Judgment day, or is it the day of vengeance?
Let’s begin with the following verses which concern Jesus response to his disciples concerning “the sign of his coming, and the end of the world.”
Matthew 24:36, “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” And,
Mark 13:32, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father.”
Jesus and His disciples sat atop the Mount of Olives, looking down at the Temple complex, Matthew 24:3.
1: They wanted to know what would be “the sign of his coming,” and “of the end of the world.”
2: Because Jesus is the Son of God, our Creator, why was this one mystery, this one specific moment in time kept from him and known only to the Father?
Let’s take a closer look at the phrase, “of that day.” Does this word day in the context in which it is set, point to one specific period of time future? Answer, Yes!
The word day in both Matthew and Mark is the Greek word “hemera.” It speaks of a 24-Hour period of time.
Now, what day were the disciples concerned with when they asked the Lord their question?
Matthew 24:3, “what shall be — the end of the world?” And,
Mark 13:4, “when all these things shall be fulfilled?” or, when is the end of the world?
The answer lies in the meaning of the phrase, “The end of the world,” when all these things Matthew and Mark wrote about are fulfilled?
So, are we to take the verse, “The end of the world” literally? It appears so, and if so, when will it be?
Scriptures tell us it’s going to be after the following three events have been fulfilled. After the tribulation, secondly, after the 1000 Year reign of Christ; thirdly, after the great white throne judgment found in Revelation 20:11. The end of this world will come after the “great white throne judgment.
Does that surprise you?
What’s needed now is a scriptural foundation to prove the above.
This particular word day, in the context in which it is used and how the Greek defines it in the context of Matthew and Mark speaks directly to “the day of judgment,” and not the day of vengeance. Big difference!
How this word day is used in other verses concerning the day of judgement follows,
Matthew 10:15, “It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment,”
Matthew 12:36, Jesus is speaking, “every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”
So, when is judgment day? Good question.
It appears from most commentaries who differ in opinions to be one of two periods in in the future. And because both cannot be right, so let’s see if we can sort it out scripturally.
The first would be in the last days of the tribulation when Christ returns, or it can be, after the 1000 Year reign of Christ has ended, and after the great white throne judgment.
The problem with the first, speaking of the end of the tribulation, it is not the day of judgment, it’s the Lord’s day of vengeance.
Zechariah writes concerning these days of vengeance. Here’s what’s going to happen when the Lord returns,
Zechariah 14:4, “His (Jesus) feet shall stand that day upon the mount of Olives which is before Jerusalem on the east, and therefor toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall (be) removed toward the north, and half of it toward the south.”
14:3, “Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations as when he fought in the day of battle.”
The day of battle? What’s Zechariah talking about?
It will be as it was when the LORD fought for Israel against the Egyptians. He divided the Red Sea so the Israelites could pass over dry ground in order to reach the other side safely. He would then return the waters to their natural place, destroying Pharaoh’s armies.
And when He returns in wrath and in vengeance, He will not divide the waters, but he will “divide in two the mount of Olives.”
Why?
It will be a way of escape for the Jews?
Zechariah 14:5, “ye (the Jews) shall flee to (through) the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal:”
Azal is a place not far from Jerusalem. So as the parting of the Red Sea was an escape route for the Jews from the Egyptians, so also will be the valley between the Mountains created by the earthquake.
Now instead of closing the Mountain and killing the enemies of the Jews, Jesus will return as Lord of Lord’s King of Kings in vengeance and wrath to destroy his enemies. So, the last days of the tribulation will be the Lord’s time for war, His time of vengeance.
Isaiah writes concerning these days,
Isaiah 63:1-2-3, “Who is this that comes from Edom (today it’s the area of Trans-Jordon), with dyed garments from Bozrah? —– Wherefore art thou red in your apparel, and your garments like him that treads in the winepress?
I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.” Also,
Exodus 14:14, “The LORD shall fight for you (the Jews), and ye shall hold your peace.”
Exodus 15:3, “The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.”
Ecclesiastes 3:8, “A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.”
When it’s over, the antichrist and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire.
Again, when will the above happen? it will be at the end of the 7 years of tribulation.
OK, if it’s not at the end of the tribulation as some would say, then when? It’s after the great day of judgment.”
And when is the great day of judgment? It’s after the 1000 Year reign of Christ has ended.
Revelation 20:5, “And the rest of the (unsaved) dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” These will all suffer the second death.
Verse 7, “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan having been bound for 1000 Years, is now turned loose from his prison. He will then go out to deceive the nations.
Question, how much time passes between the time the thousand years is over and Satan is loosed from his chains? Only the Father knows.
Then how long before Satan goes out to all nations, gathers to himself a new army from places the scriptures refer to as Gog and Magog? Only the Father knows.
Then, how long will it take him to march his army to Jerusalem in a final attempt to destroy the city and the saints in the city? Again, only the Father knows.
These are the unknown time factor that both Matthew and Mark wrote about. These are secrets known only to the Father. And who will stop this Satanic army? The Father will when He send’s,
Verse 9, fire down from heaven, and devours them.
So, this gap in time between the end of the 1000 Year reign of Christ,
Verse 10, and after, “the devil that deceived them is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,” still does not answer the question, are we to take the meaning, “the end of the world” literally?
Let’s move on. After the armies of Satan are defeated, John sees,
Verse 11, “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.”
I understand this to be the Father, but it may be the Son who is sitting on the great white throne.
Verse 12, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those thing which were written in the books, according to their works.”
These books do not appear to be the same book or scroll the Lamb of God took from the hand of His Father in Revelation 5:7.
Verse 13, “and the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.”
And how is it the LORD knows the hidden secrets of men?
Jeremiah 17:10, “I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.”
So, here are my last questions, “Who is it that judges and then condemns the devil?
The devil in the beginning was known as Lucifer, a mighty cherub, one created in the highest order of angels.
Who is it that can send the devil to the lake of fire? And who alone has the right to torment the devil day and night for ever and ever in the lake of fire?
Well, it’s either the Son or the Father himself. I believe it to be the Father? Why do I say that?
For it is written, only the Father knows when the final day of judgment will be, and because only He knows, I believe He judges the devil and casts him into the lake of fire, when it’s that time.
This would answers to, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man — but the Father.”
Lucifer, the morning star: the anointed cherub that covers. What is it he covered? He covered the throne and the brilliance of the Father in the third heaven.
He was upon the holy mountain of God: He was perfect in his ways from the day he was created, that is, until iniquity was found in him.
Who found that iniquity in him? The Father.
Lucifer became filled with violence, and sinned against the Father; leaving his own habitation, Jude 6. It appears to be a Cain and Abel type of jealousy between the Son of God and the highest of angelic creatures lucifer. It may have been over the choice the Father made concerning who was to carry out the plan of creation, so he rebelled.
And when he left, he took a third part of the angels of heaven to the earth with him.
Where’d he go? When he left his place in heaven, he descended to the earth, an earth covered with water, Genesis 1:9. And when he arrived the only place for him was in the waters.
Genesis 1:2, “And darkness = (meaning a vile, base thing, a fallen Lucifer and his demon army) was upon the face = (surface) of the deep = (abyss).”
I believe this to be the reason the Father alone is going to deal with the devil, and not the Son. As the creation progressed, the devil watched every move the LORD made, looking for a weak spots, and he found it, Eve. Enough of that:
What happens after the devil is cast into the lake of fire? And after the great white throne judgement is finished?
Jesus tells us in, Matthew 24:35, “Heaven and earth shall pass away,” compare this answer with the question of the disciples,
Matthew 24:3, “tell us, when shall be —- the end of the world?”
The disciples understood the world would end one day, and Jesus supports this when He said, “heaven and earth will pass away.” So, it appears these words are to be taken literally?
Most every commentator I’ve ever read claims the word “world” here, really means age, or ages.
Not so!
The King James translators had it right, it means the world, the earth, our planet. I base my position on the following verses which support it.
Isaiah 65:17, the LORD is speaking, “For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.”
Isaiah 66:22, “For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD,”
2 Peter 3:13, “Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.”
After the “great white throne judgment, John writes,
Revelation 21:1-2-11, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”
“God shall wipe away all tear from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:”
So now we know why only the Father knew the “day and hour,” and that the heaven and earth after the last day of judgement are over will be replaced with another, one where,
Revelation 22:1-5, there shall be, “a pure river of water of life — proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
Verse 2, “in the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life,”
Verse 3, “there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb—;”
Verse 4, “And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.”
Verse 5, “there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God gives them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.”
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com