The Day of the Lord

and the

WRATH of God

General James Green,

April 10, 2011

I KNOW THAT WHAT I WRITE HERE erps most “Christians” who have created their very own “love-god” and “love-gospel”—a god who does not get angry, never ever judges (why, to “judge” would be a SIN!); a “gospel” that is Christ-less, or at least puts other religions on the same level as Christianity. The problem with this kind of god is that he is FICTION.

     What has been recorded throughout man’s history is that someone, “something,” is behind all the tragedies that have befallen the human race. The kind of god our liberal church-folks have in mind would never, ever allow—let alone DO—what has been recorded. Well then, who or what is behind all this? Satan? If this is so, how come God's people (whom He “can’t live without”!), who are not directly under satanic rule, have suffered and died in the most horrible ways known to man? And what of the non-Christian? Does blaming it all on satan really answer the question well?

The Book

THE BOOK, the Bible, has recorded enough of what I write about, and history/archaeology bear this all out too, that some “Great Force” has not only allowed evil...but has many times SENT evil (see Isa 45:7 — Heb., ra‘ = “evil” = “adversity, affliction, bad, calamity, displease, distress, grief, harass, hurt, mischief, misery, sadness, sore, sorrow, trouble, vexation, wickedness, worse, wretchedness, wrong”).

Are You Ready for the Day of the LORD?

MANY FOLKS in Churchland have to point out Acts 2:16-21, i.e., Joel’s prophecy concerning “that great and notable day of the LORD.” Some see this “Day” as yet future [like after the “rapture” takes place—I have teachings on this fairytale rapture thing (I used to believe in it too!)]. I’m not getting into this here, I only want to point out to you that the expression “last days” and “Day of the Lord” were used by prophets for both their era and the N.T. era.

     While Scriptures do speak of a final, end-time “Day of the Lord” (all things will finally come to an end upon this earth before it is destroyed by fire: see 2 Pet 3:10; 1 Thes 5:2), “the expression was commonly applied by the prophets to different times in Biblical history.” The “Day of the LORD/Lord” is connected to His judgments, His wrath (and there are a number of distinctive “wraths” mentioned also—one scholar points out FOUR: Appositional Wrath = God's Wrath against sin itself; Catastrophic Wrath = the kind I have been writing about; the BIG ONE was Noah’s flood; Eschatological Wrath = what we read in Revelation 6-19; and Abandonment Wrath = when God abandons His people, e.g., Samson, the Northern Kingdom, the Southern Kingdom, etc.).

Pagan Kingdoms

EDOM: OBADIAH, v. 15 — “For the Day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head” (read all 21 verses). (Edom was also known as Idumea.)

     Isaiah used the phrase “The Day of the LORD’s vengeance” (34:5, 10).

     Some folks question the Bible’s language when Scriptures seem contradictory (for an example, read 2 Kgs 18:5 and 2 Kgs 23:25). But realize the Bible has its very own unique language, and it makes use of hyperbolic language, like in Isaiah 13:20 concerning the destruction of Babylon: “It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation...” The overthrow of the Babylonian empire was also called “the day of the LORD” (read Isa 13:1-22 — the very Babylon that God called His “servant” to do His DESTRUCTIVE WORK on HIS VERY OWN PEOPLE, THE ISRAELITES, was the very same “servant” that He later had destroyed by another pagan army), yet we know that Babylon has been inhabited for centuries now. Was God lying? NO! He used hyperbolic language to make a strong point.

     It’s just like Edom that was overthrown by the Chaldeans and finally by the Jews. Now the Idumeans, as a nation, are totally extinct, whereas Babylon (Iraq) still exists.

     Even when we find the words “utter destruction,” this may mean literally or hyperbolically. My point is that “the day of the LORD” happened then, not in some A.D. futuristic time (like “the Great Tribulation” period).

Egypt

EZEKIEL PROPHESIED judgment upon Egypt (30:2-11) and also upon other pagan nations. “Thus said the LORD God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near, even the day of the LORD is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen. And the sword shall come upon Egypt…” Here we have God sending the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar to Egypt for judgment.

     Jeremiah also prophesied against Egypt for destruction (46:1, 2, 10, 13)—it came to pass—Egypt was overthrown by the Babylonians (who were themselves overthrown by kings of the Medes: see Jer 50:42; 51:11; Daniel the prophet made note of this in Daniel 5:31; 9:1—an example of “the day of the LORD” in ancient times).

Jerusalem

WE ALL know about her—Joel warned of God's wrathful judgment against that city and Judah. Joel 1:15 uses “the day of the LORD is at hand...” The same is found in 2:1. We know that Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple (2 Chron 36). Joel 2:2 states that that invasion would be so bad that nothing would be like it “even to the years of many generations.” The prophet Zephaniah (1:4, 7, 14) also warned of this very destruction: “I will also stretch out mine hand upon Judah, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem…the day of the LORD is at hand….the great day of the LORD is near.”

     After this invasion by the Babylonians, Jeremiah wrote the following: “The young and old lie on the ground in the streets...Thou (God) hast slain them in the day of thine anger; thou has killed, and not pitied. Thou hast slain them in the day of thine anger...so that in the day of the LORD’s anger none escaped nor remained” (another hyperbolic example).

     Friends, that GOD is the same GOD today—Who has EVERY RIGHT TO JUDGE, PUNISH, KILL...and He is ALWAYS justified. I personally don’t care what you think of Him or His ways—He and they are PERFECT—get used to it.

     When Joel prophesied (Peter brings this up in Acts 2:16-21) about the “day of the LORD,” he was not referring to Jerusalem some 3,000 years in the future; he meant AD 70.

What About Joel’s Darkened Sun/Moon, Stars Falling?

THESE EVENTS do not have to take place at the end of the world as most believe. What Joel spoke of were terms commonly used by O.T. prophets as figures of speech, like “mountains and hills” representing large kingdoms and smaller kingdoms, “trees” representing kingdoms and nations, etc. Take “And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fall down” (Isa 34:4). We KNOW that the literal sun, moon and stars were NOT dissolved (see also Ezek 30:18; 32:28; Isa 13:10; Joel 2:10). In like manner, we know the “dark times” that came upon Edom, Egypt, Jerusalem, and Babylon were all described by expressions regarding the sun, moon and stars being “darkened”; these were speaking of the kingdoms and their kings and princes and so on.

“Blood and Fire and Smoke”

PETER QUOTED Joel’s usage of “blood, fire, and vapor of smoke.” These again were commonly used words to describe WARFARE (see numerous Scriptures where these words are used; Judges 20:40 speaks of fire and smoke). If one reads the works of Josephus, which I have, one will see he repeatedly uses these words (see Jos., Wars 3, 4:1).

Tyre

PROPHET EZEKIEL wrote about Tyre’s judgment (26:14) where he said, “You will be built no more,” yet Tyre was later rebuilt (1 Macc 111:59; 2 Macc 4:18). What do we make of this? Even Jesus ministered there (Mt 15:21-28; Mk 3:8; Lk 6:17). In Acts 21:3 we find Jesus’ Apostles there.

     These type of things our critics call contradictions, but they are actually hyperbolic, dramatic and poetic language or “judgment talk.”

Mark 13:20 — Matthew 24:22

“AND EXCEPT those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened” (Matt 24:22). “And except that the Lord has shortened those days, no flesh should be saved...”

     Here we have a parallel concerning “no flesh” surviving the future ”Tribulation” or “day of the LORD”; we have two camps here: those who hold to a future “Great Tribulation” period vs. those (like myself) who believe that AD 70 was that “Great Tribulation. I don’t want to get into this argument here (I’ve already taught on this: write for my “Rapture Teachings”), but to follow thru with my point on “the day of the LORD,” we must discern what Jesus meant.

     As I write (April, 2011), there is a big “to do” about a “rapture” taking place on May 21, 2011. The guy who predicts this has already failed 3 previous times on his date-settings. Trust me, this DAY—MAY 21, 2011—WILL COME AND GO, NO RAPTURE, only humility pie for him and his followers.  See if I’m not correct.

     Anyway, back to “all flesh” perishing in the Great Tribulation (“unless the days be shortened”). According to one author/bible scholar, “all flesh” (pasa sarx) must be understood of “Judea and Jerusalem (see Jer 12:12), NOT the whole world as in the Futurist’s “Great Tribulation.”

     It should be said here that the Roman siege WAS SHORTENED by various events, like the stopping of the strengthening of the walls by Herod Agrippa with orders from the Emperor; the sudden arrival of General Titus; and the neglect of the Jews to prepare for a long siege.

     This usage of “all flesh” parallels Isaiah 66:15-16—note: “the sword falls upon ALL FLESH,” but in reality, “MANY” not “ALL” died by the sword. The “all flesh” here stands for those of the Jewish nation, “the great majority, who have abandoned the LORD to serve pagan idols.”

     We find in Acts 2:16-17, as already noted, that Joel’s prophecy spoke of God's Spirit falling upon “all flesh”; we know that the Holy Spirit was not poured out upon the entire human race but only those in attendance on the day of Pentecost. If our future “Great Tribulation” friends would consider all this, they would see that AD 70 WAS the real Great Tribulation that Jesus was referring to, not some universal future event. This is not to say that the world will not have “great tribulations”; we’re seeing that right now.

Divine and Human

GOD'S JUDGMENTS / Punishments consist of both Divine and human means. In the accounts under consideration, especially Jerusalem, even though a human army (Rome) fell upon that city, God decreed it, and thus, GOD DID SHOW FORTH SIGNS OF “BLOOD, FIRE, PILLARS OF SMOKE.” This was WAR!

Our Critics Don’t Understand

GOD'S WORD speaks of both “blessings” and also “cursings” (see Deut 28). What our “God is only love!” folks fail to realize (or don’t want to realize!) is that obedience brings God's favor; disobedience, disfavor (see Micah 7:19-20; Hos 6:1). God will either be our FRIEND or our ENEMY (Isa 63:8-10). And since Christ is both Savior and Redeemer of all those who call upon His name, the ones who do not call upon Him are left in the enemies camp that will be judged.

     John 5:22, 26, and 27 tell us that the Father “hath committed ALL judgment unto the Son...authority to EXECUTE JUDGMENT.” So, when we declare all this, don’t get upset. Check out God's Sacred Scriptures and see who is right: us, or you.

     Even though Titus did the literal destruction against Judah/Jerusalem, it was the Lord who empowered him and his armies to do it.

My Servants

IF THE LORD can’t get His people to obey, He will use pagans. Jeremiah 43:10-13 is a good place to start reading, where He called Babylon’s king “MY SERVANT.” Read also Ezekiel 30:10-19, 22-25; 32:9-15. These Scriptures speak of what God said HE WOULD DO, yet the actual instruments were PAGAN ARMIES under the command of “MY SERVANT,” NEBUCHADNEZZAR.

     The same can be said of nature’s forces, like the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. God told us 16 years ago (in March) that He was going to lay that proud nation in ruins...and He is NOT FINISHED with Japan yet.

“Slay With the Sword”

—so says EZEKIEL 26:7. “I will send a fire on Tyrus”—so says Amos 1:10. “I will bring distress upon men”—so says Zephaniah 1:17. “Woe unto the inhabitants of the Cherethites”—so says Zephaniah 2:5. “The Word of the LORD is against you; O Canaan, the land of the Philistines, I will even destroy thee, that there shall be no inhabitant”—so says Zephaniah 2:5. God's Word denounces Assyria (Nineveh) and many other pagan nations (see Nahum 1:1-2; 2:13; 3:5-7): Gaza, Ashdod, Ekron, Kirioth (see Amos 1:7-15; 2:2-3); Damascus/Benhadad (Jer 49:27); Samaria (Micah 1:6-7; 5:10-14); and Zidon (Ezek 28:22). The list is LONG, if one dares to count them.

     Does God judge? “Yes,” you say, “but that was in the Old Testament days.” Well, dear ones, I don’t think we could count the multitude of judgments GOD HAS WROUGHT SINCE THE BEGINNING OF OUR “NEW TESTAMENT” ERA.

“Nation Against Nation”

EVEN JESUS spoke about this. Notice the words “abhor,” “waste,” “desolation,” “scatter,” and “desolate” in Leviticus 26:30-33. Read about Joel’s army (Joel 2:1-10), an invading army, a great (pagan) people who would be successful in their (GOD'S!) work of DESTRUCTION....“And the LORD shall utter His voice before HIS ARMY” (v. 11). Note verses 12-20 dealing with repentance.

God's Army

YOU MAY want to check out all the following Scriptures where God uses heathen armies as weapons against His very own people (He also uses them against one another): Jer 6:18-23; 34:2, 22; Amos 2:5; Hosea 8:14; Ezek 15:7-8; Jer 13:9-27; 26:1-9; Ezek 24; Amos 2:5; 6:8; Ezek 5:8-17; Zeph 1:4, 12; Jer 25:8-11.

     We know that repentance did not come; God's backslid people hated and mocked the prophets...so God brought upon His own people the king of Babylon and ruined the people and their city, including the house of God (Jer 52:12-14; 2 Chron 36:14-19).

What About AMERICA?

DON’T THINK for one moment that this MAGNIFICENT HYPOCRITE will not be severely punished. The Spirit of God has told us many times that this nation will reap what it has sown—and it has sown A LOT OF HELL!!

     Just as Jeremiah 44:6 reads “My FURY and mine ANGER was poured forth, and was kindled in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; and they are WASTED and DESOLATE,” so shall certain cities of America receive the same treatment.

     Don’t be fooled by all this silly talk that America is a “Christian” nation: it never was!, though it did have many Christians and Christian principles. BUT, America IS a Democratic Republic—“We the people...”—NOT “I THE LORD GOD...” And even this is under siege from the Socialist/Communist elite.

Spreading Democracy, Killing Christianity

THIS IS the order of the day. This “Democracy and respect for human rights [see website of U.S. State Department which affirms the promoting of Democracy, not Christianity: so how can America be ‘Christian’?] have long been central components of U.S. foreign policy.” Show me, you “For God and Country” patriots, where in God's Word we are to “respect human rights”? This is secular humanism, Socialism. Show me where Christians are to respect ABORTION, HOMOSEXUALITY, ADULTERY, LYING, THEFT, and dozens and dozens of other BIBLICALLY DEFINED SINS (write for our free “Gay Way” series).

The Holy Prophets

ONE AUTHOR and pastor commented, “Turning to the prophets, we are confronted with a vast array of literature, much of it BURNING with INDIGNATION against the people of Israel FOR THEIR MANY SINS. One gets the distinct impression that the other nations are mere arrows in the LORD’S quiver, to be shot at Israel when it serves the LORD’s purpose” (my emph.). This is what I’m up against in putting forth these articles on GOD'S JUDGMENTS: some mock! But are the prophets right or wrong? How can one read all the Scriptures I’ve supplied and not believe what they mean?

     No, I’m not gleeful in such things myself as I’ve been accused of, but the Scriptures are there, the Truth is there, history proves them to be so. Hey, we can’t just pick-and-choose what we like and “believe and discard the ugly ones as, well, ‘untrue’!”

The New Testament God / Jesus

WHILE IT is true that such things we’ve studied are less discussed in the N.T., still they are there! I realize the Gospels were written after the O.T. dispensation ended (but still were under it while Jesus was alive). Nevertheless, we DO find such “harsh” and “unloving” things written therein. But as this same mocker writes, “One hardly gets the feeling that we are dealing with the God of Jesus, Jesus, who taught us to love our enemies...”

     It was morally right (since God is always RIGHT and MORAL and HOLY) for God to do what He did in the Old Testament era, and Jesus did not and does not change anything. He still put forth warnings that one will reap what they sow: fruitless trees/branches will be CUT DOWN and CAST INTO THE FIRE, the sheep and goats will be SEPARATED, the good and BAD fish will be SEPARATED, etc., etc. Both Jesus and God the Father still judge sin and the sinner.

     The truth is, Church leaders have smothered their congregations in the “love Gospel,” hardly ever expounding on the numerous Scriptures that are contrasted with the “love” ones.

Dropped Dead?

THAT’S RIGHT! Ananias and Sapphira DROPPED DEAD because they LIED TO THE HOLY GHOST (Acts 5)—read it, mockers, God's Spirit SMOTE the both of them. That doesn’t sound too much like the N.T. “Love God” to me.

     Have we forgotten that the “O.T. God” was also the “loving, compassionate, longsuffering” God who, by the use of His prophets, WARNED, and WARNED the offenders before He punished? Why do these mockers not recall all this? Jesus of the N.T. (who is God also) also WARNS, and WARNS; so do His Apostles and N.T. authors.

     There is no difference between the O.T. and N.T. God.

     When God's people (O.T.) were obedient, all went well—blessed by God; when disobedient—cursed by God. The God of the O.T. could repent over how He felt about things; we find Jesus the same. The O.T. God spoke of opening of the prison to those who were bound; Jesus was the “key” that opened the prison. Just about everything we find in the shadows/types of the O.T. we find the substance in the New. Tell me, how can God be any different?

     What do we make of Zechariah 9:9, 10? Was it not Jesus whom the prophet prophesied about? Yes, it was Him! Although Jesus (mentioned in the O.T.) was the Prince of Peace, and He is still that, He is also a MAN OF WAR. We are told of Jesus in Isaiah 52:13 - 53:3, the very Jesus who literally died for the sinner and bore our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isa 53:4-6), the very Jesus in the N.T. that pronounces WOES upon the religious leaders and upon Jerusalem—the very leaders and city that were KILLED/DESTROYED with the edge of the Roman sword and BURNT WITH FIRE. That wasn’t’ very nice of Jesus, was it?

     And that’s not all. Isaiah 53:7-9 speaks of our wonderful Savior who did no violence, yet pronounces DAMNATION upon the very people He came to set free/save! Why don’t our critics cite these passages? And I dare not even get into the book of Revelation where “blood, fire, smoke, pain, death” are all too evident.

     It is the height of foolishness to believe that the God/Jesus of the New Testament is different from the Old.

     And, to have God the Father sending His Only Begotten Son to die? For sinners? Yes, that’s right. But we are also told that a “loving” God would never MURDER His Son!! God did not murder His Sin, He sent Him to RESCUE you and I, dear sinner.

     Let me quote Revelation 18:6 for my dear critics: “Reward her (Babylon) even as she rewarded you, and DOUBLE unto her. DOUBLE according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her DOUBLE.” This is New Testament!

The Problem Is...

NOT WITH God the Father or God the Son (nor the Holy Spirit). The problem is with men: THEY DON’T WANT TO BE PUNISHED FOR THEIR SINS. They have created a god of their own wicked imagination that sets no standards, requires no sufferings, asks for no discipline, and most of all, “LOVES” them IN THEIR SINS!! HA! Hell surely will be their reward. Oh, pardon me, they most assuredly DO NOT BELIEVE IN HELL.

     Another mocker writes: “Is there a decent person in the world who approves of torture?...and yet we blandly accept the idea that the Creator of us all...Who went to the Cross for sinners, can inflict excruciating agony on His children, however errant, endlessly...without purpose?” WOW! There are many things WRONG in that anti-Hell statement.

     Neither God the Father nor Jesus personally tortures people in Hell; THEIR UNREPENTANT SINS DO THAT! And not everybody is the child of God. The Bible distinguishes between God's children and the devil’s children, just as both “sheep” and “goats” are not both on the right side of God. See for yourself.

     This same person (mocker) goes off on the usual BAD exegesis using Luke 16:19-31, dismissing it as untrue and reverse humor. No, that is a true account of Hell, a place of TORMENT (whose doing the torment?).

     The problem is, scoffers and mockers are just that—SCOFFERS AND MOCKERS! But God's truth is still TRUE: There is a Heaven for the obedient redeemed, and there is a Hell for the disobedient lost (and apostates).

     We can’t dismiss the things we don’t like or believe—they will not be dismissed. God takes no pleasure in the death of sinners, He does not “torture” them; the everlasting, eternal fire does that…which was created for the devil/satan and his demons. If you live like a devil and go to HELL FIRE, you can’t blame God or Jesus, not even me. I’m telling you that

salvation is available to ALL; the price has been paid in FULL by the Son of God.

     From Genesis to Revelation, God's Word cries out to the sinner to REPENT and be saved—the solution to the SIN POLLUTION is REVOLUTION: REBEL AGAINST HELL and LIVE!

HAVE YOU BEEN SAVED? JESUS IS REAL!! PRAY LIKE THIS.

Dear Jesus, I come to you with all the sins I've committed and I beg you to forgive me. Rescue me from eternal damnation in Hellfire. I confess that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. Don't let me die in my sins. Please cleanse my body, soul and spirit with your precious blood. I need your help and I ask you to come and live in my heart. I want to serve you, obey your commands and do what is right. I want to live for you everyday and receive everlasting life. Please lead and guide me by your Spirit into righteousness. Help me live a clean and holy life that is pleasing unto God. Thank you Jesus for hearing and answering my prayer. Amen! Read the BIBLE!