The Day of the Lord

THE DAY OF THE LORD Spring Valley Mennonite; April 24, 2022; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 You may not realize it, but as a Christian you have an understanding of history shared with few of the world's many people. There are three main contemporary views of history: the first is that human history is cyclical. Everything that happens is in an endless circle, the same things happening over and over again in an endless cycle of birth and rebirth through incarnation. This is the view of many eastern religions, especially Hinduism. Under this view, there is no significance to history. What I do, I have done before and will do again. A second view of history is that of atheistic naturalism founded upon the principle of evolution. This view sees history as moving in a linear fashion, not going in circles, but it is not leading anywhere. Evolution sees no long- term goal, no target, and the human species has no validity thinking it is the final goal of evolution. "Thus, human history is just one phase of the meaningless flow of evolutionary history." 1 We know there is a third view, the Christian view of history. The Bible states that God controls history, and history is moving to a final climax in restoring mankind and all creation to the purpose for which God created it. A humbled Job confessed, "I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted" (Job 42:2). The prophet Isaiah records that God said, "My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure" (Isa. 46:10), and "I act and who can reverse it?" (Isa. 43:13). In the fullness of time and as the central figure in history, Jesus Christ entered into human history. The Old Testament prophesied of His coming, and the New Testament records His life: His birth, ministry, words, death, resurrection, and tells of His second coming. History is His-story. In God's eternal plan for the ages, one event stands looming in the future: the Day of the Lord. MacArthur describes this time in human history: "That event will mark the end of man's day, as God acts in judgment to take back direct control of the earth from the usurpers (both human and demonic) who presently rule it. It will be an unprecedented time of cataclysmic judgment on all unrepentant sinners."2 We need to define precisely what the Bible mean's by the "Day of the Lord." I. WHAT IS THE DAY OF THE LORD? Our present Age is called the day of grace. In our present age, beginning with the Incarnation and Sacrifice of our Lord Jesus, God has revealed grace as the basis for salvation and for the Christian life. Grace is God's unmerited favor through Christ who loved us and who died for us. The Bible tells us that after this Age of Grace has come to an end, the time which coincides with the Rapture of the Church, the Day of the Lord will begin. Dr. John Walvoord describes the Day of the Lord as a "Period of time in which God will deal with wicked men directly and dramatically in fearful judgment. Today a man may be a blasphemer of God, an atheist, can denounce God and teach bad doctrine. Seemingly God does nothing about it. But the day designated in Scripture as 'The Day of the Lord' is coming when God will punish human sin, and He will deal in wrath and in judgment with a Christ-rejecting world."i Before we get into our text from 1 Thessalonians, we must also realize that the Old Testament speaks of this day in numerous places. For example, Isaiah 13:9-11a: "Behold, the Day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation and He will exterminate its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not flash forth their light; and the sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shed its light. Thus, I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity..." The same thought is found in Zephaniah 1:14-16: "Near is the great Day of the Lord, near and coming very quickly; Listen, the Day of the Lord! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and battle cry, against the fortified cities and the high corner towers." Verse 18 continues, "Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth." But the Day of the Lord will also be a day of blessing for Israel, for following the wrath of the Lord expressed during the seven-year Tribulation Period will come a 1000- year period called the Millennium. The Lord Jesus Christ will rule from the Throne of David in Jerusalem and direct the governments of the world. This will be a time of peace and prosperity when all the Old Testament promises of blessing to Israel will be fulfilled. So, the Day of the Lord is a period of history which includes the Tribulation Period and the Millennium. With that background, we can better understand Paul's words in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 (Read). John F.Walvoord, The Thessalonian Epistles; Bible Study Commentary; Zondervan Corporation; Grand Rapids MI: 1967. P. 32. II. WHEN WILL THE DAY OF THE LORD ARRIVE? As verse 1 states, these believers had been taught about the general progression of God's timetable. They had just been instructed on the Rapture of the Church which will precede the Day of the Lord, as we read in chapter 4 of this letter. While they knew the general timetable, as do we, the specific time was to remain unknown. There are events which signal the beginning of the seven-year Tribulation Period, namely a treaty guaranteeing peace for Israel. At the present time, Israel is only involved in minor conflicts with Hamas and other Palestinian groups, although Iran and other Middle Eastern countries remain enemies. But apparently there will be an increased danger of war against Israel at the time. With the conflict in the Ukraine, we are left to wonder about the designs of Russia in the future as scripture tells us She will figure largely in the future conflicts with Israel. Regardless of the particular enemies of which Israel will be in danger, there will be a treaty made guaranteeing peace, most likely brokered by the Antichrist. This will begin the seven-year countdown. There will possibly be a period of time between the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation Period. I don't think this will be a long period, as the chaos resulting from millions of missing believers will give most likely give opportunity for a strong and charismatic leader to arise with solutions. The point made in verse 2 is that the Day of the Lord will come about unexpectedly, just as a thief does not announce his arrival. While the inhabitants of the world are expecting "peace and safety" the wrathful destruction will suddenly begin. When our first child Carrie was born, she came several weeks before her due date, the birth pangs came suddenly and unexpectedly! This is Paul's point: we know the Day of the Lord will come after the Rapture, but like the date of the Rapture, the Day of the Lord will begin unexpectedly, especially for a world that is clueless. In Revelation 6:16-17 we read that the wicked will cry out "...to the mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Isaiah said it was a day of wrath; Zephaniah said it was a day of wrath; Revelation says it is a day of wrath. The Tribulation Period, the seventieth week of Daniel is the Day of the Lord. III. WE ARE NOT CLUELESS, LIVING IN DARKNESS Unlike the world which for the most part coasts along clueless about God's Plan for the Ages, we have been given clear knowledge about what is to come. As "children of light" we can clearly see what the future will be like. God is about to bring this Age of Grace to completion. The truth of the imminency of the Rapture tells us that nothing needs to happen before Christians are "caught up to meet the Lord in the air." "Living in darkness" aptly describes the unbelieving world which has no idea what is coming. There will be no warning, no possibility of escape from God's divine justice; while many may find salvation during those dark and dreadful days, it will be extremely difficult, most like ending in martyrdom. Another meaning of being "sons or children of light and son of day" is that during this dark time of God's wrath, we will be gone! Walvoord explains, "We belong to a different dispensation, to a different day. We belong to the day of grace. Why should a child of God's grace-who is saved by grace, who is kept by grace, who has all the wonderful promises of God-be forced to go through a period which according to scripture is expressly designed as a time of judgment upon a Christ-rejecting world? We belong to the day; they belong to the night." IV. THE APPLICATION OF THE TRUTH The first five verses present the doctrinal truth of the Day of the Lord. These next six verses tell of how we are to live in light of this truth. Read vv. 6-11. Prophesy always has a practical application. It is not given to us simply to satisfy our curiosity. As we are informed, we are to be motivated to live in light of that information. So, knowing that there is coming a terrible period of God's wrath on the unbelieving world, what does that mean to us? The first thing is very obvious: if we know the Lord Jesus as our personal Savior, we are not going to be here during this time! Verse 9 assures us that we are not destined for wrath, but salvation. One might think this is talking about general salvation from an eternity in hell, but in this context of applications relating to the Day of the Lord, the day of God's wrath unleashed against sin, it is speaking of our being spared. Al born-again believers will be in heaven during this seven- year period, returning with Jesus at the Second Coming. Remember the Rapture and the Second Coming are two separate events. The application is that we should be very sure we are of the household of the faith. Have we personally accepted the salvation offered by the Lord Jesus Christ? I see several other things in this passage; this truth should make us alert and sober. The example given here is of the difference between being awake and asleep and being intoxicated and sober. This is sobering truth. When the physical world begins to be torn apart with earthquakes, tsunamis, famine, pestilence, huge meteors falling from the sky, and cosmic disturbances-millions of people will be wiped out immediately. Those who might be considering turning to the Lord may not have the chance. What does this say about our friends and family who do not know the Lord? Are we really convinced these things are coming? In Kansas we know about storm warnings. In towns we have sirens that sound, in the country we hopefully will keep tabs on the weather, perhaps with a weather radio or an app on your cell phone. Perhaps you even give a call or text message to loved ones when a weather alert is issued. A sober and alert person, knowing that disaster is coming warns others. Are we doing so? Perhaps we should leave a message for others if we should suddenly disappear! If we explain to others what will happen, even if they scoff at the time, perhaps they will remember when the world begins to crumble. I thought of another application, knowing the end of all things: I am not overly concerned about taking draconian measures to personally respond to global warming or other ecological issues. We should be good stewards of God's gifts and certainly not misuse the earth but knowing that after the disasters of the Tribulation Period the Lord Jesus is going to reign and rule on earth for 1000 years, I am not too concerned. While this period of history will be a time of great prosperity and fertility of the earth, at the end of the Millennium, God is going to create a new heavens and a new earth, reversing the curse of sin over all creation. Another important application is seen in verse 8: before the Lord takes us home at the Rapture we are to emphasize faithful, loving and hopeful living. Earlier in this letter Paul spoke of these three things: their labor of love, their work of faith and their patience of hope. 1 Corinthians 13 speaks of our faith, hope and love. This pretty much sums up the main emphasis of our lives in light of the things to come. We are living in the "last days" and we observe turmoil all around us. But we are not to lose hope. We are to encourage one another with the certainty that God remains firmly in control. We have been warned so we might live alertly and soberly, knowing that as Paul encouraged Timothy with the words in 2 Timothy 3, "But realize this, that in the last days difficult time will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-and he goes on.... After listing all of what will happen, Paul encouraged Timothy to "continue in the things you have learned and have become convinced of..." (2 Timothy 3:1-4, 14). All these things will come to pass, but as children of light we are to shine in the darkness, warning those around us of the things to come, and sharing the love of God made known through Jesus Christ our Savior. 1 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2002). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (pp. 140-141). Chicago: Moody Press. 2 MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2002). 1 & 2 Thessalonians (p. 141). Chicago: Moody Press. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2