The Day of the Lord

Today is a great day to remember what we know!

Thousands of churches across the US are calling today a day of repentance. In light of this we will not have our 5:30 Jeremiah bible study this evening. We will meet here but for a dedicated prayer time. We will not stream or zoom it. I will email and post our prayer schedule so if you dont come here this evening you can join from wherever you are.

2 Peter 3 ESV

1 This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, 2 that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, 3 knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, 6 and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. 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. 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 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. 11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. 14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. 15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, 16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Peter began referencing the last days during his sermon at Pentecost. He referred to the prophets’ words there as well.

We see those prophet’s words, specifically about the Day of the Lord, in the writings of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Amos and Zechariah. Jesus taught about it on the Mount of Olives in Matthew. Paul wrote about it to the church in Thessalonica. And John described it in Revelation. The Day of the Lord will bring both judgement and renewal. It will be both an end and a beginning.

This appears to be different from the Day of Christ found in 1 Corinthians 1 and Philippians 1 and 2 when Christ comes for His church. Of course there is great debate as to when the Lord will return for the church. Some believe it will be this time or that but the most important advice in light of the last things is not timing. It is character. Holy and godly lives. It is anticipation of the day of the Lord. More than the rapture. More than the marriage supper of the Lamb. But when King Jesus sets up His kingdom, vanquishes and banishes evil and reigns forever!

Do we await it with all our hearts? Is its imminence our urgency? If so, we will have its message on our lips. It will find itself in our conversation. We will be COMPELLED to reach out!

Patience - He is patient, wanting more to be saved. If He were to come back before we leave, all those we are headed to with the gospel will spend eternity without Him. Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 2:3-4 very similar to v9 here

We remember His patience in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham pleads for the lives of any righteous in S&G. He negotiates the number down.

We recall the patience of God in dealing with Pharoah and the Egyptians before the exodus. He could have just as easily given one opportunity then taken the Jews out of bondage. His patience had the result of hardening Pharaoh’s heart, but was that the point? What about the people of Egypt? Didnt many Jews have every-day access to some of the Egyptians? Wouldnt there have been conversations? Pleading to turn to the Lord by the Jews toward their masters? When God’s judgement is imminent, our message must be clear, consistent.

Peter calls for the scoffers who deny the Word. We see them today. Their presence plus their message should be proof of the veracity of the very Word because it predicted them.

Look at how God’s upcoming judgement is described: Destruction of the cosmos - everything not necessary for eternity will melt away. But we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth. As is anyone who receives this same message we have!

Hudson Taylor advise to missionaries: 3 indispensable requirements - patience x3

Righteous - The judgment day will right the moral wrongs of this existence. He will ALSO right the environmental chaos as well. He will RENEW the physical universe itself. New heavens and new earth! If the physical will be made new, we have the promise of a renewed, glorified, physical existence with Him.

The great thing about having a righteous God is what He chose to do with His righteousness: Place it in/on you. We have BECOME the righteousness of God. Jesus BECAME sin. Jesus took the wrath and in doing so took off the righteousness of God and place it squarely on us! The work of Jesus on crucifixion weekend declares all who believe are RIGHTEOUS!

Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Righteousness, Believers’

The Chinese character for “righteousness” is most interesting. It is composed of two separate characters—one standing for a lamb, the other for me. When “lamb” is placed directly above “me,” a new character—“righteousness” is formed.

This is a helpful picture of the grace of God. Between me, the sinner, and God, the Holy One, there is interposed by faith the Lamb of God. By virtue of his sacrifice, he has received me on the ground of faith, and I have become righteous in his sight.

Steadfast - His message is consistent.

Mercy - His patience points to His mercy. He is holding back judgement so people will have time to proclaim the message. So unbelievers will have time to become believers. The martyrs are around the throne asking ‘how much longer til you avenge our blood?’. His unspoken response it ‘until that one is saved’.

Obedience - It falls on us to be obedient. Be holy as He is holy! Be merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful (Luke 6:36). Win the lost! Obedience is better than sacrifice!

Plan - the God who created this world out of nothing and has interrupted nature from time to time for the purpose of accomplishing His plan is the God who will judge what He created. He promised never again to destroy the world by flood, so the next judgement will be by fire.

There is power held within this very creation. It is said there is enough power in a glass of water to run an ocean liner. God has the ability to hold it together or set it free. The idea of the heavenly bodies ‘melting’ should be easy to understand.

Can I offer a word of encouragement? Now we know judgement is imminent, even part of the grand design. <about that, we need to recognize it always has been. He has always judged the earth. In the garden of eden, He judged that it was fit for His presence.> There seems to be a pattern: Proclamation, deliverance, judgement. Noah, S&G, Egyptian slavery… He calls us the Bride of Christ. The bride isnt judged. The scoffers were judged. The false prophets were judged. The righteous were taken out before judgement.

When the righteous are taken out we will be taken into eternity. Eternity cant be measured with time. In fact, it is an existence above and apart from time.

Can I ask you a question about that? What are you trusting in for your eternity? Have you surrendered your life to Jesus and are trusting on His work on your behalf? Or are you trusting in your own goodness to accomplish for you what is needed for eternity? I would beg of you today to trust in the eternal one!