFD8RWQ
You may need to delete an ad or turn off the song when finished to avoid something else you do not want to hear.
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