"I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day and heard
behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet...And I turned to see the voice that
spake with me....when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead."
Revelation 1:10, 12, 17.
The Lord’s Day? Was it Saturday, the last day of the
week? Perhaps Sunday, as some suppose? There have been many speculations as to
what the Lord’s Day might have been when John had the
Revelation of Jesus Christ while in exile on the island of Patmos. Some believe
it is Sunday, since Jesus was raised from the dead on the first day of the week;
but there is no place in the Bible that makes such a statement or even alludes
to this supposition. Others maintain that the Lord’s Day is Saturday and have
gone so far as to having made it a major tenet of their faith. Their main reason
for this is that God rested on the seventh day from all the work He did. He gave
a day of rest for man, He hallowed it and said to keep it holy. Therefore, in
order to keep it holy, attending church on Saturday and not working is necessary
for most of those that keep the Sabbath. This belief requires the observance
of this seventh-day as the day of rest, worship, and ministry, maintaining
that it is in harmony with the teachings and practices of Jesus, the Lord of
the Sabbath. However, there is no part of the fourth commandment that
says anything about worship or ministry. It simply says to remember it, rest,
and keep it holy.
Let us consider, how does going to church on the last day of
the week constitute making it holy? Also, how does preaching, teaching, and
being a part of the congregation on that day make it holy? And according to the
definition of the word holy, such religious activities do not make the
day holy. Neither does any of this make it the day of the Lord.
We can search the scriptures; but our search will fail to
find one place stating that a day of rest is the day of the Lord.
Although the leaders of the Jewish religion imposed this upon Israel, God never
decreed that people were to be subservient to that day, but to the contrary.
Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man, it was to serve him, rather than
man being made for the Sabbath. He reinforced it by saying that He was
the Lord of the Sabbath, Mark 2:27. Where, then, does this
leave His temple, the many members of His body? The same as it was with Him, of
course. As with their Master, they reside over that day. They are to rule it
rather than it making them legalistic servants of the law and ruling over them.
It is good, of course, to cease from one’s natural labors, to take one day out
of the week and not work . But to serve the law, even out of explicit devotion,
is not what God intended. We are not called to be subservient law-keepers, but
to be fulfillers of the law, to fulfill the law in and by the Spirit of Jesus
Christ.
The word, work (melaò’kâh), from the Hebrew is
interesting in itself. It means deputyship, that is, ministry;
also employment but never as servile or slavish work, (ref.
H4399). The root from which it is derived is mal’âk and means to
dispatch as a deputy; a messenger; specifically of
God, that is, an angel, also a prophet, priest or teacher,
(H4397). Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance.
This may have no effect on those who do not see that the
handwriting of this ordinance was also nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14),
and I have no ill feeling toward them at all. I know how religious beliefs can
be so deeply rooted, and without question they are embraced as truth. Such
mind-sets can be very difficult to change. It often takes major shakings of
their doctrinal views before there is a chance of being made free from them. If
not by that, the less painful way, by divine revelation to a heart that is open
to hearing the voice of the Son of God.
The Hebrew definition of work presents some
things that are not easily refuted. Namely, that if the pastors who embrace and
keep the fourth commandment of the law, they could not minister to the people
on the seventh day. Their ministry was reserved to only the LORD on that day.
The pastor of his flock could not be dispatched to the congregation
on that day of rest. If the people attended and received that which he
ministered, they would be partakers of his work and just as guilty of the
pastor’s disobedience to that command as he would be. They all would be breaking
the very law that they believe to be upholding. Rather than keepers of the law,
they would be breakers of it. Although, seemingly honorable, zeal and devout
dedication does not make ignorance right.
Of course, it would look like a good argument against this
thought of not working on the Sabbath if we considered not only those
ministering to the LORD, but all the others who were to rest as well; such as,
one’s son, daughter, servant, ox, ass, cattle, or strangers within his gates.
None of these were ministering deputies of the LORD; but they were deputies of
that man, and they ministered to him and his cause every day of the week except
for the seventh. To make this clear, Deuteronomy 5:15 compared it to Israel when
they served the Egyptians, and the Sabbath day was a reminder of their
freedom from serving man, reminding him that there was a rest from
bringing forth thorns and thistles and eating the herb and bread of the field by
the sweat of his face. It is saying that they should not work on the
seventh day of that which pertains to man, but rest from those labors, and do
this as the priesthood keeps the seventh day holy (clean and void from man’s
contaminating sweat) by ministering in purity to the LORD.
In spite of the fact that the messengers of the word are not
to work, that is, to minister on the Sabbath, and it is one of the
commandments, there are no scriptures that suggests that it is the Lord’s Day.
The LORD blessed and hallowed the seventh day (Hebrew, qadash:
pronounced as being clean), but contrary to what is accepted by some as
orthodoxy, it was never called the Lord’s Day!
With this day having been hallowed/clean, there
were no contaminates, pollutants, foreign entities, or agents of any kind. It
was pure and altogether unadulterated. For example, if a vacuum tube of an
electron scanning microscope contains one speck of dust, it has been
adulterated. It is not clean. Its environment is impure. To keep a day
holy is the same. It is without blemish. There are no spots in it.
That day has none of man’s contamination. There is no adulteration of
that pure chamber whatsoever.
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it
holy." Or from the Hebrew and paraphrased: "Take heed, mark, recognize,
and remember the seventh day of intermission, for it is clean,
pure, undefiled." Exodus 20:8. With this, let me ask,
how many of you in your natural state of being, and coupled with the determined
discipline of religious purity, can enter a twenty-four hour day and keep
from contaminating it with your carnal mind? I mean, with not even one negative
thought, slip of the tongue, or deed. Personally, I know of none; but if you
have done so, I praise God that you have truly entered into His rest in all
purity and are worthy of it. Yet, I might question such spotlessness at this
time from most, especially from those who walk according to the law rather than
the Spirit, which would be a contaminant itself.
Something that they who keep the Sabbath may not have
considered is that they all break this law very frequently; for Jesus said that
if you break even one of the laws, such as lust, covetousness, lying, etc, you
are guilty of breaking them all, which includes the fourth one. Please tell me,
what man or woman can take any day of the week and fulfill the nature of God by
keeping to the letter every jot and tittle of all the laws. It won’t happen, and
no one can keep any day, not even the seventh day, totally clean and undefiled.
Who can forbid one evil or negative thought or action from coming to mind or
breaking through one’s righteous façade? Do we really think that our human
imperfections can be bridled and held at bay for twelve solid hours, twenty-four
hours, week after week, year after year? I believe not, and for that matter, we
all can most likely remember how we yelled at our kids and wife (or husband) in
preparation for church whether it was Saturday or Sunday, not to mention on the
way there?
There is a day, however, that this will be fulfilled. It is a
promise. And that is the real day of rest of which we enter. This is the perfect
Day that shines brighter day by day as its presence unveils Jesus Christ. It is
the overpowering light of the Son of God. That is the Lord’s Day! Not Saturday
(Saturn’s Day), not Sunday (Sun’s Day), not Monday (Moon’s Day) nor
any other twenty-four hour period of time. The only day that is clean and
undefiled is that of our Lord’s rest.
Try as one may, failure will be the result for anyone who
attempts to prove by the scriptures that the Day of the Lord can be marked on
a calendar. The Day of the Lord is an era of time when Jesus is
in total control over people or nations. That is what the Lord’s Day is! Notwithstanding,
this fact still does not stop people from presuming it to be otherwise. But what
else can we expect? They have heard it preached and taught all their lives that
it is a literal day of the sun rising and setting; but false claims neither make
Saturday nor Sunday the Lord’s Day. As it is with any doctrinal error that is
taught by using faulty data, it will fail and die when put to the test.
Believing and teaching that a twenty-four hour period of time
is the Lord’s Day is actually reckless endangerment to ones spiritual well
being, and to teach our children the same could constitute child abuse. For,
truly, such impositions bind their minds by the laws of legalism and hold them
captive to lifeless creeds and doctrines. Very often such teachings are life
sentences to theological prisons. But praise God! This will not last forever.
Although men have for a long time been supposing what is truth, the spirit of
truth has been disposing, and will totally dispose of all lies at the
unveiling of Jesus Christ and His anointed.
Revelation 1:10 uses the term, the Lord’s Day, while
all other cases it is the Day of the Lord, except for one time. It is
His Day in Luke 17:24, and all three are equivalent in
meaning. They are three terms that say the same thing. This is elementary
English, and so it is with the Greek.
Much more could be detailed and laid out concerning the
Day of the Lord as not being a natural day no more than God creating all
things in six literal days. Hopefully, however, enough has been supplied
for us to know that this High Day has nothing to do with Saturday,
Sunday, or any other day of the week.
With this said, let me pose another question. How many of us
are looking forward to the Lord’s Day, the Day of the Lord, His Day?
Wouldn’t we think that this would be a thing to welcome with open arms? Would we
not rejoice at being a part of such a holy and supreme day? And haven’t we
dreamed of basking in the warm rays of His glorious presence until the end of
the age and beyond? Won’t we be overjoyed when that glorious day finally arrives
in its full-blown manifestation? Well, maybe, maybe not. Depending on where we
stand and in whose hands we are held.
For instance, the Day of the Lord had always heralded
a time of woe, of judgment, of destruction, a season of dread on behalf of those
in need of judgment. Amos said this about it: "Woe unto you that desire the
day of the LORD! To what end is it for you? The day of the LORD is
darkness, and not light." Amos 5:18. The Day of the
Lord brought terrible things upon His people. His days of judgment are horrific
for most, yet some will suffer no ills; for, you see, everyone who calls upon
the name of the LORD are delivered. They are those in mount Zion and in
Jerusalem, spiritually speaking, and they are all delivered, Joel 2:32.
Although some of those in natural Israel were spared, the day
of the Lord was not a time of peace and tranquility. It was a very sobering
season. The food supply was cut off, joy and gladness ceased, seed rotted in the
ground, the garners were bare, and the barns destroyed. The beasts and herds of
cattle were without pasture, the rivers dried up, as fire consumed the pastures
and trees of the fields and wilderness. (Joel 1:15-20).
Malachi called the Day of the Lord a great and dreadful day,
Malachi 4:5. Zephaniah said that the day would bring tears and
bitterness to even the mighty men. It was a day of wrath, a day of trouble and
distress, a day when all good things were wasted and laid desolate, a day of
darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. It was a day of
being void of God’s blessings. The walled cities and their high towers were of
no protection. The distress was so great upon men that they walked as if blinded
by blazing firebrands. Their blood poured out like well-springs upon the ground.
There was so much death and carnage that their flesh was of no more value than
dung, and their silver and gold were not able to deliver them in that terrible
day of the LORD (Zephaniah 1:14-18).
When the day of the Lord comes, cities and kingdoms fall. To
quote our friend, Royce Kennedy:
"God removed the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah in what seemed
to be a literal hell on earth. The cities were reduced to ashes and we emphasize
the destruction that came upon those people for their sins. Preachers warn
sinful people in our time to come to God or suffer the same fate; but they have
missed another side of the equation.
"Jesus told the unbelievers; ‘And thou, Capernaum, which art
exalted unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works,
which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained
until this day. But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land
of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.’ Matt.11: 23-24. In fact, Jesus
indicated that if the people of Sodom had heard what the people to whom he was
ministering, they would have repented, and God said in another place that he
moved them as he saw it good. But they shall rise in the judgment and testify
against these unbelievers to whom Jesus spoke. It is all according to his good
pleasure and divine purpose.
"With many in religious circles, the coming together of
nations seem to send a signal for us to prepare for the emergence of the
antichrist, but what about another gathering together of the nations as God
summons? ‘Therefore wait ye upon me, saith the Lord, until the day that I rise
up to the prey: for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may
assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce
anger: for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy. For
then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they all may call upon the
name of the Lord, to serve him with one consent.’ Zephaniah 3: 8-9.
"Can we forget the concise and enduring prophecy given by
Daniel? ‘And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under
the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High,
whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey
him.’ Daniel 7:27. Does that sound like a one world government of the antichrist
to you?
"‘He (the Lord) shall have dominion also from sea to
sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Yea, all kings shall fall
down before him: all nations shall serve him. All nations shall come and worship
before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.’ Psalm 72:8,11; Revelation 15:
4b. ‘And saviors shall come upon mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the
kingdom shall be the Lord’s.’ Obadiah 21. Are we waiting for Christ’s one world
government, or are we waiting for the antichrist’s one world government? Yes,
indeed, God is gathering together in ONE all things in Christ just like he said
he would. We do not at this point have all the nuts and bolts in our hands, and
we cannot draw an outline of all the moving parts of this unfolding. But we do
know that as the kingdoms of this world crumble bit by bit, so likewise, the
kingdom of God peaks over the horizon like the sunrise on a bright summer’s
morn. At evening time there shall be light, and that light is shining brighter
and brighter with every passing day."
(When Shall These Things
Be?"
Matthew 24: Part 13
https://godfire.net/kennedy/Matthew_24_Part_13.htm).
On one hand, the Day of the Lord is terrible, yet on the
other wondrous things take place. Man’s kingdom of the whole world is overthrown
and replaced with God’s. The signs of the times in the heavens and the earth
suggest that this harrowing day is already upon us. It is not pleasant as it
brings to light, first, those hidden things within the body of Christ, and then
the world. When the Day of the Lord is upon any self-made men or
kingdoms, they cannot remain in place. That Day will expose and destroy
everything contrary to the holy name of the Lord!
Would to God that the masses would call upon that name today;
but for now, not many seek Him. Moreover, it is not uncommon to see arrogant
people who think they are getting in the face of Jesus Christ by openly
declaring their independence. They flaunt their sinful life-styles as they
parade before eager cameras that broadcast their silliness to a flesh-craving
world. They vaunt their perversions, their supposed sovereign free will,
their paltry godhood, and their self-aggrandized humanism that
overflows all reasonable boundaries. If they are not in the face of Jesus
who they by no means know, they get into the face of His own. Bursting with
pride, they say, "There is no God, and if by chance there is one, we neither
need Him nor want Him." It is also common to hear that Jesus was merely an
enlightened man due to having learned from the masters of the East. None of this
matters. Let them sneer, rant and rave. Let the heathen rage. For He who sits in
the heavens shall laugh. And in His Day, He will have them in derision, as we
are told in Psalm 1:1-12.
The fact is, when they see Him in His glory, they will die as
all who see God, yet, that is not their end. They will live when their hour
comes. His fire will not be pleasant; but it will serve as ultimate good to
them, as well as the world, and especially His Kingdom. What a wonder! Not like
most conquerors who would imprison, torture, and deprive their captives, this
Lord will liberate them from the tyranny of their own souls. This is the Father
we know! He is not the one who loves today but not tomorrow beyond death’s door.
Again, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and heard
behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet...And I turned to see the voice that
spake with me....when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead."
Revelation 1:10, 12, 17.
Before delving farther into this thought, we should notice
that there is much more to this verse than meets the eye of the natural mind. It
will help by translating one word as it should be from the Greek. It is the word
that means the same and is spelled very near to the English word, "in."
It is, "en." "I was in spirit IN the Lord’s Day."
With this, and from what we gleaned above, can we not see that John who came to
be in spirit, found himself IN the Day of the Lord? Not his
body which remained earth-bound, but as spirit. He was raptured, if you
please, caught up, seized into a realm of Christ that flesh and bone have
always been unfamiliar. Although his feet remained upon the desert hillside, he,
the spiritual man was ushered into the great Day of the Lord that the
book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ speaks. It was so profound that
after turning from his natural perspective and seeing the voice that spoke to
him from behind, he fell to the ground as good as dead. There was nothing
left in him that could stand or speak until he was told to fear not. This is
what happens when this Great Day of the Lord overtakes us. The Light of that Day
slays us! We can’t stand in our natural right in His Day, no more than a garden
slug can cross the Mojave desert under a blazing summer’s sun. Yet, human slugs
still attempt to exalt themselves above the majesty of our Lord, the King of
kings, in whose hands are their very existence.
The book of Revelation is a graphic record of the Day
of the Lord. It is surely not a record of the day of the antichrist or false
prophet, nor is it a record of a one world government, or the harlot on the back
of a strange beast with more heads than it knows what to do with. Although these
things will be brought to the surface and dealt with in every realm, they are
not the focal points of the book. This is a book of signs that has to do with
the unveiling of Jesus Christ in His Day as He brings the day whenever and
wherever His light shines. The book is a record of His Day, the Day of the
Lord!
The judgment of the great whore that sits upon the people of
many waters is a part of the Lord’s Day. The war in heaven against the great red
dragon takes place in The Lord’s Day. And be sure to know that these things that
are exposed and conquered in the Day of the Lord take place within the heavens
and earth of each member of the body of Christ, as it also does in the body of
Christ collectively. Surely, it will be manifested in the world at the appointed
time, but not before it takes place within our selves.
Many people throughout the world are futilely waiting for a
misrepresented Day of the Lord that is nothing close to the one in which
John saw where kingdoms fell in utter destruction. There are times and seasons
for all things; but surely, as it was with John nearly two thousand years ago,
don’t you think we can be in spirit and have the Day of the Lord
to become a reality at this present time? Have we not already been in His
shining presence, His Day, and have not kingdoms fallen within us to never rise
again? Yes, indeed, this has taken place. We have been there! And we will,
hopefully, be remaining in that Day of the Sun/Son, but not merely remaining in
a neutral state of being, but in a place of supreme command with the full
authority of our Lord.
Matthew recorded what Jesus spoke concerning one of His days
that came to pass in A.D. 70. This was in reference to the destruction of
Jerusalem and the Temple: "29Immediately after the tribulation of
those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and
the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken: 30And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:
and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of
man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31And
he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall
gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the
other." Matthew 24:29-31.
Please notice that immediately after the destruction
of Jerusalem, the sun was darkened, and the moon did not give her light, and
the stars fell from heaven. Can you imagine this happening? It sounds like a
scene from a science-fiction movie. However, if this actually took place, where
are the records of the sun growing dim, the moon failing to shine, and the stars
falling from their celestial home and crashing into the earth? There are none!
There is not a shred of evidence to substantiate such a scenario. For that
matter, if the stars had fallen, not meteorites but stars, there would have been
no one around to record the events, nor would there be anyone today to read
anything at all. For even one star falling to the earth would destroy it
instantly, leaving nothing but miniscule shards strewn throughout the universe.
Such natural events never happened; but they certainly did in the world of
types, shadows, and allegories that were fulfilled according to what these
symbols pointed. Namely, the kingdom of the Jews after God’s judgment came upon
it, which is now history. That’s the story in a small nutshell.
Heaven, the sun, the moon, and the stars are types
that speak of impending spiritual and natural occurrences of three
manifestations of a kingdom which are brought about by the Spirit of God. This
is as plain and simple as it can be said. For example, the Lamb slain
from the foundation of the world in Revelation 13:8 is not suggesting that it
was a little woolly, four-footed animal that was killed. It was a man—the man
Jesus Christ! The same goes for heaven, the sun, the moon, and the stars.
They are not literal when it comes to the scriptures we are addressing.
Jesus opened the windows of the heavens and showed in types
and shadows to John that which would be coming to pass in the body of Christ.
And let us note, John did not hear and see these terrible earthshaking events
while in a prayer meeting or a praise and worship service. Albeit, these things
are very good and can add to peoples spiritual lives and well being. However,
that which is given by the Spirit from on high that moves mountains, topples
kingdoms, replaces regimes, turns worlds upside down, levels forests and fields
with the fiery blast of God’s breath, very seldom comes during the season of
calm and joy and peace. Very often they are born in the crucible of afflictions,
in the midst of raging storms, of grave desperation! And so it was with John
while banished to the Isle of Patmos. It is unlikely that the Revelation would
have come while he reclined in the comforts of home. It was in the midst of
great oppression that he heard and he saw things such as: "12I beheld
when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and
the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13And
the stars of heaven fell unto the earth..." Revelation 6:12-13.
The scriptures are not always clear on certain points; but we
are sure that a tremendous amount of pressure and anguish of the soul was
experienced by Jesus, the prophets, and the apostles, including John. They
suffered greatly, endured, and gained victory. They all heard and saw things
that were impossible for the human mind to grasp. Jesus often went upon the
mountain to pray, sometimes all night. And then, when He, or the prophets and
apostles spoke, it was most usually in metaphorical terms. What then could the
sun and the moon and the stars represent? We won’t go into all the details, but
suffice it to say that the sun represents the ruling power over a nation, an
organization, a religion, a household, or even a single individual. The moon
generally speaks of the lifeless, pseudo light of rituals, of laws, of
ceremonies, of ordinances, or habitual routines; of characteristics, of vices,
of addictions, ad infinitum.
We can see this with the Jews and their external religious
practices. They became masters of their craft of growing old, hardened, stifled,
and barren of truth; so much so that they desired and conspired to destroy the
Truth, the Messiah for which they claimed to be waiting. With hopes of saving
their kingdom, they killed Him and made an open show of their victory
when they hung Him upon the cross for all to see. But the very thing they were
trying to save was soon afterwards taken from them. Their heaven was rolled up
like a scroll. And immediately after the tribulation of those days of Titus and
his army, their god-given authority became black as the inside of a sackcloth.
Their authority was forever revoked after the Roman eagles of abomination
gathered upon their carcass. The moon of their religious practices were
darkened—no more power, no more washings, no more trimming and lighting of
candlestick wicks. The show bread was gone along with its table, no incense, no
mercyseat for the high priest to meet with the Oracle of God, and, praise Him—no
more sacrifices! The priests, the Scribes, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees
fell as stars from that lofty heaven of their deposed kingdom. The royal scepter
was passed to the saints of the most High, those who bore His image and holy
name.
Immediately after the burning of Jerusalem and the Temple in
that great Day of the Lord, everything that pertained to the Jewish
hierarchy was destroyed. The words of the prophet Daniel and of Jesus came to
pass as they had declared, and it was precisely at the appointed time.
And now, whether it is the ancient religion of the Jews or
the more modern religions of Christendom, along with all the others, there is no
difference. The stars hanging in the heavens today, however, incorporate a
larger field, a vast array. These star specks are dignitaries, such as,
kings, queens, presidents, chancellors, senators, congressman, governors,
despots, corporate CEOs, corporations, the federal reserve, the international
banking system, the CFR, the film industry, Hollywood idols, rock stars,
television evangelists, mega-church preachers, individual churches, church
organizations, nations of the world, Wall Street, and men and
women of high prestige in the social world of vanity and pride, et cetera.
All of the above, and more, are the stars of the heavens of this world. And the
shocking truth is, some or all of these things can be found in our own heavens,
at least the spirit of them. I don’t like that thought; but it is true. Even so,
all these things of the world will fall and become the Kingdom of the Lord and
His anointed. They will be revealed in us and to us. They will be judged, dealt
with, and overcome before they will be elsewhere. "For the time is come that
judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first
begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of
God?" 1 Peter 4:17.
If the truth were known, although not in full manifestation,
much of this has already taken place in the lives of those who make up the
firstfruits of the corporate body of Jesus Christ. In the midst of the Day of
our Lord, the great dragon and his angels (every usurping, exalting
religious imagination conceivable, among other defamations) have risen in
their heavens and have warred against them and their Chief Angel and Commander.
In many cases the enemy has been cast down and has little, if any, influence
on their thoughts, their lives, or their deeds. Although the process is yet to
be finished, they are being made ready as the Day of the Lord dawns
and the members of His body are awakened to not only grave oppositions, but
especially to victory on every front.
"And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a
trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from
one end of heaven to the other." Matthew 24:31.
What in the world do you suppose this means? Do you think it
is Gabriel or Michael the archangel standing on the rim of a silver-lined cloud
while trumpeting peals of thunder the clarion call to arms for all able-bodied
saints? Does our imagination then carry us to the heights of heaven, and do we
see myriads of feather-winged angels amassing with us for battle? Perhaps this
was the case at an earlier time, but not now.
Please hear me fellow angels and sojourners in Christ.
Angels in the scriptures speak of messages dispatched from God,
especially those delivering the messages. And this is whether they are special
created spirit beings or human beings, and the latter could be on either side of
the veil. Most of the angels we read about in the Bible are men who had
not tasted death. Some could be those who have crossed over to the other side
and are among the innumerable company of angels and/or the spirits of just men
made perfect as noted in Hebrews 12:22-23.
One who sounds a trumpet can be a messenger that
delivers the message of a particular note that is heard and understood by
those for which it is intended. The angels/messengers of Christ sound the
trumpet that will cause the body of His elect to be called together in one
spirit. It is the superimposition, the high assembly of Hebrews
10:25. Although they may be scattered to the four winds, and from
one end of heaven to the other, when they hear the call, they will be gathered
together in one accord in one mind, in one voice, and in one spirit—in the
Lord’s Day!
After they are assembled, not in one physical
location, but as a united spiritual body over the entire earth, what do we
suppose they will be doing? Sitting on clouds and strumming harps? Singing
religious songs in a celestial choir? Or perhaps discussing the affairs and
strategies of the kingdom with their Captain and His twelve apostles? On the
carnal plane of the natural mind, such might be thought to be conceivable; but
the elect of God are not living after things of the natural man. Paul said in
Romans 8:9 that you are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you, and His Spirit does dwell in
us. No doubt, we are very often in the realm of our natural makeup of going
about our daily affairs. This is neither good nor bad. It is merely a part of
our lives as we continue our journey. Yet our lives are still in the Spirit of
Jesus Christ whether we are consciously aware of it or not. We are now seated in
the heavenlies in Christ Jesus as Paul reminded us in Ephesians 2:6.
When we are called together by His angels in the great Day of
the Lord, and by the word of authority and the command to assemble, we will do
so in the Spirit of the Word we hear. It is in the Spirit that we will be in
the Lord’s Day. The keys of the Kingdom will be given to us. His power and
authority will surely become evident throughout His body. It is then that we
will have overcome and been found worthy to shake both heaven and earth by the
command of His word!
Therefore, the apostle John was in Spirit in the Lord's
day, not in a church service on the Sabbath day of the week. He was engulfed
in the Spirit of the Lord in the Lord's Day, otherwise he would not have
heard His voice; for it is in His day and out of His day that He speaks. This
earthshaking experience certainly took place on one of the seven days of the
week, and it might have been the seventh day, Saturday; but the issue was not
when and where his body was taking up space. It was when and where he came to be
in the Spirit; that is, in the midst of THE DAY OF THE LORD! And for him
to have seen his Lord in such splendor of His Day, in such purity, in such
profound majesty, in such fiery judgment, how could we possibly conclude that a
day at the end of a six-day work-week is a day that could revolutionize the
world and change it forever? From sound perspective and understanding, it is
inconceivable!
What a wonderful day in which to live, namely, in the one
that is dawning—the Lord’s Day!