Listeners are invited to explore the intricate details of prophecy, including the Rapture, the Great Tribulation, and the millennium kingdom that lays ahead. As we traverse these prophecies, we witness God’s unerring timeline unfold, offering comfort and hope for those awaiting His return. Join us for this deep dive into biblical teachings that urge us to view the present through the lens of God’s ultimate plan for humanity’s future.
The foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith.
SPEAKER 01 :
What’s the one event the entire Bible talks about, looks forward to, and yet it still hasn’t happened? Any idea what it might be? Welcome to the Sunday Sermon on Through the Bible. In this message, our teacher, Dr. J. Vernon McGee, unpacks the final word of the Old Testament. a word that comes with both a warning and a promise. Though the sun had set on the nation of Israel and darkness had fallen, the prophet spoke of a new day on the horizon. It’s called the day of the Lord, and it’ll be ushered in by the son of righteousness. Dr. McGee also takes us to the close of the New Testament. where we see that even after 2,000 years, the day is still coming. He lays it all out in his sermon, Darkness and Light, the Day of the Lord. Before we begin, though, let me share a letter from a fellow listener who asks for prayer. She writes, In John 16, 33, our Lord said, Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. I try to hold on to that, but lately I’ve felt sad, lonely, and even angry. My son, though raised as a Christian, is now an atheist and in a relationship with someone who mocks our faith. I’m writing to ask for prayer, not just for him, but for me. I need help standing strong against the enemy. I know I should be better at this by now, but I’m struggling. Please pray that I grow and that God brings my only son back to him. Well, as we pray for this listener, let’s lift up the many others like her who are asking God to bring their loved ones home. And don’t forget, these are real people with real heartaches, and your prayers make a difference. That’s important to remember. So pray with us now and pray every day for our fellow listeners by joining the World Prayer Team. It’s super easy. Just go to ttb.org forward slash pray. And now let’s give this time to the Lord. Father, thank you for your eternal and unchanging word that transforms us. As we open it together, Lord, we ask that your spirit would guide us into truth. Prepare our hearts to receive the message of hope and warning and promise that’s found in the day of the Lord. And then, Father, we especially lift up those who are burdened for loved ones, who have wandered from the faith. Draw them back to yourself by your grace and mercy. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Here’s a Sunday sermon on Through the Bible with Dr. J. Vernon McGee.
SPEAKER 03 :
Five times the expression, the day of the Lord occurred. In the book of Joel, the prophecy that follows Hosea, a very brief prophecy, by the way, of only three chapters. Five times the expression, the day of the Lord occurred. All other prophets make reference to it. Some make reference to it in different terminology, but they’re all referring to the same thing. It was the high hope and the far-off goal of the Old Testament. It was that toward which the entire Old Testament program was moving. Everything in time and creation looked forward and moved toward it. The Old Testament closes with it being realized, and up to the night it has not come. The Old Testament went down almost with a sundown. It closes by saying the sun of righteousness will arise with healing in his wings. It is actually sundown, but You do not find even when you come to the New Testament that you come to the time of the day of the Lord. Because when you turn to 1 Thessalonians, why, you will find that this day of the Lord was still in the future. For Paul, when he wrote the first epistle, he says, But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you, for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord… so cometh as a thief in the night. So when Paul wrote that, it was still in the future. And after 1900 years, the day of the Lord is still future. Now, it became such a familiar phrase in the Old Testament. It was such an understandable subject of the Old Testament that by the time that you get to Zechariah, one of the very last books, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi, the last three books, written in the Old Testament. When you get there, you will find that Zechariah could use the term, in that day. And when he used that term, in that day, it was understood that he meant the day of the Lord. He uses it, for instance, 17 times in the last three chapters of his prophecy. And right in the middle of that section, in Zechariah 14, he says, Behold the day of the Lord cometh. And then he begins to speak of it in that day, in that day, and speaks of the things that are going to happen. Other prophets use the term the day or the great day. And you will find that this expression occurs 75 times in the Old Testament. It’s the great theme of the Old Testament. Now, when you get to the New Testament, you will find that it does not drop the subject at all. It doesn’t ignore it or change the subject. And you’ll find that both Paul and Thessalonians, in fact, both of the epistles to the Thessalonians and Peter read it. Now, Paul and Simon Peter might have disagreed at Antioch about whether you’d eat meat or not. But there’s one thing for sure. They might disagree on minor points, but they did not disagree on this all-important subject, that the day of the Lord was still in the program of God, and it was a very part of the program of God. And our message tonight is along that line. I believe tonight if you can understand what the day of the Lord is and get the picture that is set before us in the word of God, I believe that you will become or are well on the way to becoming a student of prophecy. You become an authority in the field of eschatology. Now, the question arises, is it possible to identify this period that’s known as the day of the Lord? Can we define it? Is it possible to set boundaries to the day of the Lord? Can we understand what this term means as far as the word of God is concerned? Can we place it in the parenthesis of times? Can we fit it into the program of God? Well, it has very definite reference to the return of Christ to the earth to establish his kingdom. That’s made very clear when you turn to the prophecy, and I’ve already referred to the prophecy of Zechariah. And I’d like to turn there now and read, beginning at verse 1 of chapter 14, This last chapter of Zechariah. Will you listen now to this language here very carefully? Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee. For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished, and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.” Then shall the Lord go forth and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle. And his feet shall stand in that day upon the Mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east. and the Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley, and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. Now here is a very remarkable prophecy. Here is a prophecy that says, Behold, day of the Lord cometh. And it says in this day, included in this day, the Lord is coming and he’s coming to the earth because it says specifically his feet shall touch the Mount of Olives. So what we have before us here now is this much. We know that the second coming of Christ to the earth to establish his kingdom is in the day of the Lord. That’s part of it. It’s so important that actually a great many very fine expositors begin the day of the Lord with the second coming of Christ to the earth at the end of the great tribulation period. The Scofield Bible presents that viewpoint. The greatest teacher I ever sat in under, Dr. Lewis Perry Chafer, taught that. But you will find out tonight that I will make just a small change in that. I think it begins before that, and I trust I’ll be able to sustain that thesis this evening. Now, therefore, the day of the Lord is associated with the kingdom, the millennial kingdom that is to be established on this earth. And the kingdom is an equally great theme of the Old Testament as the day of the Lord is. Now, it therefore includes the kingdom. I think the day of the Lord is the all-inclusive term, while the kingdom is the smaller term. Now, will you notice in verse 9 of this same chapter, and the Lord shall be king over the earth in that day. You see, Zechariah no longer doesn’t need to. He’s already identified it as the day of the Lord. So now he says, “…in that day. And the Lord shall be king over all the earth in that day, and there shall be one Lord, and his name one. All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba.” to Rimon, south of Jerusalem, and so on. And you have details actually given there, measurements of where they will begin to measure the land in that day. Jerusalem to become the very center. Our Lord called it the city of the great king. And the Lord shall be king in that day in Jerusalem. so that we find that it has in it the second coming of Christ to establish his kingdom, and his kingdom is in that day also. So now we know that the day of the Lord, it includes the second coming of Christ to establish his kingdom, and it also includes the kingdom. Now, I think that probably we need to see that the New Testament confirms that when you turn to 2 Peter. The third chapter, you will find that he confirms it in verse 10. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night in 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. Now, the day of the Lord includes the millennial kingdom up to the new heavens and the new earth. It extends, therefore, to the new heavens, the very beginning of eternity. Now, I’m prepared now to put down my first parenthesis. When we were studying in the book of Daniel, we found out that Daniel said that there were 70 weeks we saw that that was 490 years pertaining to the nation Israel. It was broken down into three different periods. First seven weeks of 49 years from the 20th year of Artaxerxes, when he gave the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, The city would be finished. The Old Testament concluded. And that brings you from 445, for you can date that, up to 397 B.C. Actually, this was literally fulfilled. Then the second period was 62 more weeks, or 430 years from there until the time that Messiah came. And we found out that up to the very day that he marched into Jerusalem in the triumphal entry was the exact fulfillment of this according to the lunar calendar which the nation Israel followed. Right up to the very minute. Sir Robert Anderson, a very fine Bible expositor in the coming print, He was also head of Scotland Yard in Great Britain, a man who was very clever, very astute, and a very brilliant man. He worked this out to the very fine point. Now, after Messiah was presented, there would be a period of 69 weeks, or actually 483 years until Messiah came. Then he said that after this period and before the 70th week began, the last week, Messiah would be cut off. That was the crucifixion of Christ. He also said Jerusalem would be destroyed by the prince that would come later on, that is, by his people. And the Romans under Titus destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D., So in this period here, and Daniel had nothing to say about the church was necessary. He was saying that there was 70 weeks or 490 years that pertained to Daniel’s people. That’s the nation Israel. Now there is a 70th week or seven years yet to run. That has not yet taken place at all. Now when you come to the New Testament, you’ll find that something has been added that the church is brought before us, and we find out that after Messiah was cut off, he rose from the dead, ascended back to heaven. He sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and there took place something new, the calling out, a body of people called the church. And that’s been going on for 1900 years. Now the next thing on God’s program, we call it the imminent coming of Christ for his church. We found out in 1 Thessalonians that Paul said even to the Thessalonians who were weeping for their loved ones who had died. He says, I want you to sorrow not even as those that have no hope. You have a hope. For the Lord himself is going to descend from heaven with the shout, the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. The dead in Christ will rise first. And those of us which are alive, we’re to be caught up and we’ll meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. We go with him then immediately to heaven. And there takes place the judgment seat of Christ for believers to see whether they receive a reward or not. But you see, things will go on on the earth. During that period, the great tribulation takes place. And that is the 70th week of Daniels. It’s the seven years yet to run. It pertains to the nation Israel. And it will be concluded by the return of Christ to the earth. As Zechariah said, his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives. Now you can understand today that when he calls his own out of the earth in the air, his feet won’t touch the Mount of Olives. And I’m not being irreverent or am I being facetious when I say that if he meets the church in the air and his feet touch the Mount of Olives, he’s long felled. But I say to you tonight that this is not something preposterous or ridiculous. When he takes his church out, we call that the rapture of the church. Then there takes place the great tribulation here on earth. And at the end of the great tribulation period, he returns to this earth. For the earth will then be under a world dictator. No one can break his rule on this earth except the second coming of Christ. He comes in judgment to establish his kingdom, and that kingdom will last for 1,000 years. His coming to the earth is the revelation. Now, we saw that the rapture is the great theme of 1 Thessalonians, while the revelation is coming to the earth is here in 2 Thessalonians. And the interesting thing is, all of this is called there the day of the Lord. Now we have something else to look at here for just a moment, and I think this is very important for us to see. And we can, I think, put down now our pegs and say that the day of the Lord does not begin with the return of Christ to the earth as his revelation, But it begins here when he takes his church out of the world because of the fact that we’re told very definitely that the day of the Lord comes without warning at all. Did you notice when I turned to 1 Thessalonians a moment ago that the language there was that the day of the Lord comes as a thief? A thief never sends you an engraved invitation. that he’s going to visit you on a certain night, does he? He always comes, and he comes without invitation. He comes without welcome at all. It comes suddenly. Paul again, let me read it. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. Therefore, there are signs that are given in this period that will indicate the coming of Christ to the earth. There are no signs for the rapture of the church. So that when the church is taken out of the world, if you please, that is the time, the beginning of the great tribulation, that the day of the Lord begins. because we’re going to see something now concerning the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord begins when the church leaves the earth, and that is the great tribulation period on the earth. Now will you follow us in this particular connection, because we can put down now our first parenthesis and say this is the beginning of the day of the Lord at that particular point when the tribulation period begins on the earth. Now, the day of the Lord does not begin, therefore, with the return of Christ to the earth. It precedes it. Now, I want you to notice something that is very interesting. The Hebrew day always began with sun down, never began with sun up. Have you noticed even in Genesis, in the very first chapter of Genesis, how carefully that’s given to us? It says the evening and the morning were the first day. The evening and the morning were the second day. The evening and the morning were the third day. The day of the Lord begins in darkness. It begins at sundown, and that may change the thinking of some here for this reason. A great many people think the day of the Lord means the coming of Christ to establish his kingdom. My beloved, the prophets make it very clear that that’s not what they are talking about at all. I turn now to Joel, the second chapter, and listen to this language very carefully. “‘Blow ye the trumpet in Zion.'” Sound an alarm in my holy mountain. Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble. For the day of the Lord cometh, for it’s 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, a great people and strong. There hath not been ever the light, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. And our Lord himself, took that expression and called it the Great Tribulation. And he says, except those days were shortened, no flesh would survive. There’d be nothing like it before, nothing like it afterward. And Joel says the day of the Lord begins with darkness and gloominess. It begins with the Great Tribulation period, if you please, just as the Hebrew day must begin. Now, that’s the whole tenor of Scripture. You will find that all the references to the day of the Lord identify it with judgment. I’m turning to Ezekiel and listen to this language. For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near. A cloudy day, it shall be the time of the heathen. You notice what Ezekiel says? The day is near. The day of the Lord is near. A cloudy day, if you please. Now, he suggests that. Now, I’ve got a reference here to Isaiah. Yes, here it is. The 13th chapter of Isaiah. And listen to this language. How ye, for the day of the Lord is at hand. It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. And then I drop down to verse 9. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh. Cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land deathly, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. The day of the Lord, you see, is always associated with judgment, if you please. That is the way that you find it in the word of God. Now I turn to what is probably one of the most remarkable prophecies that we have in the entire Bible on it. It’s found in the little prophecy of Zephaniah. And I want to turn there and read what Zephaniah has to say about this. To the first chapter, verse 14. Now listen to this language. The great day of the Lord is near. It’s 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. And the Great Tribulation is called a day of wrath. 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, a day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men that they shall walk like blind men because they’ve sinned against the Lord and their blood shall be poured out as dust and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath. But the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land. You see, it’s a time of judgment. The great day of his wrath has come, and it’s a time of judgment upon the earth. Now, that is the picture that is presented to us. Joel confirms it again in the 11th verse of the second chapter. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army, for his camp is very great, for he is strong that executed his word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible, and who can abide it? And then again in the third chapter, verse 14, multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. Now, my beloved, all of these references relate now the day of the Lord to a period of judgment. And it would be very easy tonight to give you cross references and show that this is direct application to the great tribulation period. Because the great tribulation period given to us in Revelation has all of these things in it. Now, this is the time that the day of the Lord begins. It begins at night. It’s always God’s plan. God moves from darkness to light, always. The first thing he ever said when he moved into this earth after some great catastrophe took place, he said, let there be light. God moves in where there’s darkness with light. He’s moved in where there’s sin with salvation. It’s his method. And the great day of the Lord opens with judgment, but it leads to light, if you please. There is darkness and light in the day of the Lord. Now, I want to make a final confirmation of this and reaffirm this. The day of the Lord comes without warning. You noticed all those passages. Coming quickly doesn’t mean it’s coming soon, but when it comes, it strikes like that. You see, if the Lord Jesus took the church out of this earth tonight, I say this to you very carefully, the day of the Lord would break on this earth tomorrow, I believe. It would break suddenly, just like that. You see, if you’d remove the church out of the world, now it doesn’t have much influence, but it has some. But you’d also remove something else, a restrainer. He’d still be in the world, but not restraining evil. That’s the Holy Spirit. He tonight is holding back evil in the world in order that the gospel might go out to the very moment the church leaves the world. And then when that takes place, then evil will break like a great flood, a dam giving way, and a great flood of evil coming over this earth, a time of great judgment. Therefore, I can say to you tonight that there are signs in this period, and it would not mean, therefore, that the great day of the Lord begins here, but back here in the time of darkness as any Hebrew day would begin. That is the beginning of the day of the Lord. Now, the return of Christ to this earth has signs. connected to it when he comes to the earth to establish his kingdom. When he takes his church out of the world, which may be at any moment, there’s not a sign given to us. It can take place at any time, and no man can set a date. We can’t even say it may be soon. We do not know. Somebody said to me this morning, said, well, it may be this year, this next year that he’ll come. I say, don’t say that, because if the minute you begin to talk about dates, Because he says, I’ll come at a time when you know nothing. When he takes his own out of this earth. So that is the great hope that is before the church tonight. Now we are prepared to place the front reference at the beginning of the great tribulation. When Christ takes his church out of the world. Now somebody says, but we’ve already seen that’s called the day of Christ. That’s true. When he takes the church out of the world, that’s called the day of Christ. It’s being confident of this very thing that he that hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ. When he takes the church out of the world, then the day of the Lord begins. And it begins in darkness, if you please. But it’s light for those that are taken out for the child of God. It’s the end of the pilgrim pathway down here for his church. The day of Christ ends at the rapture. And the day of the Lord begins. And you can turn to Hosea if you want to, because there are some very wonderful things that we have in Hosea that speak of this period but does not label it, if you please, that. And I’d like to turn and read. The picture that’s given here, the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, without a prince, without a sacrifice, without an image, without an effort, and without teraphim. And that’s the period we’re living in today. That’s been true now for many years. They have not had a place of sacrifice. Now God says, after which shall the children of Israel return and seek the Lord their God and David their king and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter day. So that when he comes to this earth to establish his kingdom, that will be one of the things that will be fulfilled. Now the day of the Lord, I trust you can see now, is a technical term. It’s a technical and a theological term. that embraces many momentous acts of God. You and I today are living in the day of salvation, and that doesn’t mean a 24-hour day. It doesn’t really have reference to time, but to a particular period. And that day of salvation for us ends when he takes the church out. Then the day of the Lord begins. What a picture that’s presented to us here. Now, I want to give tonight a definition of this day of the Lord, and I want to turn to one who has given us, I think, a very fine definition of it. It’s Dr. Dwight Pentecost. Listen to his definition. It is thus concluded that the day of the Lord is that extended period of time beginning with God’s dealing with Israel after the rapture at the beginning of the tribulation period. and extending through the second advent and the millennial age under the creation of the new heavens and the new earth after the millennium. Now, what we have set before us here, I think, is simply this. And I want to put now our last chart upon the board here. We have the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord, we see, begins with the great tribulation. This is the beginning of it. And the day of the Lord ends. It goes through the great tribulation period. It’s the return of Christ to the earth. And when he returns to the earth to establish his kingdom, Satan is bound. Christ reigns 1,000 years on the earth. Satan is released for a little while. And don’t ask me why. I don’t know. But he’s going to be released for a little while again. Someone asked the late Dr. Chamfer that. Why in the world, when God gets him bound, does he release him for a little while? And Dr. Chamfer gave his characteristic answer. You tell me why God released him in the beginning, and I’ll tell you why God releases him for a little while. Well, he let him loose today, that’s for sure. He let him loose for a brief period. And that rebellion is finally put down. And the great white throne in the 20th chapter of Revelation that’s brought before us, And in that great white throne judgment, we see the lost brought there for judgment. The saved have already gone. Even during this period, they had already gone to be with the Lord. You see, the tribulation saints, had been already taken out. Now the great white throne or the lost dead. Many people say, I’ll take my chances before God. I talked to a man in Altadena several years ago. He died just a couple of years ago. He said to me, McGee, you don’t need to talk to me about these things. I’ve listened to you on the radio. I don’t agree with you. I don’t care about that. I’ll take my chances with God. I think he’s merciful and I’ll take my chances. I’m a good man. I pay my honest debts. Well, he’s going to be there. He’s going to have an opportunity to tell the Lord that he paid his honest debt. But I tell you, it’s not going to be a pretty sight to stand before the one who has nail pierced hands and he’ll have to say, well, I died for it. What did you do? about my death for you. You were a sinner, lost, and I paid the penalty for your sin. And what did you do about that? May I say to you, paying your honest debt is really going to look mighty small in that day. If you come to him and accept him as your Savior, of course you pay your honest debt. But my beloved, just paying your honest debt won’t enable you to stand before him, that is for sure. The lost appear there, the great white throne judgment. Then we find at the end of that period, eternity begins, the new heavens and the new earth come into view at this time. All of this period now, this is the beginning of the day of the Lord, and this is the end of the day of the Lord. It includes all of this period and embraces everything from the great tribulation to the creation of the new heavens and the new earth. Now, this is a tremendous picture that’s presented to us in the world of God. You see, God makes it very clear that no scripture, no prophecy is to be interpreted by itself. Listen to what he says, knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is a private interpretation. And when Peter wrote that in his second epistle, first chapter, verse 20, what he’s saying is this. You do not take one little prophecy out, and that’s the way many of the cults do today, and use it by itself. You have to put it all down in a program. It has to fit into a scheme, if you please, because no prophecy is a private interpretation. You don’t interpret it by itself. It has to fit in to God’s program of prophecy, if you please. Therefore, the great day of the Lord. is one of the great terms of the Word of God. And when the Word of God mentions it, it’s speaking of this entire period, if you please, and includes all of that. We can put the boundaries on. The beginning is at the rapture of the church, what takes place here on the earth. It ends with eternity beginning. And therefore, you and I need today to interpret the present in terms of the future. I think that we’re living in a day when the attitude toward the future is becoming different. People years ago paid very little attention to the future. There’s never been a time when so much attention is given to the future. A great many of us are waiting for Time magazine to come out to find out who the man of the year is, why he was chosen. Always you will find today that the statesman of the world And the educators of the world, the thinking men of the world today are thinking in terms of the future. Couldn’t God’s people think in terms of the future? Our Lord urged us to think in terms of the future, if you please. Fact of the matter is, one of the great injunctions that he’s given to us is that we’re to watch. And I want you to notice what he has to say in the Olivet Discourse. And he’s speaking of his coming to the earth to establish his kingdom right here. And in view of that, he says, watch, therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. And in view of the fact that we today do not know when the church goes out, we’re told to watch and we’re told to wait. In fact, the better term for the believer is to wait for the Lord from heaven. The others told to watch. Now, somebody says, aren’t you splitting hairs? I don’t think so, especially when the word of God does not split hairs. We’re told here. that watch therefore, for ye know not at what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.” Is the Lord Jesus coming as a thief for the church? No. The thief is one you’re not looking for. We’re called looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior. And you’ll notice that’s the very thing that Paul here in Thessalonians said that The great day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, for when they shall say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day could overtake you as a thief. I believe it, he’ll not come for his church as a thief. But when he comes to the earth to establish his kingdom, he comes as a thief, breaking into this world, interfering with man’s little plans and programs. But they’re in rebellion against him and they won’t want him. But men today can yield their hearts to him. They can break down that rebellion by receiving him as savior. And then they’re to wait for him. Wait patiently for him. Now the world… is not wanting him to come. They’re in rebellion against him, but he’s going to break through one of these days into the world. Before he breaks through into the world, he’s going to take his own out of the world, and they’re watching, they’re waiting, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And the minute that he takes his church out of the world, the day of products, the day of grace ends. No longer will he be calling the church out of the world because the church will be with him. Then there takes place this time of his wrath has come. A great day of the Lord. His darkness, not light, and it breaks on the earth. Ending up in a world dictator. who will establish an ecumenical movement and a world movement, political movement. Nothing can deter him except the coming of Christ. He’ll break through like a thief. He’s not coming as a thief for his own. He’s coming as a thief to those who don’t want him. They’ve locked the door and they say, keep out, and they ridicule it. scoffers in the last days saying, where’s the sign of his coming? We don’t want him. Let him stay out. But he comes through as a thief, breaking through into this world, establishing his kingdom on this earth, a period in which he’ll reign on this earth. A thousand years, it is actually a period of judgment. It’s the day of the law. It ends by the new heavens And the new earth being established on this earth. And with those that are resound in the new Jerusalem. That’s God’s program. My beloved, it gives you a perspective for the present today. What is your future tonight? What’s your hope? Are you living tonight sort of like an earthworm? You can’t even see ahead of you. You do not know what’s going to come to pass. And you’re looking into the future, the new year, with fear, not realizing what might happen and anything could happen to any of us. We’re told we know not what a day will bring forth. But every child of God knows tonight that he has a shepherd and that he can never be taken out of the hands of his shepherds. either in time or eternity, and that his shepherd has a program for the future. I say to you tonight, that gives hope to life. That gives purpose to life. That gives direction for living. And I do not know about you, but that adds a great deal to the drabness of living down here in this earth. And it is an incentive today for living for God. As I look into the new year, I do not know what it’ll hold. But I do know this, I do not know what the year will hold, but I know the one who holds the year, and he holds the year, and he holds eternity in his hand. What a wonderful comfort and hope that is tonight. He tells us, comfort one another with these words.
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And when you’re in touch, let us know how and where you listen. whether it’s by radio, with our app, or some other way. This information is helpful to us, so please let us know. I’m Steve Schwetz, and as we look ahead to the day of the Lord, I pray that we’ll be found faithful. As it says in Titus 2.13, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Join us each weekday for our five-year daily study through the whole Word of God. Check for times on this station or look for Through the Bible in your favorite podcast store and always at ttb.org.
