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Reframing the “Day of the Lord” as Personal Correction – 7/10/25.
“The Day of the Lord as Redemptive Spiritual Correction”:
🔥 Theme:
God’s judgment is not solely punitive—it’s redemptive, aimed at correction, restoration, and sanctification.
🔑 Key Concepts –
- Spiritual Exposure & Withdrawal:
- Willful sin leads to the loss of God’s Kingdom presence –
- Righteousness, peace, and joy (Heb 9:28 and Romans 14:17).
- The Second “Presence of Jesus” is the “Spiritual Second Coming of Christ”, Acts 3:20.
- Willfully Sinful Believers may experience a spiritual withdrawal or temporary separation (“Outer Darkness,” Matthew 8:12), seen as a corrective condition and not final condemnation.
- Departing from Jesus’ presence and into “Hell” in this context = exposure to the devil’s “spiritual presence”, not eternal damnation.
- Eternal fire/Hell is everlasting because it is the intended punishment of the Devil. He is an everlasting being. Man, however, perishes in Hell (Mt 10:28). His eternal life depends on faith in Jesus.
- Christ’s Purifying Role:
- Jesus acts as the Lion of Judah during this redemptive time in a Christians life, purging and “consuming the wickedness” from the Believer’s life and overseeing their spiritual refinement (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:8).
- Jesus holds the Keys/authority over death and hell (Revelation 1:18) to ensure that this correction fulfills a redemptive purpose.
- Man has the keys or ability to enter/bind or exit/loose the Kingdom of God (Mt 16:19).
- Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25):
- Sheep = obedient believers entering the kingdom of God’s joy (Mt 25:21).
- Goats = disobedient believers facing separation and correction (Depart from Me), Mt 25:41. Joy is cut off (Joel 1:16).
- Repentance Restores:
- Imprisonment in spiritual darkness ends with confession (1 Jn 1:9), leading to genuine repentance (Matt 5:26 and Acts 5:31,11:18), restoring joy and communion.
- Sanctifying Discipline:
- Discipline is a sign of divine sonship (Hebrews 12:6-10).
- Produces righteousness and equips believers for deeper spiritual growth, 1 Corinthians 3:16 and 17.
- Parables of Judgment illustrate the “Day of the Lord” from the perspective of different Biblical authors:
- Daniel 9:27: Daniel’s 70th week represents the Christian life, divided into two parts: one marked by obedience and the other by disobedience and discipline. Every Christian is judged, so we all experience God’s judgment (Heb 12:6). These are the two witnesses of Revelation Chapter 11, which Jesus is said to have referred to in Acts 1:8.
- Willful sin creates a divide between the two halves of the Christian life.
- When a Christian sins willfully, they will incur God’s judgment. This time of judgment is called the “Day of the Lord”. Jesus designs this judgment so that it corrects the behavior (Heb 10:26-27). During the “Day,” God allows the Devil to come as a thief.
- The willfully sinful believer is exposed to the limited presence of the Devil instead of experiencing Jesus’ presence. This process is seen in the Man of Sin scenario, where a willful Christian is sent into delusion by the Devil (2 Pet 3:10) . They come to believe the sin isn’t really sinful (2 Thess 2:11) and keep acting that way, leading to judgment and correction.
- 2Th 2:12 (ASV), that they all might be judged who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
- Judgment comes after continued willful sin – this is Jesus’ sacrifice ceasing. Confession and a desire for repentance are required before the Christian is released from the correction of Hell (Matt 5:26).
- The phrase “sacrifice ceasing” means there is no offering or confession of willful sin to Jesus to receive forgiveness, as referenced in 1 John 1:9.
- The sin has become “willful.
- Willful sin leads to a certain expectation of judgment, referred to as the “Day of the Lord.”
- Matthew 25: Judgment is seen in the separation of the Sheep from the Goats based on their behavior.
- 2 Thessalonians 2: The fall of a believer into willful sin/wickedness leads to purification. This purification “consumes the wickedness” in the believer’s life if they maintain their faith (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
- Revelation 20: Jesus binds the devil during the obedient Christian life = first resurrection = millennium/thousand years = metaphor for spiritual obedience.
- The “thousand years” ending/expiring (Telos, Strong’s #5055) = the release of satanic influence into the believer’s life to accomplish this refinement.
- Colossians 3:1: The resurrected life reflects a holy, obedient walk.
🌟 Takeaway:
The Day of the Lord shows God’s judgment not as a final rejection, but as a loving transformation, guiding His people through discipline and repentance, and restoring them to His presence and right-standing, where there is fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11).
This entire process can be referred to as the grace of God, teaching Jesus’ followers to deny ungodliness, Titus 2:11-12.