Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming. It is close at hand—a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. The Lord thunders at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the Lord is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it? (Joel 2:1–2, 11, NIV 1984).
My Musings – “The day of the Lord” is an idiom used throughout the Bible to depict God’s temporal judgment of His people (the fall of the Northern Kingdom to the Assyrians), victory over His enemies (the fall of Babylon to Media-Persia) as well as His ultimate eternal judgment of mankind at the end of the ages. The Book of Joel speaks to both the temporal and the eternal.
So. days of the Lord have come on many occasions throughout history, but one is coming that will be the last as well as the most horrific. “A day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” in which the Lord Jesus Christ will thunder “at the head of his army; his forces are beyond number.”
“It [will be] dreadful. Who [will be able to] endure it?” No one. But it can be avoided. “‘Even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’ Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and [He will relent] from sending calamity.” (Joel 2:12–13, NIV 1984).
My Advice – That day is coming. “I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war. The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses. He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” (Revelation 19:11, 14, 15, NIV 1984).
If there was a way to avoid the dreadful, the unendurable, wouldn’t we take it? Of course we would! Good news! There is a way. A way to avoid “the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.” We can take it, because it is free. “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17, NIV 1984).
The Brew Is A Musing 