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INCREASE Y O U R
B 1 B L E
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The PLAIN TRUTH, in conjunction with the Ambassador College Bible
Correspondence Course. presents brief excursions into the fascinating study
of the Bible. You simply turn to and
read in your Bible each verse
given in
answer to the questions. You'll
be
amazed at the new understanding gained
each month from these short st udies!
What DoYou Mean...''Dayof
the
Lord''?
W
hat did J ohn- the last surviving
of Jesus' 12 apostles-mean
when he wrote in the mysterious
book of Revelation: "1 was in the
Spirit on the Lord's day" (Rev. 1:1O)?
What does the "Lord's day" mean? ls it Sun–
day, Saturday or sorne other day of the week?
And what does the Lord 's day have todo with
the strange prophecies recounted by John the
apostle throughout the book of Revelation?
In this keynote verse, J ohn is not referring to any
day of the week, but to that prophetic period spoken of
in more than 30 separate prophecies as the great and
terrible " day of the Lord"! He is s tating the
theme
of a
whole series of prophetic events revealed to him by the
Revelator, Jesus Christ (verse 1).
In Spirit, or in vision, J ohn was carried forward sorne
1,900 years-projected
into
the DAv OF THE LORD.
It
is
the time described all through the Revelation when God
Almighty wi ll supernaturally INTERVENE in the affairs
of men and punish rebellious nations for the hellish
nuclear destruction they have wrought on earth!
lt
is the
time that immediately follows great national and reli–
gious persecution to fall on the English-speaking nations
and northwestern Europe. That time is called "the great
tribulation" and leads up to and
climaxes
in the glorious
Second Coming of Christ and the final establishment of
peace among men and the happy, peaceful WORLD
TOMORROW!
The day o f the Lord is the focal point of all biblical
prophecy. The awesome events to take place dur ing
this momentous period are described prophetically in
many places in the Bible. When the original book of
the Revelation of Jesus was given to John it was
covered by seven official seals. The sixth seal, when
opened, revealed spectacular as tronomical signs (Rev.
6: 12-14; Matt. 24:29-30). Men are frightened for they
suddenly realize that God's
direct intervention
in
human affairs is about to begin- that the "day of the
Lord" with its punishments for sin is about to coro–
menee.
Februar y 1983
Let's pick up our s tudy where we ended last issue.
God 's Dl rect lnter ventlon
The day of the Lord will be a terrible, awesome,
fearful time! Bible prophecies show that God must
intervene in world atfai rs in a way not seen before. Up
to this time God has generaJiy left the world to its own
devices ever since the fi rst humans chose to follow the
way of Satan nearly 6,000 years ago.
l.
Exactly why will God have to punish mankind so
severely? Rev. 11 :18, last few words; Zeph.
'1 :
17; Isa.
24:5.
COMMENT: J esus Christ and God the Father are
angry at the grievous sins and des tructive ways that
mankind has brought on the world . God is sending
J esus Christ, this time not to announce peace and d ie
for sin, but to "spank" humanity in love-otherwise
humans would obliterate all life on earth (Matt.
24:22).
As any loving parent punishes disobedient children
who will not listen to gentle admonition, Christ will
have to punish the leaders of this world to bring
humanity
to its senses.
He finally. will usher in peace,
abundant prosperi ty, happiness and joy for all man–
kind!
2. What scriptures indicate how long the "day" of
God's anger or wrath on a sinfu l world will last? Isa.
34:8; 61 :2; 63:4. Does a prophetic day often represent
ayear? Num. 14:34.
COMMENT: When the Bible talks about the " day" of
the Lord, it almost always refers to a
year
of punish–
ment that precedes and culminates in the 24-hour day
of Christ's return.
When Trumpets Begln to Sound!
J ohn sees in vision seven trumpets being handed to
seven angels. The trumpets are, of course, symbolic.
The trumpet was always blown as a warning of
war
or
approaching
armies
dur ing ancient times. These seven
trumpets represent real world events to come. These
t rumpets signa! plagues God shall send as physical
punishment upon rebell ious mankind as warning not to
go any farther into national and personal sins!
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