Since the very beginning, since the garden, God has promised to rid His creation of all evil. In a world where He has given His creatures free will, this complete cleansing will necessarily involve God’s direct intervention. In the flood, the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the death of an entire generation of Israelites in the wilderness, this unchanging God showed Himself ready to take decisive steps to fulfill His purpose.

Through the prophets, God spoke of The Day of the Lord, a time when God Himself would come to His world and bring justice, with both reward and punishment.

And God has come, in Jesus Christ. He came to bring justice, not through condemnation but through mercy and the free offer of salvation. But Jesus also spoke repeatedly of a coming judgment day. He is the only person who has seen both this world and the next, and He persistently warned of this coming judgment in the strongest and most graphic terms, urging us to live every hour and make every decision in the light of that coming day.

The Spirit of Christ also spoke of that day through His disciple, John.

Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. (Revelation 1:7, NASB)

Imagine the scene on that day. And later John wrote:

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds…And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-12, 15, NASB)

From this Being earth and heaven themselves will flee away, yet each of us will face Him personally. He Himself, by His very presence, will bring the burning, overwhelming reality of holiness and truth to our world. That is why this merciful God has sent us out ahead of Him, to prepare people for that day:

We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20, NASB)

No one knows the day or hour of His coming, so the only way to be ready is to get ready now and stay ready. If we do, that day will bring unspeakable joy. If not, unspeakable terror.

Listen and sing:
Hymn: Mighty Day
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