I brought my dad to an ophthalmologist to have his failing eyesight checked one day. The Doctor said that the retina in his right eye was damaged and that there was no cure to this and that it will eventually lead to total blindness. My dad was seriously concerned and asked the Doctor what caused it?
The Doctor asked if my dad was a smoker in his youth, to which he answered yes, and even added that he could finish a pack of cigarettes in a day, then the Doctor asked if he drinks alcohol, my dad said not anymore but he also used to drink almost everyday when he was young.
The doctor looked him straight in the eye and said. Well, Mr. Chandnani – those are the main causes of your retinal damage! He couldn’t believe it! He couldn’t believe that the decisions he made in the past, his vices would potentially cause the loss of his eyesight.
Had he known, he wouldn’t have done those things. Had he been warned before, He wouldn’t have indulged in those vices. Or would he still do them?
How about you? Are you going through a health challenge? If you knew that lifestyle choices would greatly affect your health outlook, would you have lived differently, acted accordingly or even be more proactive about taking care of your health? Psychologists calls this Consequence-Based Decision Making or Consequence-based reasoning, or the tendency to make decisions based on their impact or consequences on yourself. I call it Decision – Consequence. It’s rational, objective, even scientific AND its also spiritual. I say this because we have been learning in our study of REVELATION that there are certain events that will surely happen in the future. It is certain and there are decisions that individuals can make today in light of those certainties. Today we will learn about the certainty of The Coming Day of the Lord. Simply put the day of the LORD is his certain judgement on sin. This is not speculation, its not a theory. It’s a certainty. It will happen. It will come to pass. Now, properly understood, this absolute certainty should transform the way we think and the way we live. As we go through and dive deep on the aspects of this day of the LORD, we will learn that The day of the Lord will reap judgment for unbelievers and deliverance for believers.
Alright, in our lesson today we will look at two passages -- one from the Old Testament, the book of Joel, and one from the New Testament, 2 Peter 3.
We will also divide our lessons into 2 divisions. In our first division, we will ponder the concept of The Day of the Lord. What does it mean and how does it relate to us? And our second division will cover 2 Peter chapter 3 and we will call this Preparing for the Day of the Lord.
Let’s get right to it! The Day of the Lord is a powerful theme in Scripture. But what does this term really mean? Broadly, "The Day of the Lord" refers to God's dramatic judgment upon the world, coupled with His deliverance of His people. Throughout Scripture, we see God’s judgment and His merciful deliverance presented together—Amazing right – Gods Judgment and Mercy!
The “day of the Lord” is used in Scripture as the crushing of Satan and his minions, whether they are systems or people. The “day of the Lord” is used as the time of great outpouring of blessing upon God’s people when He gathers the redeemed to be with Him forever at the conclusion of time.
The Old Testament prophets used this term frequently, but it didn’t have a single, fixed meaning. It appears explicitly 19 times across eight Old Testament authors and four times in the New Testament.
There are several equivalent phrases in the Bible for the “day of the Lord” such as “the day of our Lord,” “the day of Jehovah,” and “that day.” Interestingly, the exact phrase doesn’t show up in Revelation, although the concept certainly does.
The Day of the Lord doesn’t refer to one specific day or event; rather, it describes a period of time with multiple stages of fulfillment. The Old Testament prophets, in particular, often gave prophecies that had both an immediate fulfillment and a larger, future one. Many events that took place in their time served as a preview of a greater fulfillment to come, which we associate with the end times and the second coming of the Lord.
Ultimately, the Day of the Lord underscores the serious reality that God’s holy wrath will confront humanity’s sin in a powerful and devastating way. Simply put, there is a set day that belongs to the Lord—a day He has appointed. History is not spiraling out of control but is moving exactly according to God’s timeline toward His certain day of judgment. Although the Day of the Lord unfolds as a series of events over a season, HUMAN HISTORY is indeed heading toward a definite conclusion. This truth dear friends should shape how we think and live today.
Every person, every individual, you, your family, your friends, your colleagues, your boss, Kings, Prime ministers or Presidents, people in the street or strangers – every person is accountable to God and will one day stand before Him. There’s no way around it. God is completely holy, He is without sin and He is perfectly righteous in all He is and does. Out of His grace and mercy, He has provided a way of escape from the judgment we all deserve through the sacrifice of His perfectly righteous Son. However, for those who don’t turn to Christ for salvation, God will address the horror of sin with finality and for eternity. A day is coming when God will execute justice against those who reject Him and on that same day, he will also welcome His children into their eternal home. Gods perfect justice and mercy presented together.
You know, We tend to approach most things asking, "What's in it for me?" And here’s the truth—this topic on the DAY OF THE LORD and Revelation’s ultimate message genuinely matter. God’s coming judgment isn’t something we can just glance at and then continue living our lives unaffected by it. So, let’s consider two key questions that reveal two profound truths.
Question No. 1: What is true about God that helps us understand the Day of the Lord? What is true about GOD – His Attributes – That helps us understand the certainty of the Judgement Day! Simply put, God is in control—He is sovereign. He governs the beginning, the middle, and the end. As the Creator, He has the right to judge sin. With the same word of power that spoke the world into existence, He will bring it to its conclusion. God is orchestrating every detail in what may feel like a confusing journey toward the earth’s final day AND ensuring that everything unfolds exactly as He wills.
God perfectly weighs all matters. He upholds justice and knows everything, even the secrets people try to conceal. The Day of the Lord is a divinely planned execution of perfect justice, crafted by God to defeat evil and sin and bring about His eternal kingdom. His coming judgment reveals the depth of His grace toward the repentant. Everything God is and does reflects His perfect righteousness and absolute perfection.
So this truth about God and the Day of the Lord answers the first question: the severity of God’s judgment against sin shows that HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ULTIMATELY PREVAILS.
Here’s the second question: What’s true about you and ME in light of the Day of the Lord? God is in control right? but if we’re being honest, we want to be in control of the future. The future makes us feel uneasy, it makes us worry, doubt and fear even - even though we know that God holds the future firmly in His hands!
Oftentimes our misplaced sense of independence causes us to ignore God’s authority over our lives and even the whole world. So we need to remember that we are accountable to God, just like everyone else. WE should never resist surrendering to Him, for He does all things well. His plan is far wiser and more complete than our limited, time-bound understanding of anything in this world.
So, what’s true about you and me in light of the Day of the Lord? Well, The only way we can find stability to face the future is by trusting a just and righteous God to perfectly administer His judgment on this world and certain judgement awaits all who do not believe that Christ is the only way to salvation.
This may not feel like happy news in many ways, but God lovingly speaks the truth clearly in His Word, and it’s important for us to pay attention. Confronting the truth about the intensity and certainty of final judgment is both right and purposeful. God has appointed a day to judge humanity, and no one is exempt. Everyone will stand accountable to God and give an answer to Him.
So how should you respond to this truth? WELL We all need to pause and feel the weight of this reality. For those of us who have found refuge in Christ, it’s easy to think, “I’m covered,” “I’m Saved” “I’m heaven bound” or I’m a believer, “I’m a Christian” when we hear about God’s coming judgment, and simply move on with our lives. The “Hallelujah” in our hearts is good and right, but God calls us to wake up. The book of Joel stresses the urgent need for God’s people to repent and turn to Him. God’s people are called to pray to have a heart for those who are lost, to pray for the nations of the world.
The LORD charges us to be more intentional in reaching out to those who need to know about the coming judgement.
Similarly, 2 Peter 3 urges us to be ready, prepared, and aware of the spiritual dangers around us, staying expectant for the judgment that will come upon humanity.
NOW The book of JOEL connects closely with the book of REVELATION. Both books share similar imagery and themes. The book of Joel was most likely written around the time of Babylonian aggression toward Judah. The imagery in the book hints at details of that impending attack. Joel Chapter 1 describes a devastating locust invasion, which serves as a divine wake-up call for the people of Judah. This event parallels the locusts mentioned in Revelation 9, so keep this imagery in mind. What we see here is a physical disaster with a deeper spiritual purpose. The locusts, with teeth like lions, ravage the land, devouring everything in their path. Even today, locust swarms can appear in alarming numbers and consume vast amounts of vegetation.
Joel describes the vivid details in Chapter 1, verses 1 to 12, but his purpose reaches far beyond merely describing the physical losses to be expected. In Chapter 1, verses 13 through 20, Joel calls the people to lament, mourn, fast, and acknowledge their neediness before God in response to this disaster. Furthermore, he makes it clear that God Himself is behind this alarming locust attack. He connects the invasion to God Himself. Chapter 2 verse 11 says:
The Lord thunders at the head of his army;
his forces are beyond number, and mighty
is the army that obeys his command.
The day of the LORD is great;
it is dreadful. Who can endure it?
Now this begs the question: Does God cause natural disasters? We know that the God who created nature controls nature. Matthew 8:27 tells us that even the wind and waves obey Him. Matthew 24 clearly promises an increase in natural disasters as the end of time draws near. I think the bigger point is for us to consider that God uses anything and everything to call people to Himself.
So what is Joel's message in light of this warning? Well, he doesn’t say "Look on the bright side!" nor does he say: Be Courageous! NO. He says put on sackcloth and mourn.
Joel called for deep, widespread repentance—both nationally and personally. Don’t our nations need this today? While the world urges us to “be happy,” Joel calls us to “be sad” because of sin’s destructive and sobering consequences. Above all, he urges us to turn to God. We need to grieve over the state of this world and the condition of our own hearts. The truth is: Too often, we overestimate our own goodness and underestimate our capacity to sin.
And the repentance Joel invites is not a momentary prayer. No -- Joel calls for a much deeper, more transformative repentance. Joel invites the godly sorrow described in 2 Corinthians 7:10 which says:
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to
salvation and leaves no regret,
but worldly sorrow brings death.
Let's look at Joel 2:12 through 13:
'Even now,' declares the Lord, 'return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.' Rend your heart and
not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is
gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in
love, and he relents from sending calamity.
The grim reality Joel describes demands a profound and heartfelt repentance. The verses we just read may be some of Scripture's most powerful words on what true repentance looks like. Joel isn’t asking for a superficial display of religious words and actions but for a genuine breaking of the heart before a holy God. He reminds us of God's compassionate nature and His desire to save. God takes no pleasure in judgment; His heart longs to save.
Joel’s message extends far beyond the people of Judah—it is a call for all of us to repent. God sometimes allows our own kinds of “locust invasions” into our lives, smaller crises perhaps, to soften our hearts and draw us back to Him.
This is our message: for those who have not come to Christ for salvation, we say—your sin places you in serious spiritual danger, and one day you will stand before God as your righteous judge. But there is hope. Repent and receive the cleansing power God offers through Christ.
And for those who trust in Christ, we recognize our ongoing need to face our sin and turn from it. While our salvation remains secure because of Jesus, the Holy Spirit faithfully exposes our sin, leading us to confess and empowering us to take specific steps of obedience.
Joel presents a foretaste of future judgment but calls sinful people to repent and flee for refuge into God Himself.
In Chapter 2, verses 28 through 32, Joel delivers a prophecy about the future. Peter quoted these very verses on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came down to indwell God's people. These verses point to that day and beyond. He delivers an invitation to restoration and hope. I'll read 2:32:
And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will
be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there
will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, even among
the survivors whom the LORD calls.
Wow! That’s the good news! everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved
Chapter 3 returns to another description of The Day of the Lord and foretells cosmic upheaval that will unfold in the heavens. Revelation 6 also talks about this. In Joel 3:12 to 16, Joel describes a big battle where God draws the nations into the "Valley of Jehoshaphat" to render divine justice and judgment. Revelation also describes this final battle.
Yet that’s not the whole story—God has a glorious future planned for His people. The Day of the Lord encompasses both impending judgment and promised deliverance for God’s people. In the final verses of Joel, we find a theme that believers will celebrate for eternity: God will dwell with His people forever. His enemies will be defeated, and His people will thrive eternally in His presence.
We don’t delve into these seemingly dark themes to dwell in despair but to learn. Joel calls us to respond rightly to serious truths: "Humble yourself and get right with God in repentance." This is a message we all need. And we learn a principle here: The coming day of the Lord calls sinners to repentance.
Principle: The coming day of the Lord calls sinners to repentance.
As we grow in Christ, we come to see two things more clearly: the depth of our own sinfulness and the incredible wonder of God’s redemption. God is gracious, yet His judgment is certain. It is gracious of God to warn us and call us to confess our sin and repent. Have you ever thought of your sin in the same way God does? Is God calling you
to turn from your selfishness and come to Him? How might God call you to share these truths with others?
We could never be righteous enough on our own; it’s impossible! But Jesus, in His perfect righteousness, grants His righteousness to all who trust Him for salvation.
Moving on to our next division, covering 2nd Peter Chapter 3. So The Prophet JOEL said: “God’s judgment is certain—repent! Peter concurs and says: "God's judgment is certain -- think rightly and live holy."
Peter wrote his second letter to encourage believers to pursue wholesome, healthy thinking—thinking grounded in truth. How we think shapes how we live! In chapter 3 v1-2, He urges us to remember the words of the prophets and the commands given by the Lord through the apostles. A biblical mindset keeps us on the right path. And, as we’ve seen in Joel, the prophets had a lot to say about God’s coming judgment. The first step is to think rightly, building our understanding on what God has revealed and foretold in His Word.
In verses 3 through 7, Peter tells us to expect opposition. This really connects with the message of Revelation! Humanity, as a whole, often stands in opposition to God’s people. Peter said one sign that the day of the Lord was near would be people laughing at Jesus' promise to return. They would think that because, well since it never happened before, then it will not happen now; everything will just keep going as it is.
But God is delaying the day of the Lord so that all who will be saved have time to repent. Those who mock God’s plan are forgetting a tumultuous event that happened in the past as recorded in Genesis. NOAH and the FLOOD the wiped out the inhabitants of earth. Just as God’s judgment came BACK then, the heavens and earth are reserved for God’s judgment in the future—the Day of the Lord—a day of judgment and the destruction of the ungodly.
In Verses 8 through 14 Peter wants God's people to remember that God doesn't mark time like we do. His promises may seem slow in coming to fulfillment FROM where are at, at this point in history, but God is waiting purposefully. He doesn't want people to perish but to repent.
Make no mistake, this judgment that never seems to come will indeed come. Verse 10:
“But The Day of the Lord will come like a thief.
The heavens will disappear with a roar;
the elements will be destroyed by fire,
and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.”
Wow! This will happen dear Friends. That is certain. So what do we do? Peter tells us to live holy and godly lives. And we do this not by our own strength – we do this through faith and obedience to God. The holy spirit sanctifies us daily and the LORD will ultimately deliver us from sin’s clutches. In verse 14, Peter reminds us all:
“So then, dear friends, since you are looking
forward to this, make every effort to be found
spotless, blameless and at peace with him.”
We study Revelation not to decode every image but to learn how to live faithfully under its truth as God’s people. Peter’s guidance helps us see this clearly. How does the Bible’s teaching on God’s coming judgment shape the way you handle daily tasks and conversations? How does it influence what truly matters most to you?
In verses 15 through 18, Peter tells us to be forewarned! We certainly know enough to be forewarned about what is to come. So what do we do? Verses 17 to 18:
“Therefore, dear friends, since you have been
forewarned, be on your guard so that you may
not be carried away by the error of the lawless
and fall from your secure position. But grow in
the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior
Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”
God's judgment is absolutely certain. You can ignore it now and deal with it later or embrace it now and live accordingly. God calls His people -- every day -- to apply themselves to know His Word, focus on Jesus, and grow to be more like Him. In grace and knowledge.
And we learn our final principle here:
The coming day of the Lord calls believers to live godly lives and urgently share the gospel.
The announcement of the day of the Lord is a resounding wake-up call. Those who belong to God by faith in His Son must also take the truth of His day of judgment seriously. The schedules, devices and entertainment of life oftentimes distract us and create distance from the infinitely compassionate, exalted Father. Our walk with God starts from the very minute we wake up in the morning and when we start our day in prayer, with hearts fully surrendered to his sovereignty, we begin the days journey with Jesus. Living Godly lives involves the overflowing power of the Holy Spirit, who guides our steps, motivates right decisions and encourages compassionate interactions with others. As recipients of God’s grace, believers share the gospel urgently and passionately. How does your gratitude for salvation and the certainty of Christ’s return motivate you to share the gospel? When we understand who we are in Christ, we live for Him—in thought, we live for Christ in the words we speak and we live for him in the things that we do.
Let us pray..
