THE DAY OF THE LORD

Grace be to you all, and peace from God, our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ. We write this epistle to you all today to divide the Word of truth concerning the day of the Lord as revealed from the Word of God.

Apostle Paul declared in 1 Thess 5:1-6 “ But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. 4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. 5 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. 6

The epistles to the Thessalonians by Apostle Paul from which the scriptures above were quoted were written to quell the disturbing hearts of the believers in Thessalonica. The second epistle was particularly written to instruct them concerning the day of the Lord and events immediately preceding it. There was confusion in this church because false teachers, forging Apostle Paul’s name to a letter, had taught the new converts that he had changed his doctrine and that the day of the Lord was at hand. Hearing this created extensive panic in the church amongst believers because they taught they had missed the rapture and were now approaching the day of the Lord. In same epistle, Apostle Paul wrote to them that this was impossible. He taught here that two occurrences which are apostasy and unveiling of the Antichrist must precede the day of the Lord, and that the rapture must first precede the unveiling of the Antichrist (1 Thess 5:1-10, 2 Thess 2:1-10). Therefore, we understand from the Word of God in the scriptures above that the day of the Lord comes with a great destruction upon the inhabitants of the earth, and it does not come until after the rapture of the church. So then, why are many in the church today misrepresenting the rapture as the day of the Lord? They err by quoting same scriptures above thinking the day of the Lord is synonymous with the rapture of the church. Some even use this scripture to teach that the coming of the Lord is not yet because many churches are not teaching his coming; and since this day of the Lord (misinterpreted to be the rapture) does not come to true saints as a thief, then the coming of the Lord must be yet future when all churches will be teaching it. If there be any among you that corrupts the truth of God in this manner, we beseech you to turn away lest Satan take advantage of you and you draw back unto perdition. Read last week’s epistle and know the truth our Lord himself has spoken.

That true believers are not in ignorance and darkness about the day of the Lord (1 Thess 5:1-5, 9) is because the rapture takes place at least 7 years before this day (2 Thess 2:7, Rev 4:1). Therefore believers will not be on the earth so that that day will overtake them as a thief like it does the ungodly (1 Thess 5:2-5). The scriptures teach clearly that the rapture of the church does not occur in the day of the Lord but rather occurs at least seven years before it. How can this be? Some may ask; open your heart and listen to the Word of the Lord which he has revealed by His Spirit in His Word.

The day of the Lord begins on that very day of the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ; the day he comes to set up his millennial kingdom and reign on the whole earth with His saints forever, even forever and ever. In fact, the day of the Lord cannot come to pass until the day the Lord comes to reign at His second coming (Isa 2:12, 13:6, 9, 34:8, 61:2, 63:1-6, Jer 46:10, Ezek 30:3, Dan 2:44-45, 7:13-14, Amos 5:18, Joel 2, Oba 15, Zeph 1:8, 18, 2:2-3, Zech 14, Mal 4, Matt 24:29-31, 25:31-46, 1 Thess 5:2, 2 Thess 1:7-10, 2:1-12, Jude 14, Rev 19:11-21, 20:1-10). Apostle Peter clearly taught that this day continues into the millennium and lasts throughout the 1,000 years of His reign on the earth (2 Peter 3:10-14), for the renovation of the earth shall take place at the endof this day to bring forth the new heavens and the new earth. So then the day of the Lord begins at his second coming and ends at the end of the millennium. How come it extends into the millennium making it about 1,000 years long instead of a single day, going by our own calendar, some may enquire? Do you not know that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day? Is this not also written in 2 Pet 3: 8?

It is the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, which definitely refers to the destruction of multitudes of armies from the four corners of the earth at Armageddon (Zeph 1:7-8, Isa 34:6, Jer 46:10, Rev 19:11-21). His bidden guests are to be the beasts and fowls who will eat the dead bodies of those slain at Armageddon (Matt 24:27-28, Luke 17:34-37, Rev 19:17-21). Princes, king’s children, children, merchants, and all other classes of humans will be destroyed in that day (Zeph 1:8-18). It will be a day of desolation and destruction of houses and vineyards, and especially of men who should have enjoyed their homes (Zeph 1:13). It is a great day of the Lord, the culmination of the days of his wrath which begins in the tribulation; a day when men will not escape the wrath of him who sits on the throne and His lamb.

But before this day comes to pass, two major events must precede it (2 Thess 2:3). First, there must be a falling away, otherwise called apostasy where men depart from the faith and give heed to doctrines of devils that have not come from the most high. This has already begun and will continue into the tribulation days between the rapture and the second coming of the Lord (Matt 24:4-31, Rev 6:1-19:21, 1 Tim 4:1-3, 2 Pet 3:1-3). During this time (tribulation), the Holy Spirit will also be poured out upon many. Men will continue to be saved during the future tribulation period when the Antichrist is reigning on the earth. For the scriptures revealed that he (the Antichrist) made war with saints and overcame them all, even beheading many of them. How can one be a saint without the Spirit of God in him? Is it not written that if any man does not have the Spirit of God in him he does not belong to the Lord (Rom 8:9)? This proves the Holy Spirit will be on the earth during the tribulation. That the Holy Spirit will be on the earth during the tribulation is also proved beyond reasonable doubt by Joel 2:28-32 and Rev 7:9-17.

Second, the rapture must take place and it shall take place at once. At the rapture of all dead and living in Christ in a moment (1 Corinth 15:23, 51-58, 1 Thess 4:13-18), not one soul will be left on the whole earth who is a true believer, who lived and walked only according to the Word of God. These are the true children of the Father who loves the father and His son to obey all his commandments. Is it not written that the love of God is to keep His commandments? Immediately after the rapture, innumerable number of people, some professing themselves to be believers now and others that will be new converts will then be saved through a great awakening (Acts 2:16-21, Rev 6:9-11, 7:1-17, 12:17) after they have witnessed the mass disappearance during the rapture and the world-wide commotion that shall follow. The rest of men living on the earth outside of the converted believers in these times will become so hardened as to seek to destroy the believers being saved in those days ( Rev 9:20-21, 16:2, 9-11). The great whore, that apostate religion (which by revelation is to be Islam) will destroy multitudes of Christians during the first 3 1/2 years of Daniel’s 70 th week, at a time when the Antichrist is coming to power over the ten kingdoms inside the old Roman empire (Rev 6:9-11, 17:6). When the Antichrist comes to full power over the ten kingdoms in the middle of Daniel’s 70 th week, he, together with the ten kings, will destroy this great whore (apostate religion), replace it by establishing the beast image worship in the third Jewish temple that shall stand in Zion, even in Jerusalem, on the temple mount, and will kill multitudes who will not worship him and his image or take his mark (Rev 7:9-17, 13:1-18, 14:9-13, 15:2-4, 16:6-11, 17:2-4, 16-17). This is the final form of that great apostasy which was prophesied in the previous paragraph above to precede the day of the Lord.

Behold brethren, we have already told you as our Lord have commanded us. Him that hath an ear, let him ear. The Lord comes shortly to take His own from the earth. As believers, let us desist from seeking and pursuing worldly things; positions, authorities, popularity, compromise with the ways of the world, and all things which the scriptures called the pride of life, which are not of the Father but of the world. If any man loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. Let us put our Lord first in all things and do His commandments daily, moment by moment. Let us labor earnestly with all diligence to partake of His kingdom, even the New Jerusalem which is in heaven. This is that which He has prepared for us, where we truly belong. Not this world, for Satan is the ruler of this world today as it is, but even so, it is still the good pleasure of our Father to bless us while we are still here on the earth. But when the millennium shall come when we shall have return with our Lord after being with Him in His kingdom, we shall rule and reign on the whole earth forever. This is the true inheritance that we are to labor for. For eternal life is to know the one true God the Father, and to believe in Jesus Christ whom he sent, and to partake of their kingdom, which shall have no end but shall continue from everlasting to everlasting.

Brethren, let us watch and pray always, looking up, for our redemption draws near. The coming of the Lord is at hand. It is even at the doors. May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.