Chapter IV

Chastisement Days

 

The attack by Nuclear weapons:

However, even before Antichrist sets the desolate sacrilege in the outer court of Holy Temple of Jerusalem, he will start the attack by nuclear weapons. This we read earlier. This is the warning of the Lord about the approaching of Day of the Lord . Day of the Lord means the Chastisement Days. Let us read Joel 2:30-31, “And I will show portents in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness , and the moon to blood , before the great and terrible day of the L ORD comes .” 

Chastisement Days:

Amos 5:18-20 describe the day of the Lord thus: “Alas for you who desire the day of the LORD ! Why do you want the day of the LORD ? It is darkness, not light; as if someone fled from a lion, and was met by a bear; or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall, and was bitten by a snake. Is not the day of the L ORD darkness , and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?” Obadiah 1:15 says, “For the day of the L ORD is near against all the nations .” Even though Antichrist attacks Israel , the net result will be a world wide war.

Now let us see what will happen after the desolating sacrilege stand in the holy place. The Chastisement Days begins with the standing of desolate sacrilege in the holy temple. With this incident the specified time arrives for the great sufferings of the Day of the Lord. We saw in the previous chapter that Antichrist set up the desolating sacrilege/abomination in the holy temple of Jerusalem . With this, the world begins to suffer the great sufferings. We saw in Matthew 24:15-16 & 21-22 , “So when you see the desolating sacrilege standing in the holy place , as was spoken of by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand) then those Judea must flee to the Mountains;…” “For at that time there will be great suffering , such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no one would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” The sufferings can not be stopped even by the great political heads. It will take its own course as it is determined by the Lord God since it is leading to the establishing of the kingdom of God the perfect world. We have already seen that the stone – Kingdom of God - was cut from the mountain not by human hands , and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold - the earlier and existing kingdoms of world.

The Great Day of the Lord:

Zephaniah 1:14-18 describe about the bitterness of the Day of the Lord. Let us read the verses: “The great day of the Lord is near , near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord is bitter, the warrior cries aloud there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness , a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements. I will bring such distress upon people that they shall walk like the blind; because they have sinned against the Lord, their blood shall be poured out like dust , and their flesh like dung . Neither silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath; in the fire of his passion the whole earth shall be consumed; for a full, a terrible end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.”

The day of the Lord is cruel:

What Isaiah 13:4-13 have already foretold are taking place now. Let us read the verses: “Listen, a tumult on the mountains as of a great multitude! Listen, an uproar of kingdoms, of nations gathering together! The Lord of host is mustering an army for battle. They come from a distant land, from the end of the heavens, the Lord and the weapons of his indignation, to destroy the whole earth . Wail, for the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty! Therefore all hands will be feeble, and every human heart will fail, and they will be dismayed. Pangs and agony will seize them; they will be in anguish like a woman in labour. They will look aghast at one another; there faces will be aflame. See, the day of the Lord comes cruel, wrath and fierce anger, to make the earth a desolation, and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pride of the arrogant, and lay low the insolence of tyrants. I will make mortals more rare than fine gold , and humans than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place , and the wrath of the Lord of hosts and the day of his fierce anger.” Here, we have to note that the earth will be shaken out of its place . Yes, there will be a severe earth quake during the time of chastisement like that never occurred in the world and never will be in future.

Attacks by Nuclear weapons:

In this time, nuclear bombs are also dropped so that mountains will melt down. Micah 1:2-4 say, “Hear, you peoples, all of you; listen O earth , and all that is in it; and let the Lord GOD be a witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple. For lo, the L ORD is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. Then the mountains will melt under him and the valleys will burst open, like wax near the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.” These are the effects of nuclear attack . However, Joel 2:32 says “Then every one who calls on the name of the L ORD shall be saved; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be those who escape, as the L ORD has said, and among the survivors shall be those whom the L ORD calls.”

Take refuge in the holes of the earth:

During the horrible time of chastisement, the Lord advises the children of God to take refuge in safety place to safeguard themselves. The Lord God says in Isaiah 26:20-21, “Come, my people, enter your chambers , and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the wrath is past. For the Lord comes out from his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity ; the earth will disclose the blood shed on it, and will no longer cover its slain.” The Lord asks in Isaiah 2:10-11, “Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust from the terror of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty. The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low, and the pride of every one shall be humble; and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day. Let us read Isaiah 2:17&19 also: “The haughtiness of people shall be humble, and the pride of every one shall be brought low; and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.” “Enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the grounds , from the terror of the Lord, and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.” In Isaiah 2: 21 also the Lord asks “to enter the caverns of the rocks and the clefts in the crags, from the terror of the Lord, and from the glory of the majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth.”

Safest haven – Mother's Heart:

However in those period, an abode of safety for the children of God will be available that is the Heart of Blessed Virgin Mary. Yes, it will be the safest spiritual abode to take refuge during the time of horrible Chastisement days. Let the children of God surrender themselves and seek refuge into the Heart of Blessed Virgin Mary so that they may escape from the effects of Chastisement days.

Earth will wear out like garment:

Isaiah 24:1-6 describe about the effects of the chastisement and other types of disaster thus: “Now the Lord is about to lay waste the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants . And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest; as with the slave, so with his master; as with the maid, so with her mistress; as with the buyer, so with the seller; as with the lender, so with the borrower; as with the creditor, so with the debtor. The earth shall be utterly laid waste and utterly despoiled ; for the Lord has spoken this word. The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers; the heavens languish together with earth . The earth lies polluted under its inhabitants ; for they have transgressed laws , violated the statutes, broken the ever lasting covenant. Therefore a curse devours the earth and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt; therefore the inhabitants dwindled, and few people are left . So it is clear that the Chastisement is due to the sin of the world. Isaiah 51:6 says, “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like garment , and those who live on it will die like gnats ; but my salvation will be for ever and my deliverance will never be ended.”

 

The attack by Nuclear weapons
Chastisement Days
The Great Day of the Lord
The day of the Lord is cruel
Attacks by Nuclear weapons
Take refuge in the holes of the earth
Safest Haven - Mother's Heart
Earth will wear out like Garment