THE DAY OF THE LORD

    “As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out I will be king over you.” Ezekiel 20:33 (ESV) 

Here lies the crux of creation, will we have God as king over us or shall we remain king of ourselves?  This is how we know that antichrist has been revealed.  Mankind, through all of his governments and institutions including his churches,  proclaims that he himself is God.  Man now makes all the rules and the laws.  Any hint that a law originates with God must be declared unconstitutional and thrown out as a violation of the principle of the separation of church and state.  And so we see fulfilled the Scripture, 

Moreover, I gave them statutes that were not good and rules by which they could not have life,  [26] and I defiled them through their very gifts in their offering up all their firstborn [for this generation this has been through abortion], that I might devastate them. I did it that they might know that I am the Lord. Ezekiel 20:25-26 (ESV)  

Throughout the world men have replaced their nation’s laws, once founded upon the very Word of God, with laws based only upon their carnal wisdom.  We see resulting chaos and destruction everywhere in the gross lawlessness, theft, lies, and fornication of all people.  That the “man of lawlessness” has been revealed shows us that we have now entered the Day of the LORD, for

that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction,  [4] who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.  2 Thes. 2:3-4 (ESV) 

Men look in vain for the antichrist to appear in some manmade temple in Old Jerusalem.  Paul said, “know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV)  Paul did not change the meaning of the word temple in 2 Thessalonians 2:4.  He is talking about the temple of man’s soul.  Always the issue has been, “Who will rule your soul?” Will it be God, or will it be yourself. The entire Bible deals with this battleground. This explains why most of the Bible concerns itself with our soul’s salvation versus our spirit’s salvation.  Mankind has come full circle once again.  Just as it was in the days of Noah, when all mankind had placed themselves upon the throne of their souls and done evil before the LORD, so is it today.

Thus the wrath of God, the Day of the LORD, must come.  No other remedy exists according to Isaiah 26:9-10:

    My soul yearns for you in the night;
        my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
    For when your judgments are in the earth,
        the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
    [10] If favor [grace] is shown to the wicked,
        he does not learn righteousness;
    in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly
        and does not see the majesty of the Lord.

America was founded a “land of uprightness,” but within two hundred years of her founding all within her deal corruptly.  The teaching of grace went forth endlessly within her, but her grace became lawless because she would not learn righteousness.  And so, now, God’s judgments must come into the earth for then, and only then, will the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.  Behold, the Day of the LORD has come.