SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/5/2014
9:28 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The Day of
the Lord PT-1
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference:
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3
Message of the
verses: “1 Now as to the times and
the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For
you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a
thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, "Peace and safety!" then
destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with
child, and they will not escape.”
While thinking about this subject of the Day of the Lord
I did a search on my Online Bible Program using the NASB version of the Bible
to find out how many times that “The Day of the Lord” is found in the entire
Bible. The result was that there are a
total of 26 times in all of the Scriptures that this direct phrase is used with
21 in the OT and 5 in the NT. I have
decided to put all of these verses at the end of this SD. The first time this phrase is used is in
Isaiah 13:6, and then the first time it is used in the NT is in Acts 2:20, and
this is a quote from the book of Joel used by Peter in his sermon where 3000
people got saved. Now some of these
quotes, like the one in 1 Cor. 5:5 does not actually speak of the actual Day of
the Lord as it states the Day of the Lord Jesus, and this is different than the
Day of the Lord. The other three times
it is quoted in the NT it is speaking of the Day of the Lord which I will try
and explain in this SD. I will also talk
about the Day of the Lord Jesus and other ways this phrase is used as they are
different.
There are many times in the OT that this phrase “The Day
of the Lord” is used that it has a twofold meaning, a time when the event will
happen very soon which will actually be a preview or picture of when this event
will actually take place. We mentioned
in our last SD that the time table of what will happen on this earth has to do
with the nation of Israel, and so this event has to do with the nation of
Israel too. Now before we get into this
subject I want to quote John MacArthur from his commentary on the book of 1
& 2 Thessalonians: Paul introduced
his discussion on the Day of the Lord with the transitional phrase peri de (now as to). The apostle used that phrase frequently in
his writings to signal a change of subject.
Paul’s use of the affectionate term brethren as a call to renewed
attention also suggests a new topic. In
his discussion of end-time events, Paul turned from the Rapture (4:13-18) to a
new subject, the Day of the Lord.
“The phrase the times (chromos) and the epochs (kairos) refers in a general snese to the
end times (cf. Dan. 2:21; Acts 1:7).
Through the two words may be used here in an overlapping sense, there is
a subtle difference in meaning between them.
Chronos refers to
chronological time, to clock time or
calendar time. Kairos, on the other hand, view time in terms of events, eras, or
seasons, such as the times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24). Taken together, the two terms suggest that
the Thessalonians were curious about the timing of the end-time events. That both nouns are plural indicates that
many different time periods (cf. Dan. 7:25; 9:24-27; 12:7, 11, 12; Rev. 11:2-3;
13:5) and events (e.g., the Rapture, the rise of Antichrist, the salvation of
Israel, the seal trumpet, and bowl judgments, the Second Coming, the battle of
Armageddon, the shep and goat judgment, the binding of Satan, the millennial
kingdom, the loosing of Satan and subsequent worldwide rebellion at the end of
the Millennium, the Great White Throne judgment, and the new heavens and the
new earth) make up the end times.
The Coming of the Day of the Lord
“2 For you yourselves know
full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3
While they are saying, "Peace and safety!’
(1 Thessaloians 5:2-3a).”
Paul writes that the Day of the Lord will come like a
thief in the night, and this refers to how this event will take place. Now when you go to bed you probably lock up
your house so that it will be as safe as it can be. Thieves do most of their work at night and so
even if you feel your house is secure you may wake up one morning and find that
your house has been broken into and you have lost some of your valuable
property. This will come as a complete
surprise to you. My son when he was
younger had some nice stero equipment in his car and when he woke up one
morning it was gone for a thief in the night came and stole it from him and
this came as a surprise to him, similar to the Day of the Lord will be a
surprise to those when it happens. The
Thessalonians knew what the day of the Lord was, but did not know when it would
happen so Paul explains that it will come like a thief in the night. Let us look at part of what our Lord Jesus
Christ said when He was speaking about the end times in what is known as the
Olivet Discourse “"But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had
known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the
alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into (Matthew 24:43).”
He goes on to say “"For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of
Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will (vs. 44).” Revelations 16:15 says “("Behold, I am
coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes,
so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.").” MacArthur writes “The metaphor of a thief
coming is never used to refer to the Rapture of the church. It describes the coming of the Lord in
judgment at the end of the seven-year Tribulation period, and the judgment at
the end of the thousand-year kingdom of Christ on earth (2 Peter 3:10). A thief coming is not a hopeful, joyful event
of deliverance, but an unexpected calamity.”
Now I mentioned that the Day of the Lord is different
from the Day of Christ so I want once again to quote John MacArthur: “The Day of the Lord must be distinguished
from the ‘day of Christ’ (Phil. 1:10; 2:16), the ‘day of Jesus Christ’ (1 Cor.
1:8); all of those terms refer to the time when believers will received their
rewards from the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 2:11-14; 4:1-5; 2 Cor.
5:9-10). The Day of the Lord must also
be distinguished from the ‘day of God’ (2 Peter 3:12), which refers to the
eternal state.”
Now we have mentioned that the Day of the Lord happens at
the end of the Tribulation Period which is described in the book of Revelation,
and MacArthur has stated that it also occurs at the end of the 1000 year reign
of our Lord on earth. We also mentioned
that there are both a historical and eschatological Days of the Lord in the
writings of the Old Testament. MacArthur
quotes George Eldon Ladd who writes “The Day of the Lord was near because God
was about to act; and the historical event was in a real sense an anticipation
of the final eschatological deed….The historical eminence of the Day of the
Lord did not include all that the Day of the Lord meant; history and
eschatology were held in dynamic tension, for both were the Day of the Lord. (The Presence of the Future [Grand
Rapids; Eerdmans 1976], 320. Italics in original.)”
As I have been studying the OT prophets, so far Isaiah,
Jeremiah, and Daniel I could see that the events that happened to Judah were a
preview of what will happen at the end-times when the Day of the Lord will
occur.
It seems that there is more things that I want to talk
about concerning the Day of the Lord so we will pick up on that in our next SD.
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: It seems that
whenever I study the end-times events lately that I think about what Peter
wrote when he was actually writing about the Day of God, as he was telling his
readers that the earth and all the universe will burn with fire, actually best
described as being un-created, as God will un-create the entire things that He
made during the six day creation as described in Genesis chapter one. However man will be the only thing to survive
this un-creation act that Peter describes.
He goes on to write to his readers since this will take place what kind
of lives should you be living? Good
question.
My Steps of Faith for Today: Bounce my eyes when needed.
Memory verses for the
week: Colossians 3:1-4.
1 Therefore if you have
been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set
your mind on things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3 For you have died and your life is not
hidden with Christ in God. 4 When
Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him
in glory.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Shittim wood” (Exodus
25:10). Incidentally my understanding of
this word is that it means “carpenter.”
Today’s Bible
question: “Who was anointed with the oil
of gladness?”
Answer in our next SD.
8/5/2014 10:35 AM
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