We’re halfway through 2020 and the scary thing is — it’s not over yet! We still have 6 more months to go. The presidential election is about 3 months away and the battle is just getting hot. In Arizona, we’re back in lock-down, shutdown, and stay-at-home mode as more and more cases of COVID-19 are diagnosed. And now I read that there’s a mutant strain of the coronavirus that will spread faster and will be more contagious. Yikes!
Arizona’s rainy monsoon season was supposed to have started on June 15. According to AZ Family News, the last time we had “measurable rainfall” at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport was April 11, with .08″. Every day we have a wildfire or two start and our brave firefighters are working overtime. There are 3 fires that have burned 100s of thousands of acres. One is just northeast of Phoenix.
On June 27, a plague of locusts invaded a city in India.
God Warned the World way back in Old Testament Times…
13 At times I might shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or send plagues among you. 14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.
2 Chronicles 7:13-14 NLT
Let’s see… drought – check… grasshoppers/locust – check… plague – check… Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Yep, God wants our attention. Moreover, the instructions are very plain and simple! We are to humble ourselves, pray and SEEK HIM AND REPENT! God will forgive our sins and heal our land!
Jesus Warned us in the New Testament…
“Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.”
Luke 21:10-11 NLT
My home island of Puerto Rico has not stopped shaking since Dec. 28, 2019! In any given 3-week period, there are around 500 earthquakes ranging from 1.8 magnitude to 5.3 or higher.
What, then is the Day of the Lord?
First of all, relax! We’re way not there yet! What we’re experiencing now are just the “birth pains”. Jesus told us…
“But all this is only the first of the birth pains, with more to come.”
Matthew 24:8 NLT
This is just the coming attractions! You know, it’s really nice of God to warn us. It’s now up to mankind to pay attention.
The Day of the Lord in the Old Testament
There’s a lot more, but I just picked the juicier ones…
From the Prophet Isaiah…
Scream in terror, for the day of the Lord has arrived—
the time for the Almighty to destroy.
7 Every arm is paralyzed with fear.
Every heart melts,
8 and people are terrified.
Pangs of anguish grip them,
like those of a woman in labor.
They look helplessly at one another,
their faces aflame with fear.9 For see, the day of the Lord is coming—
Isaiah 13:6-9 NLT
the terrible day of his fury and fierce anger.
The land will be made desolate,
and all the sinners destroyed with it.
From the Prophet Ezekiel…
2 “Son of man, prophesy and give this message from the Sovereign Lord:
“Weep and wail
Ezekiel 30:2-4 NLT
for that day,
3 for the terrible day is almost here—
the day of the Lord!
It is a day of clouds and gloom,
a day of despair for the nations.”
From the Prophet Joel…
Ironic that he was also warning the people against a plague of locusts. You should read his short book for yourself.
15 The day of the Lord is near,
the day when destruction comes from the Almighty.
How terrible that day will be!
16 Our food disappears before our very eyes.
No joyful celebrations are held in the house of our God.
17 The seeds die in the parched ground,
and the grain crops fail.
The barns stand empty,
and granaries are abandoned.
18 How the animals moan with hunger!
The herds of cattle wander about confused,
because they have no pasture.
The flocks of sheep and goats bleat in misery.19 Lord, help us!
Joel 1:15-20 NLT
The fire has consumed the wilderness pastures,
and flames have burned up all the trees.
20 Even the wild animals cry out to you
because the streams have dried up,
and fire has consumed the wilderness pastures.
From the Prophet Amos…
18 What sorrow awaits you who say,
Amos 5:18-20 NLT
“If only the day of the Lord were here!”
You have no idea what you are wishing for.
That day will bring darkness, not light.
19 In that day you will be like a man who runs from a lion—
only to meet a bear.
Escaping from the bear, he leans his hand against a wall in his house—
and he’s bitten by a snake.
20 Yes, the day of the Lord will be dark and hopeless,
without a ray of joy or hope.
From the Prophet Zechariah…
Watch, for the day of the Lord is coming when your possessions will be plundered right in front of you!
Zechariah 14:1 NLT
Gee, that sounds a lot like the riots — er, protests — that were happening in our cities recently. Hmmm…
The Day of the Lord in the New Testament…
From Paul’s 1st Letter to the Thessalonians…
3 When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.
4 But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. 5 For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night.
1 Thessalonians 5:3-5 NLT
From Paul’s 2nd Letter to the Thessalonians…
Now, dear brothers and sisters, let us clarify some things about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and how we will be gathered to meet him. 2 Don’t be so easily shaken or alarmed by those who say that the day of the Lord has already begun. Don’t believe them, even if they claim to have had a spiritual vision, a revelation, or a letter supposedly from us. 3 Don’t be fooled by what they say. For that day will not come until there is a great rebellion against God and the man of lawlessness is revealed—the one who brings destruction.
2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 NLT
The gathering is the Rapture. We — that is, all true, born-again believers — will be taken up to Heaven. Then the “man of lawlessness”, the Antichrist will be revealed.
And Finally, from Peter’s 2nd Letter…
This is my second letter to you, dear friends, and in both of them I have tried to stimulate your wholesome thinking and refresh your memory. 2 I want you to remember what the holy prophets said long ago and what our Lord and Savior commanded through your apostles.
3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. 4 They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”
5 They deliberately forget that God made the heavens long ago by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. 6 Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. 7 And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.
8 But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. 9 The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. 10 But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.
11 Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, 12 looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. 13 But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.
14 And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight.
15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— 16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.
Peter’s Final Words
17 You already know these things, dear friends. So be on guard; then you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. 18 Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.
2 Peter 3 NLT
The Importance of Joining the Kingdom of God Right Now!
The choice is yours…
Put Jesus first. Not a church, or a person, be it a celebrity, a priest or a preacher.
Jesus must either be first of all, or nothing at all.
- Jesus is the door.
- Repentance is the key.
- Baptism is the water that cleanses us from our old life.
- And the Holy Spirit is the fire that refines or sanctifies us so we are good enough to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Because on our own, we will never be good enough.
If you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation and a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven and that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, this is what you have to do…
Believe. Repent. Be Baptized. Receive the Holy Spirit.
- Believe — have Faith — that Jesus is the Christ and He died taking your sins away forever and that He rose from the dead 3 days later.
- Repent of your sins — stop sinning! Do a complete 180-degree turn in your life and surrender your life to Him. When you ask Jesus to forgive you He will. ALL your sins will be wiped clean — past, present, and future! And All means ALL!
- Be Baptized by water baptism — show the world and yourself that you have died to your old life and are born again in Christ.
- Receive the gift of Holy Spirit in your heart.
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
If you want to take the chance that you’re not walking around with a false sense of salvation, then, fine. Ignore God’s warnings! However, when you’re left behind, you will get a second chance at salvation, but you’ll have to endure the Great Tribulation as described in the Book of Revelation. My friends, I really don’t think you want to do that.
Why not be sure now? You have nothing to lose!
Below, I’ve embedded a couple of videos that are worth watching.
Pray this prayer humbly and wholeheartedly…
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Please forgive me. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and my life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. I will follow you for the rest of my life. Thank You, Jesus, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Next Steps in Your New Walk with Jesus…
- Start reading the Bible daily to get to know God. If you don’t have one, I recommend the YouVersion, Bible.app and Through the Word app — both are free and have a lot of great Bible studies.
- Pray every day. Talk to God. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you daily.
- Find and join a Bible-believing church — preferably a non-denominational one and be baptized!
Jesus Christ is coming back soon! Are you ready?
Soli Deo Gloria — To God Alone Be the Glory!
Watching this in July, and looking back at the last few months of 2020, you can’t deny that some of these people called it. It is true that the COVID-19 pandemic or plague was not mentioned specifically. However, because of the pandemic, the lock-down and the shutdown, we saw starting during Holy Week, all churches who had the capability, go online and use the tools of technology to preach the Gospel and Good News of the true salvation of Jesus Christ to people all over the world. As of last week, Greg Laurie’s Harvest Ministry alone witnessed over 60,000 people come to Christ!
