The Last Days and the Day of the LORD*

      A time of trouble is coming to the earth in the last days that has never been seen before. The LORD said to Daniel: "...and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever. But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." (Dan. 12:1-4). "Knowledge" written in the Hebrew pictographic letters daleth, ayin and tav can have the meaning "Behold the door to the cross". Jesus is the door to knowledge. Daniel also mentioned above the resurrection of the dead - some to shame and judgment and some to everlasting life.

     Paul wrote to Timothy and charged him with a responsibility before God and Jesus Christ, "who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom: "Preach the word...with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Tim. 4:1-4). The church has itching ears, seeking a feel-good message with things that appeal to our flesh. Like the church of Laodicea from Revelation, they have grown lukewarm because of this. This is "church as usual", while in other parts of the world, there are reports of believers being martyred for their faith. Don't think that it can't come here.

     The prophet Amos described the Day of the LORD: "Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! ...the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light...Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it? (Amos 5:18-20). Amos wrote that wherever a person went, there would be danger present. As we will see, the day of the LORD is characterized by a great darkness. The LORD, through His prophet was calling Israel to come back to Him. Jesus said that Israel would not see Him again until they say: "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD."

     The prophet Jeremiah wrote: "Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it...For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds...because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after." (Jer. 30:7-17, excerpt). Israel will see terrible trouble during this time and the hatred and antisemitism of the world will be, and now is, directed towards Zion and Zionism. However, the LORD will exalt Zion as His dwelling place.

     One of the fables currently circulating in the church, is that the church will usher in the kingdom of God by acting a certain way. The prophet Isaiah, however, wrote of Who would bring the Day of the LORD: "Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from  the Almighty...Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven...shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil...I will make a man more precious than fine gold...I will shake the heavens and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger."  God brings the day of the LORD, not man. Man will become rare on the earth like gold, because death will be poured out. We are told by Jesus to pray that we will be found worthy to escape and to stand before the Son of Man. This punishment is towards the sinners of the world, and Paul tells us not to be conformed to the world, but to be transformed.

     The prophet Zephaniah wrote about the day of the LORD: "The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly...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...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 dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath...he shall make a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land." (Zeph. 1:14-18, excerpt).

     The prophet wrote that the day of the LORD was near. How much nearer is it now than it was when the prophet wrote the Word of the LORD? Are we prepared: Praying? Ready? With lamps lit? God is not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance, having been warned and prepared by His Word.

     The prophet Joel confirms what the other prophets have written: "Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness...there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations...The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call." (Joel 2:1-2, 30-32, excerpt).

     How many times have we read of the darkness? Not we, nor any man, will be able to make this into a time of light.

     Joel prophesied further about the LORD calling the nations to the valley of Jehoshaphat: "for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about...for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem...the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the LORD your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more...For I will cleanse their blood that I have not cleansed: for the LORD dwelleth in Zion." (Joel 3:11-21, excerpt).

     The valley of Jehoshaphat is Armageddon. Blood will be poured out there. It is a valley of decision, which is the same decision that we are given today, as Joel wrote previously "...whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered." Again we see Zion and Jerusalem revealed as the place of the LORD's dwelling. It is holy. The world, as Zechariah wrote, considers Jerusalem to be a burdensome stone, but the LORD said it is the holy place of His dwelling. Messiah (Jesus Christ) was sent to save the whole world through the Jewish people.

     This is not just "Old Testament" prophecy. Jesus gave great detail as He prophesied these same events, including: "But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened." (Mt. 24:20-22). This time will be great tribulation, the likes of which have never been experienced before. Many will perish. The church is not going to usher in the great kingdom as is the current fable.

     As the angels of heaven pour out their vials in judgment upon the earth in the Book of Revelation, unclean spirits come out of the mouths of the dragon (Satan), the beast and the false prophet who will terrorize the earth: "For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. (Jesus says) 'Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.' And he gathered them together in a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." (Rev. 16:12-16). Revelation says that these things happen as an angel causes the water of the river Euphrates to dry up, as we are seeing reports even now.

     The loss of life is so extensive that the prophet Zechariah wrote that: "...two parts therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein." Of that remnant left alive, the LORD will bring them through a refining fire like gold and silver are refined. Then: "They shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee." (Zech. 13:8-9, 14:1).

     The prophet Daniel also wrote of the refining of God's people: "And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days...And some of them of understanding shall fall to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed." (Dan. 11:31-36, excerpt). Daniel also wrote in these verses of a leader, a king, who would exalt himself and speak against God, magnifying himself above all. This ruler shall prosper until "the indignation be accomplished."  (Isaiah calls for God's people to enter their chambers until the indignation has passed. This may refer to the coming marriage supper of the Lamb mentioned in Revelation 19.) Daniel also wrote that the sanctuary of God shall be polluted by an abomination that makes desolate, of which Jesus also spoke, while the daily sacrifice to God will be taken away. There is an appointed time for this to be fulfilled, and for the purification of the remnant of God's people to be accomplished.

     Isaiah gives us a prophetic look into the Millennial Reign of the Messiah, Jesus, after this time of great tribulation and judgment: "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse (referring to the Messiah/Christ), which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious." (Isa. 11:4-10, excerpt).

     The prophet Zechariah described the battle of the nations against Jerusalem when "the day of the LORD cometh", and how the LORD would battle for His people. His feet will stand on the mount of Olives, splitting it and the valley below it: "...and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee...one day which shall be known to the LORD...And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea...And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one...And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited." (Zech. 14:1-11, excerpt). Then, wrote Zechariah, all of the nations will be required to come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, keeping the Feast of Tabernacles every year. At that time, everything concerning Judah and Jerusalem, even the most common items, shall be considered "HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD". (v. 16-21).

     The day of the LORD is at hand. The return of Christ is at hand. The church needs to turn away from fables and live the Gospel. Life is precious, and as we have seen in the verses above, it is fleeting. Eternity is forever and eternal life through Jesus Christ has been made available to the world. Whosoever shall call upon the name of the LORD shall be delivered.

*Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson, Jr.'s 3/23/25 message to the church. If you would like to hear the complete message, you can find it on Dr. Stevenson's Facebook page. Dr. Stevenson's video messages are also found on You Tube at Kenneth Stevenson. To contact or support this ministry, or to request prayer, you can write to PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705. To find out more about the Shroud of Turin, and to receive a free e-book now available in several languages, go to http://www.theshroudofturin.org/freebook.