THERE'S A GREAT DAY COMING
By David J. Riggs
Intro.
A. The Word of God plainly teaches that there's a great day
coming.
1. It is the greatest of days--the greatest ever known, and
will be known, to man.
B. It is the day appointed by God in which He shall judge all men.
Acts 17:31
1. It is the day wherein God shall judge the secrets of men by
Jesus Christ according to the gospel. Rom. 2:16
2. It is the last day in which all the bodies of men will be
raised. John 6:40,44,54; 11:23-25
3. It is the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous
judgment of God. Rom. 2:5
C. It will be a marvelous and wonderful day for those who are
ready for it.
1. It will be an awful and terrible day for those who are not
ready.
D. Let's examine why it is a great day.
I. IT WILL HAVE THE GREATEST DEMONSTRATION EVER KNOWN (THE SECOND
COMING OF CHRIST).
A. The Lord will come with the trumpet of God and the voice of the
archangel. 1 Cor. 15:52; 1 Thess. 4:16
1. He shall come back with His mighty angels. 2 Thess.1:7-9;
Matt. 25:31
2. The saints (the righteous dead) will also be with Him. 1
Thess. 3:13; 4:14; Jude 14-15
3. He will come in the clouds and every eye shall see Him. Rev.
1:7
4. Everything on earth will be destroyed. 2 Pet. 3:10
B. He didn't come in 1914, visible only to His own, as some teach.
1. When the Lord returns, everyone will know it; it will be the
greatest overwhelming demonstration ever known to man.
II. ON THAT DAY THE GREAT RESURRECTION WILL OCCUR.
A. All the bodies of men will be raised. John 5:28-29
1. There will not be two resurrections, only one. Acts 24:15
B. The great resurrection will occur when Jesus returns. 1 Cor.
15:52
1. When He returns, the saints (the righteous living) will
ascend up in the air to meet the Lord. 1 Thess. 4:15-17
C. Men today with their theory of the millennium have days beyond
the "last day" (John 6:44), another trump after the "last
trump" (1 Cor. 15:52), and time beyond "the end" (1 Cor.
15:24).
1. We are in the last age now. 1 Cor. 10:11; Heb. 9:26-28
a. The great day will be the last day of this last age.
b. The N.T. does not foretell another dispensation as the
O.T. did.
III. IT IS THE GREAT DAY BECAUSE THE GREATEST CROWD WILL ASSEMBLE.
A. All men of all nations will be assembled. Matt. 25:31-33
1. Everyone who has ever lived will appear before the judgment
seat of Christ. 2 Cor. 5:10
2. We must all appear there to give an account of ourselves.
Rom. 14:10-12
3. God will judge men according to their works without respect
of persons. 1 Pet. 1:17
B. There will be no mistaken identity on that day.
1. A loved one cannot "go to bat" or "come to the rescue" for
another.
2. Each will receive justice, not mercy, on that day. The time
to obtain mercy and forgiveness is now, not then.
IV. THE GREATEST JUDGE WILL PRESIDE.
A. Jesus Christ is the One ordained by God to judge all men. Acts
10:42
1. He is the righteous judge. 2 Tim. 4:8
2. The judgment will occur at His second coming. 2 Tim. 4:1
B. Many things influence the judges in our courts today. They can
be deceived; they are only human and make mistakes.
1. This will not be so with the great judge. He will bring to
light the hidden things of darkness and will judge every man
righteously.
V. IT WILL BE A GREAT DAY BECAUSE THE GREATEST BOOKS WILL BE OPENED.
A. Rev. 20:11-12
1. The books were opened (the books of the Bible, Rom. 2:16;
James 2:12; John 12:48) and another book was opened (the
book of life, Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 13:8) and the dead were
judged out of those things written in the books according to
their works (2 Cor. 5:10; Eccl. 2:13-14).
a. All the dead will be judged by the Scriptures in
accordance with their works.
b. Everyone will be judged by the law, the gospel. James
2:12; Rom. 2:16
B. The Bible will read then just as it does now. Matt. 24:35
1. Have you obeyed its holy precepts? John 6:29; Luke 13:3;
Rom. 10:9; Acts 22:16
2. Are you faithful in attendance and in building up the body
of Christ? Heb. 10:24-25
VI. THE GREATEST SEPARATION EVER KNOWN WILL OCCUR ON THAT DAY.
A. Yes, there is coming a great separation day. The sheep will be
placed on the Lord's right hand and the goats on His left.
Matt. 25:31-46
1. There will be a father on the right side and a son on the
left. There will be a daughter on the right and a mother on
the left.
B. A song entitled, "Blue eyes crying in the rain" has the phrase
"Some day we'll meet up yonder...in a land that knows no
parting."
1. What a beautiful thought!
2. For loved ones to never be separated, each must fear God
and keep his commandments. Eccl. 12:13-14
3. We must serve God together now so that we can all enjoy
that land of bliss then.
VII. IT IS THE GREAT DAY BECAUSE THE GREATEST VERDICT WILL BE HANDED
DOWN.
A. Those on the left hand will receive the verdict--Matt. 25:41;
7:23.
1. This is the place that Jesus solemnly warned against. Mark
9:47-48
2. We need to avoid hell at all cost.
B. Those on the right hand will receive the verdict--Matt.
25:21,34.
1. This place has been promised and prepared for the righteous.
2. I have heard of some making reservations, but when they
arrived, the owner said that he had no vacancies and no
record of their making reservations.
C. What will that great verdict be for you?
1. Some say, "I don't know; I'll just have to wait and see."
2. You determine what that great verdict will be by the way you
live now.
a. If you live now as God would have you live, that verdict
will be eternal life as He has promised.
b. If you live in sin, ignoring God's laws, that verdict
will be eternal condemnation as He has said. Thus,
prepare yourself now. 2 Cor. 6:2
Concl.
A. Truly, there's a great day coming.
1. Are you ready for that day to come?
2. If you are not ready, make yourself ready now by obeying
the gospel.
a. Become a Christian by being baptized into Christ. Gal.
3:26-27
b. If you have fallen away, return by repentance and
prayer. Acts 8:22