I'm going to ask you to take
your Bibles and turn with me to the book of 1 Thessalonians,
chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5. Last Wednesday evening, I looked at these two verses
of scripture, 1, 2. I said something out of verse
3. Basically the first couple of verses of 1 Thessalonians
5. And I dealt with the day of the
Lord. But I dealt with it in light
of the Lord's second coming. Now today I want to preach the
second part of this message on the day of the Lord and I want
to deal with the day of the Lord concerning the judgment of God. Now, this is a subject that all
of us need to hear because I'm going to tell you according to
the scriptures. I'll mention this and read the
scripture in a minute. We're all going to be there.
All of us will be there. The day of the Lord. It's going to be a day just like
today. Everybody's going to be doing
what they're doing. Whatever we're doing right now, whatever we're doing tomorrow,
next day, next day, It's going to be just like that, and no
one is going to be expecting anything any different. You fellas,
you ladies, you're going to go to work tomorrow, you're going
to be at home tomorrow, that's what you're going to be doing.
Just what you're doing. But when the day of the Lord
gets here, whatever time of day it is, Morning, noon, night,
middle of the night, I don't know. It's the middle of the
night somewhere right now. It's five o'clock somewhere right
now, you know, or shortly thereafter. It's going to be a day. It's
not everything is not just like it is right here. But when that
day comes, it's going to happen so quickly that nobody's going
to know that it happened till it's over. Matthew 24, 27, for
as the lightning cometh out of the east and shineth even unto
the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be. And the
first indication that we're going to have of that day, there's
something different, is revealed in 1 Thessalonians 4, verses
16, and it says this, for the Lord
Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ
shall rise first. The Lord Himself, this is what's
going to happen. Not an angel, not another messenger
from heaven is going to descend from heaven, and He is going
to shout. He shall descend from heaven
with a shout, with a cry, or a command. Now, contrary to popular
belief, this is not going to be a secret rapture. You know, we're going to have
secretly, all of a sudden people are going to start looking around
and say, I wonder where... The scripture declares that the day
of the Lord, the Lord himself, is going to descend from heaven
and cry, No secret matter. Everybody that's ever lived on
this earth, everybody that's living right then is going to
know it. It's going to be a shout, a cry,
or a command of a great conqueror. That shout is going to summon
everybody into His presence. And not only is He going to shout,
it's going to be with a voice or the disclosure or the address
of the archangel. Now, archangel is only mentioned
twice in the scriptures, two times in the scriptures. Mentioned
right here, and also it's mentioned in Jude, verse 9. There's only one chapter in Jude,
verse 9. Here's what it says, yet Michael,
the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about
the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation,
but said, the Lord rebuke thee." Now, here's what the scripture
says is going to happen. The Lord's going to descend from
heaven with a shout, with a command, with a cry, and Michael, the
archangel, is going to shout and voice And I don't want to
go beyond Scripture. That's what it's going to say.
What's He going to say? I don't know. I don't know what
He's going to say. What's the Lord going to say? Is there going
to be a shout? As far as I know. And the Scripture says, thirdly,
and the trump of God, the voice of the archangel, and with the
trump of God. In the Old Testament, the trumpet
was used for different purposes. Sometimes it was used to call
the tribes together if an enemy approached, Numbers 10.9. And
if you go to war in our land against the enemy that oppresses
you, then you shall blow an alarm with the trumpets. So it was
the trumpet announced problems, trouble, enemy. Or the trumpet was used in worship
or to announce a celebration, Leviticus Then shalt thou cause
the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the
seventh month in the day of atonement, shall you make the trumpet sound
throughout all your land. So on the day of the Lord, the
Lord himself is going to descend from heaven with a shout. It's
going to be the voice of the archangel, the archangel. For
as we know, there's one archangel. And then the trump of God is
going to sound. That trump announcing the glorious
arrival and victory of the mighty King of Glory Himself in the
glorification of His people. He's come now to receive His
own unto Himself. He's going to deal with all the
rest that knew Him not. He's going to grant His people
the eternal experience. of their reward in Christ. That's
what's going to happen. That's the first thing that's
going to happen. The Lord Himself is going to descend. And the
Scripture bears out that when He descends, He's not going to
be by Himself. The Scripture says in Jude 1
14, And Enoch, also the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these
things, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of
His saints. How many is going to be with
Him? All of them. All of them that have ever died
in Christ, all that's left this world in the Lord, knowing the
Lord, believing the Lord, they're with Him right now. Their bodies
are still in the ground right now. And the Scripture says,
back in 1 Thessalonians 4.16, we looked at when the Lord Himself
shall descend from heaven, the voice of the archangel, the trump
of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Now these who
died in the Lord, according to 1 Thessalonians 4.14, it says,
for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so
also them which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. Are
their bodies dead? Yes, their bodies died. They
really physically died. But the scripture sets forth
that they are actually sleeping in the Lord. They sleep in Him. They've eternally been found
in Him, chosen in Him from the foundation of the world. When
He walked on this earth, those that were given Him were in Him. When He died, they died in Him. Paul said, I was crucified with
Christ. When He was buried, they were
buried. When He rose, they rose. When He ascended, we're ascended
with Him, seated in glory. Do we understand all these things?
Nope. Do we believe them? Yes, absolutely. Someone explained
it to me, said, I can't do that. But as the Lord says it is, it
is. That's the way it is. So they're sleeping with Him.
Now, they've died physically in the Lord. They're sleeping
in Christ. And those who died physically
in the Lord, sleeping in Him, this is what the scripture says
is going to happen. The dead are going to rise first. Now, how are they going to rise? First Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians
15 verse 42 says how they're going to rise first. 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 42. So also is the resurrection of
the dead. It is sown in corruption. It's raised and in corruption. Now when those that sleep in
Christ, that died in the Lord, The Scripture says when the Lord
comes back, the first movement of the resurrection is going
to be those that sleep in Christ, those that died in the Lord.
They're going to be raised first. And when they come out of the
grave, they're not going to come out of the grave in a corrupted
body. They're going to come out of
the grave incorruptible. They're going to come out of
the grave in a glorified body. And the scripture says in 1 Thessalonians
4, 17, Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air,
so shall we ever be with the Lord. This is what's going to
happen. The Lord's going to come back. The dead in Christ are
going to be raised incorruptible. then those that are alive believers
on the earth, according to these scriptures, are going to be raised,
caught up together, and be with them in the air. Those that died
in Christ, they're the first to be in His presence. and all
that have been regenerated by the grace of God and are still
on this earth, something's going to change immediately for them. When the dead came out, died
in Christ, they came out incorruptible. And then the scripture declares
that while we're on this earth, whoever, whoever believer, whatever
believers are here on this earth, something's going to change.
1 Corinthians 15, verse 50 to 55. We're standing right now in corrupting
bodies. A body that is corrupting. It's
getting older. It's because of the presence
of sin. But something is going to happen
when the Lord comes back. 1 Corinthians 15 verse 50. Now this I say, brethren, that
flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Neither doth
corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery.
We shall not all sleep. We're not all going to die in
the Lord. There's going to be believers here on this earth
when the Lord comes back. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the
Lord came back right now while we're sitting here contemplating
over these scriptures what's going to happen if all of a sudden
we heard a shout or heard a trumpet and we're standing in His presence.
I show you a mystery. We'll not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed in a moment. a twinkling of an eye at the
last trump. For the trump shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible
must put on incorruption, this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and
this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought
to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
So this, this we know. This body is going to be changed. Whether it comes out of the grave,
incorruptible, or whether we're standing on this earth when the
Lord comes back, immediately we'll have an incorruptible body.
He's going to give us a body like His. That's the body that
Job was talking about when he said, though after my skin worms
destroy this body, yet in my flesh In glorified flesh shall
I see God. We're not going to be in this
body all eternity. We're going to be changed. It's
going to be a new body. Made like His. Flesh and blood
can't inherit the kingdom of God. In this present state, the
way we are, these bodies are corrupted with the presence of
sin. And it's going to be a new body. Immortal. But not only
shall the righteous, you know, be taken up. The dead gonna rise
first. We're not gonna precede them.
God's gonna honor, gonna give honor unto them. They're gonna
be first in His presence that died in the Lord. Then the remaining
ones that remain on the earth. Then we'll see Him. Bodies will
all be changed. All the believers are gonna have
a new body be in His presence. But not only Are the believers
all going to be in His presence? The unrighteous are going to
be there too. 2 Corinthians 5.10, For we must
all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone
may receive the things done in his body according to that he
hath done, whether it be good or bad. In that day, all that
have ever lived on this earth are going to be gathered. Romans
14.10 says, But why dost thou judge thy brother? Or why dost
thou set it not, thy brother? For we shall all stand before
the judgment seat of Christ. Paul asked this question. Why
do you take it upon yourself to judge and condemn your brother
who differs from you? Why do you puff yourself up feeling
that you've got superior knowledge of a weaker brother? Christ is
the only judge. Christ is the one before whom
all men are going to stand and he's going to settle this issue. We judge another, we're usurping
the authority of Christ, or we think we are. The totality of mankind is going
to be standing before the Lord. Now, there's believers that died
in the Lord. There's believers that were on
this earth. All their bodies now are changed.
And they have an incorruptible body, made like unto His. And now the dead, those that
were spiritually dead, that died spiritually dead, that were spiritually
dead when the Lord came back, now they're standing before God.
And the scripture says, this is according to Matthew 25 if
you want to turn there, there's going to be, the next event that's
going to happen is going to be a great separation of these two
groups. Everybody's standing there. It's
not going to be a big mob. All of them just kind of standing
around, you know, just intermingled, you know, this and that. Oh,
no. No, no, no. Matthew 25, verse 31 to 33 says,
When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy
angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory,
and before Him shall be gathered all nations, and He shall separate
them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep. from the
goats. Now, all that are standing before
the judgment seat, now they're divided into two groups. They're
not going to be any more rich and poor and man and woman and
bond and free. I'll tell you what's there. Sheep
and goats. That's it. That's all. Sheep
and goats. He who came into this world the
first time to seek and to save his own, The one who was despised
and rejected of men, the one that the father declared from
heaven, this is my beloved son in whom I'm well pleased. The
one who was taken by wicked hands and crucified, and the one who
was dying for his sheep, the one before whom all mankind must
stand. Now they're standing in two groups. One on his right hand and one
on his left. And the judge is there. And all
the holy angels are there. And the one to whom the Lord
has committed all judgment. Now, the one before whom every
knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that
He's Lord. There's going to be a confession
right now. All that say concerning this
gospel. This gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. This gospel of God. This gospel
of grace through faith in Christ. Not of works. Not of works. Lest
any man should boast. There's nothing but boasting.
I can enter in what Brother Larry said. I was raised in false religion. I'm telling you, don't tell a
believer that he didn't boast in himself. Or he might outwardly
say, oh I never did. You know what? We're all liars. We're all liars. God is true. We're liars. We're liars. Now
all of them, all of them are standing before Him. And now
we're going to be now, we're going to stand before the judgment. We're going to be judged. And
here's what's going to happen. All the evidence, everything
according to absolute righteousness and justice. It's going to be
fair. There's not going to be any plea
bargaining. There's not going to be any, you know, slick attorneys. The judge, the sheep, the goats,
the judge, and all the evidence. Turn over to Revelation 20. All
the evidence is going to be brought out. Everything that is demanded,
everything that's needful is going to be there. Revelation
20 verse 12 to 15. I saw the dead, small
and great, stand before God. And the books were opened. And
another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the
dead were judged out of those things which were written in
the books. What was in those books? Everything
according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it. Death and hell delivered up the
dead which were in them. And they were judged, every man,
according to their works, according to their thoughts. according
to their words, according to their deeds. And death and hell
were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire. All that rejected, denied, despised
Christ Not that say they believed that he came into this world.
Everybody believes that. Not that they didn't say that
he died on a cross. Everybody believes that. But who was on that cross? And
why was he dying? I'll tell you who was on that
cross. The one that the Father had chosen as the faithful servant
to be the surety of God's elect. God has an elect. And they were
chosen in Him. That's Ephesians 1.4. You know
that scripture. 2 Thessalonians 2.13. We're bound
to give thanks to God for you, beloved. Beloved of the Lord.
Because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. Now
God's got an elect. I know the world hates that word, I understand
that, but God says that there's an elect, and there's an elect.
And they were given to Christ. And He stood for them, everlastingly
stood for them. Betrothed them to Himself in
marriage. He said, I'm your husband. Your
maker is your husband. And He's got a people. And the
scripture says He came into this world, He said, you call His
name Jesus. for he shall save his people,
his people, his people from their sins. The Lord went to the cross
and he said, I lay down my life for the sheep. There's some sheep
here, there's some goats here. If he laid down his life for
his sheep, what about the goats? He didn't die for them. He said,
I lay down my life for the sheep. He wouldn't even pray for them.
In John 17 verse 9, he said, I pray not for the world, but
for those that you've given me out of the world. Thine they
were and thou gavest them me. Now listen now, I'm telling you,
everybody's going to be standing there, goats and sheep, or sheep
and goats, my right hand, and the books, of the works of men
are going to be opened up concerning the goats. And a book is going
to be opened up, the book of life in whom all the sheeps got
their names written, Revelation 17, before the foundation of
the world. Their names were written in that
book of life. Now you read it, Revelation 17. Now here's what's
going to happen. Those books are going to be opened
and all of the goats are going to be judged according to their
works. According to their works. And
they are going to have their day in the court of God's justice
and judgment. They don't have anybody but themselves
to answer before God. And they're going to have to
answer according to God's standard. And they're going to have to
give a reason before the holy judge of glory, the one who will
in no wise clear the guilty. The soul that sinneth is going
to die. Now I'm going to tell you something.
They're standing there before God. They were found there with
sin upon them, like all of us. Now somewhere along the line,
death had to have taken care of, blood had to have been shed
somewhere to take care of the guilt. And they're standing before
God and Christ said He didn't die for them. And they're going
to have to answer and give a reason, give account of their deeds.
They must now give reason as to why either God should allow
them into glory or reason to not cast them into hell. They're
going to have to answer. And you know what they said.
Matthew chapter 7. They're going to be standing
before the Lord and the scripture says concerning the Lords. dealing
with those that stand before Him without Christ. How do you
know that they died without Christ? They left this world not believing
this gospel. That's how you know. They didn't
believe the gospel. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of
this gospel. It's the power. It's the revelation
of the power of God unto salvation. It's the revelation. They're
going to stand before God in Matthew chapter 7 verse 22, 21. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. What's the
will of the Father which is in heaven? That they should believe
on the Son and not believe freely on themselves. That's it. Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? I was a preacher. In thy name we cast out devils. I was a miracle worker. I worked
miracles. In thy name done many wonderful,
wonderful works. I was a member of this church.
I was a member of that church. I was benevolent. I gave to the
needy. I gave to the association and
so and so and so and so. I was a needy children. Firefighters
Association. Police, you know. Association. I did all of these things. We're
sons of Abraham. We did the best we could. And according to these scriptures,
when they've done all of their bartering with God, I will profess
unto them, I never knew you. Oh, He knew who they were. But
he never knew them in grace, he never knew them in mercy.
Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. He's going to hear
their argument. And to them, they've got a good
argument. I've got this down. I'm in agreement
with hell. And when the scourge comes through,
it's not going to get me. Why? I've exercised my free will. I've done the best I could. And all those that thought that
they could be justified by the deeds of the law, that is doing
something for their salvation. Saved by their best works, by
their free will decision. They're going to hear those final
words. They're going to be like that king that gave a wedding
feast for his son. Came in there and there was somebody
sitting there and they didn't have on a wedding garment. What's
a wedding garment look like? It looks like the robe of righteousness.
That's what it looks like. It looks like holiness. It's
pure. It's accepted of God. He didn't
have on a wedding garment. And the king asked him, how'd
you, you know, how'd you get in here? He had no answer. And the Scripture says that what
will happen to those that stand before Him without a mediator
accepted of God, bind Him hand and foot, take Him away, cast
Him into outer darkness, there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. Oh, but to the sheep, to those on His right hand, those
who have been found names written in the Lamb's Book of Life, And
again, how was that ever manifested? How did they know that? They
ended up believing the Lord. They trusted Christ, not themselves,
cast themselves upon His mercy, believed His gospel. They're
going to hear the glorious announcement of life. They don't even have
to open their mouth. They don't give an answer. Why? Christ has already answered.
His blood speaketh. His blood answers. Then Matthew
25, 34, Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world. All that's been everlastingly
loved in Christ. Believe Him. Trust Him. they're
going to inherit their heirs of God, their joint heirs with
Christ. And in that day, they're going
to experience the Lord's will brought to fruition. Father,
I will that those that Thou has given me be with me where I am,
that they may behold my glory, the glory You gave me. as the
redeemer, as the mediator, the servant of Jehovah, the elect
of Jehovah that you gave me before the foundation of the world,
before the world was. They're going to be with Him,
found in Him. That blood shall ever answer. It answers the Lord's,
the law's demand for justice and judgment. Put away their
guilt. Scripture declares right now,
there's therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus
who walk not after the flesh, meaning attempting to justify
themselves before God by their works, but they walk After the
Spirit, after the revelation of the Spirit of God who's taught
them, you've been saved by grace, through faith. And that not of
yourself, it was the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man
should boast. May the Lord bless these words
to our heart for Christ's sake. Amen.