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Isaiah 2:21-22   [Men] will flee to caverns in the rocks and to the overhanging crags from dread of the LORD and the splendour of his majesty, when he rises to shake the earth.  Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils.  Of what account is he?

At 82, I long more and more for the coming of the Day of the Lord, when Jesus returns in power to make manifest his rightful rule as Prince of peace, and to ‘make all things new’ (Revelation 21:1-5).

In my lifetime I have seen the Western world move from at least acknowledging the existence/reality of the God of Creation who has revealed himself in his Word, the Bible, to dispensing of the relevance of him and his Word altogether.  As someone has said, “The problem is not so much that people believe that God doesn’t exist, as that he doesn’t matter.”   Western culture is now fashioned by secular humanism, based on human wisdom that has no place for God and the Supernatural.  Our own nation enacts laws that not only ignore God’s revealed truth but, in many instances, arrogantly ‘shake their fists’ in the face of what the Bible clearly says about Creation, the value of life in the womb, binary sexuality, the Day of Judgement, etc.  The Prophet Isaiah, on the other hand, under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, wrote of the Day when God would act in history to bring to fulfilment his process of redemption/renewal centred on Jesus, his Son.  That is the day I long for.

But, today’s verses are very sobering.  Secular Humanism draws cartoons, and makes a mockery of, the Day of Judgement.  But, when it comes, it will be no laughing matter.  Two thousand years ago, the Apostle Paul warned the Humanist philosophers in Athens: “In the past God overlooked such ignorance [of God], but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.  He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).

So I must modify my longing for this Day by accompanying it with a proactive desire that aligns with what the Apostle Peter says: “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness.  He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.  The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.  Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?  You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.  That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat.  But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:9-13).

It challenges me that, in the light of all this, “living a “holy and godly life” must include taking every opportunity to share the Gospel with others, so that when Jesus does return they will be able to rejoice to meet him as Saviour, and not have to face him as Judge, and stand condemned for Eternity.

– Bruce Christian