HEAVEN STANDING OPEN


IV. THE DAY OF THE LORD


I. SIX DAYS OF LABOR, THE SEVENTH DAY OF REST, Gen 2:1-3; Ex 20:8-11; Heb 4:3-4.

    "For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: 'So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest,' although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.  For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: 'And God rested on the seventh day from all His works," Heb 4:3-4.

A. GOD WORKED SIX DAYS AND RESTED THE SEVENTH DAY, Gen 1:3-31; 2:1-3; Ex 20:8-11; Heb 4:3-4 (1-11).

      God worked six day in reconstructing the earth and rested the seventh day, Gen 1:2-32; 2:1-3. It was not necessary for God to take six days (24 hours each) to do the work He did in those six days, for He could have done it in less than one second. He did not need to rest the seventh day, for He never tires. His power (strength, energy) is infinite and forever constant. It does not fluctuate or oscillate as ours does.

B. ONE DAY AS A THOUSAND YEARS, Ps 90:4; II Pet 3:8

      The far reaching application of these initial seven days (24 hour days) is that each day represent one thousand years, II Pet 3:8. One day with the Lord is as yesterday (Ps 90:4); however, in II Pet 3:8 and context the "one day" refers to one thousand years. As we study the many Bible references the strength of this fact grows beyond question.

C. LAST DAYS AND LAST DAY, THE DAY OF THE LORD, Acts 2:17-20; II Pet 3:3-10.

      "Last days" and "last day." This first age or cycle of man's history is seven thousand years long; the last three thousand years of which are called "last days," while the last one thousand years is called "the last day," Acts 2:17-20; II Pet 3:3-10. This "last day" is referred to extensively from Isaiah through Revelation as "the day of the Lord," "the day of Christ," "the last day," and "in that day," and it refers to the one thousand years Christ will reign over the earth, or to the first part of that period.

D. THE DAY OF THE LORD in I Thess 4:13-18; 5:1-9.

      Both of these passages are one continuous discussion on the return of Christ; they cannot be divided into two separate passages applicable to two different periods of time.

  1. The return of Christ FOR His saints, I Thess 4:13-18. The "thief" coming of the Lord has in the past been called a "secret" coming of Christ, but it will NOT be a "secret" coming. The Lord or the day of the Lord will come "AS" a "thief" only in that it will be sudden and unexpected to the world and most pseudo christians.

  2. Just as the flood in Noah's day and the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in Lot's day were sudden and unexpected but were observed by all (Mt 24:36-51; Lk 17:26-36), so it will be when the day of the Lord comes suddenly and unexpectedly as a "thief," but when that day comes all will know it.

    The day of the Lord will come suddenly, unexpectedly, but every eye in the universe will see the heavens rolled back and a great real-life drama of formal and official kingdom activities before the throne of God. These activities include the inaugural ceremonies of Christ being crowned and receiving the kingdom of the covenants, the often recurring festive acclaim and worship of the heavenly hosts of innumerable angels, God's own inaugural address in which He chides the nations and has them in derision for their sins and unbelief.

    These heaven standing open activities further include Christ coming for His bride, the judgment seat of Christ, Christ presenting the chosen, covenant people before the Father in gorgeous, dazzling, bridal adornment, Christ then coming with His saints and angels to punish the inhabitants of the earth, and the saints and angels ascending and descending between the throne of Christ in Jerusalem and the throne of God in heaven.

  3. The day of the Lord, I Thess 5:1-9. The day of the Lord is the thousand years Christ will reign over the earth, the Millennium. That "day," the day of the Lord, will come unexpectedly upon the world, but those who belong to the "day" will be ready. That "day" will not overtake us as a "thief," I Thess 5:4-9.

  4. When they shall say, "Peace and safety," I Thess 5:3. The Antichrist will have consolidated the whole earth under his rule as the supreme god of this world. All the earth will be crying "Peace and safety," except a comparatively few church saints and Jews who will be preserved by the grace of God.

  5. Then sudden destruction comes upon them, I Thess 5:3. This is when the heavens are rolled back and the throne of God is revealed from heaven, Rev 6:12-17; Dan 7:9-10. This begins the wrath of God, but observe from I Thess 4:13-18 that it is precisely the same time as Christ's coming FOR his saints; in fact, an analysis of related passages will show that the rolling back of the heavens is slightly prior to the coming of Christ. This "sudden destruction," or period of God's wrath is when the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our God and His Christ, Rev 11:15-19; Dan 7:9-12,13,18,22,26-27.

  6. God has not appointed us to wrath, I Thess 5:3-9. Those who belong to "the day," the covenant people, are explicitly NOT appointed to wrath, I Thess 5:9. The faithful covenant people will be "taken" intimately alongside the Lord, while the unfaithful saved and the lost will be "left" to endure God's wrath, Mt 24:36-51; 25:1-30; Mk 9:42-50; Lk 12:35-48; 17:26-37; John 15:6; Heb 10:26-31.
E. THE DAY OF THE LORD in II Thess 1:7-10; 2:1-8.

  1. "In that day," II Thess 1:10. The words, "in that day," refer to the day of the Lord or the day of Christ as in II Thess 2:2.

  2. The day of the Lord, II Thess 2:2. The day of Christ in other transcripts is the day of the Lord. Both days are the same day, both are the time of the resurrection, rapture, and rewarding of the saints.

  3. The coming (parousia) of Christ and our gathering together to Him, II Thess 2:1. We must not overlook the fact that this is the resurrection and rapture of the saints. Here Christ comes in the air FOR His saints, and after the judgment seat of Christ in the same heaven standing open scene, He will later come all the way to the earth WITH His saints.

  4. FIRST, the Antichrist is revealed and pours out his wrath for 42 months, II Thess 2:1-3 (1-8). God was well aware that certain ones would come along and try to create a secret coming of Christ before the wrath of the Antichrist, so the Holy Spirit moved Jesus to especially emphasize (in Mt 24:23-29, for instance) that Christ would NOT come until AFTER the wrath of the Antichrist.

  5. Christ will destroy the Antichrist with the brightness of His coming (parousia), II Thess 2:8. One may get the idea that Christ destroys the Antichrist immediately when He comes. That is not at all the case. God will wear out the Antichrist and his kingdom through the saints and angels for 44 1/2 months, Dan 7:18,22,26-27; 12:12; Mt 18:34-35; Rev 6:9-11,12-17; 16:1-21.
F. DAY OF THE LORD BRINGS PEACE TO SAINTS, BUT WRATH TO WICKED.

  1. Peace to the saints. The day of the Lord will bring the resurrection, rapture, and rewarding of the saints, I Cor 1:7-8; Phil 1:6,10; 2:16; I Thess 4:13--5:9.

  2. Wrath to the wicked. The day of the Lord will bring 1335 days of bitter wrath upon the wicked, I Thess 5:1-3; II Thess 1:7-9; Mt 24:36-51; Rev 16:1-21; Dan 12:12.
G. IN THE LAST DAY

The resurrection, rapture, and rewarding of the saints are explicitly stated to be in the LAST DAY, which is the day of the Lord, John 6:39,40,44,54; 11:24; 12:48. God predestined the first cycle of man's existence to be seven thousand years long or seven days of one thousand years each, seven millenniums. The last three millenniums are called the "last days" (Acts 2:17-20; II Pet 3:3-10), while the seventh millennium is called the "last day" as we have already seen.