We're going to be in Zephaniah, chapter number 1. I think Zephaniah is going to be unbearable for the next couple of months as we go through this book. He was already telling everyone last month that I preached all about him on Wednesday night. And that's not fair because I also preached on Josiah. I preached on Jonas. I preached on a lot of people here. Last week we went through how Zephaniah is connected. with many of the other prophetical books around it and where it sits in terms of when it was written. And we saw something actually really interesting to me and that's how that all of those books connect together like puzzle pieces to preach a message of God's righteousness and the judgment that comes from it. With Nahum, we saw it with the Nineveh. With Zephaniah, we see it's in the last day. With Jeremiah, you see it's for Israel themselves. And with Habakkuk, you see that God protects his righteousness in judgment. Now all of those come together because they were all written during the life of Josiah, which was really It was really Israel's last chance to truly repent before the judgment that Jeremiah spoke of came. And so we see a message of God's holiness requiring him to punish those who will not truly repent. Because of the three groups that are mentioned, that is the theme that's common to them. Now, naturally, I would like to pick up In verse 2 and 3 and 4 and so forth. Now, we somewhat discussed verse 2 and 3 already, as I gave you just a general idea of what the theme of Zephaniah is. But, in truth, I cannot help you to understand the book as a whole, nor the individual verses, until one thing is clearly established. And that is which judgment he is speaking of. For me, it should not even be a thing of contention. When you read chapter 1, he refers to this being the day of the Lord. And then he repeatedly speaks of what kind of day that day is. When you read chapter 2, you read about things that are discussed in other parts of the Bible as being Christ dealing with the Gentile nations during His millennial reign. Chapter 3 follows by also discussing that. The millennial reign of Christ. So unless you want to believe that sometime after the judgment in Jeremiah, that Jesus came and set up a kingdom here, it should be evident that Zephaniah is talking about the last day's judgment. But you have people that want everything in the Old Testament to be past. They have a hard time with a God who knows the future. Now, part of that is because there are certain passages, like what I mentioned in Daniel, where God takes a past event and uses it to help us understand something that will happen in the future. That's quite common. You see, for example, the judgment of Tyre as a city. and their prince. God uses that and compares it to his judgment of Satan, who he calls the king of Tyre. Now, when that's the intention, usually it's very clear that that's the intention. Now, in Zephaniah, there is really nothing To make you think that this is not about the end times. Unless you believe one of two things. If you believe that all prophecy has already been fulfilled, then of course you would believe this was about the judgment of Jeremiah. Even though he didn't know where he fits. The other version of that is that if you believe that Israel has been completely rejected and will never be dealt with again, then you would have to believe that Zephaniah is past tense. Because it does deal with them. And so, what my point is, is the only way you can reach that conclusion is that if you start from the wrong foundation to begin with. So that's why it amazes me that so many good preachers and a whole lot of mediocre ones spend so much time arguing whether it's about the future or the past. Now, by the time we're done with this, you'll see it's very clear. But there is one phrase in chapter 1 in verse 7 that takes away any question. So let's read that because that's going to be the verse we're preaching on today. Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord God For the day of the Lord is at hand, for the Lord hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guest. That phrase, the day of the Lord, is used quite a few times in the Bible, and actually it's very interesting. Because in my past studies, I took the second coming of Christ and I noticed there was about seven major themes that are connected about it in the Bible. So every time you read about it, Regardless where the prophecy is, it seems to be teaching one of those seven major things. Something I did not notice when I did that study, is that when you go through and look at each of the times, that the day of the Lord is used in the Bible, it is also teaching you about one of those seven themes. So each of those themes can be learned just of the Lord. Now, when I say it that way, I want you to understand that some of those things have more detail to them than others. You could spread them apart and make entire messes just out of the individual pieces. But that's what I want to try to do tonight is a little bit different. Because even in a message like last week, which was a history lesson, we found a way to make it applicable to you and your life. If I get through this tonight, I'll be able to do the same thing. But that requires that you listen, I recommend writing down verses if I give you a reference. And then you can look them up later. I wanted to print you a verse list like I normally would, but I didn't have time. Maybe next week I can do that. But it helps you to take notes, so I encourage that. But what we're going to try to do is look at these seven points and look at almost every time the phrase, the day of the Lord is used in the Bible. Because that alone will prove to you that this is a last day's prophecy. So the first time this is used is in Isaiah chapter 2 and I would suggest turning with me for this. You can keep up with me that much. But, Isaiah chapter 2 is an entire chapter about this. And so at one point I had even considered preaching a whole message just on what Isaiah 2 says about the Day of the Lord. Because most of these themes are covered in Isaiah 2. But that's also true of some of these other passages we'll visit. But what I have said so many times, is that the first time a word or phrase is used, God also defines it for you. So in Isaiah 2, for the day of the Lord of Hosts shall be upon everyone that is proud and lofty and upon everyone that is lifted up and he shall be brought low. Now, my first point and second point are contained right here. However, we will go to Isaiah 13 in a minute to get the second. My first point is that one theme that is always connected to this phrase is that it is the day that Christ will set His throne on Mount Zion. It is the day that He comes to be the King. And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains and shall be exalted above the hills and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come ye and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. And he will teach us his ways. He will walk with us in his paths. For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Now, if there's any question of what he means by mountain of mountains, mountain of the Lord, And so forth. Joel clarifies this when he says in Joel 2.1, to blow ye a trumpet in Zion. For the day of the Lord is here. You'll notice that Zion is repeatedly mentioned throughout all of these prophecies. And this part of the prophecy alone is spoken about so much in the Bible that it's impossible for me to even begin to scratch the surface tonight. But every time the Bible says that Jesus will set his throne upon the throne of David, where was David's throne? Mount Zion. Every time it says that out of God's holy hill, Mount Zion, it's repeatedly teaching us that He'll rule out of the throne of His Father David. And so this is one of the easiest prophecies to ever figure out. When Jesus comes back, he will come back as a king. He came as a lamb, but he will come back as a lion. First he came to be sacrificed, next he comes to rule. That's the first and second coming. The Bible is very clear of those things. I understand from the Old Testament perspective it was a mystery, but today it is an abundantly clear thing. And so, this is probably one of the most heavily prophesied part of it. The day of the Lord is the day when Jesus Christ sets His throne in Mount Zion. Now, the good news is we'll go more in detail on that throughout Zephaniah. So we'll talk about what that actually means. About how He'll gather the nations to Him. One passage even describes it. Once a year they'll have to come and worship Him. But you see, that's the other part of this prophecy. Is that He will do away with all idols. Now the Bible teaches that the men won't give up their idols. But that He will cast them down. And so you find like Zechariah 14.6. That's one passage you can write down if you're doing it. Isaiah 24, verse 2 and 3. Psalm 97, verse 7 through 9. And Isaiah 27, verse 13. Those are just a few of the prophecies I wrote down that speak very plainly of this. And they teach that when He sets His throne, As it says, I believe in verse 18. And all the idols he shall utterly abolish. The problem is, the Bible teaches that the men won't really give them up in their hearts though. There's actually an interesting phrase. I believe it's here in this chapter. That he says they will give their idols to the bats and the moles. And so, where do they live? You know, bats live in caves. Moles hide in the ground. What is he teaching them? That they won't give them up, they will simply hide them. They'll bury them, but in their heart they're still there. So again, we'll look at how men will be required to come and worship. That's part of His Kingdom. But that they won't do it from the heart, so many of them. That explains why many will even be deceived later on in that time. But verse 4 gives another side of his kingdom, and him setting up a kingdom there in Zion. And it says, And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Verse 4 of Isaiah 2. What he's describing is that when he sets up his kingdom in Zion, and he abolishes the idol, that one thing he will also do is because he is now ruling the whole world, With a rod of iron, the Bible teaches quite plainly. I like the way he phrases it. That we won't have need for weapons anymore. He says they're going to turn their swords into plowshares. That they're going to turn them into tools for farming. You know, that's another part of that theme. Now, the second theme which goes hand in hand with this, because these are the two that discuss him setting up his kingdom. is the idea of him destroying the proud, the idolaters, the kings, and the sinners. And you find that that runs throughout each of these passages as well. Just here in Isaiah chapter 2, verse 9 through 22 is all about that. Let me just read a few verses of it. It says in verse 9, And the mean man boweth down, and the great man humbleth himself before, therefore forgive them not. Enter into the rock and hide thee in the dust for fear of the Lord and for the glory of his majesty. The lofty looks of men shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. So you see, this goes hand in hand with the first point. Being that he's going to set up his kingdom and build it around him. But the second part of that is that he is going to destroy the proud and he often mentions the kings. Now, the verse I want to give you, though, is Isaiah 13. Several verses in Isaiah 13. Because this is, I believe, the second time the term, the Day of the Lord, is used. So, Isaiah 13, verse 6, says, How ye, for the Day of the Lord is at hand, it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt. And they shall be afraid. Pangs of sorrow shall take hold of them. They shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth. They shall be amazed at one another. Their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light, the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. And I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and I will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold, even a man than the golden wedge of offer. Now, what he's discussing is that multitudes of people will be destroyed throughout this time. So much so, that men will essentially be rarer than gold, is what he means. That's why I said they'll be more precious than gold. The value of something like that is determined by how rare it is. But the thing that's really interesting in all of this is that he describes this idea of the people running to the rocks to hide themselves. Because that again is terminology you'll see repeatedly being used. That he will judge the kings of the earth and that all the proud and those who refuse to turn will flee to the rocks and caves and call for them to hide them. When we see Jesus coming back in Revelation 19, when you read somewhere around verse 15 to the end of the chapter, And that's what he describes. He describes coming in and destroying certain groups. He describes taking the Antichrist and his followers who received the mark. and throwing them into the lake of fire without judgment. Because in receiving their mark, they've already been judged. And so, you see all of that. Now this one, I'm going to sidetrack just a little bit. Because this is one of the greatest evidences which will also be supported by some of the later points for the way I have tried to teach reading the book of Revelation. And that way is to look at it like this. Meaning that you can start in chapter 1 and read to the end. And that each event happens one after the next. The fact is, God did us a great favor in the book of Revelation. Because the events that we can know for sure are chronological. He numbered them. He said, first this happens, then second, then third. What's interesting though is that he gives you that list and here's where the debate comes up. You have the version where the first list of seven things is him telling the story all the way up to the halfway point. And then suddenly he resets the number and tells you the rest of the half with another set of seven. And then randomly a few chapters later, resets back to the halfway point. and gives you another list of seven. Now, the problem is there's no explanation when you look at it that way. There's no rhyme or reason as to why the list is being reset. However, having went through this multiple times, Having heard every argument from every side, the conclusion I came to, which I have to admit, is also the conclusion that most of the men I have the most confidence in have come to. We don't always agree on every detail But the general layout of how you read Revelation, we agree on this That in fact, each of your sets of seven are chronological events They each make a timeline. Now, we know how it begins. You know, you begin with the revealing of the Antichrist. Again, I believe you also on that same day must have the rapture of the Church. 2 Thessalonians 2 seems to very much require that. But the very first thing on any of these lists of seven is that the Antichrist be unleashed. It's the first seal. And it matches what everybody else teaches. Now, the last thing must also be the Day of the Lord. You know, when Jesus Christ comes back, you know, it's when he comes and sets up his kingdom on Mount Zion. So, we see that that's also an agreement. Here's the thing, though. When you read your seven seals, not only will you find them describing stuff that happens during the seven trumpets or the seven vials, but you'll notice something. What does it begin with? The releasing of the Antichrist. What does it end with? Now, this one you have to pay attention to get this. The 7th seal is a silence in heaven. The last thing you see on earth, though, is when the 6th seal says that the day of the Lord is here. And so you have a timeline that you have the beginning and the end So now when you reset you're just a couple verses later and you get another set of 7 there's a good explanation for it Because now it's like you're looking with a telescope And I want you to think of the periscope as one the pirates had. Where you start out and you're zoomed very far away. So you see a wider area, but you can see very little detail of it. So, you know, when they would extend that out, their view narrowed considerably. but they could see much more detail. And that's the point of it, so you can see detail far away. So when you go back and look at the next set of seven, the reason why it describes most of the same exact things Pretty much the entire 6th seal. I mean, it seems like it's just repeating the 6th seal again to you. I mean, waters turn to blood, sun, moon and stars darken, earthquake that's flattening mountains, Christ coming back again. I mean, all you're doing is you're just zooming in on that last three and a half years. But you're still looking at a little bit of a distance. You're mostly getting cold facts and information. This happens and then a third of this dies. So when you get a few chapters later and you zoom in one more time with the seven vials, the bowls, what you wind up with is that you'll notice it reads almost exactly like you're reading the trumpets all over again. Only this time you're zoomed in, not so much like someone looking from outside the earth, but you're zoomed in enough to see what it's doing to the people intimately. It's no longer just that you can see that this happens and then roughly a third of people die. Now you're seeing a little bit more of how it causes that to happen. If we're going to be honest, there is yet another set of seven. The only difference is God doesn't actually number them for you. You have to count them and all of a sudden realize, hey, there's seven of them too. And that's seven angels. But if you look at them, they're zoomed in so close, you're just literally seeing the last day. You're seeing those moments before Jesus Christ comes back. And even His coming back. So the way I say this, is when you read Revelation, understand that each of those chronological lists is a timeline. That you start off seeing it all the way through, And then in chapter 7, you've actually finished the timeline. So then you zoom in. And you go through it again. with more detail, but focused on the far more exciting last three and a half years. Because what we'll learn through other prophecy is that the first three and a half years is mostly the Antichrist setting up his kingdom. Whereas multitudes of people will die in the last three and a half years, the Bible says about a quarter of the world's population will die in the first three and a half, according to when the horseman of death is unleashed. So my point is, just look at it that each time you're zooming in to get more information. Now, if you read it that way, then two or three things, actually about four or five things I'm going to show you tonight will make a lot more sense. Because you'll find the same events being described repeatedly. throughout the book of Revelation. One of those is this. Because you probably forgot which point we're on right now. It's the kings calling for the rocks in the hills to fall on them. Now, we know and we just said that that happens in Revelation 19. Where else does it happen in the book of Revelation? Revelation chapter 6. As you're reading about the sixth seal. Which we've already said is the last of those events happening here on earth. It says the kings will literally run to the rocks in the hills and call for them to fall on them and hide them. Now people like myself who believe in a preacher of rapture, I think they just kind of hope that you ignore that. Because they typically believe that you go verse 7, second 7, that's the whole 7 years. And then for some random reason he comes back and gives you another 7. With little rhyme or reason. With little motivation. And that's what I was taught in Bible college. That's what most of my friends preach. I know that version better than you can imagine. People who believe a rapture in the middle, They think that's because that's when the rapture is taking place. The problem is every single verse in the Bible that talks about the rapture says that it will happen in a moment in the twinkling of an eye and that the people of this world will not see it. Now, you will see that they take some verses about the second coming of Christ where it talks about Him being seen and try to make that about the rapture. But as long as we stick to verses that are truly about the rapture, not second coming verses, then this could not be the rapture because it's going to be hard for all that stuff to happen if it's very clear that it can't happen until the end of the seven years. So that's a whole other lesson. It's a lot to try to give you in one service. and puts it as this. The day of the Lord is when Christ comes and he sets his kingdom on Zion. He abolishes all idols. He makes so that men have no use of weapons anymore. And he destroys all those that are proud. All the kings, the sinners. Everyone who refuses to turn. Now, again, the reason why I had to give you the lesson on Revelation is because without that, you're going to start asking questions about why do we see some of these events happening three times across the book of Revelation. If you take what I just gave you, it makes perfect sense. Without that, you've got some problems. Especially when we get to the sun, moon, and stars being dark. Because at that point, either you believe one of two things. Either you believe that God's got a dimmer switch and He's cutting down little by little, and for some reason He feels need to specifically mention it repeatedly, or you think He's cutting the lights off and on. But again, so many of these events are being repeated over and over. Then, the third part of these things is what we call the Locust Army. Now, we find this mentioned in Joel chapter 1. So in Joel chapter 1 and in verse 15, and it's going to be hard for me to beat you turning there because I got stuck in my way. But Joel chapter number 1, you find that this is actually the primary focus of much of Joel's prophecy. If you got to Daniel, keep going. If you're in Hosea, you're almost there. Joel 1.15 says, Alas, for the day of the Lord is at hand. And as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come. Now he's already described at this point an army coming like a fire consuming the land. But it's chapter 2 where he really makes it clear what he's talking about. And this is also where you find yet another mention of the term, the Day of the Lord. If you begin in verse 2 of chapter 2, and you read all the way down to, I would say, verse 11 or so, You find that he gives an in-detail description. of this day. And verse 11, he ends with this saying. And the Lord shall utter his voice before his army, for his camp is very great, for he is strong that executed his word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible. Who can abide it? So, if there was any question that Joel is still on the same topic. He makes it clear that as he spins those verses from the beginning of chapter 2 to verse 11, giving an in-detail description of this army that will go across the land like locusts, destroying things. He makes it clear that he is talking about something that's happening in preparation for the Day of the Lord. Now, this one makes it clear to you, as you read the different passages that discuss this, that this army is released before the Day of the Lord begins and goes up to that point. I want to think the Bible says it's like 40 days that they have or something like that. Or maybe it's even a few months. I don't have the number off the top of my head. But this army will go across the earth for some time. So their unleashing is one of the seals and trumpets and so forth. But you see that it happens before Christ comes back. And extends all the way up to that point. So here yet again, and you can read about the trumpet where this happens. In Revelation 9 verse 1 through 11. So in this second time where you're zoomed in on the last three and a half years Which the Bible refers to as great tribulation That's where if the heat was already turned on And you had the water in the pot. That's where it really starts to boil. Things have been heating up, but this is where the wrath really starts to get poured out. It's the last three I have here. So the fact that this is the fifth trumpet puts that close to the end of that. Another one that begins before, and I'll even give you a verse that states it must come before, but is constantly linked to it. is the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars. So, Joel chapter 2, verse 31, and if you paid attention, we actually just read a verse about this a minute ago. In Isaiah 13. But in Joel chapter number 2, And verse 31, it says, The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood before the great and terrible day of the Lord to come. So here it says that it's before, but that it is part of the build up to it. You will find that Amos goes on to repeat this in Amos 5, verses 18-20. And I won't make you turn there, but that is another one of the times the Day of the Lord is mentioned. When he says twice that the Day of the Lord is a day of darkness and not light. Now, by itself, You would think he's just talking about it being like a terrible time. But the fact that this is one of the most mentioned parts of prophecy, and one of the things that comes up the most when the term the Day of the Lord is used, it shows me that you can't take that as a coincidence. But Acts 2, 19 and 20 is one of your best examples. When they're discussing end times, and it's said that the sun, moon and stars will be darkened before the day of the Lord. Now Isaiah 24 verse 23 repeats this. Matthew 24 verse 29 through 31 also repeats this. I like how Matthew said, the way Jesus says it, that He talks about the stars being cast down like figs before their time. Because when that comes back up in Revelation, God uses the exact same terminology. Here's where it gets interesting though. And that's why the telescopic view of prophecy is going to be a little bit more necessary. How many times do we believe that God is going to cut the stars, the sun and the moon? Because the Old Testament only refers to it as a one-time event. It says that the sun will be ashamed, that the moon will be, I believe, confounded was the word. There goes something like ashamed. But what you have at that point is that each of these prophecies make mention of it. But they only make mention of it as a one-time event. No prophecy in the Bible treats it as a light switch being cut off and on. Just one time. No prophecy in the Bible treats it as a dimmer switch. Where God drops it a little, and then a little more, and a little more. None of them treat it that way. It's always treated as a one-time event. It happens three times in the book of Revelation. So at this point, Are you repeating the same events? Or is God now revealing something that almost contradicts the rest of prophecy? Here's my point. The sixth seal. According to Revelation 6, 12-17, which would be the last three and a half years if you go by what I'm teaching, says that at the same time so much of this other stuff we're discussing happens, that another one of those events that happens in preparation for the Day of the Lord, is that the stars are cast down like the untimely fate. Exactly what Jesus said would happen before Christ come to be king. Not before the rapture. So even if you believed that version of it, it doesn't work. Because Jesus said that would happen before Jesus Christ comes back as King. And here he puts it as happening at the end of chapter 6. So that means that by that point you have to be getting built up to that. That that has to be what's getting ready to come. And I wish I could explain more of what I mean by that. The fourth trumpet in Revelation 8.12 is the exact same thing. It is that one third of these things, the sun, moon and stars are being slain. That you have the Sun and Moon, you'll be dark and turn red and so forth. The same thing being described in each of these other places. The one that's a little bit different though, is when it's mentioned in the vows. Because He seems to be giving you a little more information as to how some of this happens. Because the 4th vow, and you'll find this in Revelation 16, verse 8-11. The 4th vow is God doing something to the Son. that causes it to unleash a tremendous heat that kills people. However, the next point though, the fifth vial, has darkness. He says, then darkness comes. Now, if you study that in the grand context, you actually have two answers for why there would suddenly be darkness. Whatever he did to the sun is now killing the sun. So that lines up with those trumpets and seals and so forth. But the other side of that is that when that locust army is unleashed, God says that a pit is open. And that smoke begins to come out of it and darken the sky. So again, how many times can that kind of stuff happen? But even one of the greatest things about this is the fact that the seal and the trumpet specifically state about the stars being killed and the sun and the moon darkening and so forth. Because almost everybody who would disagree with what I'm trying to tell you about Revelation says that the seals happen, And then the trumpets happen. And then they accept that the vials and the trumpets have to overlap because they line up perfectly. But here's the problem. The two that are most clearly describing the same thing with the sun, moon and stars are the trumpets and the seals. So if you think that one happens and then the next, then you have God cutting off a light switch at least twice. They cannot follow one from the next. It starts to cause problems in prophecy when you take it as a whole and not just reading the book of Revelation by itself. But even when you read Revelation by itself, it starts to cause trouble. Alright, then moving on, because we've got to try to finish very quickly. Because we're out of time already. Joel 3. Describes what is called typically the Battle of Armageddon. That's Joel 3, 9 through 16. Again, we're out of time, so I can't read it to you. But he describes how the armies of men are going to be gathered to the valley of valleys. And then on that day of the Lord, they're going to be destroyed. In the winepress of God's wrath. So, Joel specifically states that's the day of the Lord when they get destroyed in the valley of Armageddon. Which is to protect you from any confusion. Because we use the word Armageddon in a very weird way nowadays. That is the Greek name for the valley of Megiddo. Once Greek, once Hebrew. We use that word nowadays to talk about the end of the world. But it's actually just the name of a valley. But that's the valley where the armies of the Antichrist and all will gather together. And then if you read Zechariah 14, starting in verse 1 and going on through, he says that on the Day of the Lord, Christ will come back with the saints, that he will come back with tens of thousands of his saints, which is important if you've heard me teaching on other parts of Revelation. And that they will land on the Mount of Olives. And then from there they will go forward and he will destroy the armies of Antichrist. What's described in Revelation 19? Revelation 19? Revelation 19, 11-21 describes that. But what's interesting is in Revelation 14, 15-20, where you find those seven angels that aren't numbered, but you have to count them, it literally describes the same thing. but from Heaven's perspective. In one version, you're seeing what's happening on Earth, as He talks about men being crushed like in a wine press. The other, you see them in Heaven, preparing men to be crushed like in a wine press. So you see, all of that's building to that. The last two things I think I'll give you quickly though. Malachi 4 verse 4 and 5 teaches that before the day of the Lord, God is going to send Moses and Elijah again to come preach to the people of Israel. Obadiah 1 Obadiah 1, verse 15 through 18, teaches that part of Christ setting up His kingdom on Mount Zion, is that there will be a deliverance for a part of Israel. So that's one of your other themes, that there is going to be a deliverance to a remnant of Israel. Not that all will believe, but a remnant will. And then the final thing, this is the one that comes to you. 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 1 all the way to verse 11, talks about the day of the Lord. But he says it's not a day for you. He said this wrath that you've been reading about all the way up to this point, He says it's not appointed to you. You're not appointed for that day of wrath. So you have that, 2 Peter 3, 10-13 adds to that though, when he describes the day of the Lord, And he says, but we don't have to look to it. We can look beyond it. He says, while everyone else is looking for that, and for the world it's going to come like a thief in the night. Now, you understand the rapture, he does say, will come like a thief in the night. And the day of the Lord. But that is a fairly common terminology. All it means is that to the people who aren't expecting it, they will be greatly surprised when it happens. Like for example when he talks about the rapture, he says it's coming like a thief in the night. You don't know exactly the day or the hour. But because you know that it is coming, you can live for that. You know, live with the anticipation of it so that you're not caught off guard at least. You know, it's like this. When Stephania comes to church, he knows that Aura has a habit of trying to hide here and scare him. He doesn't know if it's going to happen each time he walks in the door. But because he's prepared for it, it doesn't typically work unless he's let his guard down. That's what that phrasing is talking about. He says the day of the Lord though, even with all of this disaster and stuff going on, then the world is going to be caught off guard by that. He says, but we're not looking to that. He says us as Christians, we're looking to the new heaven and the new earth. So we're looking beyond that. So the day of the Lord for you and I is not something we have to be afraid of. What we are looking to is our deliverance from that in the rapture That's our blessed hope. That means the thing that you're anticipating and looking forward to. It's the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. So we're looking for Him to come and take us. And then beyond that, we're looking for when He comes and sets up His kingdom and the things that you'll come after. Because when we come back with Him, we'll have skipped out on the wrath. Because the Thessalonians already said, you weren't appointed. That wasn't for the Christians and the believers. That was for the people that he's going to pour his wrath out on. So you'll notice these verses, there's two people groups it deals with. This world, and especially those that refuse to turn from their sins, and that portion of Israel that will be turned as a part of this. But as we go through all of that, you find that the whole idea of the Day of the Lord can be brought down to those seven events, or seven deeds. Then he's going to set up his kingdom on Zion, and with that abolish all idols, make peace, He will destroy all those who are proud and refuse to turn. And with that, all the kings of the earth will run to the hills to hide themselves. There will be that locust army that just goes across the land destroying it like a consuming fire. Which is something Zephaniah does talk about. Then in preparation, the sun, moon and stars will be darkened. And then just as that battle of Armageddon is about to take place, as those armies are gathered into the valley, Christ will come back with us and He will destroy them. that this is more so focused on them, as God's wrath is being poured on them, and focused on Israel. As through this abundance of judgment, a remnant, that's a small portion, I think one passage in Malachi makes it seem to be about a third, Now, repeatedly other parts talk about how the Antichrist will try to punish them for that. And that's why he says that there will be deliverance for them in Zion when he sets up his kingdom. But for you and I, The day of the Lord is not a fearful thing if you believe in Christ. It was very clearly, he said, you're not appointed for that wrath. That you will be setting it out. That while all this wrath is being poured out, you'll be in heaven. And that you will only come back at the end When you come with Him and watch Him crush the armies of the earth and set His kingdom And so, there's your themes of what the Day of the Lord is. Now, with that in mind, in Zephaniah 1-7, when he says the Day of the Lord is at hand, if you don't believe that this is a prophecy about the end time judgment, Tell me anywhere where those events fit in with the judgment of Jeremiah. So I know that this was a sidetracked study. But it was necessary to make it abundantly clear what Zephaniah is about. Now last week we discussed why that was important at the time. Now we've seen what it means for all time.