The Day Of The Lord

The Day of the Lord: a Rebuttal to Tim Warner’s article “The Day of the Lord” © Study‐Grow‐Know, by F. DeRuvo

As with most Posttribulationalists, Tim Warner uses their reasoning and winds up with the same errors in exegesis. In his six‐page article titled “The Day of the Lord,” Warner comes to the same conclusions that most Posttribulationalists arrive at. This is no surprise. It is also no surprise that Warner evidences the same errors. We will take the time to go through his article, pointing out the errors, as well as identifying the correct understanding of the main Scripture passage used by Warner, 1 Thessalonians 5. The problem, as we will see, lies in Warner’s understanding of the term “the Day of the Lord” and its biblical usage. He himself understands and underscores the need for rightly interpreting this biblical phrase. 1 Thessalonians 5:1‐2 reads like this (NASB): “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.” Commenting on this passage, Warner states, “Notice Paul was placing the rapture in the ‘Day of the Lord.’ This is an extremely important point. Here Paul shifted from describing the events surrounding the rapture to speaking about when the rapture might come. And he referred them again to something they already knew, ‘yourselves know perfectly...’ The ‘Day of the Lord’ was coming as a ‘thief in the night’.”1 Warner is connecting the phrase “the day of the Lord” with the Rapture event. While Warner rightly indicates that Paul has made a shift in context, he unfortunately, misses the larger leap that Paul has taken. Warner points out that “The nature of the ‘Day of the Lord’ is crucial to understanding this passage. It is also critical to any foundational understanding of eschatology in general.”2 As previously noted, we would agree with Warner that the ‘Day of the Lord’ phrase is essential to rightly understanding exactly what Paul is referring to here. Warner – never one to hide his disdain for Pretribulational Rapturists – states “Much has been written by pretribulationists trying to stretch the Day of the Lord forward to include the entire tribulation and supposed pretribulation rapture. Comparisons of similar themes, such as wrath, judgment, etc. have been offered as evidence. Yet, no one has provided any biblical requirement supporting making them synonymous. None of the Old Testament passages support this 1

Tim Warner, The Day of the Lord – 1 Thessalonians 5 (© 2007 Tim Warner; 6‐page article), posted as of October 6, 2009 at: http://www.answersinrevelation.org/ 2 Ibid

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conclusion. It comes only from a preconceived assumption of a pretribulation rapture superimposed on the Thessalonian passage. Their theory is a product of reverse engineering of the Scriptures in order to get the desired outcome rather than applying sound rules of interpretation.”3 Sadly, Warner is completely wrong here in his assessment that “none of the Old Testament passages support…” the concept that the phrase “the Day of the Lord” includes more than simply the actual day of Christ’s physical return to earth. A good deal of Warner’s remaining article involves attempting to prove the sequence of events with respect to the Day of the Lord and the Tribulation. He cites Joel 2:31 and Matthew 24:29, which he believes describe the same event; with this event occurring just after the Tribulation and just prior to the Millennial Reign of Christ. Warner follows his statement up with the foreboding “This absolutely forbids any overlapping of the tribulation into the ‘Day of the Lord.’ They are distinct events. No other interpretation is possible without doing violence to these passages.”4 Of course, what Warner is assuming is that both the Joel and Matthew passages refer to the exact same event, and that the phrase “Day of the Lord” refers to a specific day, as opposed to a period. Warner then quotes Isaiah 2:10‐19, in which he states unequivocally that since Isaiah is pointing out that only the Lord will be worshiped that day. He states, “Twice these verses indicate that the Lord alone will be exalted in the ‘Day of the Lord.’ This is an exclusive statement. No one else can be exalted or worshipped during the ‘Day of the Lord.’ Yet, during the tribulation, the Antichrist will be worshipped as God.”5 What Warner seems not to miss is that the outcome of the Tribulation period is such that no one else will be worshiped. Like many Posttribulationalists, Warner’s understanding of the phrase “the Day of the Lord” is exceedingly narrow. Now, if the use of it in the Bible is just as narrow, then we will certainly defer to Warner’s understanding of the phrase. Can it be shown that the phrase might possibly be used in a way that means more than simply one specific day? Further on in his article, Warner states that Paul uses the phrase “Day of the Lord” to mean the Rapture. While Warner agrees that Paul told his readers to look for the “Day of the Lord,” Warner believes that the day they were to look for would arrive at the end of the Tribulation period. The problem of course with this viewpoint, is that one would have thought Paul would then have spent a good deal more time explaining just what the Christians would have to 3

Tim Warner, The Day of the Lord – 1 Thessalonians 5 (© 2007 Tim Warner; 6‐page article), posted as of October 6, 2009 at: http://www.answersinrevelation.org/ 4 Ibid 5 Ibid

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expect while experiencing the Tribulation. However, Paul speaks not of the particulars of the Tribulation, but simply a few aspects of it, in which that day would come as a thief, during a time of peace and safety (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:2‐3). He spends no real time isolating the events of the Tribulation period. He tells them that they have not missed the Rapture, and that his words should comfort them. If he was telling them to be comforted because they had not missed the Tribulation, most would agree that this sentiment would be absurd. It is clear that Warner has confused a number of things in his attempted exegesis. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians (cf. 4:13‐18), clearly teaches the Rapture, and Warner agrees that this is a mystery, which Paul revealed to his readers (and us), in that chapter. However, Warner makes the mistake of thinking that Paul continues talking about the Rapture in the next chapter. In fact, Paul is now talking about the actual arrival of Jesus to the earth! To Warner, there is still no problem, because he believes the Rapture is included in this event. The difficulty comes to the fore due to Warner’s lack of understanding regarding the Day of the Lord phrase, and a lack of knowledge of the nuances of the Greek language. In essence then, Warner is confused on two fronts; 1) the meaning of the “day of the Lord” phrase, and 2) the difference between the Rapture, and the arrival of Jesus to the earth in the Second Coming. Warner states, “There is no question that Paul referred his readers to Jesus’ teaching in the Olivet Discourse, which only teaches a posttribulation coming of Christ, to answer their questions about the rapture. This is overwhelming evidence that Paul taught a posttribulation rapture. His use of the phrase "Day of the Lord," which other Scriptures place after the tribulation, to describe the rapture, makes it impossible to reconcile this passage with pretribulationism.”6 Warner then attempts to tie this all together by making a number of declarative statements. He says, “In a pretribulation scheme, where the Day of the Lord is supposed to be the beginning of the tribulation, many of those who enter the tribulation, and consequently are among those surprised by the coming of the Day of the Lord (tribulation), are still saved to become the multitude of "tribulation saints" according to pretribulationists.”7 I would agree that this particular section of Scripture Warner is referencing has to do with Christ’s physical return in the Second Coming. However, because Warner sees no difference between the Rapture and the Second Coming (since to him, the Rapture occurs during the

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Tim Warner, The Day of the Lord – 1 Thessalonians 5 (© 2007 Tim Warner; 6‐page article), posted as of October 6, 2009 at: http://www.answersinrevelation.org/ 7 Ibid

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Second Coming), then Warner assumes this proves that Paul is a Posttribulationalist when in reality, Paul is a Pretribulationalist. Warner makes another egregious error in the above statement. No PreTrib Rapturist that I am aware of states that anyone alive at the start of the Tribulation when left behind, is saved. In other words, all who are saved at the time of the Rapture, are taken in the Rapture, which occurs prior to the Tribulation. Warner seems to believe that anyone who goes to church today, or states that he is a Christian, is in fact, truly saved. Then again, according to the statement of beliefs on Warner’s website, he believes that people can lose their salvation through disobedience leading to sin. Once lost, salvation must then be received again through repentance, confession, and request. So to him, people who are “surprised” when the day of the Lord arrives, are those who have fallen away through sin. Only in repentance, will they again receive salvation. However, it seems clear from Paul’s use of the word “they,” that the ones who will be surprised are the ones who are not Christians at all. In actuality, the people who receive salvation during the Tribulation comprise three groups of people: 1. Those professing Christians who thought themselves to be authentic Christians prior to the Tribulation, are left behind. They enter the Tribulation period reeling from the fact that what had been preached to them many times, was true, and even though they thought they were Christians, were in fact, not. It is many of these individuals (not all certainly), who will become Christians. 2. The 144,000 Jewish individuals whom the Lord anoints and seals and these become evangelists during the Tribulation. 3. Due to the evangelistic efforts of the 144,000 sealed Jewish individuals, multitudes are saved. Warner without equivocation states, “Therefore, Paul's statement that "they will not escape" is necessarily false if the Pretribulation theory is true!”8 However, in truth, the only way that Paul’s statement could be considered untrue in the PreTrib Rapture model is through a misunderstanding of the meaning of Paul’s words. Warner falls into this category. As seen, “they” refers to the people who are running around proclaiming that peace has arrived in the Middle East. Because of that, the world is safe. Christians will not be doing that! Even if the Antichrist brokered a covenant of peace while Christians were still here (arguing that the Rapture occurs after this event), no Christian I know is actually going to believe that this Antichrist is in actuality, Jesus Christ Himself! Authentic Christians understand that an imposter 8

Tim Warner, The Day of the Lord – 1 Thessalonians 5 (© 2007 Tim Warner; 6‐page article), posted as of October 6, 2009 at: http://www.answersinrevelation.org/

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arrives prior to Jesus. While God will send a delusion that the entire world will fall victim to, Christians understand that the Antichrist comes onto the world’s scene and then Christ comes. While Warner continues to make these declarative statements, we need to go “under the hood” of the language, so to speak. First of all, it is true that Paul needed to only send a reminder to the Thessalonians about what they already knew with respect to the Day of the Lord (cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:1‐11). This is not the case with the revelation of the mystery of the Rapture (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:13‐18). Ryrie points out “Posttribulationalists, then, want to make a very close connection between 1 Thessalonians 4:13‐18 and 5:1‐11, whereas pretribulationists are better served by seeing a contrast of subjects between the two paragraphs.”9 Ryrie points out that the Posttrib‐ ulationalist sees Paul’s use of the connective de in 5:1 as “a simple connective with only a slight contrastive sense…”10 However, Ryrie indicates that Paul did not merely use the simple connective de in his statement, but actually utilized the phrase peri de. As Ryrie explains, “This is very significant, because elsewhere in his writings Paul used peri de to denote a new and contrasting subject.”11 1 Corinthians 7:1, 25; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1, 12; and 1 Thessalonians 4:9 and 5:1 are all pointed to by Ryrie as examples of Paul using peri de as a more complex contrast between subjects, not merely a slight contrast. In this case then, the use of peri de nullifies any support for the Posttribulationalist point of view.12 As Ryrie rightly points out regarding the phrase “the Day of the Lord,” the correct under‐ standing of this phrase is the difference between Pretribulationalism and Posttribulationalism. The Posttribulationalist sees this reference as the day (a specific 24‐hour period), during which the Lord physically returns to earth. Yet, it is clear from numerous places in Scripture that the phrase, the Day of the Lord, is often used to define a longer period of time, in spite of what Warner believes. Deferring to Ryrie, he states that, “In the Old Testament, the Day of the Lord is referred to by that phrase about twenty times, often with eschatological implications. In addition, a parallel term, ‘the last days,’ occurs fourteen times, always eschatological. Furthermore, the phrase ‘in that day’ occurs more than one hundred times and is generally eschatological.” Unless Ryrie is lying, or simply has no clue, he is stating that the phrase “the Day of the Lord” is at least on some occasions referenced by the phrase “the last days.” If this is the case, then it becomes clear that the Day of the Lord in all likelihood refers to a period, not merely the day that the Lord steps foot on the Mount of Olives. 9

Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986, 1999), 566 Ibid 11 Ibid (emphasis added) 12 Ibid 10

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Ryrie also points out that these phrases are used interchangeably in Isaiah 2:11‐12 (in the KJV). In essence, there is reason to believe that Scripture uses the term to mean both a specific day and a specific period, culminating in that specific day when Jesus returns to the earth. For instance, in Ezekiel 30:3, we read the words, “For the day is near, Even the day of the LORD is near; It will be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations.” Here, the day of the Lord is referencing a day as well as a longer period. The problem then becomes the question of legitimacy regarding the length of the day of the Lord. Obviously, the Posttribulationalist sees the day of the Lord as being merely that specific day when Jesus returns to earth. If this is the case with Scripture, then it becomes obvious that all other viewpoints opposed to Posttribulationalism are in error. This is the crux of the problem. Malachi 4:1 (NASB) states, “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the LORD of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch." This could be easily describing the entire period of the Tribulation, which culminates in the arrival of Jesus for judgment. Before we go deeper into this, we really need look no further than how we use the term “day” in the English language. Someone might say “It will be a great day when I retire from work!” The same person might also say “I am going to go fishing on the day after tomorrow.” In either case the word “day” was used and was used correctly. Looking at the first statement, when we hear someone say that, do we understand them to say “The exact day and that day only of my retirement will be great!” or do we understand their meaning to be “The day I retire is going to begin a series of great days!”? In other words, in the first statement, the use of the word “day” points not only to a specific day, but also points to all the days after that day. No one who looks forward to their retirement only looks forward to the actual day they retire! They are including all the days following that specific day in which they retire. In fact, it could be stated truthfully, that the actual day they retire, they are still at work. It is the last work day they will have and every day thereafter is a day in which they will do whatever they want to do. In other examples, we use the expression “the present day” to refer to the times we are currently living in, not one specific day. It is a period of time. The phrase “in the olden days” refers to that period of time, which is usually remembered with nostalgia, and is in the past. One might also hear, read or say the phrase “in the day of the dinosaur” to refer to the time period when dinosaurs existed and roamed the earth. Certainly, we are doing absolutely no damage to the English language and the use of the word “day” to use it in various ways, as it has a number of meanings. Like anything else in language, the meaning is often derived by understanding the context.

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While it is true that the Tribulation begins on a specific day (the signing of the covenant), just as it ends on a specific day, there is a period between those two days in which God’s wrath is poured out onto the earth and its inhabitants. In 1 Thessalonians 5:1‐2, “Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.” What is Paul telling his readers, that they themselves will be taken by surprise? Hardly. He is stating that those who are unprepared (read: the world), will have no clue that the Tribulation period has actually begun. Please note he also uses the phrase “the times and epochs” which covers ground; certainly more than one day. The very next verse (5:3) clarifies Paul’s meaning, “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape’.” The obvious implication here is that the world (“they”) will be busy saying that things are fine. Peace finally exists. Why will they be saying that? Because the Antichrist will have brokered a peace deal with the major players of the Middle East, including Israel. This covenant will tend to assure Israel that they are safe, and they will be, for three and a half years. However, in the middle of the Tribulation, the Antichrist breaks his covenant, just as easily as he made it. It should be clear here that Paul is referencing the beginning of the Tribulation, because obviously, if Christians were still here at the time of the start of the Tribulation, they would know that it has begun because of the signing of the peace treaty. Paul emphasizes “they” meaning those who are not Christians (the world at large). They are talking about the peace and safety that has finally been achieved. Yet, in spite of (and really because of), that covenant just signed, God begins pouring out His wrath onto an unsuspecting world! In that sense, the beginning of the Tribulation overtakes these people like a thief. They were thinking peace and safety, but God has other ideas. The Posttribulationalist believes that “the day of the Lord” is referencing the end of the Tribulation (which to them, includes the Rapture), as the Lord returns physically. However, this makes no logical sense. The Pretribulationalist believes that Paul is referencing the beginning of the Tribulation period, since he says that “they” (those outside the Church), will be going around proclaiming ‘peace and safety.’ There will be no peace and safety at the end of the Tribulation! In fact, there is no time during the entire Tribulation that even remotely looks peaceful, or safe. It is an absurdity to believe otherwise. Even Christ’s physical return does not immediately usher in peace and safety, but judgment and death. There are numerous references to the Day of the Lord, which include the Tribulation/Great Tribulation period. A number of Old Testament passages bear this out, as highlighted by John A. Mclean states, in which he critiques the Pre‐Wrath Rapture view states, “Isaiah 2, 13 and

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Zechariah 14 are three important chapters that suggest the Day of the Lord also covers the same period as the Great Tribulation. An example is seen in Isaiah 2 where the language of Isaiah echoes the events of the sixth seal of Revelation 6:12‐17…A further example is seen in a comparison of catastrophic cosmic phenomenon in Isaiah 13:6‐13 and the sixth seal of Revelation. . . The events of these chapters clearly parallel each other. In addition, Zechariah 14 parallels events from the persecution of the Jews, which arises out of the Abomination of Desolation at the midpoint, to the second coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation. Therefore, the parallel language and content of these passages renders the conclusion that the Day of the Lord is not separate from the Great Tribulation.”13 Particularly, with reference to Zephaniah, and the Pre‐Wrath Rapture view espoused by Robert Van Kampen and Marv Rosenthal, Dr. Thomas Ice states, “Zephaniah1:14‐18 heaps together a cluster of terms that characterize the future Day of the Lord. Verse 14 labels this time as "the great day of the Lord" and "the day of the Lord." Then verse 15‐18 describe this time with the following descriptions: "that day is a day of wrath," "a day of trouble and distress,""a day of wasteness and desolation," "a day of darkness and gloominess," "a day of clouds and thick darkness," "a day of the trumpet and alarm," "I will bring distress upon men," and "the day of the Lord's wrath." The context supports the notion that all these descriptives apply to the Day of the Lord. Such biblical usage does not allow an interpreter to chop the Day of the Lord into compartmental segments as [Robert] Van Kampen insists. The text plainly says that the Day of the Lord is a time of both tribulation and God's wrath. All of the many descriptives in this passage provide a characterization of the Day of the Lord that applies to the entire seven‐year period. The Zephaniah passage clearly contradicts the basis upon which Van Kampen attempts to build his recently developed theory. Zephaniah is not alone in providing an obstacle to the Van Kampen speculation.”14 Since it is also clear from Daniel 9, that the 70th “week” is literally a period of seven years,15 it then stands to reason that this entire time period is one in which God’s wrath is poured out onto humanity. God fully and actively directs the events during this 70th week, which is the last “week” of man’s history. It is during this time that God’s wrath, in the form of many judgments, starts at the signing of the covenant for peace in the Middle East. Renald Showers, author of a number of books related to prophecy, correctly points out that in the Old Testament, the phrase “the Day of the Lord” often meant an extended period of time, in which God reigned down judgment on his own nation by using a foreign nation. This certainly took much more than one day, yet the entire period of that judgment was often 13

Paul N. Benware, Understanding End Times Prophecy (Chicago: Moody 1995, 2006), 279 http://www.pre‐trib.org/article‐view.php?id=70 15 See Between Weeks by Fred DeRuvo 14

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referred to as “the Day of the Lord.”16 Showers points out that God “raised up Assyria to judge the northern kingdom of Israel during the 700s B.C. (Amos 5:18, 20), Babylon to judge the southern kingdom of Judah during the 600s and 500s B.C. (Lam. 1:12; 2:1, 21‐22; Ezek. 7:19; 13:5; Zeph. 2:2‐3), Babylon to judge Egypt and its allies during the 500s B.C. (Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 30:3), and Medo‐Persia to judge Babylon during the 500s B.C. (Isa. 13:6, 9).”17 It certainly appears from Scripture that often the phrase “the Day of the Lord” means more than simply a specific day. The numerous times that God chose to utilize a foreign nation to chastise Israel merely proves that while the actual term of the Day of the Lord began on a specific day (the day of the actual attack, for instance), it continued for some time, into the war and even beyond it. Certainly, there is a specific day in the future when Jesus Christ will return with His saints to the earth. This event will bring to a close the Tribulation/Great Tribulation period, during which God poured out His wrath onto this world and its inhabitants, for seven years. However, the actual events began pouring forth from by God’s own direction seven years prior to His Son’s physical return to earth. Like the Old Testament, when God poured out judgment after judgment on His wayward nation, He will begin the same in the future during a period known as Jacob’s Trouble (among other things). This period of time will begin the Day of the Lord and it will culminate with the physical return of Christ. Like most Posttribulationalists, Tim Warner hangs his hat on the definition of the phrase “the Day of the Lord.” While we agree with him that the actual meaning of this all‐important phrase holds one of the keys to understanding what Paul is stating to the Thessalonians. We part company with Warner, with not only his definition of “the Day of the Lord” phrase, but also how he arrives at that definition. The Greek language is important to understand, yet Warner does not go there. Had he done so, it may have helped steer him to the correct meaning. Beyond this, having a greater grasp and appreciation for exactly how the phrase in question is used in the Old Testament would have provided greater insight into its future use. The reality of Christ’s physical return to earth is just that: a reality. As sure as He was crucified, rose again and ascended into heaven, He will come again. If you do not know Him, then the only question remains is why not? Many Christians today believe that “fighting the good fight” means “winning the debate.” Winning the debate proves nothing. What counts is who is a Christian and who is not a Christian. Salvation is not based on a correct view of Eschatology. Some Christians believe that Jesus is not coming back physically. Some believe He is coming back physically. Some believe in a PreTrib Rapture position, while others believe in a Posttrib, 16 17

Renald Showers, Maranatha Our Lord Come! (Bellmawr: Friends of Israel 1995), 31 Ibid

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Mid‐Trib, or Pre‐Wrath Rapture position. While Eschatology, or the study of End Times event is valuable and important, what is infinitely more important is becoming a Christian. ADDENDUM: Something to Think About You can study the Bible all you want to. You can memorize it. You can eat, sleep and breathe the Bible. You can argue with everyone about this position or that position. You can go to church twice on Sundays and once on Wednesdays. You can become involved in ministries at and through your church. You can give money to your church, and teach a Bible class. You can do other things like serving the elderly, helping people with this problem or that problem. You can even pray. However, if you have not “been born again,” you are not a Christian. Today, people want to add all kinds of things to being a Christian. Some, who do not believe that Christ has promised us eternal salvation, believe that while the gift is completely free to receive, once we receive it, we must earn the right to keep our salvation. This is nothing more than a Roman Catholic version of Protestantism, if such exists. There is nothing you can do to earn your salvation. It is free; a generous, loving gift from the Creator to you. You either receive it or reject it. Once you receive it, you have found life and that is life eternal. It is called eternal life because the moment you receive it, the Holy Spirit comes into your heart, and seals you. This seal is merely a deposit, which guarantees for you the fact that you have eternal salvation, which will be fully revealed when you stand before Him in the next life. Once you become a Christian, like anything else, there is a life that you should begin leading, which should show some difference between this new life and the life you now lead. There should be a willingness to do the types of things that pleases God, such as many of the things mentioned above. Remember, these things are not there to earn your salvation, nor are they there for you to earn the right to continue to have salvation. They are the things you should do in His strength because you are now owned by Jesus; bought and paid for with His life and blood. Think about a relationship in your life that you value. You wind up loving someone and they love you. Because of this love, you end up doing things for them because you want to express your love for them in a tangible way. If all you did was say “I love you” every day, but did nothing to back up your words, surely the other person would begin to question your love for them. God does not question your love for Him. He already knows whether you love Him. You cannot pull the wool over His eyes, like we can with another human being. The other thing that God will not do is never leave you, like another human being would.

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There is a good deal of talk about “abiding in Christ.” This term, like the phrase “the Day of the Lord” is often confused to mean something that it does not. When we – as Christians – abide in Christ, we produce good fruit. When we stop abiding in Him, we produce bad fruit. It is as simple as that. The problem though is that some folks believe that abiding in Him means salvation and not abiding in Him means loss of salvation. This is untrue. Salvation is a permanently bestowed gift, given to us by God. He will never take it back and we there is nothing that can take us out of His hand. When we abide in Christ, we lean on Him. We trust in Him. We gain strength from Him. We grow in maturity because of Him. Because we are concerned about doing His will and not ours, we bear good fruit. This fruit glorifies Him and brings others to Him as well, for the same salvation that you received. When we stop praying, stop reading His Word, stop attending church for fellowship with other Christians, we stop abiding. Because of that, we lean on and trust ourselves much more readily. We do the things we want to do. We begin ignoring God, and live our own life. Like the prodigal son, who wandered far, he eventually came back to his father. It is clear from that parable that the father never disowned his son and waited for him to return every day. God loves us like that and even more. If you do not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, I would encourage you to wait no longer. Read the gospel of John. When you get to chapter three, take special note of the fact that being a Christian is not “believing the story of Jesus,” or some other gobbledy‐gook. It is nothing less than a new birth, from above. It is being born by the Spirit, just as we were once born by “water” (the amniotic fluid), which made us a physical individual. Our spirit needs a rebirth. Ask Him to come into your life and give you that new birth. Every individual – Jew and Gentile – needs this new birth. Without it, no one will be received into His Presence, once this life is over.

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