Blogspot Message #4

THE DAY OF THE LORD IS HERE

Amos 5:18-20 says, “Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?”

What is the purpose of “The Day of The Lord?” Simply stated, it is when the Lord shows up in judgment to set things straight. At present we will not discuss the “Great Tribulation” or “The Tribulation,” commonly understood by Bible scholars to be a seven year period at the end of this present age, when the Earth and its inhabitants go through seven years of unprecedented suffering and the judgment of God, immediately in advance of and in preparation for the return or Jesus Christ, the “Last Coming of the Lord.” Some think that we are in the last seven years, some think that we are on the brink of entering into the last seven years. It matters not to me whether we are in the last seven years or are about to enter the last seven years—we are in “The Day of the Lord,” which is surely part of the “Last Days.”

If we are in “The Day of the Lord,” we need to know why we are and what our response is to be to the fact that we are in that time period. Scripture tells us why “The Day of the Lord” is necessary:

“For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right. Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time: for it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skillful of lamentation to wailing. And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord…I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies. Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment [justice] run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel? But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun [these were heathen idols that the Israelites adopted from among the heathen people in the area] your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts.” Amos 5:12-17, 21-27

It is the unrelenting, long-term “manifold transgressions” of the Church that have prompted the Lord to bring us into “The Day of the Lord.” He tolerated a lot of foolishness out of His Church for a long time, waiting for it to chasten and correct itself, giving it every chance to repent and correct itself, but He can no longer wait patiently for us to get right with Him. The clock is ticking. Time marches on. He is going to help us with the repentance process by bringing severe affliction to His Church. Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth.

It is a good time to “keep silence” (v.13) and watch our mouths and our conduct.

In verse 21-23 the Lord is telling His Church that He is tired of us vainly going through the motions of worshipping Him in Spirit and in truth. He wants us to do these things for real, not in pretense, not just going through the motions. He is actually and deeply offended by all of the “play church” that passes for true worship. Many prayers, much lavish praise and worship, many large offerings and everything else that pass for worshipping Him in Spirit and in truth are tainted by insincerity, hidden sins in the heart that need to be openly confessed and repented of (examples: secret illicit sexual desires, greed, lust, materialism, malice, grudges, self-righteousness, materialism, pride, etc.) and it is time to stop and take stock of our own lives. Where do I stand in all of this? Am I guilty of “playing church,” and not worshipping in Spirit and in truth? Do I harbor secret sins and evil desires in my own heart? What idols in my life need to be cast down and destroyed—forever? Am I just going through the motions of being a true worshipper?

The phrase “the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light” (v.19) is a key here to identifying the time that we are in. Consider the following partial list of significant events from the past year or so. Bear in mind the fact that this is just a partial list, merely illustrative or representative of what has been happening on Earth:

1) December 26, 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean area, killing somewhere in excess of 200,000 people, we are told, with some estimates approaching 300,000.

2) Our 2003 invasion of Iraq and overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime has resulted in over 2,000 of our own troops killed, with thousands more wounded and no end to the chaos and killing there in sight.

3) We experienced a record number of hurricanes in 2005. Hurricane Katrina killed over a thousand people for sure in the metropolitan New Orleans area and several hundred more were killed on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. There are reportedly over 3,000 people still missing, though admittedly some of these may just be persons who relocated to other areas and have not been heard from by friends, relatives or former neighbors. The economic cost of repairing the damage is in the billions of dollars, and is more than the dollar amount of damage caused by any previous hurricane in the United States. Suicide among Katrina survivors is on the increase, says the news media, and the mental and emotional health of many Katrina survivors is suffering terribly. Entire fishing villages in St. Bernard Parish, such as Yscloskey, Reggio, Shell Beach and Hopedale were wiped off of the map.

4) Last fall there was a devastating earthquake in the Pakistan/Afghanistan area, killing 85,000+. Many of the survivors now live in cold, mountainous regions and are trying to survive the harsh winter while living in improvised shelters and tents. There are reports of heavy snowfall, collapsing tents of survivors.

5) The new leader of Iran has openly stated that the destruction of Israel is one of his goals. Consider also that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Remember that Israel took pre-emptive action previously by destroying the Iraqi nuclear reactor and nuclear weapons program at Osirak, when it became clear that the Iraqis intended to nuke Israel. Do you think that if Iran develops nuclear weapons Israel will just stand by and watch? You may want to get on the internet and look up the “Samson Option,” which is simply this: Israel will use nuclear weapons to kill as many Arabs a possible in the event of an all out war with the Arabs, if the situation looks grave enough. Many of not most Israelis are committed to never letting another Holocaust happen. They will never again allow attempted genocide against the Jewish race. Can you blame them? (No!).

6) North Korea is developing or already has nuclear weapons and has a mentally unstable mad man for a leader. When I was young I heard a saying, “like giving matches to a pyromaniac.” The principle applies here.

7) There are several reported cases of Bird Flu in Turkey at this moment. For some time now health officials have nervously watched and waited for the next world-wide flu epidemic, expected to kill millions. A recent issue of National Geographic magazine gives a thorough, detailed report on the topic.

8) As I write this message, Israel’s leader, Ariel Sharon, is hospitalized, having experienced several strokes in the past few weeks, and he is critically ill. PRAY FOR HIS SALVATION! If Mr. Sharon dies or is so incapacitated as to be unable to return to his leadership position, new leaders will take over in Israel, and this may bring on unspecified changes. Pray also for the peace of Jerusalem and the Lord’s protection for Israel. I believe that there are Arabs and Muslims who would like to take advantage of the situation and threaten Israel’s security.

9) This morning there is a report of Greece experiencing a major 6.9 magnitude earthquake, felt as far away as Amman, Jordan and Cairo, Egypt. Consider that Matthew 24:7 speaks of “earthquakes in diverse [various] places.” Earthquake activity, both in terms of frequency and severity, has been on the increase on Earth in the recent past.

For a companion scripture to Amos 5, take a look at Malachi 2:17 (The Lord is tired of play church), Malachi 3 and Malachi 4.

In short, we need to be conducting a check of our own lives and seeking the Lord for a repentant heart. Those who will do so in truth and sincerity will qualify for His mercy and to be hidden in the secret place of the most High, described in Psalm 91.

Keep looking up, your redemption is drawing nigh!

Pastor Ben