There are many books of the Bible, both in the Older and New Testament, which describe the day of the Lord, so let’s start our examination as good Bereans do.
In Isaiah chapter 2, the day of the Lord is referred to 3 times. First, verse 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.”
Then in the last part of verse 17: “And the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.”
And lastly, in verse 20, we read: “In that day mankind will cast away their idols of silver and their idols of gold.”
References to the day of the Lord are written in many other books of the Older Testament as well. In addition to that, a few books of the New Testament point to the coming judgments from God in that day.
First of all, anybody with an ounce of wisdom does not want to face the day of the Lord. That particular day, without question, will be a horrific time for those who so foolishly refused to repent and accept what Jesus the Lamb of God did on the cross for them and the world. “For God so loved the world.”
I don’t believe any of us would want that for our worst enemy, not even just a little bit. As a matter of fact, those are the very people we are to be consistently and continually praying for. We are to be that light and speak the truth to them of what it means to be without God’s amazing saving grace. Whatever we can do to get the lost nearer to Jesus is the goal. God’s heart, as ours should be, doesn’t wish for anyone to be left behind. Amen?
Let’s go ahead and look at two other scriptures, one from the Older Testament and one from New, also relating to the day of the Lord.
First, Zephaniah 1:14-16: “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. A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.”
Now, 2nd Peter 3:10: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
We believers anxiously await the Rapture. This miraculous event, which can happen at any moment, seems to us as a delay, or long in coming.
In contrast to that, the unbelievers of this world will be in total shock at the Lord’s 2nd coming. It will not just seem sudden; it will be all of a sudden. That suddenness will be Jesus coming like a thief in the night.
Those verses from Zephaniah 1 and 2nd Peter 3 are very clear. We believers do not want to be here during this end-times’ event. And thank you, Father, we won’t be.
This will be a time for those who foolishly and continually chose not to know Jesus as the Son of God, however…they will know Him at the Great White Throne Judgment where they will be righteously judged for their sins and will be found guilty. Their punishment…an eternity to be spent in the Lake of Fire. As it’s often been said: their choice, not God’s.
Jesus already took on the sins of the world at the cross, including theirs.
Jesus already took on the guilt of the world at the cross, including theirs.
Jesus already took on the shame of the world at the cross, including theirs.
In knowing this and being aware of what God provided, it is quite sad that His saving and amazing grace will have been foolishly and ignorantly rejected. When that final judgment at the Great White Throne is handed down, the sadness we have now for the lost doesn’t compare to the reality of what’s to come for the lost. Not even close. So, what do we believers do?
We are to keep witnessing, to go out into the world and make disciples no matter how uncomfortable it may be for them and us. The Great Commission is a command from our Lord. It’s not the Great Suggestion.
Let our motivation for the unbeliever come from what we do know. The Lake of Fire is not a place where bad, misbehaving people go to party. More than a few of us have heard, “Well, at least I’ll be with my friends.” Uh…no.
The Lake of Fire is a place of complete loneliness. A place of utter darkness. A place where there will be gnashing of teeth. A place that will be worse than any dungeon ever devised. A place they foolishly chose. And…it will be for eternity.
That being said, here’s an encouraging verse for those of us who do believe and those who will hopefully and prayerfully come to believe what Jesus did on the cross to save them from the wrath of God before the window of opportunity to accept God’s free gift of salvation is shut tight. Here’s Romans 5:9.
“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by Jesus’ blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.”
Bless You All