And the prophet speaks about gathering together before the decree is issued. The decree actually means the day of the Lord’s anger.
And the prophet speaks about gathering together before the decree is issued. The decree actually means the day of the Lord’s anger. So he’s saying: ‘Get ready. Get ready to gather together before the Lord’s anger comes upon you.‘
And you could interpret that in different ways. We’re gathering together tonight. And that’s something which God tells us to do as we get nearer to the Day of the Lord to meet together to learn about Him.
23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25
There’s also going to be a gathering together of all the saints in the event which we call the rapture of the church in which God is going to take every born again believer who has the Holy Spirit within them out of this world to meet with Jesus and to be transformed from being in the body which we’re in now into a new body which will never get old and never get sick and never die, and be with the Lord forever.
51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 1 Corinthians 15:51-53
And Paul tells us in Thessalonians that we are to comfort one another with these words that the day of the Lord is going to come and the Lord is going to take those who believe in Him to be with Him forever.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18
We have great debates in the Christian church about the timing of the event. I’m not going to get into that tonight, but it is going to happen.
And it’s a call to Christians to be ready to be gathered together to the Lord and to be in a place of extreme safety because, once you’re gathered into the place of the Lord, then whatever troubles are taking place on the earth, in one sense, are no longer your concern because you’re with the Lord in a place of safety. And so, God says this is something that should comfort the believer.
