Ezekiel 30:3–5: “For the day is near, / Even the day of the LORD is near; / It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles. / The sword shall come upon Egypt, / And great anguish shall be in Ethiopia, / When the slain fall in Egypt, / And they take away her wealth, / And her foundations are broken down. / “Ethiopia, Libya, Lydia, all the mingled people, Chub, and the men of the lands who are allied, shall fall with them by the sword.”

September 23rd, 2021 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Whenever we come across the phrase, “the day of the Lord,” we remember it is talking about a specific point in time when the Lord crashes into history. When Jesus Christ returns with believers to establish His kingdom in Jerusalem. It does not only mean a 24-hour day but a period of time, like: in Washington’s day, men wore wigs. These verses in Ezekiel most likely refer to the whole of that time, from the Tribulation through the Millennial Reign of Christ, for a total of 1007 years. In that day, when the Lord is pouring out His wrath on a Christ-rejecting, sinful world, Egypt will be destroyed. Like many prophecies concerning God’s judgment, that “day” for Egypt had both a near and far fulfillment. The near fulfillment was completed by Babylon’s 568/67 BC invasion of Egypt, and the far fulfillment will take place during the future Tribulation period.

As believers, we can’t help but wonder if we will be here during the future Tribulation? Although believers down through the ages have disagreed on this subject, we believe that Paul the Apostle teaches that the church will be removed from the Tribulation, also called the time of the “Wrath of the Lamb.” Paul wrote: “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him” (1 Thes. 5:9).

In 1915, during one of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s expeditions to the Antarctic, he left some of his men on Elephant Island, planning to return shortly for them and take them back to England. Regrettably, he was delayed, and by the time he was able to return, the sea had frozen over, making the island inaccessible. He repeatedly tried to break through to them, and on the fourth try was finally successful. When he reached the island, he found his men packed and ready to go. Surprised, he asked how they knew he was coming. The leader of the crew replied they didn’t know when he would come, but they knew he would come, so every morning he would get up, pack up his gear, and instruct his crew to do the same, declaring, “Get your things ready, boys. The boss may come today.” The crew leader was faithful to keep his crew prepared. Jesus has urged us to do the same.

“Come quickly, LORD Jesus. Help us to be ready!”