For years I owned a study bible. It was written for men and had some special commentary, a sermonette as it were, each day provided by a well-known pastor or preacher. One of them was about the coming Great and Terrible Day of the Lord. What is that day? Is it the end of time? Is it the day our Lord Jesus returns? If it is the last, lots of people hope that day comes soon. I found out from my study Bible that the old testament prophets who told of that day did not want to be there themselves when it arrived. They used the word terrible for a reason. The prophet Joel said this:

The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come. Joe 2:31

For those who don’t love God, who do not have a real relationship with the Lord Jesus, that day will be full of terror. That coming day is a day of rejoicing for some and a day of judgment for many others. When I look around me, when I read the news, I can’t help but think that the second group is much larger than the first. The second group, like those banging their fists on the side of the Ark as the rains started to fall, will find out too late that all is lost. Without Jesus on their side, in their hearts, they will be screaming, gritting their teeth, and crying out for mercy, the same mercy they rejected until time ran out. How did it feel for Noah’s family to hear the people outside? How will it feel for us to see the end of time and judgment coming for those we love, our friends and family, and even for strangers down the street? But how will it feel for those who know Him? The scriptures say we shall sing a new song! We will see and rejoice to see Jesus’s final victory over evil. His salvation which had been known for ages will be here now. We shall rejoice for our names are written in the Book of Life, we are saved, forgiven, and will be gathered into the arms of our Lord. For those who don’t know the Lord, who refused to give themselves over to Him, there is no judging on a curve. For us who know Him, we will be judged to determine our final rewards, not just our final destination.

The Great and Terrible day is coming and right soon in my opinion. Are We Ready?

Psalm 98

 O sing unto the Lord a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.

2 The Lord hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen.

3 He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

4 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.

5 Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of a psalm.

6 With trumpets and the sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King.

7 Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

8 Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together

9 Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

The End of the World, commonly known as The Great Day of His Wrath, is an 1851–1853 oil painting on canvas by the English painter John Martin. Leopold Martin, John Martin's son, said that his father found the inspiration for this painting on a night journey through the Black Country

For many of us, the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord will not be terrible at all, the sooner it comes the better.