The
American
Wisdom Series
Presents
Pamphlet
#1061
"The
Great and Dreadful Day of the Lord"
Therefore
know this, the coming of the God of Judgment is nigh at hand,
even
at the doors (Mark 13:29). In other words,
make
no mistake about it and do not listen to the false teachers
and
those who scoff at His Word because the "Day of the LORD" IS COMING!
Is
that a frightful thing?
Not
at all if you are one who loves and serves the LORD,
but
for those who work "iniquity", which is "lawlessness",
which
means they work (speak and do) those traditions of men
which
are contrary to His Word (and therefore outside His law)
it
shall not be a happy day at all!
Why
not?
Because
His "Fire" shall burn them as stubble (Mal. 4:1)
while
at the same time those that love Him (vs. 2)
shall
feel the warmth of that same "Fire" like as the rays of the Sun,
even
the Sun of righteousness,
beaming
down upon them surrounding them with warmth!
Malachi
4:1
For,
behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;
and
all
the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly,
shall be
stubble:
and
the day that cometh shall burn them up,
saith
the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Again,
remember that this message is given unto Israel
so
let us understand what this word "wickedly" means in Hebrew.
It
is the word "rishah" which is the same word used in Mal. 3:15
when
referring to the "wickedness" of the "lawless ones"
who
are "set up" in the high places of worship.
In
other words,
ALL
their evilness and wicked deeds shall be consumed as in "burned up"
when
Jesus Christ returns and they shall be left with neither "root nor branch"
and
they shall be naked and utterly ashamed!
"The
day [which] cometh" spoken of in verse 1 is that
"great
and dreadful Day of the Lord"
spoken
of a few verses hence in Mal. 4:5.
It
is the day the God of Judgment returns to this earth according
to His promise,
exactly
as it is written so many places in His Word
with
so many illustrations describing that great day.
Note
to Reader: When you read about these very vivid examples of physical events
the Lord uses to describe happenings, don't get caught up in the horror
of the physical description; that is only an example of a spiritual happening
God wants you to understand. He describes it in the physical sense so that
you can comprehend the spiritual reality.
Do
not let the symbolic language
which
is used by the Holy Spirit to paint graphic "pictures"
in
our mind's eye to make clear His truths,
pull
you away from the simplicity of the teachings in God's Word.
Do
your homework and understand what
the
"earthly symbols" represent
that
are used to describe those things which are "spiritual".
For
example, His
Word is likened to a two-edged sword (Rev. 1:16). You
"see", a person can "see" a sword slice through a man's flesh body but
one cannot "see" words slice through a man's heart or soul!
Likewise,
our
Father is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29) and His Truth, His Holy Spirit,
is likened to "fire" (Acts. 2)!
You
"see", a man can "see" fire burn straw and hay but he cannot see truth
burn lies and consume away wicked deeds.
Here
is a verse concerning the two olive trees
and
two candlesticks in Rev. 11 to illustrate the point:
Rev.
11:5
And
if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth,
and
devoureth
their enemies:
and
if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.
These
words cause our flesh minds to "picture" flames
spewing
forth from one's mouth like a flame thrower burning up an individual, doesn't
it?
But
the analogy is put forth to simply show us the effect
of
the "fire" of the Holy Spirit, His Truth,
as
it consumes the lies and injustice (hurt) of our enemies!
Peter
uses the same analogy of "fire" and its quality of "heat"
and
its ability to "melt" things down when he speaks of the same day,
the
day of the LORD we just read of in Mal. 4:1.
Here
it is: 2 Peter 3:10
But
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night;
in
the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise,
and
the
elements shall melt with fervent heat,
the
earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Again,
do some homework and you will find that the word "elements"
does
not refer to the periodic table of earth's material elements.
It
means "principles" and "rudiments" such as evil ideologies
and
false doctrines and all the evil works of the present "order" of things
on earth...
not
the surface of the planet!
Therefore,
this is great news to those who love and serve truth and justice
and
walk in His ways!
The
King of kings and Lord of lords is soon coming to this earth
and
EVERY knee shall bow,
and
He shall with His saints rule ALL nations with a rod of iron!
You
"see", there shall be no more Egypt (symbolic of the system of captivity
and oppression)
and
no more Edom (symbolic of the system of communism, those "red" nations)!
All
those rudiments (elements) shall be consumed by His "fire"!
Malachi
4:2
But
unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise
with
healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as
calves of the stall.
When
Jesus Christ comes on that day,
those
who fear (revere) their Father
shall
go forth and "grow up" as calves of the stall,
which
is a figure of speech meaning "to leap"
as
frolicking calves when they are let loose from the stall.
Even
now those upon whom He has shed His light of truth
have
been delivered and set free and have experienced the joy and the frolicking!
(John
8:32 "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.")
To
wit, the word "healing" means "deliverance"
and
"His wings" should read "His rays of light".
In
other words, the warming rays from the brightness of His coming
and
the shining light of His truth shall deliver us from captivity (Babylon)
and
set us free "as calves of the stall"!
If
you have eyes to see and ears hear and you are one of those spoken of in
verse two
who
love and serve Him,
then
pay close attention to the next verse because it is written to YOU!
Malachi
4:3
And
ye
shall tread down the wicked;
for
they shall be
ashes under the soles of your feet in the day
that
I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
To
"tread down" means "to squeeze out juice"
as
if "to trample" in a winepress.
And
to be "turned to ashes" means it was "consumed by fire", doesn't it?
Did
we not just read in Rev. 11:5 concerning the two olive trees**
and
the two candlesticks**
that
"fire would proceed out of their mouth,
and
devoureth their enemies".
**The
two olive trees are those "sons of oil",
the
"two anointed ones" spoken of in Zechariah 4.
Candlesticks
are symbolic of "churches" (Rev. 1:20)
and
the only two out of the seven churches in this final generation that do
God's work
are
the churches of Philadelphia and Smyrna (see Rev. 2 & 3).
Our
Father loves them very much because they "fear His name"
as
in they "love Him" and they show forth their love by keeping His Word (Rev.
3:9-10).
John
14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
[4]
Remember
ye the law of Moses my servant,
which
I commanded unto him in Horeb
for
all Israel,
with
the statutes and judgments.
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