The Day of the Lord is a dreadful and awesome Day, a Day that will affect the Whole earth. Are there any signs to discern when this Day will come? Will the church go through the Day of the Lord?  (Ed: click for additional discussion of "The Day of the LORD")

In Acts 2 we see the Feast of Pentecost. Jesus was crucified the day the Passover lambs were slain and raised from the dead on the day of First Fruits. Fifty days later He ascended to heaven but He had left them a promise recorded in all 4 gospels. The disciples were told to wait in Jerusalem until the Promise of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit came. This would be the first time the Holy Spirit would indwell all believers and not simply come upon selected men in the Old Testament, only to leave, which prompted David to pray in Psalm 51:11-note

"Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me''

This was the fulfillment of John 14:6 where He promised to send another Comforter which came to pass when the Jews gathered in Jerusalem began to speak in other languages.

 the great and glorious
day of the Lord

Acts 2:12  And they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”…14 But Peter, taking his stand with the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give heed to my words.15 “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the third hour of the day;16 but this (what is happening right at that moment) is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel (Joel 2:28) 17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 Even upon My bond slaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy. 19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. 20 ‘The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood before

Jesus died as the Passover Lamb Who takes away the sins of the world on the same day the Passover lambs were being slain. He was buried but rose from the dead because of our justification; i.e., when God the Father saw the shedding of Jesus' blood, the Lamb of God w/o spot or blemish, God's holiness was satisfied. Jesus' blood atoned for our sins and because His sacrifice was sufficient, God's holiness was propitiated or satisfied. Therefore God could then justify men on the basis of FAITH. You and I are sinners but the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin and releases us from our sins and makes us a child of God. Because Jesus was without sin, death could not hold Him, so He was raised for our JUSTIFICATION and He ascended into heaven as described in Acts 1.

Acts 1:10  And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was departing, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them;11 and they also said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”

So the angel said they saw Him going and they are going to see Him coming. So at the Feast of Pentecost the children of Israel waiting in Jerusalem for the Day of His promise, God's promise to BAPTIZE them with His Spirit. Baptize means to identify with or to unite with (Ed: see word study of baptizo) and is pictured by taking a cloth, dipping it into dye and when it comes out the dye now permeates the cloth and the cloth has been identified with the dye, having taken on the dye. Baptize was also used of making pickles, where the cucumbers were baptized into the vinegar taking on the identity so to speak of the vinegar. So the coming of the Holy Spirit is when they were identified with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:17 ‘And it shall be in the last days,’ God says, ‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all mankind;

Hebrews 1:2-note in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

So the LAST DAYS began with the first coming of Jesus Christ and continue until the Day of the Lord. Before it can come we know that God will POUR FORTH HIS SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND, not every human being but on…

Acts 2:17 and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 Even upon My bondslaves, both men and women, I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit and they shall prophesy.

So now we have a whole new ''economy'' with those who are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.

1Corinthians 12:13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, (the BODY OF CHRIST) whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

So when the Spirit of God comes upon you, you were placed into the BODY OF Jesus CHRIST…the mystery of the church in Ephesians 2-3, that we are now part of the body of Jesus Christ, and are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and both Jew and Gentile are in this ONE body through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the receiving promise of the Holy Spirit.

 A NEW ENTITY
THE CHURCH

Ephesians 1:13-note In Him, (in Christ …a key phrase in Ephesians - (Ed:  click for sermon by Wayne Barber)  you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him (IN CHRIST) with the Holy Spirit of promise 14 Who is given as a pledge (word study) (or guarantee of the fact that we are going to inherit heaven, that we will live and be with Jesus forever and ever) of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Ephesians 1:22-note And He put all things in subjection under His (Jesus') feet, and gave Him (Jesus) as head over all things to the church,23 which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.

So on the day of Pentecost God formed a brand new entity, the CHURCH, the BODY OF Jesus CHRIST, you and me permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit but also the mystery of the gospel discussed in Colossians, which is Christ in you the hope or guarantee of glory. How is Christ in us? He is in us by the Spirit of God dwelling in us. So we are IN HIM & HE IS IN HIM. So where Jesus is we are going to be also. Jesus has gone ahead to prepare a place for us but He will return to get us and take us that place. At the end of Revelation we see the New Jerusalem. So we are now part of the CHURCH by the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 12:13). These are THE LAST DAYS. During this time, the last days, and before the day of the Lord, everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved and if the church is here, they will be part of the body of Christ. So in Acts 2 the Church is born as the Bride of Christ (2Cor 11 where Paul says he desires to present us to our heavenly Bridegroom as a chaste virgin.)

Acts 2:19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above, and signs on the earth beneath, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke. (Kay believes these are the SIGNS coming from HEAVEN down to the EARTH so that the people see the BLOOD, FIRE and SMOKE on earth. But what else has to happen?) 20 ‘The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come. (All this has to happen BEFORE the DAY OF THE LORD…so you will want to make a list of what has to happen before this Day.)

 When do we see
BLOOD, FIRE & SMOKE on the earth?

Looking at Revelation we have the following sequence of events:

  7 Seals > 7 Trumpets  >  7 Bowls 

Revelation was recorded so that God's bondservants might know the things which are shortly going to take place. (Revelation 1:1-note)

Revelation 8:8-note And the second angel sounded, (THE TRUMPETS) and something like a great mountain burning with FIRE was thrown into the sea; and a third of the sea became blood;

And again we see BLOOD in the Second and Third Bowls

Revelation 8:7-note And the first sounded, and there came hail and Fire mixed with blood, and they were thrown to the earth; and a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up.

So we have FIRE in the FIRST TRUMPET and we also see FIRE in the Sixth Trumpet in

Revelation 9:18-note A third of mankind was killed by these three plagues, by the fire and the Smoke and the brimstone, which proceeded out of their mouths.

We also see FIRE at the Fourth Bowl.

SMOKE: in the Fifth and Sixth Trumpets (Reference: Rev 9:2-3-note, Rev 9:18-note).

When do you see the Sun turning black and the moon like blood in Revelation? The Sixth seal (Revelation 6:12-note)

So just from this study we know that the Day of the Lord cannot begin at the First Seal. Why? Because before the Day of the Lord, the Sun has to be darkened, etc. and we know that none of these events begin until the Sixth Seal. You may have always been taught that the tribulation begins at the First Seal and that is also when the Day of the Lord comes. Kay challenges us to determine where the word ''tribulation'' is used. From Joel and Acts passages you know that the Day of the Lord cannot come before the Sixth Trumpet.

Today is the Day of the Holy Spirit, the day of salvation when we should be warning people to flee from God's coming wrath, because the Day of the Lord is a day of wrath, when God moves in wrath on the nations of this earth.

PAUL'S LETTER TO THESSALONICA

2 Thessalonians was written 4-6 months after Paul had written 1 Thessalonians and some believe these were his first written epistles. The question then arises "Why did Paul write to these churches so soon after he had been with them?" For one thing their persecution had become very difficult because the word of their faith had spread abroad and the Jews came against the believers (Ed: See exposition of chapter 1 of First Thessalonians which describes their conversion - 1Th1:3-4 1:5-7 1:8-9). But Paul promises them relief from these afflictions.

2Thessalonans 1:4  therefore, we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.5 This (the fact that they are undergoing persecutions and afflictions) is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. (When you suffer it is part of the process of the Christian life to make you ready to see the Lord Jesus Christ. So don't despise suffering. Those that have suffered in the flesh have ceased from sin Peter writes. So this suffering is to get us ready for the kingdom of God.) 6 For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, (if you are afflicting Christians and listening or reading this right now, you can know that if you don't get saved God is going to afflict you and it will be a permanent affliction.) 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted (Christians look like the ''underdog now but they are not going to be then.'') and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire,8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

In other words you have heard about the need for salvation but you have resisted and refused that. You haven't liked the fact that true Christianity calls you to a Cross, not to a Crown. You wanted your ears tickled and you followed things that meet your fancy but they are not the true gospel. The true gospel says that when you receive Jesus Christ you are no longer a slave to sin and you no longer belong to the kingdom of darkness but now you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ and you live for Him and you live by His power and He is in you and you are in Him and you are going to live forever and ever. But right now it is SUFFERING until Jesus Christ comes.

2Thessalonans 1:9 And these (who afflicted the Christians, who did not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ) will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our testimony to you (the Thessalonians) was believed….

2Thessalonans 2:1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming (parousia = from a participial form of the verb “to be” + the preposition para “beside” so literally it means “to be beside” and speaks of the personal presence of a person. Parousia also referred the coming of a person and his arrival or advent) of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together (episunagoge from epí = upon + sunágo = gather [sún = with + ágo = lead] means to cause to come together to, toward or at a particular location, an assembling or gathering of people. It was used in secular Greek to describe an ingathering of the harvest, a mustering of troops and a drawing in of a sail. In sum, it means to assemble a group together so Paul is referring to our assembling together to Jesus Christ a reference to the "rapture" discussed in Paul's first letter-see notes on Rapture) to Him,2 that (in light of these 2 facts) you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit (it could have been someone standing up and saying ''I have a prophecy'' and then giving a prophecy that they were already in the day of the Lord )

That prophecy was not from God so it had to be from a spirit not from God. So this assembly is shaken and panicked because they think that the Day of the Lord has come. Why would this panic them? As we have studied this Day is one of darkness, of distress, of destruction but it also includes the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth to set up His throne to rule on the earth. So they are shaken even though this Day will bring Jesus Christ, and even the mountains will sing for joy and the trees will clap their hands at His coming) or a message or a letter (someone may have written them a letter and signed Paul's name) as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

Since they were in affliction and persecution they might think they were in the Day of the Lord. But if they were expecting the Day of the Lord, expecting to be there and knowing that this Day would last only a certain length of time and then Jesus would come, why should they be shaken? Could it be that they were shaken because Paul had taught them that when the Day of the Lord came they were not going to be here. If they had been taught that the church was going to be here in the Day of the Lord which would bring Jesus and they might even die for their faith, it would still be alright because Jesus Christ was coming soon. Let us reason…it would not be alright if Paul had already told them that they were NOT going to be there in the Day of the Lord. Paul had taught them since their spiritual birth into the Kingdom, remaining with them 3 weeks, during which time he taught them prophecy…the coming of the Lord, the Rapture, the Day of the Lord. In 1Thessalonans 4:13-18 (notes) Paul taught them about the Rapture (this word comes from a Latin translation of the Greek word harpazo which means to ''catch up'').

1Thessalonans 5:1-note Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you.2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. (the thief doesn't knock on your door and ask if he can rob your house! You don't know when he is coming.) 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

No one is going to escape and it will come when people are saying "Peace and safety". But while they are saying this DESTRUCTION will come and we have seen that the Day of the Lord is a time of DISTRESS, DESTRUCTION from the Almighty, a time such as has never been and will never be again and parallels the TRIBULATION in Matthew 24:15-21, when the Abomination of Desolation stands in the holy place….then there will be a Great Tribulation such as had not occurred since the beginning of the world until now or ever shall be. Joel 2:2ff and Daniel 12:1 (note) mention it as a time of distress such as has never been. This time of distress occurs at the Seventh Trumpet. So this would be the time when the Day of the Lord comes…distress, destruction and tribulation like the world has never seen. Before the Seventh Trumpet we have BLOOD, FIRE, SMOKE, SUN - DARKNESS, MOON -BLOOD.

1Thessalonans 5:4-note  But you, (contrast)  brethren, are not in darkness, that the day (expression of time) should overtake you like a thief;5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. …9 For God has not destined us for wrath, (orge means a building up of one's displeasure and then it is all poured out) but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Revelation 11:15-note  And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever.”16 And the twenty-four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God,17 saying, “We give Thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast begun to reign.18 “And the nations were enraged, and Thy Wrath came (the CHURCH is not appointed to WRATH!

So if the Seventh Trumpet is the time of distress, when God's wrath comes. You might say that the earth dwellers are saying in the Sixth SEAL that the great day of God's wrath has come. Kay challenges us to go back to the Sixth Seal and see who is saying this…it is not God saying it but the people who are hiding and fearing God. But in the Seventh Trumpet is when God says that the "great day of His wrath has come".  So we see that the "wrath of God" is in the seven bowls that are poured out because he says the seven bowls are filled with the wrath of God.

Revelation 15:1-note And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels who had seven plagues, which are the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.

So the Wrath of God begins in the 7^th Trumpet which brings forth the SEVEN BOWLS.

Revelation 15:7-note And one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, (wrath here is thumos, which means hot anger that is coming forth right now, but you see orge and thumos being interchanged with one another…in Rev 19:15-note treads the wine press of the fierce wrath [orge] of God.)

So what God has told the church through Paul is that God has not destined us for WRATH (orge) but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. So the Day of the Lord is not going to overtake the Thessalonian believers. Yet when we get to 2 Thessalonians, the believers have been told that they are in the Day of the Lord and this is upsetting them because apparently Paul had told them that they would not enter the Day of the Lord. So Paul is going to explain in 2 Thessalonians what has to happen before the Day of the Lord can come.

 the man of lawlessness
the son of destruction

2Thessalonians 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, (Kay believes this a Jewish apostasy. When the covenant is made by the Beast with Israel for 7 years, that covenant is with ''THE MANY'', and Kay believes ''THE MANY'' are those that apostatize. So they go into this covenant with the Beast but in the middle of the week, the seventh Trumpet, he breaks the covenant. So before the Day of the Lord can come, "the specific, unique apostasy" has to come first.) and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, (2Th 2:1-5 Notes)

The MAN OF LAWLESSNESS He is not really revealed until he gets the fatal wound, dies and is raised from the dead and then takes his power. That fatal wound has to come before the two witnesses are killed, because they are killed by the beast that comes out of the abyss. So when he steps into the Temple, he is finally revealed for who he really is.

2Thessalonians 2:4-note  Who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

So the Temple is rebuilt, the Jews are worshiping, the sacrifices are being made as we know from Daniel 9:27-note (Ed: Related Resources: Chart of Daniel's Seventieth Week; Daniel 9:24-27: Intro. Kay Arthur's lectures on Da 9:24-27: 14, 15, 16), and he walks into the Most Holy Place and says...

"I AM GOD
and
'you will worship me
and
you will not buy and you will not sell without a mark''

And that is when the Antichrist is seen for who he really is…the man of lawlessness is truly ''revealed''. Some would say that he was revealed at the First Seal when he goes forth conquering and to conquer. If that is true, the SUN DARK and MOON like BLOOD before his revealing but we know that these signs in the heavenlies do not happen until the Sixth Seal. You still have to have the BLOOD, FIRE and SMOKE but that does not happen until the TRUMPETS. So it  doesn't "line up". But if you have his revealing at the Seventh Trumpet, it lines with Revelation 12 & 13 and then the Day of distress coming and his ruling over the saints and persecuting them for 3.5 years. If you interpret his appearing here, then it all "lines up" and you don't have to twist any Scripture but simply let the passages say what they state and mean what they state!

THE THIRD THING THAT MUST HAPPEN
THE RESTRAINER REMOVED
WHO IS HE?

2Thessalonians 2:7-note For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; (it has been at work all these ages) only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.8 And then (time phrase) that lawless one (ANTICHRIST) will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming;9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.11 And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false,12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness. (notes vv 8-12)

So Paul is saying that before the Day of the Lord
 

(1) there has to be an apostasy,
(2) the man of lawlessness has to be revealed and
(3) the "restrainer" has to be removed.

Some believe that the "restrainer" is Michael the archangel.

Another view is that the "restrainer" is the CHURCH filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus had said that He would send the Helper, the Holy Spirit and that when He came, He would convict the world of SIN (because they don't believe in Jesus), of righteousness (because He has gone to the Father…but you and I are living righteous in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation and there are certain things that we will not put up with, certain things we will not bow the knee to, certain things that we will say ''That is not from God'' and there are some people who will hear and come over to our side…so we are in a sense restraining evil from going on.) and judgment (because the prince of this world has been judged by the blood of Jesus Christ so that I am now no longer under Satan's power but belong to the Lord Jesus Christ as bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh, and He is seated in heavenly places and I am seated there with Him above all principalities, all power, all might, and all dominion…I am the conqueror and I will not be conquered by Satan. Therefore I convict the world of Judgment because I don't bow the knee to the one who threatens me with death, but I am willing to die if necessary for my faith, because I know they are only killing this body and sending me into the presence of Jesus Christ forever and ever, because the Holy Spirit in me has sealed me and guaranteed me that I am going to live with Him forever and ever.

In a sense we are the restrainer because the Spirit of God is in us. But if you take the Church away, the body who is indwelt by the Spirit of God, you still have the Holy Spirit working but you don't have the power of the Church of Jesus Christ, the power that began at Pentecost…we are in the uttermost parts of the earth and we are the "restrainer" of wickedness…the grace of God in us…the Lord Jesus Christ…the Spirit of God.
 

Hang on Church!

He's coming!

We are not going to be here for the Day of the Lord.

persevere!

don't be shaken from your composure!

      The Day of the Lord cannot come

until

The CHURCH IS GONE