Saturday, March 4, 2017

A DAY WHEN ALL WILL BE SWEPT AWAY



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

The word of the Lord that came to Zephaniah, son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, during the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah:

“I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord. “I will sweep away both man and beast; I will sweep away the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea—and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”

Zephaniah 1:1-3

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

Can you imagine a day when everything we know about the world we live in will be no more, a day when there will be no more earth or heavens above?

Based on what we know today about our planet and the space outside of it, it seems to be unfathomable that it could all disappear but the truth of the matter is that it is going to happen. For a day is coming when all will be swept away forever and this isn’t a modern day prediction. It’s one that has existed for more than 2,000 years as we will see in the opening verses of the Book of Zephaniah, the next prophet we’ll be looking back as we move through the final books of the Old Testament.

The prophet Zephaniah, who this book is named after, was one in a line of pre-exilic messengers of God. Given that he lived in Judah during the reign Josiah, we know that Zephaniah prophesied at the same time as Jeremiah, Nahum, and maybe even Habakkuk between 640 and 609 BC. It was during this time that these words, given to Zephaniah by the Lord, were spoken:

“I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord. “I will sweep away both man and beast; I will sweep away the birds in the sky and the fish in the sea—and the idols that cause the wicked to stumble.”  Zephaniah 1:1-3

Very imposing words, wouldn’t you say?

We’re not told when it will happen but the Lord is making it very clear. There will be a future day when He will “sweep away everything from the face of the earth.”

Think about that for a moment because there was only one other cataclysmic event similar to it in the history of mankind. You have to go all the way back to the first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, where you’ll find this account:

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that He had made human beings on the earth, and His heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” Genesis 6:5-7

(God speaking to Noah) “I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish.” Genesis 6:17

And so it was. God sent a flood of epic proportions, one that has not been seen since the days of Noah. After Noah and his family were safely in the ark along with “seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female” (Genesis 7:2-3), God brought forty days and nights of rain on the earth (Genesis 7:11-12). Nothing survived that flood except for those who were on the ark (Genesis 7:23) and God promised to never send another event like it again, placing a rainbow in the sky as a reminder of that covenant promise (Genesis 9:16).

In contrast to this, the future event the Lord speaks about in Zephaniah is detailed in the final book of the Bible, the Book of Revelation. Look at those words here:

“Then I saw ‘a new heaven and a new earth,’ for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’”

“He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’”

“He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be My children. But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.’” Revelation 21:1-8

When Jesus returns, heaven and earth will pass away and be no more. Everything on the earth will be swept away to one of two destinations:

Those who chose to reject Jesus and live for the wicked ways of the world – the cowardly and unbelieving, the vile and the murderers, the sexually immoral and those who practice the magic arts, and the idolaters and liars – will be consigned to eternal damnation in the fiery lake.

But those who received Jesus as Savior will inhabit the new heaven and earth, entering God’s dwelling place to live with Him and Jesus forever. Those Christians will be God’s people and God will be their God, giving them a new life free from death, mourning, crying, and pain. Indeed, all things will be made new.

Will you be joining me and counted among that number who experience everything new?

I pray you will be and you will if you place your full hope and trust in Jesus.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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