Day 267 - Zephaniah - Haggai

ONE-YEAR JOURNEY OF THE BIBLE
Day 267 - Zephaniah - Haggai (Are You Ready for The Day of the Lord's Wrath?)
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       "The great day of the LORD is near;...
        That day is a day of wrath, 
        A day of trouble and distress, 
        A day of devastation and desolation, 
        A day of darkness and gloominess, 
        A day of clouds and thick darkness, 
        A day of trumpet and alarm 
        Against the fortified cities 
        And against the high towers. 
        "I will bring distress upon men, 
        And they shall walk like blind men, 
        Because they have sinned against the LORD; 
        Their blood shall be poured out like dust, 
        And their flesh like refuse." 
        Neither their silver nor their gold 
        Shall be able to deliver them 
        In the day of the LORD's wrath; 
        But the whole land shall be devoured 
        By the fire of His jealousy, 
        For He will make speedy riddance 
        Of all those who dwell in the land."  (Zephaniah 1:14-18)

I do not think it is a co-incidence that the Scripture reading for today falls on the passage above concerning the end of all days on earth.  We are living on the most exciting of all times in history when everything that the Bible prophesied about the end times is literally unfolding right before our eyes. Consider the following events that have already taken place or about to take place which the holy Scriptures predicted must happen before the terrible day of God's wrath falls upon the earth:

1.  Messiah would have come and be cut-off (killed).  We all know the the Messiah, Jesus Christ, came two thousand years ago and was rejected and killed by His own people as predicted by the prophet Isaiah.

2.  The Temple would have been destroyed.  This happened in 70 AD when General Titus came to Jerusalem and destroyed the temple.

3.  Israel would have been gathered back as a nation from exile from around the world.  This happened in May 14, 1948 when Israel became a sovereign nation.

4.  Russia, Iran, and its allies prepare to attack Israel.  As I write this, Russia is pouring in weapons and soldiers into Syria under the excuse of defending the Assad government from Islamic terrorist.  Iran has being doing it for many years.  Israel is on high alert for a possible attack from Russia and Iran from her northern borders adjoining Syria.

5.  Israel is in crisis and a world ruler (anti-Christ) will broker a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians.  There is not a day that passes when world leaders are not working towards their ultimate goal of forcing Israel to make peace with the Palestinians.  Very recently, the world thought that the Obama administration's peace initiative led by Secretary of State Kerry had their objective in the bag; but, as it turned out, it wasn't the time yet.

6.  There will be economic, political and religious instability in the world which will call for a strong leader to unite all peoples.  As I write this, economic experts are talking about a world recession and world leaders are preparing for war with one another.  Religious intolerance and fanaticism is being blamed for most of the world's problems including terrorism and hate-based violence.  The world is looking for a religious leader who will unite all religions in the name of peace and goodwill to all mankind.

7.  The gospel will be preached to all the world.  With the advent of the internet and advance technology as well as an unprecedented surge in missionary efforts, the gospel is now able to reach every person on the planet.

8.  The Temple in Jerusalem is being prepared to be built.  Insiders of the Temple re-building project in Jerusalem will say that everything has been prepared for the temple to be constructed according to Biblical specifications.  All that is needed is a go signal.

9.  Christians are being persecuted around the world.  Christians have always been persecuted but, for a very long time, the world has not witnessed the level which we are witnessing today especially within the Islamic regions.  Even here in the US, Christians are mocked and persecuted for their faith even at the cost of losing their jobs.

10. True Christians will be raptured or taken to heaven without dying.   The rapture of the true Christian Church itself is not dependent on any sign and is imminent; however, the day of God's wrath will not come before the believers are taken away.

Are you prepared for the day of God's wrath?  Do you know for sure that you will not be appointed among those who will suffer the wrath of God because of their sins?  There is only one way of escape which God has provided and it is through the perfect sacrificial Lamb who was offered on the altar of Calvary.  Those who choose to repent of their sins and call on the name of the Lord Jesus will not be appointed for the day of God's wrath but rather will be saved and be taken up to heaven to be in the presence of God forever.