Tuesday, August 11, 2015

THE LORD SPEAKS (PART 16)



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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies.

For the Lord will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to pay back his anger in fury, and his rebuke in flames of fire. For by fire will the Lord execute judgment, and by his sword, on all flesh; and those slain by the Lord shall be many. Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the center, eating the flesh of pigs, vermin, and rodents, shall come to an end together, says the Lord.

Isaiah 66:14-17

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Two things will happen when Jesus returns to judge the world.

1. Those who placed their faith, hope, and trust in Him will be spared destruction and annihilation as the current earth and heavens give way to a new heaven and earth which will hold the city of New Jerusalem. All saved believers will inhabit this city and reside there with God, the Father, and Jesus, His Son, forever.

2. Those who rejected Jesus will face the full brunt of His indignation and wrath, destroyed by fire and forever vanquished from existence.

And as we have seen in all of the prior 15 devotions of this series, this isn’t just me making predictions. It’s the Lord speaking and telling us what’s to come. I’m just trying to bring it to light so that everyone might have the chance to experience the glory of salvation instead of despair of obliteration.

Look again at the words of the Lord for today as we draw near to the end of Isaiah 66 and with that, the end of the book:

You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice; your bodies shall flourish like the grass; and it shall be known that the hand of the Lord is with his servants, and his indignation is against his enemies.

For the Lord will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to pay back his anger in fury, and his rebuke in flames of fire. For by fire will the Lord execute judgment, and by his sword, on all flesh; and those slain by the Lord shall be many. Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following the one in the center, eating the flesh of pigs, vermin, and rodents, shall come to an end together, says the Lord. 
Isaiah 66:14-17

Note here that on the day of final judgment, there will be no doubt as to what is going on.

For all Christians will know it is the day they finally experience eternal victory over death and the grave, ushered into everlasting life with their Savior and the God who gave Him up to pay the price for sin out of His love for mankind. It will be a long awaited day, the best day ever for them, and a day when their hearts shall rejoice and bodies flourish with new life as they inhabit the New Jerusalem. And as it all takes place, there will be no questioning that truly the Lord was blessing His servants for their faithful submission to His will and ways.

Conversely, there also will be little doubt that the Lord’s ire will be directed against His enemies, those who partnered with Satan and chose to side with sin and its wickedness instead of surrendering to the Lord and adopting His call to righteousness. When Jesus comes in fire to pay back His anger in fury, those who refused to believe in Him will be rebuked, not by mere words, but rather by fire. In fact, we know that they will be cast into a lake of fire along with the very Satan they chose to live for (Revelation 20). Many will perish on that day and for them, it will be the worst day ever and their last.

So the Lord’s message as He speaks to us is clear today for He simply tells us what we can expect on the day of Jesus’ return:

For that day will be the last one for the heavens and earth as we know them and there will be deliverance for the Christ’s believers and judgment for the wicked, those who rejected Him.

If you’re not counted among the saved, I implore you to make the needed change in your life today. Place your full hope in Jesus as your Savior, submit your life to be like Him in every way, follow His command to make disciples of all nations, and find your escape from the all consuming fire of the coming judgment day.

Today is the day to secure your future forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com

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