The Day of the Lord Part One

Scott Paris

Stockton CA

Just knowing the scripture does not mean one has a revelation. Paul said, "Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 2 Tim. 3:7. And the masses of people have never learned the scripture and having no revelation of it makes it dead and void. It takes the "rema" word, ( voice ) of God to make alive to one.

Many are looking for one spectacular event to happen. An event they can see with their natural eyes! But Jesus said that the kingdom of God comes not with observation! This is why one needs to stop for a moment and think about "The day of the Lord." The Bible speaks a lot about the "day of the Lord." Jesus spoke about it, Paul spoke about it, John spoke about it, and the prophets of Old spoke about it.

Because God our Father is Spirit we must come to terms of scripture being seen and interpreted in spirit and truth. Jesus spoke of natural things but did not mean for them to be taken in a natural understanding. He meant for them to be interpreted spiritually. When He spoke of Himself as being the "Bread that came down from heaven," it was a "hard saying" for carnal men. The carnal minded only understand natural things.

When Jesus said, "You are the salt of the earth," we know  that He wanted us to understand that spiritually. And he said, "You are the light of the world."

Surely no one would interpret that naturally. When Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life." Could it be that everything that He said was an allegory or parable trying to get us to understand the spiritual things of the Father?

The 24th chapter of Matthew is one of the most talked about in the Bible at this particular epoch in the history of the church. For people are looking for a physical, carnal (flesh) event to happen. "For as lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west: so shall the coming of the Son of man be." verse 27.

Here Jesus is talking of the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem. Not the end of the world! In the 3rd verse we read: "And he sat upon the mount of olives, and the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when these things be? And what shall be the sign of your coming, and the end of the world" (age).

The word "coming" should be interpreted presence, so that we could under stand it as His appearing. Looking at the word "world," it does not mean the earth. It is the word "eon" or "aion," and means "age." What did Jesus come to do away with? He came to do away with the age of the Jews! Plus to fulfill the age of the Law! He came to usher in the age of the kingdom of God! They did not understand this in the natural, and so it is today. The natural mind does not understand spiritual things. Only the spirit man/woman can understand this!

People would say, "Now God has never done away with the Jew." No, of course He has never done away with the Jew; but, if you read in Isaiah you find that God divorced that nation of the Old Covenant, and brought in a "New Jerusalem" under a "New Covenant." Which is made up of Greeks, Jews, male and female, bond and free. No particular racial distinctions are God's "elect ones." God does not look with special favor upon One nation! He has no political national ties as His own. Matt. 21:43. Read Psalm 24:1, "The earth is Yahweh's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." He looks upon the entire race of mankind that has received His Covenant in Jesus Christ, and His promises.

If you read the history of the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem, you will find out that it happened exactly as Jesus said. In the year 70 A.D. history shows that Jerusalem was overthrown by Titus the Roman General and his army.

Now when Jesus said, "As lightning comes out of the east, and shines even to the west; so shall the coming of the son of man be." He comes as lightning. In the book of Revelation He says, "Behold he comes quickly"--or as lightning.

What does lightning do? It brightens the dark places. What is light? The light in Genesis 1:3, "God said, Let there be light, and there was light. and God saw the light, and it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

And God called the Light day, and the darkness he called night. And the evening and the morning were the first day."This is not the sun, moon and stars. This is not a creation of the sun that gives light--that gives us our daytime here on earth. This was a different kind of light that God created. for God did not create the sun until the fourth day or till the 14th verse of Genesis one. God was talking about a spiritual day. So God called the light "Day." Remember Jesus saying, "As the lightning shines from the east even to the west so shall the coming of the Son of man be?" He was speaking spiritually of His day, His shining, or His appearing. He spoke of when He would appear to His disciples in John 14: "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you."  When Father appears in our lives He appears within us in spirit form. Then we are not of old Adam lineage again!

"But of that day and hour no man knows, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Matt. 24: 36.  Here the Jews were listening to Him speak of the Day of the Lord. Why did Jesus say this? Is there a day of hour as we know days or hours? Why would He say that if He was speaking spiritually? These Jews had to have natural days for their feast days, feast of trumpets, feast of Passover, feast of weeks (Pentecost), feast of Tabernacles, atonement. They wanted the very hour for everything. The hour of the high priest to go into the holy of holies, the hour when the Sabbath would begin. They lived and thought of natural days. Yet while Jesus was talking of the Day of the Lord, those Jews who observed holidays said, "Now Lord, when should we observe this day? What day of the calendar would this day be? Jesus said, "But of that day (speaking of the Day of the Lord) and hour no man knows."

So the Day of the Lord is not a time you can put on a calendar. "No not the angels of heaven" because the Day of the Lord speaks of the redemption of the Lord and Him appearing in our lives and the angels know nothing about that. They do not know what it is to be redeemed! Neither do they know what it is to have a relationship with God as man does.

Then Jesus next words were, "But my Father only." This has to be understood as the highest realm there is in God. The Jews understood a father and son relationship. Jesus was born in the flesh-was a man of flesh, and when the Holy Spirit came upon Him at the baptism of John, He was a manifestation of God living in the flesh. That is why He was Jesus Christ the Word, Christ being interpreted Anointed, or Holy Spirit because it was Christ that was in Jesus. Paul never did say, "Jesus in us." But he did say, "Christ (anointing) in you the hope of glory." Col. 1:27.

But look, Jesus said, "My Father only." He said, no man knows the day or the hour, nor the angels. Only the Father who is the highest. When you come to that point, you will know that Day, for you will know that hour. It is a relationship with Father that no man knows. It was Paul's "Third heaven" consciousness, "Which is not lawful for a man to utter."

Are you trying to look at it as a calendar event? The Day of the Lord that Jesus told them of is not a calendar event. It is not a specific time on the face of a clock or watch. It is the Spirit day - it is the Father. Paul did not refer to the Day of the Lord as Father consciousness. He described it as the "Third heaven" or "Paradise." 2 Cor. 12: 1-4.

John in Revelation called it the "Lord's Day" or Spirit. Jesus called it "Father" because everything came out of the Father which is the highest power. Jesus plainly said that He came out of His Father and must go to the Father. That means that he returned to Spirit, and is Spirit-One in the Father, and cannot be twain. Read Eph. 2: 11-18.

Remember Jesus describing his appearing as "lightning shines from the east to the west?" When lightning shines there is no darkness, the darkness has vanished away. Jesus was speaking precious anointed words of life and the beautiful spiritual effect they have is to bring us to a higher light consciousness, and experience. Jesus was speaking of a spiritual day. Day is LIGHT.    In Galations Paul was trying to get them to understand their sonship to the Father. They didn't get totally what he was saying. In Gal. 4: 8, 9, "How is it then when you knew not God, you did service to them which by nature are not gods. But now after you have known God or rather are known of God, how

is it that you turn again to weak and beggarly elements whereunto you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and times and years. I am afraid for you lest I have bestowed labor upon you in vain."

The Galatians had the same trouble that people of today have, putting a natural interpretation on the things of the Father. I see that is exactly what is happening in the church of today. People are observing days, times, months, years and horoscope's. Under the New Covenant, our Father does not do things according to the calendar or the rotation of the earth on its axis or causing the sunlight to go around the earth. Father does things by His Spirit.

Scott Paris

Stockton CA