John Ecob
THE EXPRESSION “In that day” occurs 100 times in the Old Testament and 42 of these are in the prophecy of Isaiah. They convey detailed prophecies of a special future event described in the context. The first three are in Isaiah chapter 2 where Isaiah described the “Day of the Lord” otherwise known as the Great Tribulation that immediately precedes the second advent of our Lord. Twice in that chapter he says:
“the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day” (Isa.2:11,17) and once he states: “In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats; to go into the clefts of the rocks…for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth” (Isa.2:20-21).
Immediately after the Rapture of the Church the seven-years of “the Day of the Lord”; the Great Tribulation, will burst upon this world and Joel describes it as follows:
“Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come” (Joel 1:15) and,
the day of the LORD cometh … a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it...” (Joel2:1-2).
Isaiah described the raw details of the Tribulation in chapter 24 of his prophecy. He states:
“Behold, the LORD maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof … The land shall be utterly emptied… The earth mourneth and fadeth away… The earth also is defiled under the inhabitants thereof … therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, … therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned, and few men left … They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink shall be bitter to them that drink it.” (Isa.24:1-9).
Today we live in an arrogant society. Men and women are self-opinionated, self sufficient and totally unaware that life is but
“a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away” (James 4:14).
Life for many is a mad rush to gather as much wealth by whatever means they can find so that they can indulge themselves in the pleasures of this world. If they need to tread on their fellow man in order to achieve their goals then ‘so-be-it’. The ultimate goal is power; whether it be political power, economic power or the power just to control others and obtain wealth. They ignore the fact that they are answerable to a Creator who is omniscient from whom they cannot hide. They live in man’s day and seem totally unaware that it will all come crashing down in the Day of the Lord!
In that day gold and silver will be worthless. Lavish mansions with offer no protection and they will seek refuge in the
“rocks of the mountains; and say to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” (Rev.6:16-17).
Modern society is extremely rich in this world’s goods. We expect to have every convenience that former generations could only dream about and yet many are not satisfied. The Bible says:
“Labor not to be rich … for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven” (Prov.23:4-5).
And James warns us of a great catastrophe in the last days . He says: “Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days” (James 5:1-3).
Paul wrote:
“Let your conversation (manner of life) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb.13:5).
The genuinely happy people are not those living in luxury with all the extravagant excesses of modern society but those who put God first in their life and live their life in the blessed assurance that He will never leave them nor forsake them.
The Bible teaches in 1Tim.5:8 that we should provide for our own families and failure to do so makes us “worse than an infidel” and “hath denied the faith”. Christians are to separate from those who will not work and Paul wrote:
“this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat” (2Thess.3:10).
But it is also true that riches have wings. Shares can depreciate overnight and a big fat superannuation can be lost as the economy crashes. The world is heading for its greatest financial crash in the Tribulation when men will throw their gold to the bats and leave their lavish mansions for a hole in the ground in which to hide.
Nations today are living on debt. Not just millions nor billions but trillions of dollars of debt. We have never seen such levels of debt. This generation seems to be oblivious to the fact that its children will have to pay off their debt – that is, if they can survive.
A few years ago our Government had cleared all its debt and had millions of cash
in the bank but today our Government throws money around like it is going out of fashion. Billions are given for political reasons; to gain votes or to distribute wealth to their cronies. And with such lavish expenditure comes corruption and fraud on levels never seen before. The Bible says:
“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows … follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1Tim.6:10-11).
“if riches increase, set not your heart upon them” (Ps.62:10).
Any thoughtful person looking at this world can see an almighty crash coming. Inflation is rising and debt escalates. God-given resources such as uranium, oil, gas and coal are anathama to the woke Governments who borrow more and more on worthless green projects and even fund evil projects like abortion clinics to murder millions of innocent babies. National debt continues to climb.It is all going to cumulate into a gigantic bubble that will burst after the Rapture when the billionaires cast their gold to the bats!
Let us be wise with our finances and not covetously lust after riches that can only bring sorrow. Let us focus on the spiritual riches that we have in Christ and look to Him to supply our every need. Remember that
“godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. ” (1Tim.6:6-8).
I started this article with the words “in that day” and pointed out that in the context, that day was “the Day of the LORD” or the Great Tribulation. The good news is that you don’t have to be here for the Great Tribulation.
If you turn from sin to Christ and place your trust in the One who shed His atoning blood on the cross, God will give to you the free gift of eternal life and will receive you as a child of God into His family. He becomes your Heavenly Father and Christ your Saviour.
Furthermore, He will give you His Holy Spirit to permanently dwell in your heart and He will change your life for ever. You will have complete assurance that there is a mansion in glory awaiting you whether you pass through the valley of the shadow of death or are changed and caught up in the Rapture.
The Bible says:
“the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (1Thess.5:2-3).
The world is unaware that history is on the brink of catastrophe. The terminus point has almost been reached. The Biblical signs all point to the Day of the Lord and the wrath of God poured out on an ungodly wicked world. The words of Amos 4:12 ring out: “Prepare to meet thy God!”
The question you must answer is, Will you be raptured or will you remain for the Day of the Lord? The choice is yours!