The Daily Word of Righteousness

Joel's Army, continued

A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come. (Joel 2:2—NIV)

The coming of the Lord will be a time of darkness and gloom, of clouds, of blackness.

Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light. It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear, as though he entered his house and rested his hand on the wall only to have a snake bite him. Will not the day of the LORD be darkness, not light—pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness? (Amos 5:18-20—NIV)

The false teaching of the pre-tribulation rapture has left the believers with the impression that the Day of the Lord for them will be a glorified Sunday school picnic in which all churchgoers will be lifted up bodily to meet the Lord in the clouds and then go with Him to the great Disneyland in the sky.

Little do the church members of today realize the incomprehensible terror that will attend the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Indeed it will be a time of gladness for the victorious saints, but even they, like Habakkuk, will tremble when the Lord descends with His troops.

The Day of the Lord will be "out of the frying pan into the fire" for the majority of the members of the Christian religion unless they begin to keep His commandments.

The Day of the Lord is near in the day of decision. Today is the time to decide whether we wish to continue with the carnal, silly church games or get serious with God. The Lord bless you as you begin to mean business with God.

The main characteristic of the return of Jesus Christ is "a large and mighty army." The concept of the pre-tribulation rapture in which the believers are lifted merrily to Paradise is a complete myth.

Be careful how you drink the water in these days. The members of the army are being identified by how they drink the water of the Spirit. Those who stick their face in the pool without carefully examining from the Scriptures what is being taught will never be permitted in the large and mighty army.

Today the believers are sheep. But something is happening in the churches. Listen to the music in your assembly. There was a time for "Sweet Hour of Prayer." Now we are beginning to hear the war drums of El Shaddai. Are you ready for this? If you are ready to march with Jesus you will learn about war, judgment, and the Kingdom of God.

The work of salvation is proceeding according to the types of the Old Testament. One of the major types is termed the feasts of the Lord.

The fourth of the seven feasts is the feast of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit fell on the waiting disciples when the day of the Jewish feast of Pentecost had arrived.

To be continued.