[0:00] But if we could, with the Lord's help and the Lord's enabling this evening, if we could turn back to that portion of Scripture that we read, the book of the prophet Zechariah, Zechariah chapter 14.
[0:13] And we're going to read again from the beginning. Zechariah chapter 14, and we'll read again from verse 1. Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst, for I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses plundered, and the women raped.
[0:40] Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as when he fights on a day of battle, and so on.
[0:57] You know, it's often said that all good things must come to an end. All good things must come to an end. And as you know, that's because nothing in this world lasts forever.
[1:12] Whether it's pretty places, or political powers, and political parties, or even prized possessions, and even people themselves. All of it has an expiry date.
[1:24] All of it has an end point. All of it will reach a conclusion. All of it will come to an end. The thing is, none of it, none of it lasts forever, because it's all temporary, and it's all transient.
[1:38] Not even this world will last forever, because it too will reach its climax and conclusion, and come to an end, along with everything in it.
[1:50] All good things must come to an end. That's also true of our study in the book of the prophet Zechariah, because as we said this evening, we've reached the end of our study, and the conclusion of this Old Testament prophecy.
[2:05] But what Zechariah is prophesying and preaching and proclaiming in this concluding chapter is the conclusion of this world, where this world will end with the second coming of Jesus, and the day of judgment.
[2:21] But this concluding chapter, it forms, as we've said before, it forms part three of Zechariah's triumphal trilogy. Because, as we said, the last three chapters in the book of Zechariah, they form a trilogy with this same futuristic focus.
[2:38] And we know that these chapters form a triumphal trilogy, because each of them repeatedly uses the phrase, on that day. On that day. Part one of the triumphal trilogy, which was chapter 12, we saw that that was speaking about the church.
[2:55] Part two, which was chapter 13, spoke about the cross. And then part three, which we're considering this evening, is the conclusion. So the triumphal trilogy is the church, the cross, and the conclusion.
[3:10] The church, the cross, and the conclusion. And so I want us to consider the conclusion to Zechariah's prophecy this evening by doing an overview of the chapter. There's a lot in this chapter.
[3:22] But I'd like us just to look at it like an overview. And I want us to think about it under three headings. The day of the Lord, the destruction of the Lord, and the doxology of the Lord.
[3:35] So the day of the Lord, the destruction of the Lord, and the doxology of the Lord. So first of all, the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord.
[3:45] We're told in verse 1, Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. Now for the very last time, I will remind you that in our study of the book of Zechariah, we've learned that Haggai and Zechariah, they were not only contemporaries, but they were also colleagues in the ministry.
[4:09] They had the same call and the same commission and the same command from the Lord to comfort and challenge God's people with God's word as they began looking and living beyond lockdown.
[4:21] And as you know, and as we've said time and time again, the Israelites, they had spent 70 years living in lockdown in Babylon due to their rebellion and rejection of the Lord. But through God's good grace, this remnant returned.
[4:35] They returned to the promised land of Israel to rebuild and restore and renew and even rededicate their lives to the Lord. And yet that wasn't without its problems because for 15 years after returning, the remnant, they had left the temple lying derelict and desolate until Haggai and both Zechariah, they both began prophesying and preaching and proclaiming God's word in the year 520 BC.
[5:03] Haggai began with this call to rebuild and Zechariah followed a year later, later that year, with a command to repent.
[5:16] And then as we've gone through this prophecy, a very fascinating prophecy, very interesting, we saw in chapters 1 to 6, how the Lord spoke to this return remnant through Zechariah's eight night visions.
[5:29] And these night visions, which were very, very interesting with horses and horns and the Lord of hosts being mentioned, also flying baskets and flying scrolls. But in these eight night visions, they were to remind and reassure this returned remnant that even though they were still unsettled and uncertain and unsure about their future, the Lord was still with them.
[5:53] Then in chapters 7 and 8, this return remnant, they received a lesson about covenant commitment, where the Lord reminded this return remnant that he was committed to them.
[6:05] He reminded them about his covenant commitment to them as God's covenant people. Then chapter 9, we saw that it marked the second half of the book of Zechariah, which was written about 15 to 20 years after the temple had been completed.
[6:23] So it was around the year 500 BC. And by that point, this return remnant, they had been back in the promised land for about 35 years. But even though the temple had been rebuilt and rededicated and even restored, they were all saying that things weren't back to normal yet.
[6:41] They weren't back to the way they were before lockdown. Because the glory of the Lord hadn't returned. The walls of the city were still in ruins and the people were becoming restless.
[6:55] Therefore, in chapters 9 to 11, Zechariah, he exhorted and encouraged the return remnant not to resist or reject the rule and reign of the Lord, but he encouraged them to look to the shepherd and listen to the shepherd and love the shepherd and long for the coming of the shepherd king, Jesus Christ.
[7:19] And as we said in the latter chapters, that was Zechariah's burden. That was Zechariah's burden because as he concluded his ministry, he had this burden that the people of his day would focus and fixate themselves on the future.
[7:35] Zechariah had a burden that this return remnant would have a futuristic focus. His burden was that they would plan and prepare for a congregation of the future.
[7:46] His burden was that they would plan and prepare for the next generation coming after them. My friend, Zechariah's burden, as it should be our burden, his burden was that as this returned remnant lived and looked beyond lockdown, his burden was that they would plan and prepare so that those who are yet unborn would praise and magnify the Lord.
[8:11] And we can see that Zechariah had this futuristic focus because as he prophesied and preached and proclaimed this triumphal trilogy, he repeatedly used this phrase, on that day.
[8:23] On that day. As we said, it's repeated 16 times throughout these last three chapters. But the phrase, on that day, it doesn't specifically refer to the last day, which is the day of the Lord, but which marks the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus.
[8:43] That's what we're considering this evening. It does refer to the last, this phrase, on that day, it does refer to the last day, but it also refers to what we've described as the last days, which is this period of time between the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus and the second coming of Jesus.
[9:01] They are the last days. Therefore, we are living in the last days. We are living after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. We're living in the last days.
[9:13] And so in this triumphal trilogy, Zechariah, he's prophesying, preaching, and proclaiming. And what we saw in chapter 12 was that he preached the promise of Pentecost.
[9:24] That on that day, in the last days, Jesus will build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Because the church will be encouraged and enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach and proclaim the good news of the gospel.
[9:42] And when the church preaches and proclaims the good news of the gospel, when the church preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ and him crucified, the preaching of the cross will be the power of God unto salvation.
[9:56] As we saw last Lord's Day, the preaching of the cross will be personal, it will be powerful, and it will be pastoral. The preaching of the cross will be the power of God unto salvation.
[10:10] But now as we come to the conclusion of this triumphal trilogy, Zechariah, he prophesies, he preaches, and he proclaims that in the last days, the church will continue to be encouraged and enabled and empowered by the Holy Spirit to preach and proclaim the cross of Jesus Christ.
[10:30] And they will do it, he says, until the last day. They will do it until the last day. But as Zechariah says in verse 1, Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst.
[10:50] Zechariah asserts and affirms that when the last day comes, on that final day, it will be the day of the Lord. Now, the day of the Lord, it's a phrase that's used throughout the Bible to refer to the day when the Lord will invade and intervene in this world.
[11:10] And it will happen by the Lord displaying His majesty and glory and by demonstrating His justice and judgment. One commentator said, The day of the Lord is the time at which the Lord decisively interferes or intervenes in the affairs of this world in order to achieve His purposes and vindicate His name.
[11:36] Now, friend, the day of the Lord is the last day. It's the day of judgment, the day on which Jesus will come in His glory and He will gather all nations before Him.
[11:47] And as we're reading there in verse 1, He will separate people. He'll separate people one from another like a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats.
[12:00] But of course, that day is unknown to us. As Jesus said in Matthew 24 and Matthew 25, He said, Concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
[12:16] Therefore, says Jesus, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
[12:32] You know, in fact, it was Paul and Peter who emphasized to the New Testament church time and time again. they emphasized that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
[12:44] The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. But you know, far too often we don't think about the day of the Lord, do we?
[12:55] We don't think about the second coming of Jesus. I mean, did you think about the second coming of Jesus at all today? Far too often we don't think about the day of judgment.
[13:09] And we don't think about it because, well, we're so caught up in the busyness of our own lives. We're caught up in the here and now. We're caught up in what's seen and temporal rather than what's unseen and eternal.
[13:25] And yet, the reminder of Scripture is that we may be caught up, but one day we may be caught out. We may be caught up, but one day we may be caught out.
[13:40] Because the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. It'll be a day that we don't know, we don't expect. It'll be a day that some of us haven't prepared for.
[13:54] And on that day, as Zechariah is reminding us and also as many of the biblical writers emphasize to us, on that day there will be vengeance and vindication.
[14:06] There will be punishment and praise. There will be destruction and also doxology. There will be destruction and doxology on that day.
[14:22] And that's what we see secondly. Because we see that the day of the Lord will bring about the destruction of the Lord. The day of the Lord will bring about the destruction of the Lord.
[14:36] So secondly, the destruction of the Lord. Now look at verse 2. It says, I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle. And the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped.
[14:49] Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.
[15:04] As you know from our study of the book of Zechariah, there have been many difficult and mind-boggling chapters, you could say. And the last chapter is no exception.
[15:16] But as we've studied this prophetic book, one faithful commentator I have relied, I'll say, heavily upon was my late professor, someone I could trust who would teach me in the right way, someone who actually taught me in the Free Church College.
[15:31] It was the late professor John L. Mackay. And as we come to the concluding chapter, which doesn't disappoint for imagery and illustrations, Professor Mackay, he helpfully wrote these words.
[15:44] He wrote, Zechariah uses what is termed apocalyptic language in his presentation. It is therefore quite improbable to understand these descriptions as coming literally true.
[15:58] They are true, but the language they are using is to be likened more to that of a sketch or cartoon in which only certain elements are present and not necessarily precisely portrayed.
[16:14] Therefore, the apocalyptic language used here in the conclusion to Zechariah's triumphal trilogy, it must be viewed in the same light as the last book of the Bible, which is the book of Revelation.
[16:27] Because the book of Revelation is full of apocalyptic language. In fact, that's why it's called the book of Revelation. It's the book of the apocalypse. It's the book where God reveals, where God makes known his revelation.
[16:42] He makes known his plans and purposes, not in a literal sense, but through metaphors and symbols. And that's how we ought to read this concluding chapter of Zechariah's triumphal trilogy.
[16:55] We must say that it's not full of historical facts and figures, but that it's full of metaphors and symbols which project and point forward to the day of the Lord.
[17:09] And one theme which repeatedly reoccurs in this concluding chapter is the destruction of the Lord. that when the day of the Lord comes and Jesus Christ returns, the Lord will bring destruction upon his enemies.
[17:26] We see that in the verses we just read where the nations will gather for battle against Jerusalem, which Jerusalem, you'll remember in this triumphal trilogy, Jerusalem represents and relates to the church.
[17:41] And so with the threat of the church being, as it says there, ransacked, raped, and ruined, we're told that the Lord will fight for his people. Verse 3, then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.
[17:57] And you know, Zechariah's apocalyptic language, it's the same apocalyptic language used in Revelation chapter 20, where John writes in Revelation 20, they will gather for battle and their number will be like the sand of the sea.
[18:13] They will march over the broad plain of the earth and surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city. They'll surround the Christians, but fire will come down from heaven and consume them.
[18:24] And the devil who had deceived them will be thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
[18:37] It's a very vivid description of the day of the day of the Lord and the destruction of the Lord. But Zechariah, as he goes on, he gives this graphic and even gruesome image of the destruction of the Lord.
[18:54] If you go down to verse 12, it says, And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem. Their flesh will rot while they're still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
[19:14] And on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other.
[19:26] Zechariah, here, he prophesies, he preaches, and he proclaims that on that day, on the last day, on the day of judgment, it will not only be the case that all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account.
[19:43] But he also says that those who denied the Lord, and those who opposed his church, and those who persecuted his people, and those who ridiculed his cause, he says, the divine judgment they will receive, the vengeance of the Lord, he says, will be so serious, and so solemn, and so severe, and we're given a gruesome and graphic description of those who are not on the side of Christ on that day.
[20:13] We're told in verse 12, their flesh will rot while they're still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths.
[20:26] It's a very graphic, very gruesome image and illustration. And what it's saying is that, in other words, they will be dying, but never dead.
[20:37] They will be dying, but never dead. On that day, on the day of judgment, those who are opposed to Christ will be dying, but never dead.
[20:49] And you know, as Zechariah's prophecy concludes, it concludes in a similar way to Isaiah's prophecy. Because at the end of Isaiah, the last chapter, we're told that on the last day, the Lord's people, the worshippers of God, the faithful ones, those who are in Christ, we're told in Isaiah 64, they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me, for their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.
[21:27] Do you know, my unconverted friend, it's a serious and solemn and even severe description of the day of the Lord, this day of judgment. It's gruesome and it's graphic.
[21:38] It's a graphic description of the destruction of the Lord. But what's more is that when Jesus spoke about the awfulness and the agony of hell, he quoted these verses.
[21:54] He used these verses to emphasize his point. And Jesus said that it's far better for you to flee from sin and flee to Christ than to be thrown into hell where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.
[22:13] Do you know, my unconverted friend, and listen to this, please hear this. Hear this, says Isaiah, and your soul shall live because hell is the truth realized too late.
[22:25] hell is the truth realized too late. And you know, it's far better for you to flee from sin and flee to Christ, run to Christ.
[22:36] It's far better for you to flee from sin and flee to the Savior than to die and go to hell. Because like the description of verse 12, in hell you are dying but never dead.
[22:53] in hell you are dying but never dead. And you know, it was in relation to the images and illustrations of hell that are given in the Bible that the German reformer Martin Luther, he once said that hell will be far worse than anyone is able to describe, picture, or think.
[23:15] Hell will be far worse than anyone is able to describe, picture, or think. You read the passages where Jesus speaks about hell.
[23:28] You read the passage where Zechariah is prophesying about dying but never dead, and yet hell will be far worse than anyone is able to describe, or picture, or think.
[23:42] My friend, far better for you to flee from sin and flee to the Savior than to die and go to hell. And you know, Zechariah states in verse 13, on that day a great panic from the Lord shall fall on them.
[24:00] For it will be on that day when the holiness and the majesty and the glory of the Lord is revealed. And there will be many, and I hope and pray, my friend, you will not be one of them, because as Jesus said, there will be many.
[24:13] There will be many who say to the rocks and to the mountains. They will say, follow us and cover us from the wrath and judgment of God.
[24:25] Do you know, my unconverted friend, can you not see, or can you not see, that it's far better for you to flee from sin and flee to the Savior than to die and go to hell where you're dying but never dead.
[24:43] Dying but never dead. And so we see in the conclusion to Zechariah's ministry and this triumphal trilogy that Zechariah has this burden about the day of the Lord.
[24:56] He's concerned about the future. He's concerned about the day of the Lord, that the day of the Lord will bring the destruction of the Lord. But the day of the Lord will also bring the doxology of the Lord.
[25:10] The day of the Lord will bring the destruction of the Lord. And the doxology of the Lord. That's what we've seen lastly. The doxology of the Lord. Look at verse 4.
[25:24] It says, On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the mount shall move northward and the other half southward.
[25:42] And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach Azal, and you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah.
[25:54] Then the Lord my God will come and all the holy ones with him. You know, as Zechariah's ministry comes to an end, he brings his prophecy, his preaching, and his proclamation to a conclusion.
[26:09] And he does so by not only asserting and affirming that the day of the Lord will be a day of destruction, he also asserts and affirms that the day of the Lord will be a day of doxology. For he says, on that day there will be punishment for some, but praise from others.
[26:27] On that day there will be a display of vengeance towards the Lord's enemies, but there will also be a display of victory and vindication for the Lord's people.
[26:37] people. Because as we read in verse 4, on that day, in the last day, when Jesus comes again in power and glory, we're told that his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives.
[26:50] His feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives. His beautiful feet, the feet of Jesus, shall stand upon the earth. You know, just think about the feet of Jesus for a moment.
[27:01] Those beautiful feet are the feet that stood to preach the gospel at the Sea of Galilee. Those beautiful feet are the feet that were perfumed by Mary Magdalene prior to his burial.
[27:14] Those beautiful feet were the feet that were pierced at the cross and wounded for our iniquity, transgression, and sin. And my friend, on that day, my Christian friend, on that day, when our Jesus comes again in his glory and his majesty and power, his beautiful feet shall stand upon the earth.
[27:37] It's a glorious thought. And you know, is that not what Job longed to see? Job lived long before Abraham, and yet he longed to see that day when Jesus would stand upon the earth.
[27:53] That's what he says in his confession of faith. Job 19, I know that my Redeemer liveth, and at the last he shall stand upon the earth.
[28:04] I know that my Redeemer liveth, and at the last he shall stand upon the earth. And when our Jesus stands upon the earth, he will bring victory and vindication for his people.
[28:16] Because we're told that the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
[28:27] The image of splitting the Mount of Olives is an illustration of freedom from sin, Satan, sickness, suffering, and sorrow.
[28:39] You know, this image that's presented to us in verses, in verse 4 and 5, the image of splitting the Mount of Olives, it's an illustration of freedom. Freedom from sin.
[28:51] Freedom from Satan. Freedom from sickness. Freedom from suffering. Freedom from sorrow. And it's when Jesus stands upon the earth, when our Redeemer stands on the earth at the last day, the mountain will be split in two.
[29:07] And there will be freedom for the Lord's people. There will be victory and vindication for the Lord's people. That's what's promised on that day. Because on that day, the last day, the very last day of this world, there will be no more sin.
[29:24] No more Satan. No more sickness. No more suffering. And my friend, no more sorrow. On that day, as we're told in the other apocalyptic book, the book of Revelation, on that day, everlasting joy shall be upon our heads.
[29:48] For the Christian, we shall obtain gladness and joy and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
[30:00] And it's all because of on that day, the Lord my God will come, he says, and the holy ones with him. The Lord my God will come.
[30:11] He will stand at the last on that day. And you know, it's just as Jesus described, isn't it? Jesus described in Matthew 25 that when the Son of Man comes in his glory, with all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
[30:31] And before him, he says, will be gathered all the nations from north, south, east, and west. And they will all be gathered before him. And he will separate them.
[30:41] One from another. As a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on his left.
[30:53] And he will say to those on his right, come, you blessed. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of the world. But to those on his left, he will say, depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
[31:13] Then we're told in verse 6, on that day, there will be no light, cold or frost. And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time, there shall be light.
[31:30] Zechariah says, on that day, this last day, there will be a reversal of the created order. There will be a reversal of the created order to prepare the way for a new creation, a new heavens, and a new earth.
[31:47] And on that day, we're told that the light will be withdrawn. Because that was the Lord's first creative act. We said that to the children this morning, that the Lord announced at the beginning of creation, he said, let there be light.
[32:02] But on that day, on the last day, on the conclusion of this world, there will be no light. Because as you go on to read, it will be a unique day.
[32:15] It'll be a day which Joel prophesied about. It'll be a day that Peter proclaimed about on the day of Pentecost, when he said, on that day, when the day of the Lord comes, the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood.
[32:32] It will be a unique day, a day which is known only to the Lord. And on that day, we're told, there will be neither sun nor moon. There will be neither day nor night.
[32:44] As Revelation says, night shall be no more. There shall be light. There shall be light, we're told, though.
[32:55] The end of verse 7, there shall be light. For in the new heavens and new earth, where righteousness dwells, says Peter, there will be no need for the sun or the light of lamp, because the Lord God shall be their light, and the Lord's people will reign forever and ever.
[33:17] This is what John saw in his revelation, that the new Jerusalem is the new heavens and the new earth. And there, there will be no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God gives it light, and its light is the Lamb.
[33:34] Its light is the Lamb. Its light is in the Lamb of God who took away the sin of the world. Its light is the Lamb.
[33:46] You know, they're the ones, this is what it's talking about. When we are there on that glorious day, its light shall be the Lamb, the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne.
[33:58] He is the one who has washed us and made us white in his blood. They are the ones, says Revelation 7, who are coming out of the great tribulations, the ones who are victorious and vindicated, the ones who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
[34:16] But more than that, Zechariah says that there will not only be light from the Lamb, there will also be living water from the Lamb. On that day, we're told, verse 8, living water shall flow out from Jerusalem.
[34:34] Living water shall flow out from Jerusalem. And you know, is that what Jesus said on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles? And it's interesting that the Feast of Tabernacles or the Feast of Booths, it's mentioned later in the chapter in relation to the worship of God.
[34:51] But in John 7, you remember that on the last day of the Feast, on the great day, Jesus, he stood up and he cried out, if anyone thirsts, let him come unto me and drink.
[35:03] Because whosoever believes in me, he says, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. And as you know, the imagery, that imagery, it reappears at the close of our Bible, where in Revelation 22, John says, the angel showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and from the Lamb.
[35:29] On that day, living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem. But in conclusion, I want us to see that on that day, the Lord will be king over all the earth.
[35:46] The kingdom of this world, says Paul, will become the kingdom of our Lord and his Christ. And he shall reign forever and ever. And on that day, the Lord, we're told, will be one.
[35:59] And his name, one. That's what we're told in verse 9. The Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day, the Lord will be one. And his name, one.
[36:13] And you know, for centuries, the Jews, they recited the Shema. They still recite the Shema on a daily basis. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. But Zechariah says, on that day, on the last day, the day of judgment, he says, on that day, there will be a universal acknowledgement of the name of the Lord.
[36:36] On that day, he says, everyone, from every age in the whole of history, everyone will call upon and confess the name of the Lord.
[36:48] There will be one name that they confess. One name, he says. On that day, the Lord will be one and his name, one. On that day, everyone, everywhere, in the whole of history, in every age, we will all call upon the name of the Lord.
[37:05] And we will all confess one name of the Lord. And you know, is that not what Paul said would happen when he wrote in Philippians chapter 2?
[37:17] He said, when the risen and exalted Savior, Jesus Christ, returns, He says in Philippians 2, God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him a name, one name, a name that is above every name.
[37:33] And it will be at the name of Jesus that every knee, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
[37:43] And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. On that day, Zechariah's triumphal trilogy will come to pass.
[37:55] For the day of the Lord will be a day of destruction, but also a day of doxology. It will be a day of punishment, but also a day of praise. It will be a day of vengeance, but also a day of victory and vindication.
[38:07] Because on that day, on the last day, my friend, every knee will bow. You will bow. You will bow.
[38:19] You might not want to bow tonight, but you will bow that day. I will bow. Every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and even in hell.
[38:36] And every tongue will confess one name. One name. The name of Jesus. We will all confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
[38:56] On that day. And you know, my unconverted friend, as we conclude this book, and as we conclude this evening, I want to say to you, in conclusion, that on that day you will bow.
[39:16] But I would far rather you bow now and know Jesus as your Lord and Savior. And you bow before him on that day.
[39:28] And you are told, depart from me. For I never knew you. Be ready for that day. Because on that day, Jesus will come.
[39:43] And we will stand before him and give an account. My friend, are you ready for that day?
[39:55] Well, may the Lord bless our study and our thoughts this evening. Let us pray together. O Lord, our gracious God, help us, we pray in this world, not to get caught up, that we might be caught out.
[40:11] Help us, Lord, to live lives that always live in light of eternity. To know, as David said, there is but one step between me and death.
[40:24] That we are all living on the threshold of eternity. We don't know what a day nor an hour may bring in our lives. We don't know what is round the corner. But help us, Lord, we pray, as Jesus has taught us.
[40:38] Help us to be ready. Help us to be waiting. Help us, even as thy people, to be wanting. To be wanting the day of the Lord to come. Because it will not only be a day of destruction for some, but a day of doxology for others.
[40:55] Where all the Lord's people, past and present, will gather around the throne of God and of the Lamb and sing together, worthy is the Lamb who was slain.
[41:06] O Lord, we bless and praise thee for the blood of the Lamb, the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses us from all sin. But it is not of ourselves.
[41:18] It is the gift of God. It is not of works, lest any man should boast. Help our boast to be in Jesus, that whatever we do in the week that lies ahead, help us to boast in the Lord, to boast that Jesus is King.
[41:33] He is sovereign. He is supreme. And He is coming. Help us, Lord, to be ready. Keep us, we pray. Go before us. Take away our iniquity. Receive us graciously.
[41:45] For Jesus' sake. Amen. Well, we're going to bring our service to a conclusion this evening by singing to God's praise in Psalm 85.
[41:58] Psalm 85, we're singing in the Sing Psalms version, and we're singing from verse 4 down to the end of the psalm. Psalm 85 from verse 4.
[42:10] And Psalm 85 is a psalm where it's a prayer where they're pleading for revival. And it's a prayer that we should echo in our day and generation, knowing that the day of the Lord is coming, knowing that on that day, Jesus will judge the world.
[42:26] You know, we should be praying that the Lord would restore us, that He would revive us, that He would quicken us as a people and as a church. So Psalm 85 from verse 4.
[42:38] God our Saviour, now restore us. From us turn away your rage. Will your anger burn against us? Will it last from age to age? Will you not again revive us, that we may rejoice in you?
[42:51] Show us, Lord, your covenant mercy, your salvation grant anew. So we'll sing these verses of Psalm 85 to God's praise.
[43:02] God our Saviour, now restore us. God our Saviour, now restore us.
[43:12] From us turn away your rage. Will your anger burn against us, Will it last from age to age?
[43:33] Will your anger burn against us, God our Saviour, now Clerked amanor with us,Ah God our Saviour, now restore us. Give us our Saviour, now from us on presque the earth to earth to come over us, by given us see that we may rejoice in you?
[43:51] Your common mercy, your salvation grant anew.
[44:05] I will hear what God the Lord said to this stage.
[44:15] He offers peace, but his people must not wander and return to foolishness.
[44:33] Surely for all those who fear him, his salvation is at hand.
[44:49] So that once again his glory may be seen within our land.
[45:04] Love and truth have met together Righteousness and peace and grace Righteousness looks down from heaven From the earth brings faithfulness What is good the Lord will give us And our life his truth will bear Righteousness will go before him And his royal faith prepare
[46:05] The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit Be with you all, now and forevermore. Amen.