What is the Day of the Lord? What will happened in the End Times? What do we do in the meantime? Joel and other prophets received prophesies from God about the future. Many of these prophesies have already happened. Many are yet to come. The purpose is more than just showing us the future. It’s to prepare us for it, lead us to God, to change people’s hearts and bring them to salvation.
Joel 3:12-16
“Let the nations be wakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, go down; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow—for their wickedness is great.”
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. The LORD also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the LORD will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. “
There will be a time when God will judge this earth and bring His people home. It will be a day of dread for many but those who trust in Jesus will be saved. We will be protected from His wrath. We will rejoice on that day, when we go to heaven to be with Him in everlasting life. But there will be darkness upon this earth, both spiritually and physically. Jesus tells us to watch and be ready.
Matthew 24:29-31
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
One day Jesus will return. He will come to judge those who do not know Him and to bring rewards to those who follow Him and take them home. It will be an awesome day one way or another. Rejoicing for some, mourning for others. God always opens a door so that we do not have to go through judgement. Jesus is knocking at the door and waiting for you to respond.
Joel 2:28-32
And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls.
This scripture was quoted by Peter in Acts 2 at the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples of Jesus and they spoke in languages they did not know so that all the people visiting Jerusalem would hear them and understand the message of Jesus Christ. Jesus died and rose again, and any who believe and trust in Him will be saved. He will come again and bring in a new heaven and a new earth and will bring His people home to eternal life in heaven. When He comes, there will be many signs, yet many will be surprised and caught off guard.
2 Peter 3:10-15
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you.
We need to be ready. Those of us who believe in Christ ought to know what the Bible says and be watching. We need to live in the Spirit, which means allowing Him to work in our lives. How can we be without spot and blameless? By believing in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Through His sacrifice we are declared righteous when we accept that gift.
My Daily Scriptures 