According to the Scriptures"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel... By which also ye are saved... unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

The Coming of the Lord Draweth Nigh

The Word of the Lord is amazing, giving us so many insights of “things to come” (John 16:3), and "to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass" (Revelation 1:1). In the prophet Joel, his primary theme is “the Day of the Lord”. He says there will be “pillars of smoke” and “the sun shall be turned into darkness”. Today we are getting many previews of what the Day of the Lord shall be like. It is interesting that the Hebrew word for “pillars” (Joel 2:30) is Tiymarah. Strong's gives “Tiymarah” the following definition: “1) pillar, column;  1a) palm-like spreading at top”. Strong's says “Tiymarah” comes from a similar Hebrew word “tamar” which is translated “palm tree”.

“And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars  (Heb. Tiymarah) of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.” (Joel 2:30-31) There seems to be alot of talk about "blood moons" these days, which for the most part is a bunch of nonsence, but today we would like to address the "pillars of smoke" and the sun turning to darkness.

In the book of the Revelation, the Day of the Lord begins in chapter six and we read, “there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair… And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together” (Revelation 6:12, 14). This again is fascinating. We are told, “the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together”. Now when you unroll an ancient scroll upon a table, the table is covered. Maybe we could say the table departs. Now when we roll the scroll together, the table once again appears. But in the Revelation we are told quite the opposite. Let's say the table is the “heaven”. When we open the up the scroll, the heaven departs right? When we roll the scroll together again, the heaven reappears. Well, the Revelation says, “the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together”. Quite the opposite right? Do not forget, that the prophets described, in the best terms they had available to them, what they saw.

So let's look at these two prophecies together. Both John and Joel are speaking of the Day of the Lord. They say the sun shall be turned to darkness. Joel says there will be “pillars of smoke”. They will be like a palm tree. John says, "there was a great earthquake", and amidst this seismic activity, the sun will become black and the heaven will depart as a scroll, when it is rolled together. Now, have you noticed some of the volcanic eruptions these days? What do you see? Pillars of smoke like a palm tree causing the heaven to depart like a scroll when it is rolled together. The outside edge of the palm tree, or, we might say mushroom cloud, has the appearance of rolling together or turning inward, but it is actually expanding outward covering the sky.

If you saw this and wanted to give a detailed description of a volcanic erruption, I think that is exactly how the prophets would have described it. Pillars of smoke that look like a palm tree, or perhaps a mushroom, that has the appearance of a scroll when it is rolled together, but is actually expanding to cover the sky, causing the heavens to depart.

Well watch this video and tell me what you think:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx8ihh2oHZY

OK, now compound that by thousands, and that is what the prophets have described what is coming on the day of the Lord. The “Day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;  A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains… there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.” (Joel 2:1-2) Or like the prophet Jeremiah said, “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it” (Jeremiah 30:7), or like the prophet Daniel, “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time” (Daniel 12:1). Or like Jesus said, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24:21)

And just when it appears that no flesh shall be saved (Matthew 24:22), John said, “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war… and his name is called The Word of God… [the] KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:11-16) The prophet Zephaniah said, “The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness” (Zephaniah 1:14-15). The heaven that was blotted out with pillars of smoke and thick darkness is now opened and Jesus returns (Acts 1:9-12) to save the remnant of the Jews (Zechariah 13:8-9) from the wrath of Satan (Revelation 12:12-15, 16-17), and to destroy the nations who have embarked upon Jerusalem to destroy her (Zechariah 12:2-3, 9-10; 14:1-4, 9), and shall take His place as King over all the earth, ruling from Jerusalem upon the throne of David (Isaiah 9:6-7).

ARE YOU READY?

Praying you and all yours know Him whose coming is in the clouds, “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,  And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.  Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.” (Revelation 1:5-7)

A brother in the Lord wrote concerning these things,

“Amazing. . . and terrifying at the same time, particularly if one is too close when this monstrous nuclear event unleashes its fury without warning. There are a number of volcanoes currently active https://www.volcanodiscovery.com/erupting_volcanoes.html But to imagine hundreds or thousands popping off at the same time is unthinkable. There was no summer on the prairies the year that Mt. St. Helens went off and proved to the world that it doesn't take thousands of years to make coal or petrified wood. All evidence that God's Word is true, yet the world sleeps and slumbers with “millions of years” brainwashed deep into their brains, believing the lie they have millions more years, and “you only live once,” feeling free to enjoy a “season of sin” rather than consider that judgment is coming to each and every one of us.

ALL of the birth pangs declared in Matthew 24 are around us now, and most importantly Israel (the objective of the parable of the fig tree) is back in the land exactly as prophesied (Isaiah 66:7-9).

Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: 33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. 34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. 35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. 36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. 38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, 39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.                               ---Matthew 24:32-39

God is longsuffering that none should perish, so He is giving plenty of warning. Birth pangs increase in intensity and frequency as birth nears, so too are we seeing it in seismic, political, ethnic, national, economic, pestilence and spiritual contexts, literally everywhere we look. It would behoove us to consider seriously the words of the Apostle Peter in this late hour:

This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: 2 That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: 3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: 7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. 11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, 12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless. 15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; 16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. 17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.                               ---2 Peter 3

Well, Amen to that. So many reject God because of the evil in the earth, that He appears to be doing nothing to arrest it. Or else they reject Him because of the soon coming prophesied judgment of the earth, and complain, if He is the God of love, how could He do such a thing. They cannot have it both ways. God is love (1 John 4:16), and He demonstrated “His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Even though we were enemies of God by wicked works, He was not willing that any should perish, but that we should repent, that is, change our minds about our sin, and about ourselves and about the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe the Gospel, that Christ died for our sins and rose again from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) satisfying God's holy justice (Isaiah 53:10-11), and through faith in Him (Ephesians 1:6-7, 12-14; 2:8-9), set free from the damning judgment upon all who have broken His Holy Laws (Galatians 3:10-13, 14).

Peter understood why God is not judging the world today, because most of humanity would end up in Hell. Peter said, “account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation”. Perhaps the Day of the Lord is not yet come because there is yet one more soul to say that wonderful yes to Jesus Christ. But it is inevitable that one day, the day of grace shall come to an end, when His omnipotent eye sees into the hearts of men, knowing that none more will turn, apart from the day of wrath poured out on a wicked world. But there is no guarantee that hearts so hardened by that time will repent. Best say yes today, before that day comes upon the world unawares.

“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.” (Romans 5:8-9-10)

A wonderful transaction took place on Calvary 2000 years ago. Christ took our sins upon Himself and bore the punishment thereof, and when we trust Christ, He imputes to us His perfect sinless life whereby we are saved. So when God looks upon me, He does not see my wretched world of iniquity, He sees His beloved Son, so that it can be fulfilled what John said, “Beloved, now are we the sons of God” (1 John 3:1-3). What a gift, freely by His grace (Romans 6:23). No complicated rituals, no reformation of ourselves, no turning over a new leaf, no resolutions, no penance, no good works, just simply “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved”. (Acts 16:30-31)

By GNC
Last Update: 2/1/2020

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