The Day of The Lord

Title of today's sermon is the Day of the Lord Judgment with a Purpose. I've been reviewing the past Feast of Trumpet sermons that I've given and looking at the different things that I've covered. And there was one gap that I know I've mentioned before, but I don't know that I've actually covered it. And that's the reason why there is a Day of the Lord. Okay. Judgment, punishment, yes. What's behind the judgment and the punishment? Is God so finally fed up with mankind that that's it and He just lets us have it? Or does the purpose and the meaning of the day far, far away from that idea? Sometimes we have the idea that we love prophecy. We hear a prophecy sermon. We're like, oh right, finally. It's like an action movie. There's gonna be some karate. There's gonna be some bombs. And some people, on the other hand, look at a prophecy sermon like, oh not the plagues again. Do you have to pour out the bowls every year? And I want you to look at the plagues and the bowls differently if you don't already look at it the way I'm going to explain it. The way the prophets explain it. I want you to look at the judgment of God, the way God explains it. And you will see what an awesome God we have. How his thoughts are so much higher than our thoughts. And I'll just give an analogy at the start. And the analogy is when your child is playing with a ball and that ball rolls into the street into heavy traffic. And you have told that child, don't go in the street. But the child doesn't have context as to why he's not supposed to go in the street. And all he sees and all he's focused on is that ball. His precious ball is in the street and he needs to go get that ball. So he forgets everything that mommy and daddy told him and he runs through the street. And when he gets to the edge of the sidewalk, daddy grabs him and scolds him really hard and he cries. And he goes back to the house dejected. And he never tries to run in the street again. Because he finally has context and daddy intervened and showed him that he would be dead. He would never play with that ball again had he run into that street. That's the day of the Lord. So if you tend to be the person that falls asleep during a sermon, I'm going to show you exactly that in the prophecies. But now you know what the sermon is about.

The Feast of Trumpets is approaching and it's a festival that is very prophetic.

And it is attached to this time of judgment called the Day of the Lord. And it is following a horrible tribulation that's already going on that's most likely caused by human beings.

And then the Feast of Trumpets culminates with the return of Jesus Christ to set up the kingdom of God on the earth. Now we know a great deal about what prophecy says will happen near the end of the age. There's going to be unprecedented trouble. God will bring judgment. Jesus Christ will return. But before getting into those events themselves, the important question is, why? Why does God allow mankind to reach the point and why does he finally intervene?

The Day of the Lord can sound like nothing more than God's anger and punishment.

If we only read the description of what happens and we read over the scriptures as to why it happens.

There is a purpose behind God's judgment. And remember, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts.

So let's start in Matthew 24, the Olivet Prophecy, verse 21. Remember, Matthew 24 sets the framework for us to interpret all other prophecies. If you understand the sequence that Jesus Christ gives in Matthew 24, you will understand Isaiah and Jeremiah. You will understand Daniel and Revelation. You will understand the minor prophets if you fit it all into Matthew 24.

And Jesus said in Matthew 24, in verse 21, For then there will be great tribulations, such as not been from the beginning of the world until now. If you're a history buff, you know what a huge statement that is.

Because there have been some atrocities that are unimaginable that have happened on this earth.

No, nor ever will be, verse 22, and if those days had not been cut short, no human being or no flesh, as it says in the King James, would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, those days will be cut short. And that statement will be cut short is describing the day of the Lord.

Because that's how God cuts it short with the day of the Lord. And it gives us a hint as to the purpose of the day of the Lord. Christ says, unless those days are cut short, none of us are going to make it. Mankind boop off the face of the earth. He tells us something very important about the condition of the world at the end of the age. God isn't coming back to meddle, to interrupt something that's working well. He intervenes when the world has reached a point where, if events simply continue their natural course, our own existence is gone.

So the world is a mess. Countries don't get along with each other. There's violence and atrocities that show up at any given time around the world. Not just wars like the one the U.S. and Iran are in right now, but also random mall shootings, school shootings, street violence, kidnappings, child trafficking, domestic disputes, divorce, and other family conflicts. So much trouble in the world, and we don't like hearing that. You don't even like to hear a sermon about that. It's uncomfortable. That's the world we live in. That's where we're at.

Where people have left the Garden of Eden and we have all told God until we repent and come back to Him. But first we tell God, oh, we'll take it from here. We don't need you anymore. And one day that gets so out of hand that we near total destruction of all living things. Jesus says those days have to be cut short. And that changes how we should view the day of the Lord.

It's not the day that God says, I have had enough. He pulls out His belt, closes His eyes, and just starts swinging.

And that's sometimes the way we view the day of the Lord. And that's not it at all.

God's intervention certainly involves judgment, but His intervention also prevents something far worse. So how we view the day of the Lord and the Feast of Trumpets, which precedes atonement and tabernacles that wonderful time, is very important. The day of the Lord is not simply God deciding to destroy. It's not like God reaches some boiling point and says He's had enough. And that's not it at all. The day of the Lord is God stepping into a world that's already on a course to destruction. And we're going to read in just a moment who's responsible for the destruction. And it's not God. I'll just give you a spoiler. So how did we get to this point?

The Bible identifies the fundamental problem with human civilization in Jeremiah. It's not simply that mankind occasionally chooses a bad leader, and we go down the wrong path, and then we have to fix it and get right back on the path. That's not it. The problem goes so much deeper than that. Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 23. Jeremiah 10 and verse 23. Where does the blame lie?

Jeremiah 10 verse 23. I know, O Lord, the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps. Jeremiah isn't saying the human beings are incapable of making decisions. That's not it. That's not the point. I remember Herbert Armstrong used to say this all the time. Mankind has built civilizations, developed technology, created governments, made remarkable things like the printing press, the automobile, the airplanes, spaceships, computers, smartphones, Starbucks.

And so many more wonderful things.

But God did not create mankind with the ability to determine independently from him how we should live. But we chose to do that anyway. And please don't blame Adam and Eve. Read Romans chapter 6. If you're tempted to blame Adam and Eve, read Romans chapter 2, then read 6, 7, and 8. Paul puts the blame on himself and on me and on you.

And what we cannot do successfully is define what is right and wrong. Because we're always right, and the other person is always wrong. And we know what we want, and that's right.

And what they want, if it encroaches on what we want, is most definitely wrong.

And we always mess that up. We don't know the way to peace. And let's notice something really insightful that God inspired Isaiah to write about the day of the Lord that's so important. Isaiah chapter 2 is about the day of the Lord, that it's not some random God losing his temper, and then he gets it back under control. Notice what God is actually doing with the day of the Lord. Isaiah 2 verse 10. And the context here is the day of the Lord. Isaiah 2 verse 10. Enter into the rock and hide in the dust from before the terror of the Lord, and from the splendor of his majesty. The haughty looks of man shall be brought low.

What's the purpose of the day of the Lord? Well, it starts with knocking that proud look off of our face.

The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day. For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty. Against all that is lifted up, it shall be brought low.

Against all the cedars of Lebanon. There used to be cedar trees in Lebanon.

The Ottoman Empire wiped them out to make railroad. There used to be cedar trees that were the pride of Lebanon. They were the economic backbone of Lebanon, because a lot of things were made from cedar. Ships and houses. And you remember King David built this temple using the cedar of Lebanon. And Solomon built the, I forget what it was called, the house of the forest or something like that, his palace, which took like 13 years to build, cedars of Lebanon. Okay, this is the pride of Lebanon. Against the cedars of Lebanon, lofty and lifted up. Apparently they were beautiful. We can't see them anymore. And against all the oaks of Bashan. Against the lofty mountains, against all that had lifted up. Against the high tower. That's their military pride.

Oh, look at our military. Russia says, look at our military, and they attack Ukraine.

China says, look at our military. The United States says, look at our military. I remember in the history books when Teddy Roosevelt, President of the United States, we had just built metal ships instead of the wooden ships. They were powered by steam. And they were painted white.

And he sent those ships around the world. He sailed them around the world to say, hey, we are a power to be reckoned with. Don't mess with the United States of America.

And God says, you know, that's not the attitude I'm going for.

Against the lofty mountains, the lifted up hills. Against every high tower. Oh, not our high towers, only their high towers. No, every high tower. Against every fortified wall.

It's not the way of peace. Against all the ships of Tarshish. That is both military and commerce. So it's wealth also. Against all the beautiful craft. Everything you could make and want and desire.

That mankind is not self-sufficient. We didn't create ourselves, and we can't sustain ourselves.

So remember, we read in Matthew 24, Jesus said those days have to be cut short, or human life would not survive.

Let's look at a companion scripture that I think goes so perfectly hand in hand with what we read in Matthew 24. And it's in Revelation. Also the words of Jesus Christ, by the way. Revelation chapter 11 verse 18. This is going to be our key scripture today. Revelation chapter 11 verse 18 is our key scripture for the day. And this is leading into what I want to talk about on the Feast of Trumpets. Revelation 11 verse 18. The nations raged, but your wrath came. And the time for the dead to be judged, and for the rewarding of your servants, the prophets and the saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great. And he gives another purpose for the destroying of the destroyers of the earth. And that's the key phrase. That is probably the most important phrase to understand the day of the Lord.

God isn't destroying the earth. He's destroying the things that are destroying the earth.

What does it mean when you destroy the thing that destroys? It means you save. The day of the Lord, even though it's really scary, like no kid likes to be punished by their parents, and we cry, and we sob, and we shake, we probably take a nap. And then life is so much better.

So we often read prophecies about God's wrath and concentrate on how destructive. It's very intimidating to learn about the day of the Lord, and I've taught about it many, many times.

But Revelation gives us another perspective. Who is destroying the earth? We are. What's God doing in the day of the Lord? He's intervening, and He's grabbing our hand before we run into the street after that ball.

Before we're completely wiped out, God says, now I have your attention.

So Matthew 24, which was the very first passage we read, said, if God doesn't intervene, all human life will not survive. And now we just read in Revelation chapter 11 and verse 18, where God says He's destroying those who destroy the earth. And that fits so perfectly together because it tells us, and it answers the question, what is the purpose of God's judgment? God's judgment, all the wrath and the bowls and the trumpets, stop destruction. Therefore, God's judgment brings salvation and restoration and peace. Isn't that just like a loving father to do something like that?

Oh, we would never have thought to do that.

We would just keep it going and compromise and try to make it fit and try to make it work until the point where we just completely destroy ourselves. And God says, nope, don't you run in that street. That's, that'll kill you.

Now, that doesn't make judgment pleasant. I'm not minimizing the suffering involved in the day of the Lord. There are bowls and plagues and trumpets and bad things happen.

Not a time you want to be witnessing. But this tells us why God is so fierce and so decisive and brings it to such a quick end. If you were to permit the present world system to continue, that wouldn't be mercy. That would be indifference and possibly hatred. Which raises another question.

Does God want mankind to reach that point? No.

He told us not to touch the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He said, don't do it.

So why did He let us do it? Why did He let us do it?

Because He knew, He knew, we had to prove it to ourselves like our Gen Zers say, God was bringing the receipts. He was proving to us that only His way works. God doesn't take pleasure in our suffering, but He does take pleasure in our learning to become like Him and live forever with Him.

Ecclesiastes chapter—not Ecclesiastes, Ezekiel. Ezekiel 33 verse 11. Ezekiel 33 verse 11. Say to them, as I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from His way and live.

So many people don't believe in God because there's so much suffering in the world.

How can a loving God, they ask, allow such mass suffering on such a global scale?

The answer is really simple. God allows it because we chose it.

We left the garden and said, leave us alone. I'll figure it out for myself.

And God, let us do just that so that we have the receipts.

Before we completely destroy ourselves, God will intervene and save us and show a better way. And Joel chapter 2 adds something that's kind of neat. Joel chapter 2 verses 12 and 13. Joel chapter 2 starting in verse 12. I hear pages turn, so I'll give you a second.

Joel writes this. Joel 2 verse 12. Yet even now, declares the Lord, return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and mourning, and rend your hearts, not your garments.

There was a tradition in the ancient world when something bad happened, like the loss of a loved one, if a loved one died, you would rip your garment. And you might think, well, that's no big deal.

I mean, that's an outward expression of pain. I get it. But that's no big deal.

Because they didn't have factories and sewing machines back then. Garments were hard to come by. They didn't just go every year and buy a new suit. I mean, garments were expensive.

We're talking in today's terms thousands of dollars.

So if you didn't know how to make them, and you had to buy them, it was expensive.

And that was your way of expressing the importance of a loved one when they passed.

You would rip that expensive garment.

God says, don't do that, even though that's a huge thing to do. Do something even bigger.

Rend your heart. Change your mind, in other words. Turn back to me.

Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and he relents over disaster.

Okay, we know that about God. Why read that? Do you know the context of Joel chapter 2?

Is the day of the Lord?

Joel chapter 2 is about the time when God says, that is enough. I'm putting an end to the destruction of the earth. I'm putting an end to the wars, and the murder, and the kidnapping, and all the things that happen, and I'm going to do it with such mighty power, but if you repent, I will stop. In the middle of the warning of Joel chapter 2, which describes the day of the Lord, which I have read to you on feasts of trumpet's past, God says, return to me with all your heart, because I'm gracious and merciful and slow to anger.

You see, God isn't losing it in the day of the Lord. He hasn't lost his temper. He hasn't lost control.

He's just Dad keeping us from running into the street. He knows exactly when to intervene, and he does so in a brilliant way that gets our attention, that brings the pride down, but stops us from killing ourselves.

It tells us something important about God's attitude. During the judgment, during the bowls, and the trumpets, and the plagues, he's not out for vengeance. He takes no pleasure in carnage. He's perfectly in control of his emotions as it's going on.

We, on the other hand, will not be. We will be, you know, if those of you who are alive during that time—I'm not saying I will be alive during that time—but those who will be alive during that time, you know, we're going to mess our shorts. That's what's going to happen with us.

We're going to be out of control. God, perfectly in control, perfectly okay. We can still rely on him. He's faithful, and merciful, and kind, and waiting for us to come back to him, even during time of judgment.

That's the kind of God we worship. That's pretty awesome to me.

God is still calling people to repentance during the day of the Lord.

He hasn't stopped being merciful.

He's just, I mean, he can't allow us to go on indefinitely, or it's lights out.

So that means that his judgment—look at the day of the Lord differently if you've always looked at it as just punishment. It's not. It is. It is punishment. But it's not just punishment.

It's also mercy. Because think about it this way. If God didn't do that, that would be hatred. That would be indifference. If he just said, I'm done with you, he wouldn't intervene at all. We would be just gone. Maybe he would remake the earth again, but he's not done with us. We are the apple of his eye, and the devil is the one who's idle—that's his eye. And the day of the Lord shows that we are precious mankind—when I say we—I mean all of mankind—is precious to him.

At some point—and this sounds counter-intuitive—but at some point, mercy towards mankind requires our destructive ways to stop with force.

God would much rather us repent, but if mankind will not change course, God will change our corpse for us. And that brings us to another part of the purpose of the Day of the Lord. It's not only bringing destruction to an end. He's also going to replace it. Let's go back to Isaiah 2. Now, you remember in Isaiah 2, the prouder brought low. The cedars of Lebanon are brought down.

The hills are brought down. All the high towers, all the fortified walls. Everything's brought down. It's the Day of the Lord. But in Isaiah 2, it also tells what God intends to put in the place of human pride. Isaiah 2, I think we started in verse 10. Let's start in verse 2.

Let's go back up to verse 2. Isaiah 2, verse 2, it shall come to pass in the latter days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established on the highest mountains. Now, a mountain represents a kingdom. I don't have time to show you that. I can do that in another sermon sometime. And shall be lifted up above the hills and all nations shall flow to it. Nations are the point. Peoples, about people, not geography. Verse 3, And many people shall come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob.

There He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. We read this at the face of tabernacles. And you may not realize the context of this is the end result of the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord stops destruction, but it brings God's ways to the earth also. For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem, verse 4, He shall judge between nations, and He shall decide disputes for many peoples. There's not going to be war anymore. We're not going to dispute. Israel is not going to worry that Iran is going to nuke them.

And Iran is not going to worry that Israel is going to come bomb them in the middle of the night. That comes to a stop. And He shall decide disputes for many peoples, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. After the Day of the Lord, the nations will come to God, and they will want to learn His ways, because that smug look will be removed from all of our faces.

And the result is that warfare will come to an end. That's quite a contrast. And that's in the same chapter as bringing all the people low, and all the high towers will rot down, and the fortified walls will be brought down. Earlier we read, when man is exalted, God brings pride down, and here God is exalted, and mankind doesn't try to bring Him down. Mankind comes to Him and learns His ways. The Day of the Lord cannot and must not be understood as just the destruction at the end of the book of Revelation and in Joel chapter 2 and in Isaiah.

You only have a fragment of the Day of the Lord, if that's what you understand. And this is what the old timers used to teach. You might remember it. I remember my father teaching this. What's the purpose of the Day of the Lord? And he's the one that gave the analogy to me about the father disciplining the son. And you know what? He used to discipline me. Oof! He used to discipline me. And I love him for that now. Absolutely love the fact that he stopped me from doing so many stupid things that I would have done otherwise.

We're still in Isaiah. Let's go to chapter 11. So we're in chapter 2. Let's pop over to chapter 11 verse 9. We also hear this at the feast. And this is another result of the Day of the Lord. Isaiah 11 verse 9. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. I love that statement. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. It's one of my favorite passages.

Because that's what we do to each other constantly.

Tammy and I were driving up to Austin today on I-35. I-35 is a great little microscopic look at mankind. And we were driving and we were coming into the just south of downtown Austin where it gets really crowded, really bottlenecks there. And so it could be early in the morning. It's still a bottleneck south side of Austin's downtown. And I was in the middle lane and I needed to be in the right lane so that I could exit 35 to get on the highway I needed to go to church. And there was a gap. A huge gap. Big enough for two of my suburban's to fit into. Three of my suburban's could fit into the gap. And so I hit my signal. I'm gonna go in that gap. And the guy that was back there saw my signal and sped up, closing the gap. So what did I do? Well, in the great Christian manner.

Of course I stayed in the middle lane. No, I did not. I was bigger than him. So I moved over. Said, mine!

And then I read Isaiah 11 verse 9. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain. I love that passage. You know, I need it over. He should have let me over. He may have been in a hurry. I should have let him go. I should have listened to the sermonette. But I hadn't heard it yet. No, I'm just kidding.

I knew that parable. So how does the destruction stop? It's not just God coming and throwing some plagues around. And I don't want to be overly repetitive. I just want to make sure we drive home the point. What's the day of the Lord about? It's about God loving you and me and everybody.

The key phrase in Isaiah chapter 11 verse 9 is, the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord. That is the goal and the purpose of God's judgment. The earth will eventually be filled with the knowledge of God. So now the entire argument comes together. What is the day of the Lord supposed to accomplish? Why have we seen God's intervention is absolutely necessary?

Mankind's way reaches its inevitable conclusion, which is the destruction of everything around us. God intervenes before that destruction becomes complete, and then he begins teaching mankind another way. And there's one more element to add to the day of the Lord, and that is somebody's got to be in charge. Enter Jesus Christ. Zechariah 14 in verse 9. Zechariah 14 in verse 9, And the Lord will be king over all the earth, and on that day the Lord will be one, and his name one.

That's where the day of the Lord is going.

The severe prophetic events that are listed in the Bible are not some kind of a destination or in-game. It's not an action movie. It's about God bringing peace to the earth. So let's review. Mankind cannot successfully direct civilization apart from God, but we try anyway.

God allows us to go our own way to teach us where it leads, and that way eventually threatens our survival, so God intervenes and stops the destruction. He stops the child from running in the street to grab the ball. Then God establishes his authority and begins teaching the nations another way, and that's the purpose of God's judgment on the earth.

So let's go back to Revelation 11. We read verse 18 a little bit earlier, but I want to introduce the next sermon on the Feast of Trumpets, and then we'll wrap it up.

So God acts against those who are destroying the earth, but something important happens immediately before that statement in verse 18, which was our key scripture today. So let's go to Revelation 11 and read verse 15. Revelation 11 verse 15. Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, The kingdom of this world have become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever. The day of the Lord is severe, yes, because the problem that God is dealing with is severe.

Mankind's way will eventually reach a point where it just can't continue, and God will bring human pride down, stop us from killing ourselves, and he doesn't quit there. He prepares us to learn another way under a better government. And when is that specific moment? Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and that's where we'll pick it up on the Feast of Trumpets.

What happens at the seventh trumpet? Why does Revelation say that that moment, that the kingdom of the world will become the kingdom of God and Christ?

That's the next part of the story, and we'll pick that up on the Feast of Trumpets.