Who is the day of wrath against?

Zephaniah 1:14-18

14  The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteneth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.

15  That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasting and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,

16  A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities, and against the high towers.

17  And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.

18  Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land [world / nations].

As the world sees destruction and disasters everywhere in the world, people are thinking the end is near and soon Jesus will come again. The Bible talks of 2 periods of destructions (Day of the Lord), one period of destruction just after the rapture, about the time Lucifer is released and before Jesus comes with His Chosen Angels, the second period of destruction is what is written in today's message.

The scripture given says what all will happen.

1) It says the mighty man - meaning those who are well to do or in power will cry bitterly

2) There will be trouble and distress everywhere.

3) There will be ravage and destruction everywhere.

4) There will be hopelessness and wickedness everywhere.

5) It will be a period of gloom and hopelessness.

6) People who though they were safe will not be safe and specially those who are well to do will be most in danger.

7) People will do things without direction and making many mistakes.

8) People will die in large numbers and their deaths will be mean nothing and their body will rot with none to claim them.

9) Desires of people will be fruitless thoughts so much so that they will find it useless to think about them.

10) All their riches of this world or their spiritual knowledge, understanding or status will not deliver them from this period.

11) The whole world will be engulfed with anger and hatred of zealous religious men.

12) There will be large number of deaths not only by man killing man but also by the 'hand of God' like natural disasters or unprecedented calamities.

If we look at this and read papers we can say we have entered this period.

What the Lord likes us to know today is the reason why; and the scripture says because 'they have sinned against the Lord'.

People may be think it is because sin has increased that is why; but sin has been there since long, it is not that robberies or rapes have increased. No doubt we read them more in newspaper but they existed even before but now are being reported more. One should understand the term God uses and it 'says against the Lord'. If we look at 10 Commandments half were towards God and half towards man. So here when the Lord says 'sinned against the Lord' it means those which are going against the Commandments that are towards God.

We see in the Bible when people unified their pagan beliefs like in the tower of Babel (it was a high temple of all gods in one temple) or the wall of Jericho (it had a row of pagan temples between it's the two parallel walls that protected the city), we see God Himself intervened and destroyed them. We also see when people together spoke against God and His elect or fornicates with Holy things of God, God set His fiery on them. Today we see there is great zeal by various religions and this zeal is growing day by day. We also see on the other hand there is an undercurrent of mutual understanding running between various religions of the world they are coming together in understanding. Both these may seem opposite but look around both are growing.

We also see another kind of growth that is an abuse of the image of God in man which is sexual abuses like homosexuality and mocking of the genders in which God created man.

If we need to set things right let us understand from today's message the reason and work towards restricting and reducing if not eradicating these evils that go against God and His Holy things.

Thy Kingdom Come: The Prayer that Changes the World

The Kingdom of God Is Divine

The word for kingdom is taken from basileia, the word for king, and simply means "the reign of the king." It means all of the territory of His realm.

The king is God; His territory includes the whole cosmos. But the question of the ages is this: Is your life part of the territory of the reign of this King? It is important to remember that the kingdom of God did not start with Jesus' appearance; it just made a giant leap forward. The kingdom of God has always been. God has always been on the throne.

"The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all" (Psalms 103:19).

Wherever God is, there is His rule and reign. If you will not submit to His rule and reign, the kingdom of God still exists. If you resist the Spirit of God who is moving upon your heart, the kingdom of God will still exist and the intent and purposes of God Almighty will go forward.

God ruled through creation. The heavens obeyed Him, even when man did not. The beasts of the earth, the winds and waves and the heavenly bodies obeyed Him.

God ruled through providence. God was working all things together for our good and especially preparing a people, the Hebrews, to bring forth Messiah for the world.

The person who prays "Your kingdom come" is surrendering his will to the reign of God in his life.

This prayer changes the world through a conviction that God must be glorified in your heart and in the hearts of others.

The Kingdom of God Is Messianic

The kingdom of God is disclosed to man through Jesus Christ.

In Jesus, the plan of God is disclosed to us personally. In Jesus, our King has come. He is here.

Jesus came healing and teaching. When He cast out demons, He said,"But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you"(Matthew 12:28).

Every person healed, every demon cast out, every word spoken to sinners was an advancement of the kingdom of God in the world. On the cross, Jesus, the Son of God, shed His blood for His people -- all of those who would ever trust in Him -- and on the morning of the first day of the week, Jesus arose and the King inaugurated a resurrection that would extend to all of His people. At the ascension, our King ascended, and we are told that He ever lives to intercede for us.

The Kingdom of God Is Revolutionary

The kingdom of God comes from inside out.

It is no wonder that people are still confused about the kingdom of God today, for so they were when He came.

Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you"(Luke 17:21, ).

Did you hear that? Jesus said that "the kingdom of God is within you." It is not a physical kingdom first. It is not about land or armies or money or earthly power. In fact, the King of this Kingdom won victory on a cross. Some of the greatest subjects of the Kingdom have been killed for their faith in this King, and today many of them look old and weak and small in the eyes of the world. The Kingdom starts within you and grows out from there.

The Kingdom of God Is Opposed

There are two kingdoms at work in the world.

Paul wrote, "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12).

Lucifer is said to be the ruler of this world. We are not saying that Christ is not King of kings and Lord of lords or that His sovereignty is in any way diminished. We are only admitting that there is another kingdom.

There is a struggle in your heart; there is territory unclaimed by Christ even in the lives of His people. Though Satan cannot have your soul, he seeks that one territory to hold. But Jesus is the bondage breaker. The kingdom of God is greater than the kingdom of Satan. Christ calls each of you to see the seducing city of man, the kingdom of Satan, in your own life and to turn from it and run to Him.

This is how this prayer changes the very course of the world.

The Kingdom of God Is Missional

The kingdom of God comes to destroy the kingdom of Satan.

Paul believed the gospel was at work in the world destroying Satan's kingdom.

"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet..."(Romans 16:20).

The Bible also tells us,"...The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil"(1 John 3:8).

In Matthew 12:22-29 Jesus was attacked by religious leaders for casting out demons. It was charged that He had a demon. Jesus shows the absurdity of such a claim by saying that a kingdom divided cannot stand. But then Jesus goes on to talk about one who enters a house, binds a strong man (Satan) and plunders the house. In this, clearly, Jesus is the one entering the kingdom of Satan, binding Satan at the cross, and plundering his kingdom.

Jesus is saying this is what He is doing in His healing ministry.

Before Christ, Satan was loose upon the earth and the earth was held in darkness. When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, the church was unleashed into the world with the gospel, and Satan was bound. Today there is no place, no man and no situation that is a lost cause because Satan, the strong man, is bound and Christ is loosed in Satan's former kingdom, gloriously plundering it by setting men free!

Each time Jesus healed a demoniac, liberated a soul enslaved to Satan, or encouraged a saint to go on and share the gospel in this world, He was plundering Satan's house. Today, every time a woman is shown God's grace and she receives forgiveness of sins, the kingdom comes. Every time a child, nourished in the gospel in his own home, comes to see that this gospel is not just Mom and Dad's salvation but his salvation, the kingdom comes.

But you say the Bible says that Satan goes about like a roaring lion! And you are right. We all know it in our personal lives. But we also read,"...the ruler of this world is judged" (John 16:11).

The Kingdom of God Is Progressing

The kingdom of God is going to burst forth in a new heaven and a new earth.

When we pray "Your kingdom come," we are also praying for the fulfillment of the kingdom by the return of Christ and the restoration of all things. The Lord said, "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea" (Revelation 21:1).

"He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then he said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true'" (Revelation 21:5).

And Paul wrote of that day,

"Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power" (1 Corinthians 15:24).

The Kingdom of God Is Responsive

The kingdom of God comes through prayer.

The very fact that Jesus instructs us to pray for the kingdom to come shows that His rule and reign in our lives and in our world is dependent upon our prayers. This is revolutionary in its self, but true. The kingdom will come through prayer itself. God ought to be able to bring in His kingdom without me, and He can. But he desires that I pray for it. Prayer becomes the engine of the kingdom of God.

When we pray, "Your kingdom come," we are praying for faith to see what is not yet here.

The Kingdom of God Is Personal

The kingdom of God is a present reality that requires your response.

We have learned what the Bible says about the kingdom of God and how this one prayer is literally changing the world. But this prayer is also the gospel for you who need forgiveness. It is the prayer for you, believer, whose soul has unconquered territories -- citadels of resistance -- that must give way to the loving rule of Jesus Christ. The teaching of the kingdom is imminent, immediate, personal, and urgent and requires your response today.

Joshua, the leader of Israel, had seen the opposing kingdoms and was concerned that Israel be faithful to God.

"Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve.... But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:14-15).