Day of Joy / Day of Destruction: A Biblical View of the Last Day on Earth

Acknowledgments

The commentary in this book is not only the result of years of bible reading but also years of public bible study under various ordained ministers.  Among these are the Reverends Waldemar Loescher, Verylyn Dobberstein, John Beck, Steven Neumann and Scott Bergemann.  The author recognizes that his understanding of scripture was greatly enhanced by their work.  But any comments in the book that are un-biblical or ‘over the top’ are purely the responsibility of the author.

Another primary source for the author’s understanding and interpreting the quoted scriptures is the People’s Bible series published by the Northwestern Publishing House.

Scripture quotations are from the NIV.

Book cover designed by Dustin Krueger

Dedication

To the sheep – may you look forward to meeting your shepherd

To the goats still in need of a shepherd. May you read this and take it to heart before the flocks are divided.

To Dena, your love and faith in me made this book a reality

Introduction

Various cultures throughout history have predicted it would come. Men have claimed to receive divine insight as to the exact date it would occur. The Apocalypse, Armageddon, Judgment Day – a day when the world as we know it ends, and humanity, if it survives, experiences a totally new way of life.

The biblical version of this event is every bit as dramatic, cataclysmic and awe-inspiring as any movie or book could portray it. Imagine if you will, combining the special effects of Star Wars with the pageantry of The Ten Commandments.

Having spent more than a decade leading bible studies in a prison setting, I’ve heard a variety of opinions about ‘end times’ and ‘the end of the world’. More than a few reflect the videos/documentaries that review apocalyptic predictions made by sources outside of the bible or, at best, were loosely based on a single verse of scripture.

So, I could sell more books if I claim my literary inspiration was a grand vision or that I had found some secret code that will calculate the year that the end will come. But that would be a lie. The truth is I wanted to capture the biblical answer to the following questions. What really will happen on that day? What will we see and hear? As I was reading the book of Isaiah one day I came across a passage describing a day like none other. From then on, I wanted to know all God had to say about that day and try to piece together what the final day of human history would be like. I looked on the bookshelves to see if someone had already done the research for me but could not find the complete guide I was looking for.

Despite the dramatic nature of the event, the lack of books is understandable. True preachers of the Gospel will spend most of their time relating the Bible to people’s present needs and motivations. The last day on earth is just a small part of the total spiritual package.

At one point, I thought of using the title The Day of the Lord. Not only is the end of the world referred to by that name, but it also gives us the proper focus. It will truly be the Lord’s Day, when His work of salvation reaches a glorious conclusion and the very thing in this world that angers him — namely sin — is finally conquered and driven from his presence.

Yet when the Bible talks about that day it usually puts it in terms of the affect it will have on mankind. It clearly describes how we will feel and what will happen to us when the world as we know it comes to an end.

I believe that the Bible is the true, inerrant, inspired word of God. This study is about what is found in those pages, specifically that day commonly known as Judgment Day. Included with what I believe to be God’s words on the subject are some of my own. But when I discuss my views on Bible passages I will treat the passages as though they are indeed authoritative and worthy of a person’s deepest trust. And no doubt that is where my writing will come into conflict with the beliefs of many, even some members of Christian churches. It is my hope that this review will spur discussion about the passages themselves and about their application to our lives.

But even if you believe that the Bible is full of errors or that it can’t possibly be the only truth in the universe, this may still have something of value for you. For one thing, it will concisely give you the Bible passages that relate to an event foretold by many religions. This event has been predicted for centuries and still gets headlines in the media today.

Secondly, if you consider yourself open-minded and one who believes there are many ways to find God, you may be intrigued by the thoughts and views of a die-hard Christian. To some we are extreme at best, fools and lunatics at worst. But you can better understand our attitudes if you know the reason for the hope that we have (1 Peter 3:15).

Yet I recognize that this collection will mean more to followers of Jesus. Anyone can look around and see the selfish destructiveness of human behavior, but only believers can classify it as sin against God. Anyone can question why some god or powerful force in the universe doesn’t make things better but only believers can see that the real God has already provided the solution for that selfish destructive human behavior. Anyone who has looked at someone in a casket can wonder what happened to the soul that once animated those now dead bones but believers trust that the soul has moved to its proper place until the time when soul and body are re-united. Believers understand that God’s decision about who enjoys paradise and who doesn’t is based on his grace and the faith that holds on to his grace.

There are two main sections to this study. In the first section, we look at the applicable passages in approximate chronological order. This section includes background on the passages and brief commentary. Hopefully the commentary will help you think about the passages from your point of view. The second and most important section contains nothing but the passages themselves, arranged by topic. If nothing else, this section will be useful in providing you with a reference for future study.

The author’s commentary on the passages is given to  encourage the reader to evaluate them for themselves. What impressions/concerns come to mind when you read the biblical account? Does it make sense when you look at the world around you? What did Jesus say regarding Judgment Day?

Whenever possible I tried to put the passages in their proper context, for context is often critical in understanding any sentence. Many people throughout history have tried to take a passage out of context and create their own version of Biblical truth. I have also tried to heed some of the final words of Revelation and neither add to, or take away from, the words that are written.

1

The Last Day Foretold

Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.    Jude 14,15

The apostle Jude gives us insight to what was happening in the centuries after creation. According to the genealogical record in Genesis, it is possible that Enoch was born when Adam was around 620 years old. Humanity, which started with two people, was multiplying rapidly and, no doubt, beginning to settle in different regions of the world. Adam was still alive to tell people about God and the meaning of life but more and more of his descendants were rejecting God’s will and living for themselves. The first book of the Bible tells us that the people became very arrogant and wicked.

Genesis tells us that Enoch, walked with God. Whether that means literally walking with God or being extremely faithful to Him, it seems that God chose him to reach out to his extended human family and tell them about the will of God. And one of the things he prophesied, or told, to them was that a day of judgment was in store. Specifically, he tried to warn them that the ungodly would face punishment for all their godless and wicked actions.

This passage is enlightening for several reasons. First, it addresses the claim that judgment day, heaven and hell were ideas made up by the later prophets. Since these topics are rarely covered in the first five books of the bible there are some that propose the concepts were made up at a later time and early civilizations knew nothing about them. They might even cite this passage as proof of their belief. After all, Jude lived thousands of years after Enoch.

Jude is indeed one of the last books of the bible so how could he quote Enoch accurately? He couldn’t unless there really was something called ‘divine inspiration’ where God puts into the hearts and minds of men the words he wants them to tell others. Yes, it sounds too good to be true, but a God who can create a universe, love the unlovable and have his Spirit live within the hearts and minds of his followers – all things the bible claims are real – is capable of divine inspiration. We trust Scripture when it says divine inspiration and even faith itself is a gift from God.

But from what I have read from modern biblical scholars who deny divine inspiration, they would claim that heaven and hell do not exist no matter what documents they had. If we had a document dated 6000 years old with Enoch’s signature on the bottom they would merely claim Enoch was making it all up or it was a forgery or that a scribe wrote it at a later time on old paper. From the perspective of one who believes God can communicate the truth to men, Jude was merely documenting a historical truth, just as we have portions of history textbooks that aren’t collections of the original source documents. As we will see from some of the next passages, the concepts expressed in these verses were clearly known even if they were not recorded on a scroll when they were first revealed.

Second, the passage highlights something we often take for granted, the power of the spoken word. We are so used to living by what we read in books and on the internet that we forget that most of humanity has known about God, creation, salvation from sin and other spiritual beliefs by verbal communication. Adam must have had questions about his future and God must have answered them. He in turn told his children and, as we see here, when the family ties started breaking down God moved certain people to tell his will to entire communities. Noah is another individual who preached to the people. It is the spoken word that has kept faith alive for generations. Even today, you can have a greater impact on the life of someone you know by telling them about God, rather than giving them a book to read.

Third, it tells us that from the beginning God revealed some very specific things about the Day of Judgment. God Himself would come to earth and He would be accompanied by angels, the ‘holy ones’ to execute judgment on all mankind. All would be judged, yet it is the ‘ungodly’ that would be convicted of their sinful words and actions. As we will see from other passages, God has something different in mind for the ‘godly’ that believe in Him and act accordingly.

With this passage, Jude was applying Enoch’s words of warning to people of his own time who were perverting Christianity. These men were using the love and grace of God to excuse and promote immorality. You see, it’s not just the atheist who is ‘ungodly’ but all who refuse to do things God’s way. Enoch’s warning applies to people of all ages. There will be a guilty verdict and a sentencing for all who oppose God and live apart from him.

Even now, there are so many who need to be warned. But the modern culture has worked hard to convince humanity that there is no real God, that there is no such thing as sin and therefore nothing ‘ungodly’ that needs to be punished or addressed. There are only sins against humanity. So, sadly, Enoch’s warning sounds strange and unbelievable to the very people who might benefit from it the most.

As water disappears from the sea or a riverbed becomes parched and dry, so man lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will not awake or be roused from their sleep.     Job 14:12

This passage by itself may seem vague regarding judgment day. But the other bible passages of Isaiah and the prophets talk about the physical destruction of the sun, moon and stars at the end of time and help us to see the phrase till the heavens are no more in its correct context.

Until that day when the heavens are no more, people die and do not rise or come back to life. Death is often referred to as sleep, even by people who don’t believe the bible. The loved one who has died seems to find rest from earthly struggles. But the reality is that they are gone, they have left us just as the water from a parched riverbed has disappeared and all that is left is the dry, lifeless shell.

But in despairing over the effect of death Job points to the day when ‘the rules will change’ regarding death. What happens when the heavens are no more? Then men will be roused and will awake from the sleep of death. Awakened to what? Next, we’ll see from Job 19 that he was confident people would rise from the dead and confident of what he would see when the heavens disappear.

I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes — I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!     Job 19:25-27

With these simple sentences Job shows us just how much the people of his day knew about God and the fate of mankind. He speaks of his Redeemer or Savior who would