King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Thursday, September 12, 2019
Chapters: Book of Joel
Message: When The Day of The LORD Comes
Hello My Friend,
Recently, I have noticed that I am getting a lot of hateful comments, and my subscribers have decreased in number. The thing is, people are not unsubscribing, my email service has been mysteriously dropping people. This can be very discouraging, but then God reminded me of something, people need to hear the Gospel, they need to hear the truth, many are going to reject it, yet some will receive it, but I have a job to do. God calls on all of His faithful to tell the truth, we do not need to be Bible scholars, we just need to be saved, have a willing heart to learn what the Bible says, and teach it. “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.” – John 7:7,17-18.
We have been reading through Ezekiel about what will happen when Jesus returns. Today, as we read the Book of Joel, we learn of the judgment that is to come. The Book of Joel contains three chapters, the author is Joel and it was written to the people in Judah, and all people. The timeline for these events comes with a bit of a debate among Bible scholars, some say 850-860 B. C., others say, 400–380 B. C. Since the book describes what will take place during the time of His return, it is likely to be the later date. The purpose of the book was to warn Judah of their sin and need for repentance and to inform them of God’s future restoration for the entire nation. What we are to learn from the book is that even in the midst of God’s chastening, His plans always include restoration. Through Joel, tells them to wake up, and repent because a final judgment is coming to not only the people of Judah, and Jerusalem, it is coming to all.
“Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white. The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men. Gird yourselves, and lament, ye priests: howl, ye ministers of the altar: come, lie all night in sackcloth, ye ministers of my God: for the meat offering and the drink offering is withholden from the house of your God. Sanctify ye a fast, call a solemn assembly, gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land into the house of the LORD your God, and cry unto the LORD, Alas for the day! for the day of the LORD is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.” – Joel 1:5-7,12-15.
“because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” The biggest modern example of what is going on right now to compare this to is socialism. The world is led to believe that if they put their trust and lives in the hands of their government then they will be provided for, taken care of, and they do not even have to work for it. That sounds just great, but the problem with that is that they control your every move, and sooner or later you are living in great poverty, and the entire nation, except for the politicians, becomes desolate, unbearable. Just take a look at Los Angeles, California, their joy is withered away. It is time for the Church to step up, the pastors, the Sunday school teachers, the ministers, those serving, and the laymen, call a fast, to repent of your evils, cry out to God, and teach the Gospel because Jesus will come as a thief in the night. “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.” – II Peter 3:10.
“the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” All these wannabe environmentalists, climate change advocates, and save the planet crazies are “working” on saving the planet, but it is all a waste of time. Instead of trying to take all joy out of the world, or searching for another planet that they can ruin, they need to be looking to Christ. Dead or alive, we will all stand before Christ, which is why we must keep teaching the Gospel to all the world before that time comes. This warning was not just given to us today, it always has been.
“Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 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, even to the years of many generations. And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great: for he is strong that executeth his word: for the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it? Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.” – Joel 2:1-2,11-13,17-18.
“Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people.” I teach Sunday school and Wednesday night Junior Church, there is a boy that attends, and when he has had a bad day he acts up. Yesterday, I decided to do something different with him, I called him up in front of the class and gave him a hug. Of course, he was embarrassed, but he calmed down. People are hurting, so many kids are hurting, if they are not being bullied at school, they are being bullied at home, even to the point that they are pushing this gender neutral garbage on them. The only way we can turn things around is to pray for them, to teach them God’s Word, to give up some of our own comforts and show them the love of Jesus by loving them just as they are. Of course, we are going to be rejected by the world and many who call themselves Christians, but that is okay, Jesus knows all about it. “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.” – John 7:17-18.
“whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.” There is only one Gospel, and that is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. When Jesus enters your soul, you become new, He works in you, and changes you into a reflection of Himself, and that includes being a witness. This has been the same message from the beginning, through Joel, God tells them how He creates His believers into witnesses. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” – Joel 2:28-32.
“that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh;” This is the Holy Spirit, and the second we call on Christ to save us, His Spirit enters our soul, that makes us a witness, and from that day forward, as we grow in Christ through Bible study, Church, and prayer, we become valuable witnesses. And let me tell you, we are very few. You see, many will get saved, and that is awesome, that is why we give our lives a living sacrifices, but very few will actually be a credible witness because they do not go beyond their salvation. I know it is a very overwhelming sometimes, we who bear the weight of those who can care less, but our work will never go unnoticed, and it will never be in vain. “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” – I Corinthians 15:58.
Our countries are in the shape they are in because ministers are tired, many are quitting the ministry, and becoming part of the world, some are just content to preach the Gospel and that is it. We need to lift up and encourage those who are tired, we need to fast and pray for God to work in our lives like never before, and we need to remember how merciful and gracious God is upon us. Zion is the hill in Jerusalem on which the temple was built, when Jesus returns, all will gather there for judgment before the entire earth will be destroyed. Through Joel, God tells Israel to be ready for the Gentiles, for all will stand before Christ.
“For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land. Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong. Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O LORD. Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. 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. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more.” – Joel 3:1-2,9-12,16-17.
“and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat:” When Christ returns, and judgment begins, we will all stand before Him in judgment. Those saved, and born again will receive their new, glorified bodies, and await the new heaven and earth, the rest will stand before the great white throne. This is everyone from Adam to the last person born on the earth, and only those who know Christ as their Saviour will be saved. The heathen, many will come trying to defeat and or change their fate by fighting God, but all will fail to their own destruction. Naturally, when you are doing work for God you are going to get persecuted by those who think they know the truth, but no amount of persecution will compare to what will come of those who reject the truth, and even those who claim they know Christ and judge everyone else as if they do not.
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” – I Corinthians 15:52-53. “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” – Revelation 20:11-12.
Jesus Christ Magnified: “And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.” – Joel 2:32.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for your mercy, grace, and that you truly are slow to anger, I think of the life I lived and sometimes even the things I do today and know that I truly do not deserve Your good graces, but am grateful that I can wake up each day knowing that my Saviour lives. I am solely trusting Him as my Saviour so I know I will receive my new glorified body and be saved from judgment. Lord, I know that the harvest is white, and You could send Jesus any day now, lead me and guide me, let me be a faithful witness to reach as many as I can with the Gospel. Restore unto me the joy of my own salvation and renew a Your Spirit within me as I rejoice in the unending hope I have in knowing that I can stand before You and hear you say, “Well done my good and faithful servant.”. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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