(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

This is a long chapter, but it actually is going to be a long sermon. So I wanted to preach about this for a while now, and I said I was going to preach about it. But the book of Malachi just kind of helped me and allowed me to preach a sermon that I wanted to preach about the day of the Lord versus the day of Christ. Now, the day of the Lord's mentioned here in verse number one where the Bible says, for behold, the day cometh that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, 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. So right there you have that saying that the day cometh. And it's talking about, obviously, the day of the Lord. So the day of the Lord is talked about through scripture a lot. And we're going to go through some scriptures tonight, and not all of them either. I mean, there's a lot of verses about it, but I just kind of want to get a night. I need a Bible. Can somebody hand me a Bible, please? Thought I had one in here. Who tooketh my Bible? Thank you. Appreciate it. All right. So yeah, so the topic of the sermon tonight is the day of the Lord versus the day of Christ. And so the day of the Lord is the coming day of judgment in which God is going to judge the world. But the other thing about the topic of the day of the Lord, there's other days of the Lord that have taken place in history. So you have shadow fulfillments of the day of the Lord taking place in some of the Old Testament prophets, of course, and a lot in the minor prophets. So we're not going to go through every single scripture, like I said, but we're going to leave no rock unturned here as we can just go through here. And I'm going to teach you the difference between the day of the Lord and the day of Christ. And you're like, well, I already know this. Well, it's review for you then. You're so smart that you remember everything. So great. That's great. But maybe there's some things that you'll learn. Don't just tune me out if you feel like you kind of got this subject down. But let's look at 2 Peter chapter 3, verse number 7, 2 Peter chapter 3, verse number 7. And we'll look at a New Testament occurrence of this. But like I said, the shadow fulfillment in the scriptures, you'll see where it's talking about, like we'll see tonight where it's talking about Babylon that was destroyed many years ago. But then you can see that in the New Testament, there is another destruction of Babylon. And it's the spiritual, wicked Babylon of the end times, which I believe is, of course, the United States of America. Some people would disagree with that. But I think that that's what it's talking about. But so a lot of these scriptures we'll be turning to, and it'll seem to be talking about some nation. And it is still talking about that nation. Because even when God destroyed Jerusalem, that was like a fulfillment of the day of the Lord. But there's only one, the day of the Lord. And it's going to begin at a specific time. And we'll kind of cover that tonight. But look at 2 Peter 3, verse 7. It says, but the heavens and the earth, which are now by the same word, are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. So God has reserved some fire and some different. He's stored it up in heaven. He's waiting to unleash that wrath upon the wicked. And in Malachi chapter 4, 1, it says that he shall burn them up. And so listen to what Peter says here, verse 8 through 13 here. It says, but, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as 1,000 years and 1,000 years as one day, which is basically another way of just saying, time means nothing to God. We might think it's taken a long time. But in God's eyes, 2,000 years have passed like it's two days. It means nothing. So it says in verse 9, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness, but his longsuffering to us were not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So why is God waiting for this day of wrath? Why doesn't he just do it right now? Well, because God loves people, and he wants us to love people. And he's longsuffering to those people because there's a world full of sinners that need to be saved. And so he's longsuffering to us in the way that, I mean, obviously, you might be saved, but is your whole family saved? You might be saved, but are your neighbors saved? You might be saved, but are your grandparents saved? And so, yeah, we have salvation here in this room for the most part. I'm sure pretty much almost everybody in here is saved. You know, you never know, but, I mean, I think that everybody's saved in here, at least. I mean, obviously, there's little children here that haven't necessarily been able to call upon the name of the Lord, but I believe that they're innocent still. So even if they did die today, they'd still go to heaven, right? Some of these children. But anyway, so it says, but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. And so what does that mean? Well, you don't expect a thief to come. And then who's ever had their home broken into or robbed before? I have. It's a terrible feeling. You're like, well, if I would have known, I would have stayed home. If I would have known, I would have like put in some extra security measures, maybe like those new cameras that they have at every single house now. I would have done something to prevent this, but the day of the Lord is as a thief in the night. What does that mean? People are not going to be expecting it to happen, which is really strange for us to think that, because we see all the signs what the Bible says is going to happen before those days and those events happen. But see, the world does not believe. And so even though they can see the one world government forming in front of them, they still just don't put the picture together. It's like, even though there's people worshipping some owl and burning people in effigy in front of the Bohemian Grove every year, they're like, well, that's just normal. I don't know how they would think that's normal. There's a lot of crazy things that are going on in this world, a lot of silencing of voices. The media doesn't want anybody to get anything out that is actually true. So they just, how do you know the media is lying? Well, they open their mouth, then you know, right? But the day of the Lord comes as a thief, and it says, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise. So the heavens will pass away, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. The earth also and the works therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness? Looking for that and hasting unto the coming day of God, wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat. That sounds scary, doesn't it? But guess what? The day of the Lord is not something that's going to affect you or I. If you're saved, the day of the Lord is not going to be something that takes you like a thief. So it says, nevertheless, we, according to his promise, look for a new heavens and new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. So there's coming a day which the Lord is going to judge the world in righteousness, and he's going to judge it by that man who he hath ordained, which is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's going to come back, but first he's going to come back and rescue his people, the people that are going through great tribulation, the people that are at the end of their rope and they think all hope is gone and Jesus is going to come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And then the wrath comes. See, a lot of people just get confused about the timeline of end time events. There's a final seven years, a 70th week is talked about in the Bible in the book of Daniel chapter 9 and other places, but there is going to be a final week where a week is considered seven years, if you go back and look at Genesis, when Jacob served seven times for Rachel and seven times for Leah. So fulfill your week is what Laban said to Jacob. So that's helping us understand how that time is allotted. But a lot of people think there's seven, this is what you'll hear, seven years of tribulation. There's seven years of tribulation and that's not true. That's not what the Bible teaches. Now there's seven final years of human history as we know it, but that whole thing is not tribulation and I'll prove that to you. But let's look at a couple more Old Testament prophets here real quick. Amos chapter 5 verse 18, Amos chapter 5 verse number 18. Amos 5, 18 says, woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord. To what end is it for you? The day of the Lord is darkness and not light. So it's kind of a warning against God's people to say, man, I can't wait till the day of the Lord happens, but it's nothing good for us. I mean, it's nothing good for them and it has nothing to do with us. That's what I meant to say. Yeah, so the day of the Lord is darkness. Why would you desire something that you're not going to be taking part of? It's something that's bad. It's something that's a negative aspect of the end times. So it says, as if a man did flee from a lion and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand on the wall and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness and not light, even very dark and no brightness in it? So when it's talking about this day of the Lord, it's not something that we should desire. And obviously, for us to rejoice that God has destroyed his enemies, there's nothing wrong with that. But what I think that the scripture is saying is that's not really something that you should look forward to for some people. I mean, and obviously, it doesn't have anything to do with us because we're not going to be here when it happens. We're going to be zapped out of here. So look at Isaiah chapter 2, verse 10. Isaiah chapter 2, verse 10. So the Bible describes the day of the Lord as a day of darkness. And so obviously, darkness is not light. And we are children of the light, not children of the darkness. So that day is not specifically for us, so we shouldn't desire that. I mean, because if you think about it, if you're desiring that to happen, you're like, I'm glad that God's going to destroy the whole Earth and all the unsaved people in it. I'm not glad about that. And I don't think God wants us to be glad about that. Now, when you're talking about the enemies of God, the haters of God, that's a different story. And a lot of these people that are destroyed are going to be ultimately haters of God, but they're not all haters of God. Some people are just going to get smoked because they're not saved, right? So look at Isaiah 2 10. It says, enter into the rock and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty. And then verse 11 says, the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon everyone that is lifted up, and he shall be brought low. So isn't it funny how we have this movement of pride in this world right now, right? And people think it's good to have this queer pride and all this other stuff, but the Bible says, every proud look and every lofty look, and upon everyone that is lifted up, he shall be brought low. And that includes just the proud in heart, the people that are just so proud that they don't want to get saved, and they're smarter than God, and they're smarter than us, and they're smarter than the Bible, and they think that they're above all this stuff. But they're going to be humbled. Someday, every person on Earth is going to be humbled at what the Lord is going to do. Now, notice how we'll start talking about different places here. It says, and upon the cedars of Lebanon, that are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, and upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that are lifted up. So he's just talking about things that are lifted up high. So it's like, everything's going to get brought low in the day of the Lord, right? And it says, and upon every high tower, and upon every fence wall. It's just like, if it's high, God's going to bring it low. That's the picture he's trying to show us here, right? And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures, and the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low. And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day, and the idols he shall utterly abolish. And they shall go into the holes of the rocks and into the caves of the earth for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. So I believe that you're talking about these different places, Lebanon, and Tarshish, and all these places that aren't really necessarily modern things that are kind of a big deal in our time. But then you get verse 19. It's kind of like how Jonah goes in and out of talking about himself as the prophet, and then talking about Jesus Christ. I believe that there's, again, shadow fulfillments. There's probably literal times when these things would happen. But then, of course, things in history that were shadow fulfillments. But then it's talking about, what does that remind you of? What does verse 19 remind you of? It should remind you of Revelation chapter 6. And we'll go there here in just a minute. But look at people fear. They're hiding in holes, and rocks, and caves. And isn't it funny how they didn't want the rock, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be their refuge. They mocked. They hissed. They say all these wicked things about the Lord Jesus Christ. They call them the flying spaghetti monster, and just all these wicked things. And they're just proudly saying all this stuff. And it's like they think just because they got a keyboard and they live in their grandma's basement that they can just say whatever they want about God. But you know what? He's going to find you in your basement, too. He's going to find you. Whatever hole you try to hide in, he's going to find you. And it says that he, and this should remind you, like I said, of Revelation 6. And I think it's alluding to that, because it does talk about an earthquake. Also in Matthew chapter 24, Luke chapter 21, Mark chapter 13, and of course, the book of Revelation. So and it says, in that day a man shall cast his idols of silver and his idols of gold. And they made, excuse me, which they made one for himself to worship, to the moles, and to the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. So when he comes back, people are going to freak out, because they're going to be like, oh no, it actually is true. All these things that they've said about God for all these years, all these gatheists and phagnostics out there, all these weirdos, they've been saying all kinds of things. They've been saying stout words against the Lord of hosts, haven't they? They've been mocking, they've been saying all kinds of wickedness. Now turn to Revelation chapter six, verse nine. Revelation chapter six, verse nine. And so it says he's going to terribly shake the earth. So what happens when the earth shakes? Well, mountains come down, fences come down, fence walls come down, pleasant pictures fall off the wall, don't they? And the buildings crash to nothing. And so this is going to be a great earthquake that it's talking about here. So look at Revelation six, nine. It says, and when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. So what are we talking about here? Well, we're talking about people throughout history that have been slain for the word of God and the testimony which they held. And it says, and they cried with a loud voice, saying, how long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them. And it was said unto them that they should rest yet a little season until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled. And these are the people that it's talking about are going to go through this great tribulation. And it says, and I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, lo, there was a great earthquake. You see that? The great earthquake. What did Isaiah chapter 2 say? That he's going to shake terribly the earth, right? And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became blood. Now, I want you to hold your finger here. I know you're holding your finger probably already have a book place in Malachi. But hold your finger here in Revelation 6. I'm going to pull Pastor Jimenez here real quick. Maybe not as gracefully as he does, but I'm going to have you turn to Matthew chapter 24 real quick, Matthew chapter 24. So because Revelation chapter 6 coincides with parts of Matthew 24, and the part that I want you to really look, we already saw the earthquake happened here. But now it also talks in verse 12 about there being the sun and the moon becoming his blood, the sun becoming black. Look what it says in Matthew 24, 29. It says, immediately after the tribulation of those days, shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken. So remember how it said that heaven was going to be dissolved and burnt up and all this other stuff. And it says, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. So are they happy that he's coming? No, they're mourning. They're like, uh-oh, it's real. God is true. And we've messed up, is basically what they're going to be thinking. But it says, immediately after the tribulation. So when the sun and moon are darkened in Revelation chapter 6, and then you see immediately after the tribulation that that's when this happens. So is the tribulation still going on, or is it over? It's over, right? So when Jesus comes back, this event happens. He comes back right after this event happens, where there's this earthquake. The sun and moon shall be darkened. And the Bible talks about how the heavens will be rolled back as a scroll, and when it's rolled together. So it says, and then shall the sign of the Son of Man in heaven and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. And they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. So Revelation 6, when it says all those things that happen, and then it says after the tribulation of those days. So we know that in Revelation chapter 6, the tribulation is over. Because Jesus comes back right after that. And then you have, of course, in Revelation chapter 7, what happens? Well, all those people appear in heaven and of every tribe, every kindred, every tongue. And then Revelation chapter number 8, you have the wrath of God being poured out. Then you have the angels blowing the trumpets, right? That's when the wrath of God begins. So the wrath of God does not start until Jesus has already come back. And I'll show you that here later. And you still have your finger there. But I'm going to read Revelation chapter 1, verse 7, where it says, behold, he cometh with clouds. And every eye shall see him. It's not secret. Every eye is going to see Jesus when he comes back and it says, and they also which pierced him. So who pierced him? The Jews pierced him, didn't they? And all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, amen. And you know what I think about when I think of, because it said the tribes of the earth were mourned. And here in Revelation 1, 7, it says, all the earth shall wail because of him. And what does it mean to wail? Like they're crying out, they're screeching or whatever. And it reminds me of that, like, when President Trump got elected in 2016 and that bulldog, like, is on her knees and going, ah, no! That's kind of what I think is going to, what it's going to be like. Because a lot of these people are reprobates. It's not like they're going to be happy or something. They're going to be upset. They're going to be upset because they know that they done messed up. They done messed up and it's going to be too late reprobate. Look back at Revelation 6 where I had you. Also, look what it says. Verse 13, and the stars of heaven fell into the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it's rolled together, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. So it sounds like it's a pretty big earthquake, isn't it? And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond man, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains. Doesn't that match Isaiah chapter 2, where it says they hid in the rocks? See, now they're going to the rocks, but that rock isn't our rock. Our rock is the Lord Jesus Christ, and we went to the rock for mercy, and he gave us mercy. But what is he going to do to the people that won't receive him? He's going to destroy them. He's going to smash them into oblivion. Look what it says in verse 16. And said 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. And they might look at that and say, oh, the lamb, really scary. Well, it sounds to me like they're going to be pretty scared when this lamb comes back. The wrath of the lamb, the horns are going to come out at that point. When he first came, he didn't come to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved, right? So his first coming was to die for the sins of all mankind, and that anybody whosoever will may come, and take the water of life freely, the Bible says, right? So, but now when he comes back, it's going to be niceness to us, us that are being persecuted, us that have been killed, and people have had their heads cut off, and just all throughout the ages from Abel, all the way until whoever the last martyrs are on the earth before he comes back. That's a lot of people that are killed because of what, the testimony that they hold, right? And so these people are going to be freaking out and hiding themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the earth, and they're going to say to the mountains and rocks, fall on us. And you know what, the rock is going to fall on them. The rock, the Lord Jesus Christ, and it says, for the great day of his wrath is come. So let me ask you this, if it is come in this verse, then, and it says, and who shall be able to sin? But the great day of his wrath is come, what does that tell you about the time that we're at, the timestamp we're at right now? So has the wrath of God been being poured out on man before this moment? No, because it is come, it's coming at this moment. And so according to Matthew chapter 24, Jesus comes back after the tribulation, and the sun and moon shall not give their light. That's what happens here in verse 16 also. So at the same time as he's coming and rescuing us, and taking all those that are dead in Christ shall rise first, and they that are alive and remain shall be with the Lord forever. They'll be caught up in the air to meet the Lord, and so shall we be forever with him, right? But what about these people? What's up with these people here, the people that are afraid? Well, they're the ones that are gonna get punished. So it's a great day for Christians, it's a great day for people that are saved, but it's a bad day if you're not saved. It's a bad day if you're a reprobate. It's a bad day if you're living on the earth and you're not saved when Jesus comes back. That's a bad day for you. So I look at Isaiah chapter 13, verse number six. Isaiah chapter 13, verse number six. Let's look at some other Old Testament scriptures about the day of the Lord here. It says, How ye? For the day of the Lord is at hand. It shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore, shall all hands be faint and every man's heart shall melt. And what does that scripture make you think of? That men's heart fail them. They're basically gonna have heart failure. They're so scared that they're gonna just die of heart attacks, apparently. But anyway, verse eight, and they shall be afraid. Pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them. They shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth. They shall be amazed one at another. Their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh cruel both with wrath and fierce anger. So, I mean, all these descriptions you see about the day of the Lord, they're not good, are they? They're cruel, they're dark, they're wrathful. That's fierce anger. It says, To lay the land desolate and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light. The sun shall be darkened in its going forth and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. What does that sound like? Well, we just saw it in Revelation chapter six and Matthew chapter 24. Is this talking about the day of the Lord? Yes, it is. And I will punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease. And I will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a man that the golden wedge of Ophir. So it's talking about mankind being more precious than fine gold. It's talking about trying to find one alive, is what it's talking about. So there's gonna be a huge population decrease. You know, these liberals have been wanting this population decrease for so long, well, they're gonna get it, but they're not gonna like the way that they get it because what they want is to kill off all the poor people and all the non-initiated into their little secret societies and all this other stuff, but God's got other plans for them. His plan is that they're the ones that are gonna go. No, you go, Bill Gates. You take the vaccinations first, buddy, but they're not gonna be vaccinations. It's gonna be wrath, fireballs, scorpions, all kinds of earthquakes and destruction. And it says, I will shake the heavens and the earth shall remove out of her place in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of his fierce anger. And I'm so glad that we won't be there for that. Look at verse 14. And it shall be as the chaste row and as the chaste sheep that no man taketh up, they shall every man turn to his own people and flee everyone into his own land. Everyone that is found shall be thrust through, and everyone that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword. Their children also shall be dashed in pieces before their eyes. Their houses shall be spoiled, their wives ravished. Behold, I will stir up the meads against them, which shall not regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it. So here you have him. Now he's talking about something else. He's talking about the meads, right? So the meads have been destroyed for a long time. So you see how there's exact things that the Bible says in Revelation and in Matthew chapter 24, Luke 21, Mark 13. And then you go back into the context of the story of the historical thing that actually did happen, and it's talking about the first destruction of Babylon here. It says, their bows shall dash the young men to pieces. They shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb. Their eyes shall not spare children. And it says, and Babylon, the glory of the kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees, excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. Now, I mean, I wasn't there when the first Babylon fell, but I'm pretty sure God did not destroy Babylon with fireballs. He destroyed them with the meads. And maybe they had fireballs that were being launched at them for the city walls or whatever. Maybe that's what it's talking about. But there's going to be another Babylon in the end times that God is going to destroy by fire. So you see how it jumps in and out of shadow fulfillments and then of historical events that actually happened already. It says, it shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation, neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there, neither shall the shepherds make their fold there. So, and you know, there's so many verses about it. I just kind of wrote down some. If you want to write these down and study them later, Isaiah chapter 34, Jeremiah 46, Lamentations chapter two, Ezekiel chapter 13, Ezekiel chapter 30, Joel one, two, and three, Zephaniah one and two, Zechariah chapter 14. Those are some other ones that you can study in the Old Testament. I might have said that, just play it back slow or something. But I do want to show you Joel chapter three, all right? Well, I just thought, you know, I don't want to keep you here all night. So, and I'm sure you don't want to be kept here all night. You all look tired anyway, like you're just done. So anyway, Joel chapter three, verse 12. I realize I'm going through a lot of scripture, but I'm also going to talk about the day of Christ here in just a minute. But anyway, Joel chapter three, verse 12 says, Let the heathen be awakened and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there will I sit and judge all the heathen round about. Put you in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, get you down, for the press is full, the fats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord will be the hope of his people and the strength of the children of Israel. See, so it's contrasting for us here. It's still saying some of the same things, right? The sun and moon should be darkened, but then it says the Lord's going to roar out of Zion and utter his voice from Jerusalem. So, and we know that he's going to reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years, and it says the heavens and the earth shall shake, but the Lord will be the hope of his people. So, I believe, this is what I believe about the day of the Lord and the day of Christ. I believe that they're the same day. However, the first part of that day is when Jesus comes back and that's going to be a great day for us. That's the day of Christ, the day of Jesus Christ. So, but then what happens afterwards is the day of the Lord. That's when God's wrath begins to be poured upon the earth. I believe that that happens in the same day. Because, I mean, look at this verse. It's just, it's talking about, you know, all these things happening, but it says the Lord will be the hope of his people. So, for us, it's going to be hope. For us, it's going to be the promises fulfilled. For us, it's going to be to start, you know, getting our, the things, the rewards that the Lord has in store for us. It's going to be a celebration. It's going to be people hugging it out, you know, that haven't seen each other in a long time. Or, you know, seen relatives that were saved that passed on before them. Or friends that they got saved. Or people that they got saved, you know, will be coming up to you and be like, thank you so much for getting me saved, even though I never came to church. You know, I'm still saved. Praise God, right? So, it's going to be a great day for us, but a bad day for them. So, you know, it's, and I, why do I believe it's the same day? Well, because, I'll show you. Well, let's look at the day of Christ now. We've been looking at the day of the Lord. Does everybody agree that every single part that it's talking about except for the Lord being the hope of his people, it's all negative, isn't it? Everything that you see about the day of the Lord is a negative thing for the people that have to experience it. Getting smoked, earthquakes, you know, taking down all these buildings, people being killed with fire and all this other stuff. It sounds bad. But, so, the day of the Lord and the day of Christ are the same day, I believe, but different events. But they are triggered by the one event where Christ comes back. Because, remember, we're happy, we're rising up. If we're dead already, we rise first, and those that are alive and remain rise up with the Lord. And that we're safe in his arms forever. We don't ever have to worry about people persecuting us, or all the things that they try, the murders that they are going to be doing to people. That's all done for us. We're living our best life after that, right? But, for them, what are they doing? Hiding in the rocks, scared to death, their hearts are melting like water. You know, they're saying for the mountains and rocks to fall on us. You know, it must be scary, however Jesus appears when he comes back, it must be, it freaks people out. I mean, it's gonna freak people out, right? Because what happens in the Bible when you just see an angel they fall at their face as dead. And so, saved people don't even want to face an angel. They always fall down, and they fall at his feet as dead, or whatever. You know, when Jesus appears to John in the book of Revelation, and it describes what he looks like, it's a lot different than what he looked like in the Bible. It doesn't say what he looked like, but we know he was a man. But when you're talking about like feet of brass, eyes as a flame of fire, all these different descriptions, and it's gonna scare people in a major way, to the point where they're having heart attacks apparently. But anyway, let's look at some scriptures about the day of Christ. Look at 1 Corinthians 5, 5. There's not a lot of them, so we'll just look at these really quickly. So, 1 Corinthians 5, 5 says, "'To deliver such a one unto Satan "'for the destruction of the flesh.'" He's talking about someone that's kicked out of church, that God will allow Satan to beat them, or he'll use Satan to torment them in some way, that says that the Spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. So the day of the Lord Jesus, what happens? We're saved. We're saved from death. We're saved from, we're not in hell, but we're saved from the death that we had, and we're resurrected. Look at 2 Corinthians 1, verse 14. 2 Corinthians, chapter 1, verse 14. The Bible says, "'As also ye have acknowledged us in part "'that we are your rejoicing, "'even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.'" So Paul's talking about the people that he got saved, and those people, he said that, you know, "'You have acknowledged us in part "'that we are your rejoicing.'" Like, they're like basically, he's saying, you've expressed the fact that you're thankful, and you rejoice because we got you saved, is basically what he's saying here. And it says, "'Even as ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus.'" Why? Because that's when the rewards are gonna start getting handed out. And also, the fact that Paul's gonna be able to see all those people, because Paul didn't just, he wasn't just a missionary, or an evangelist, or an apostle for one year. He had like a pretty good stint of time, over 20 years, easily, that he was ministering and getting people saved, so he's gonna be there, and really, we're gonna wanna thank Paul, because somebody had to go to the Gentiles, and Paul turned the world upside down for Jesus Christ, and because of Paul, we have a lineage back to Paul, because he's the one that went and got the Gentiles saved. And guess what? Y'all are Gentiles in here. So, unless you're a black keeper of Israel, then that's another story, but that's what they think. Bunch of weirdos. But anyway, let's look at Philippians chapter one, verse 10. Philippians chapter one, verse 10. Here's another scripture. Now you say, well, it says the day of the Lord Jesus. How's that different than the day of the Lord? Well, it's specifying the difference. It is saying what's different, and notice the first two things that I showed you are positive. They're positive. So, look at Philippians chapter one, 10. It says, that you may approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ. So, approve things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense. So, what's Paul teaching? He's like, hey, I want you to be the least offensive as you can till the day of Christ. And so, that's sanctification he's talking about. Now look at Philippians chapter two, verse 16. Philippians chapter two, verse 16. The Bible says, Philippians 2, 16, holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain. So, what's Paul talking about? Rejoicing in the day of Christ, because the day of Christ, the day of the Lord Jesus Christ are the same thing. It's a time of rejoicing. It's a time of happiness. It's a time of gladness. And the apostle Paul is gonna, he said that I may be rejoiced in the day of Christ, that I had not run in vain, neither labored in vain. Because you know what? Running in vain for the Lord, it's not vain. It's never vain. When we're out running and beating the bushes and trying to get people saved and laboring in the Lord, it's never vain. In all labor there is profit. Everything we do for the Lord, even if there were 16 people out today and zero people got saved, you know what? You're still laboring for the Lord in the heat of the day. And you know what? He appreciates that. You know what he also is gonna do? He's gonna reward you for that. So you're like, well, you know, we didn't get anybody saved today. But you're still working for the Lord. It was not in vain. You know, you think, well, nobody got saved. But you know what? We had some visitors last weekend that someone just knocked on their door and left an invitation. You know what they said to me at the end of the service? They said, thank you so much. We appreciate the sermon. And you know, I said, well, how'd you guys find the church? And she said, well, somebody knocked on my door and left me an invitation. And she said that my friend said, you know what, I'm looking for a new church. And she goes, hey, well, somebody just knocked on my door yesterday or whatever. And they gave me this invitation, let's go. And so they came to church. And you're like, well, that's vain. No, it's not vain. It's not vain. So everything we do has purpose. And maybe they never come back. I don't know. Some people, they're like, hey, I really love the services. Yeah, I'll see you next week. And then we never see them again. But you know, the devil wants to just give people excuses and not go to church. It might not be that they don't want to come back. It just might be maybe their family doesn't want them to come back. You know, I looked up that church that you're going to. It's a hate church. I mean, we don't know what happens behind closed doors. But you know what, everything that we do has purpose in it. And in the day of Christ, those things will be revealed to us just how much of an impact we really had. This small church in a bank strip mall or whatever. You know, there's lots of churches that meet like this. You know, I guess not lots of churches. But there's some churches that meet in small strip malls like this that do a lot of work, knock thousands of doors, thousands and thousands of doors. Faithful Word, I was listening to a sermon, I think, where they've knocked millions of doors. They've knocked over half of Phoenix. That's seven, what is it, seven million people? So they've knocked 3.5 million people's doors in 20 years. So that's a huge number, right? And they did that when they didn't even have a lot of people going there. Some of those doors they knocked when they only had like less than 100 people. So I mean, they've been doing a lot of soloing there. But do you think that's in vain? Of course it's not in vain. They have a church of 400, but how many thousands of people do you think they have saved in Phoenix? They probably have many thousands of people. So that's not even including all the missions work. You know, we do, churches like our church, we do a lot of stuff. And we're doing it for the Lord. That's who we're supposed to be doing it for. And that's what I'm doing it for. You know, I hope that's what your motivation is, but it's not going to be in vain, folks. It's a big deal. So look at 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, verse number 1. The Bible says, now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him. I mean, just reading that verse, what is that verse talking about? Jesus coming back, right? And our gathering together unto him. Is there any question this is talking about the second coming? Is it talking about the rapture? Yes, it is. It's talking about our gathering together unto him. Now look at verse 2. That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from us, that the day of Christ is at hand. So this is a scripture of immense debate here. But really, it shouldn't be. We just got the context in the previous verse. It's talking about the coming of the Lord. They're like, yeah, we agree with you. But they don't really agree with this passage, because a lot of people believe in a pre-tribulational rapture. And they like to take this verse here, verse number 2, and they like to say that the day of Christ actually means the day of the Lord. Because if you say it's the day of Christ, it's the rapture, what has to happen next? Well, let no man to see the day of the Lord. Well, let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not come, except there be a falling away first. So this destroys the imminency doctrine that the pre-trib rapture people have. If something has to happen first, and it hasn't happened yet, can Jesus come back right now? Can he come back at any moment? And then some idiot will say, well, he could do anything, he's God. No, he can't go against his word. He's not gonna go against his word, because that would make him a liar. And God's not a liar. So notice that it doesn't say the day of the Lord right there, does it? Look at that verse again, as that the day of Christ is at hand. So really, Paul is smashing imminency right here, the imminent return of Jesus Christ. This is what pre-tribbers and these dispensational dirtbags want to teach, that Jesus could come back at any moment. And it's just stupidity, because of the next verse. And so it's like, well, why wouldn't they just get this? Because pre-tribbers like to go and say, well, this should be the day of the Lord, that that's what it actually means, that this is a mistranslation of the Bible. Now, the only Bibles that I know of that actually say the day of Christ in English are the King James Bible and the New King James. And I'm not propping up the New King James. But the New King James had to get something right. But the other modern versions, so from the Westcott and Hort, they changed in every modern Bible version, it's changed to the day of the Lord. And why do they do that? Well, they do that because they want you to think that this is the day of the Lord and not the day of Christ. They want you to think that because if that was true, then something has to happen before Jesus comes back, which it does. So that's what I mean, that that teaching that they say that Jesus could come back at any moment, and I've heard preachers say this, and I'm sure you have too, He could come back tonight before the end of this sermon. He could come right back. No, He can't, because it says, let no man deceive you by any means. And if you look back at what He says, don't be shaken in mind, don't be troubled, neither by spirit nor by word. If a spirit comes and tells you, if somebody word of mouth says something, or by letter from us, He said, even if the apostles themselves wrote you a letter and said that the day of Christ is at hand, it's not. Isn't that what it's saying? And then it says, let no man deceive you by any means. So there's a lot of people out there deceiving people about the rapture and when it's gonna happen and what the day of Christ actually is. Because if they say day of the Lord, then they can say, well, see, this is talking about something else. This is talking about the second coming. And I agree it's the second coming, but their second coming isn't the same as our second coming. Because they talk about the second coming as the day that Christ returns to the earth with all of His saints with Him to destroy the beast at Armageddon. So that's why they like to insert this. And it's really frustrating that this is the case, but it is. And people that are so-called King James only will even put that in their commentaries. And they'll say, oh yeah, this should really mean the day of the Lord. And they want to do that to deceive people. Because look, you know it doesn't say that in the Greek. If you look in the Greek, the word kyrios means Lord, okay? And I'm not a Greek expert, but you can go through a lexicon and look at these passages with the English side by side and you can look at the Greek word that was used there. And in the TR, it does not say kyrios in that text, but it says it in the West cotton hort. And you're like, you're going back to the Greek, Pastor. No, I'm not. I'm just telling you that the underlying word there is not that word that they translate as Lord. The word Lord is in the New Testament several times, and it's the word kyrios, okay? And so the word for Christ is used here, the day of Christ, the day of Jesus Christ. And so, actually, I want to make sure I'm saying this right. I have this book that I was reading and I agree with a little bit of it. I agree with this part of it. So, comparing the New Testament Greek text in 2 Thessalonians 2, 2. So the textus receptus, the received text that we get the King James from, the word, I can't pronounce that word, but I think it's Christos, is how it's transliterated into English for us. But it's definitely not the word kyrios, which means Lord. And so what am I talking about here? I'm talking about the fact that the day of Christ has been switched to the day of the Lord in all the modern Bible versions. But does that surprise you? But what should surprise you is that someone that claims to be King James only would still say the same thing. And C.I. Schofield was not King James only. He actually didn't want to use the King James, but it was such a popular version at that time that he didn't want to use anything else. But he, you can just tell that he despised the King James and a lot of things he said. But in this verse here it says, this should read the day of the Lord. And so, the people took what C.I. Schofield said and they built this dispensational of heresy, belief in teaching, and it actually spills into, dispensationalism in its true form teaches dispensational salvation also. So like in this age you were saved like this, in this age you were saved like that. First it was grace and work, or it was all works, then it was grace, then it was grace and works, and just like confusing as heck, right? And also not true. So we've always been saved by the same way, by believing on the Lord and calling upon his name. So anyway, so hopefully that makes sense to you and I just wanted to take the time to explain that to you that look, there's tons of King James only people, even people that you would probably respect. Like, well you probably don't know who David Sorensen is, but he says, it should be noted that Paul's not saying that these things must happen before the rapture, in his commentary of this. Well, what is it saying then? It absolutely is saying that. And let's see, who else? There's some other famous, well I don't know who this guy is, David Strauss. You've maybe heard of him, I don't know. But there's a guy named David Cloud. You ever heard of David Cloud? He's like kind of a, I think he's a false teacher, but you know, he says based upon the King James and written from uncompromising Bible believing position, this is what he says about himself. Yeah, David Cloud is stooped to replacing the King James translator's choice of Christ, as is found in the received text with the Alexandrian manuscript word, Lord. So he, you know, he tries to do the switcheroo, just like all these other bozos. You know, at least guys like John MacArthur and David, Jeremiah and some of these false prophets at least, they're honest with the dishonest Bible that they have. You know, they teach it based upon the verses that they're getting from their new modern versions, but what excuse does a King James only preacher who knows that that word does not say kyrios in the Greek like they wanna, you know, but yet they wanna change it to day of the Lord? What are they doing? They're correcting the translation of the Bible. It's a serious issue. They're correcting what God's word says because of their pet doctrine, the pre-trib rapture. That's what's really going on. And so look, if you just wanna be stupid and not really know the Bible very well and teach the pre-trib rapture, okay, fine, whatever. But if you're knowingly taking what you know is true and then flipping it on its head, you say you don't like to correct the King James, but then you're correcting it in that verse, then what's wrong with you? You're doing it to satisfy your pet doctrine that you know doesn't say that, you know, that's wicked. That is ungodly and they should repent about that for sure. You wanna talk about repenting of your sins? Well, repent of lying about the King James and lying about the word day of Christ saying day of, should say day of the Lord to fit your stupid pet pre-tribulation doctrine. Because the Bible says stuff has to happen before Christ comes back, fact. And it says that the man of sin must be revealed the son of perdition. Who's that? The antichrist. So who comes first, Christ or antichrist? Antichrist. What are you setting up the people that, and look, Tim LaHaye who read the, he wrote the Left Behind series, right? Super famous, but isn't it weird how the independent Baptists are agreeing with what all the non-denominators are saying? Almost everybody in quote unquote Christian-dom believes it's garbage because of all the stupid Left Behind books and I've never read them, I just know they're stupid because they're teaching a pre-trib rapture which I've never believed. But the point is is that things have to happen first, the man of sin has to be revealed first. It says that he sits in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. Do you see a temple anywhere? There's no temple here. So there's a lot of things that have to happen first, right? But I digress. So let's look at 1 Thessalonians 5 verse one. So that's talking, so if Paul wrote, did Paul write 1 Thessalonians? Did Paul write 2 Thessalonians? So in 2 Thessalonians 2 he says that the day of Christ is hand, don't be shaken in mind that that day's already happened. The rapture has not happened is what he's saying. And then in 1 Thessalonians 5 he's talking about the day of the Lord, look what it says. But of the times and seasons, brethren, you have no need that I write unto you for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. So remember the day comes upon people like a thief that aren't expecting it, that aren't saved, that are headed for hell, so it's the day of the Lord for them, but it's the day of Christ for us. Look at verse three. 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. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness that that day should overtake you as a thief. So we know the Bible, we know what's gonna happen. When these things start to happen, we're gonna know that it's close. Jesus even said when things start falling off trees, you know that summer's nigh. When the figs are ripe and all that stuff. And he says know when these things are happening that it's close, right? So we'll know when it's close so this day will not overtake us as a thief like it will the unsaved. We're gonna be like, yay, the Lord's coming soon. Now let's go back to Malachi in verse two. It's a long chapter, I've gotten to verse two, I know. But I wanted to preach about this topic because I think it's important for us to understand the difference. And this is one of those things, and it really irritates me, this thing of them saying it's the day of the Lord when it's not. So the day of the Lord's a destruction for the wicked. So look at Malachi four two, it says, but unto you that fear my name shall the son of righteousness arise with healing in his wings, and he shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. Well, I mean, I believe this is talking about when Christ rises, you know, he comes and arises with healing in his wings, talking about the rapture. You know, he's gonna heal the nations, he's gonna heal the lands, he's gonna heal those that are dead and buried in the ground. And it says, and you shall go forth and grow up as calves of the stall. So the son of righteousness is a play on words there, too. You see that how it says, because the son appears to rise to us, right? And so a lot of people believe in like a geocentricity where the earth is the center of the universe. And I have to admit that I've looked into that before. And I've been accused of believing in the flood of earth before, but I didn't believe in it, I just looked into it. And there's nothing wrong with looking into stuff. Because I looked into Jesus and found out it was true. So I mean, obviously the flat earth, that's a completely different story. But I'm just saying that when you've learned that everything that you've been taught is a lie, pretty much, and like when you get saved, it's like you realize that the, it's like the veil of deception has been ripped away. And so it kind of, it helps, it makes you want to look into things that you believed and you don't know why you believed it. Why was I a Democrat? Because my family was. But when I looked into it, I was like, they believe in abortion, this is wicked. I'm never gonna be a Democrat. You know, and I knew that they were wrong and wicked. And obviously the Republicans are too, okay? I'm not saying that they're not, but they just do it in a more sly way to try to get the Christian votes or whatever. So anyway, the point is is that I believe that we do revolve around the sun. And that makes sense if you think about, you know, what, everything in the Bible revolves around the Son of God. So, and it's talking here, it's not talking about a literal sun, it's playing on words here in the Old Testament, right? Because Jesus is the Son of God. And so, again, everything revolves around the sun, so we don't, look, the world is something that God made, but not everything, everything doesn't revolve around us. That's geocentricity that we believe that the earth is the center of the universe. But wouldn't that not make sense if God is actually supposed to be the thing that everything revolves around? Now, obviously, people worship the sun and that's wrong. It's just a picture, because Jesus Christ is the light of the world, right? And on, you know, he said, let there be light, and there was light. The sun was made on day four, that was day one. So, Jesus Christ is the light, but he's represented by the sun. And darkness is divided from light. The light is a picture of goodness and righteousness and truth and holiness, and the darkness is a picture of the wicked and the bad and all that stuff. So, anyway, hopefully that makes sense to you. But it says that he'll arise with healing in his wings and he shall go forth as the calves of the stall. Now, let's look at Revelation 7.9. I'm almost done here. I've got a few more verses to show you. A few more verses and then we'll be done. Revelation 7, verse 9, the Bible says, after this I beheld. So, remember we were in chapter six, the sun and moon were darkened, the great earthquake happened, and then that was when the fifth seal was opened. And then we're here in Revelation 7.9, it says, after this I beheld, and lo, a great multitude which no man could number of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before the lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands. So, the rapture has happened. And so, it goes along with the timeline that I'm talking about. Revelation chapter six, you know, up until that fifth seal is the wrath of the devil, and obviously God is allowing the world to be destroyed by world war and famines and things like that, but he's not unleashing his wrath until, remember at the end of Revelation 6, where it says the great day of his wrath is come. Got chapter seven, all those people appear up in heaven. The 144,000 are sealed. And then you get to Revelation chapter eight, and go ahead and turn to Revelation chapter eight, it says, and the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. Now, these angels are about to bring upon the earth the wrath of God. So, when the trumpets start to sound, that's when things get bad. It says, and the first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth, and the third part of the trees was burnt up, and the green grass was burnt up. So, this is when the wrath of God is actually poured out, when the first angel sounds. So, you got Revelation chapter six, it's in order. Revelation chapter seven. So, Revelation six, then you see the sun and moon darken, we know that Jesus comes during that time. Revelation seven, all the people are in heaven. He puts the seal of God in the forehead of the 144,000, sends them back to earth to preach. And then, in Revelation chapter eight, it says there's silence in heaven for like a half hour. Let's actually turn there real quick, because I only have this one verse. You're already there, but I need to turn there. Let me reiterate that. Revelation chapter eight. It says, oh yeah, verse one, it says, and when they had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about the space of a half an hour, and I saw the seven angels who stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets. So, after the sealing of the 144,000, that's when it happens. So, and I believe that all happens in the same day. So, the space of a half hour happens, and then that's when the angels start to sound. And here's the other thing I wanted to mention before we're done. Let's go back to Malachi chapter four, three. The other thing I wanted to mention is that the day of the Lord begins that, you'll say, well, it says the day of the Lord, but the day of the Lord kind of is the beginning of God's wrath. So, that's when the day actually starts. And like I said, in the Bible, there's many days of the Lord that take place. There's days of the Lord where he destroys the Babylonians, but there's, the day that he destroys Babylon is after, obviously, years after he throws the first trumpet sounds. So, and he calls that the day of the Lord. So, what does that tell you? It tells you that that whole process is basically called, you know, the day of the Lord lasts a long time. So, that's what I'm saying. But there's a day that it begins, and the day that we're all safe and up in heaven, just like Jesus said in Matthew 24, as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it also be in the days of the Son of Man. Because people are eating and drinking and getting married and all this stuff, and then it rained and destroyed everybody, right? And then also, it talks about Sodom and Gomorrah, the moment Lot was taken out, it rained fire and brimstone down and destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah. So, it's gonna be the same thing. That's the picture for us, that once the people of God are safe and off this planet and resurrected, then not too long after that is gonna be the wrath. And that's what Jesus said in Matthew 24 in Luke 23 and Mark 13. So, look up Matthew, or excuse me, Malachi 4-3. It says, and he shall tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet. There's gonna be a day, folks, when we don't have to put up with this garbage anymore, and there are actually gonna be ashes under the soles of your feet. And you know why I know that's gonna happen? Because look what it says the rest of the verse. In the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts. Now God, when God speaks, the things that he says always come to pass. And you know, I mean, it kind of becomes, it's kind of weird to think about, you know, stepping on ashes of dead people, but that's what it's gonna be, you know? The Bible says we shall wash our feet in the blood of the wicked. We'll rejoice when we see that God has avenged us of our enemies, because there's a lot of wicked people out there that do a lot of wicked things, and it's gonna get worse, folks. So we need to hear sermons like this to prepare our hearts for the things that are coming, but just remember the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night on those that are unexpecting it. They're not expecting it to happen, but we are of the light. We are the children of light. God loves us, and he's never appointed us to wrath. We're not gonna go through that. God loves us, and he's going to keep us safe forevermore, and we're gonna rule and reign with Christ on the earth. It's a fact. It's in the Bible. In the end, we win, right? Let's pray. Lord, we thank you so much for this great passage of scripture here, and Lord, we only got three verses here, but Lord, we thank you so much for clear doctrine in the Bible. Lord, the difference between the day of the Lord and the day of Christ, Lord, I thank you so much that you count us worthy to be resurrected and be one of your people, and Lord, we called upon your name, and we're trusting you for the promises and the hope that lies before us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.