The Day of the Lord

Bible Study #652-Church in the Houses From: September 21 – 27, 2010

TOPIC: "The Day of the Lord" Malachi 4:5 The Almighty God is going to reform our lives, His children, making us similar to the compassionate ancestors who served Him. God will lead us to be just like those men who loved Him. Some of them were Abraham, Ezekiel, Elijah, Paul, etc. But, for those who do not prepare for the Day of the Lord, the day in which there will be great pain and anguish upon the earth, the experience will be huge and terrible. It will be too bad for those who remain here and do not escape in the rapture of the church. I heard a hymn that says: “What good is it if everyone admires me, and at the sound of the trumpet I remain here…” 1 Corinthians 15:52 This is very true, what good is there in being a great leader, a professional, with money, fame, etc., if in that great day when the trumpet blows, you remain here because you were not ready. It will be terrible for those who will suddenly realize that the great day arrived and they were left, it will be their worst nightmare upon the earth. There should be a serious preoccupation and attention in each believer so that the day of the Lord will not take them by surprise. The Apostle Paul warns what should be done when it is heard that someone has sinned in the church. In order for each one of us to rise in the Day of the Lord we need to be sanctified. Hebrews 12: 14 What is the church’s duty toward those who insist in sinning like someone did in the church of the Corinthians? 1 Corinthians 5:1, 5 When we no longer take sin seriously we are in great danger. We should all be conscious of the danger and harm. Paul said that those who insist in sinning were to be handed over to Satan. One who is excommunicated is expelled from the church and launched to the world, which is dominated by Satan. The devil is the prince of this world. John 16:11 The church belongs to the Lord and should be dominated by the Lord exclusively. Then, Paul’s verdict was to return that man to Satan’s world which is where he belongs, so that somehow when suffering the bad consequences that sin brings, there would be a humiliation in order to cast out of his life that concupiscent sin and so that his spirit would be saved at the end, to have salvation in the day of the Lord. It was necessary for that man to lose the communion with the holy siblings of the Church of Corinth because of his concupiscent, of his impure desire to sin, for not wanting to repent in the Lord’s church where he first had the chance to reform and sanctify himself. 2 Corinthians 1:14 Paul felt to be the glory of the siblings of Corinth and they were his glory for the Day of the Lord, the day in which the Lord will return. So, our work until the Day of the Lord is very important. Paul made the observation that the day of Christ’s Tribunal would arrive. 2 Corinthians 5:10 Some acknowledged Paul, but others didn’t, and because of their love, deliverance and preaching were saved. They glorified in Paul and Paul glorified in them in the day of the Lord. How pitiful and slowness! Some live as if the Day of the Lord was never going to happen. In change, those who look forward to that day look ahead in a particular way waiting to arrive at Christ’s Tribunal, which is when the service of the redeemed will be evaluated and compensated. When Paul saw in his heart that the Day of the Lord would soon arrive and that this way Christ’s Tribunal would arrive, then he could see the face of those who would be saved thru his ministry. In that day they would be his joy and crown of joy, at the same time they would be glad that he was the instrument that God used to lead them to Christ and to be able to rise in the Day of the Lord. How great is God who has called us for eternal life! 1 Thessalonians 5:2 Those saints knew of the coming of the Lord, that He would come like a thief in the night. You should also know and desire his return. The exact time is unknown. The Day of the Lord is not about a day of 24 hours but rather an event. In the Old Testament it is spoken of the Day of God or Day of the Lord like something that was going to happen against the enemies of Israel because of the idolatry of the nation, their punishment. Paul tells the brothers of Thessalonica that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. It will be totally unexpected and will fall upon men suddenly. The world will be totally unprepared. I ask myself: and you? For a world that is lost that will be a day of anger. For us, the believers, a day of great victory. They are in sin, in darkness; we are in light, in sanctity. They, at nightfall, in darkness, and the church in the light. We no longer belong to the darkness. 2 Peter 3:8-10 That great day will arrive. The Lord does not delay His promise so that all will proceed to repentance. Let us walk in a holy and compassionate way of living. 2 Peter 3:11 It says that the heavens will disappear and it refers to “stellar sky”, not the third heaven which is where God dwells. While disappearing in the middle of a great roar the burning elements will be destroyed. Here the elements refer to the components of the substances. All substance will be destroyed similar to a universal nuclear holocaust. After all Jesus will come to lift the church, at the end all this will pass. What are you waiting for to get prepared? What are you holding on to, what is going to be burned? Do your part; prepare yourself for that great day that will come at any moment. Amen.