- Okay—it’s the New Year.
o So who made some resolutions for 2016?
o Who has already broken some of your resolutions?
- I don’t really set new resolutions.
o I just kind of recycle last year’s and hope that I’ll do better at keeping them than I did last year.
- Resolutions are like that, aren’t they?
o We like to think about all the things that’ll make us better people and we set goals to work toward.
o But by the time February or March rolls around, most of us are back where we started from.
- Maybe you do better than I do.
o But I’ll bet most of you don’t.
o I’d say that many of us don’t even fool with making resolutions—because we know they’ll be a waste of time.
- In all seriousness—resolutions and goals for the New Year are fine.
o They can be good motivators to help us get started on some things.
- But if you’ve come here this morning expecting to get your head filled with a bunch of New Year’s self-improvement ideas, you’re going to be disappointed.
o Because we’ve got bigger fish to fry than a bunch of surface-level self-improvement stuff.
o We’ve got eternal things to consider.
- This morning, we’re going to start a 7-week series through the Old Testament book of Joel.
o And trust me—even though it’s only three short chapters, it’s an incredibly weighty book.
o This isn’t going to be easy stuff—but I think it’s going to hit us right where we are and get us to where we need to be.
- Let’s look at 1:1 for the introduction.
JOEL 1:1
- That isn’t much of an introduction, is it?
o Most of the prophetic books of the Bible give us some clue as to who the person was that wrote it.
o Not this one.
- Here’s all we know about Joel.
o His name is a contraction of the two primary names for God—YHWH (Jehovah) and Elohim.
o His very name is a testimony to the fact that YHWH is God above all.
- That’s all we know about the author—and on top of that, we don’t know anything about when he gave this prophesy.
o Most conservative scholars think the book was written sometime before the exile, probably during the reign of King Joash.
- Here’s the thing—unlike a lot of other books in the Bible, understanding the “whos” and “wheres” and “whens” don’t have any impact at all in the way we understand what’s going on here in Joel.
o That’s probably why the Holy Spirit didn’t feel the need to let us know those things when He inspired and superintended the writing of this book.
- We might not know much about Joel or the time he wrote his book, but we do know that the Holy Spirit wrote it through him—all of it.
o In a nutshell, that’s really the overview of the book.
- Next week, we’re going to start the verse-by-verse exposition.
o But this morning, we’re going to spend the rest of our time looking at the major theme of the book.
- The major theme of the book of Joel is the Day of the Lord.
o So in order to understand what the Lord is trying to teach us in this book, the first thing we have to understand is—what is the Day of the Lord?
o Let’s start by looking at the two passages where Joel talks specifically about it.
JOEL 1:15
JOEL 2:1-11
- What is the Day of the Lord?
o Well, to put it simply—the Day of the Lord is that time in the future when Jesus comes back.
- We’ve just finished celebrating the first coming of Jesus.
o Joel focuses on His second coming.
- Jesus is coming again!
o We tend to forget that in our day-to-day lives, don’t we?
- I think we can too easily become like the scoffers in 2 Peter 3.
o You know—the ones who said,
o “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”
- I remember the book “88 Reasons Why the Rapture will be in 1988.”
o More recently, I remember all those billboards that Harold Camping bought that said the rapture was happening on May 21, 2011.
- Well—it didn’t, did it?
o The fact is that there are so many of those false predictions and false doomsday scenarios that it makes us numb to the fact that Jesus REALLY is coming back.
- We don’t know when, but we know this—His return is closer today that it’s ever been.
- Now, I’m mixing things up a little bit here, so I need to clear something up.
o I believe that the Bible teaches that the Day of the Lord starts with the Rapture of the church.
o You can disagree with me if you want to—I’ve studied it backwards and forwards and, according to a plain reading of Scripture, these are my convictions.
- This isn’t a liberal or conservative issue—good, godly people disagree.
o But that’s the way that I understand it, so that’s the way that I’m going to teach it.
o You are sensible people—go to the Bible and see if what I say is true.
- The Day of the Lord starts with the Rapture of the church and it ends with the second coming of Jesus.
o In between those two events, God will pour out His wrath on all of cursed creation.
- There are five things about the Day of the Lord that I want us to look at quickly this morning.
o First is the need for a Day of the Lord.
- God is a god of love, right?
o So why does there need to be a time in the future when He will pour out His wrath on all of His creation?
- It needs to happen because, not only is God a loving god—He’s a holy God too.
o And whether we want to admit it or not, all of creation has been marred by sin.
- When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them dominion over all of creation.
o So when they sinned, their sin didn’t just affect them.
- Their sin affected all of creation.
o That’s why as a part of the curse, God cursed the very ground itself.
- But it wasn’t just the first sin that cursed creation.
o That curse has been exponentially multiplied ever since.
- Isaiah 24:5-6 says,
o “The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth, and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched, and few men are left.”
- Because the ground is cursed—
o because throughout all of history, the earth has been covered with the blood of innocents—
o because of that, it’s necessary for God to one day pour out His wrath on everything.
- But what will that look like?
o What exactly is the nature of the day of the Lord?
- The nature of the Day of the Lord is an outpouring of God’s wrath that isn’t comparable to anything that’s ever happened.
o The only other time in history that God poured out his wrath on his creation was the flood.
- But God promised that he wouldn’t ever destroy his creation with water again.
o That was the promise of the rainbow.
- When God destroys the earth the next time, he’ll use fire.
o This will be the time that the Bible describes as the Great Tribulation.
- Throughout history, believers have endured the tribulation of martyrdom, persecution, hardship.
o But as bad as all of that tribulation has been—it can’t compare to the time of Great Tribulation during the Day of the Lord.
- Most of the world’s population will be brutally slaughtered.
o Disease, pestilence, unnatural-natural disasters, fire from the sky, famine.
o There will even be terrifying astronomical events.
- Revelation 8:12 describes it like this:
o “The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of their light might be darkened, and a third of the day might be kept from shining, and likewise a third of the night.”
- Joel 2:10 describes it like this:
o “The earth quakes before them; the heavens tremble. The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.”
- 2 Peter 3:10 describes it like this:
o “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”
- And Jesus described it like this in Matthew 24:29:
o “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”
- When the Day of the Lord comes, God will pour out His wrath in unimaginably awful and terrible ways.
o That brings us to the purpose of the Day of the Lord.
- When we think about such horrific destruction—what is God going to accomplish through it?
o What’s the point?
- The point is something that you and I cry out for constantly.
o Our kids cry out for it when they say, “It’s not fair.”
- When a godly Christian couple longs for a child at the same time that an adulterous, drug-addled woman gives birth to her third drug-dependent baby—we long for justice.
o When heartless people get rich by exploiting the poor and powerless—we want justice.
- When good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people—we long for things to be made right.
o When amazingly humble servants of Christ get cancer and die while thieves and criminals live long healthy lives—we scream for fairness.
- On that day—on that great and terrible day of the Lord—all things will be made right.
o God will have His retribution for the blood of millions of innocent aborted babies.
o He will have retribution for the blood of the martyrs throughout history.
- Injustice will be made just.
o The martyrs’ cries of “How long Lord?” will be answered with the white hot, purifying wrath of holy God.
- Hebrews 10:31 says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
o God never overlooks or ignores injustice—he can’t.
- When the Day of the Lord comes, He will make all things right.
o The time of waiting and wondering will be over.
o God’s righteousness will prevail over all things unholy and unjust.
- So when is it coming?
o What is the coming of the Day of the Lord?
- Twice—once in 1:15 and once in 2:1, Joel tells us that it is near.
o Well, what does “near” mean?
- Because Joel prophesied that probably around 900 years before Jesus came the first time.
o Now we’re over 2000 years past that.
- What does he mean “near”?
o He means that whenever it happens—we’d better be ready.
- The only reason that God hasn’t poured out His wrath yet is because of His great love and mercy.
o Back to the passage in 2 Peter 3:8-9 he says,
o “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”
- But there will come a time when God’s patience is through.
o The Bible describes it like a cup that is being slowly filled up.
- The cup of God’s wrath is continually being filled.
o And when it’s full, that will be the Day of the Lord.
- As I said before, it will start with the rapture of the church.
o 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 says,
o “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.”
- At that time, all believers—both dead and alive—will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.
- Why? Because the Day of the Lord is a time of God’s vicious wrath being poured out on His creation.
o And 1 Thessalonians 5:9 says, “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- Here’s the good news for you—From the moment you trust Jesus as your Lord and Master and Savior, you will NEVER have to experience God’s wrath.
o You won’t experience the wrath He will pour out on His creation during the Day of the Lord…
o OR the wrath He will eternally pour out on unbelievers in Hell.
- Jesus endured the full weight of His Father’s wrath on the cross so you and I won’t have to.
- Whether we’re dead or alive at that time, we will be caught up to meet Jesus in the air.
o And then, literally, all hell will break loose.
- God will unleash His fury on all who are left behind.
o Now, here’s where one of the big ways I think the Left Behind novels get it really wrong—the Day of the Lord is not going to be a time of second chances.
o It will be for the remnant of Israel—but not for you.
- In Matthew 24:24, Jesus warned that in that day,
o “False christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.”
- Paul expands on that in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12:
o “The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
- Do you see that?
o Those who heard the Gospel and refused to believe in Jesus and be saved before the rapture will not have the opportunity after the rapture.
o There is no second chance. Period.
- Let me put it to you this way—
o If you don’t trust Jesus as your Savior and the trumpet sounds this afternoon—you will be left behind and it will be everlasting too late for you.
- And the Bible makes it clear that there is nothing that’s stopping the rapture from happening right now.
o The only thing that is stopping it from happening right now is that God is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
- But just like God said right before the flood—His spirit will not contend with man forever.
o The Day of the Lord is near.
o His cup of wrath is rapidly filling to the brim.
- We’ve looked at the need, the nature, the purpose and the coming of the Day of the Lord.
o But there’s one last thing we need to consider this morning.
- And that’s the question of the Day of the Lord.
o Look back at Joel 2:11:
JOEL 2:11
- Looking at the Day of the Lord can be scary.
o And I’m not going to apologize for that, because it should be.
o As Hebrews says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
- So the great question for us this morning is—who can endure the Day of the Lord?
o No one can.
- Israel will recognize Jesus as Messiah during the Great Tribulation, and those who’ve never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel will hear it and multitudes of them will be saved.
o And then multitudes of them will subsequently be martyred.
- But listen to me—everybody in here and everybody listening online has had the opportunity to hear the Gospel.
o As a matter of fact, every one of our neighbors and all the people you come in contact with every day have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel.
- And for those who have had the opportunity to hear the Gospel and have refused to believe in Jesus as Lord and Master and Savior—who can endure the Day of the Lord?
- I want that question to haunt you.
o First, if you haven’t surrendered your life to Jesus—I want it to haunt you until you do.
- But second—if you know that you’re saved and the fruit of your life shows it—I still want that question to haunt you.
o I want it to haunt you when you go to the grocery store—can the checkout girl endure the Day of the Lord?
o Can the bag boy?
- I want it to haunt you when you go out to eat—can your waiter endure the Day of the Lord?
o What about your next-door neighbor?
o What about your teacher?
o What about your students?
o What about your co-workers?
o What about your family?
- The only way any of them will be able to endure the Day of the Lord is if they aren’t destined for wrath.
o And the only way they won’t be destined for wrath is if they have obtained salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
o And the only way they will obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ is by calling out to Him by grace through faith.
- And listen to what Romans 10:14-15 says,
o “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”
- Listen to me—if Jesus saved you, then He sent you.
o No one can endure the Day of the Lord.
- So we must go to our neighbors and the nations with the gospel.
o We must speak and live the good news of Jesus Christ everywhere we go.
- Why? Because somebody’s eternal destiny depends on it.
