“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.” 2 Peter 3:10 CSB

This verse begins the radio ad for the “Tribulation Trail,” an event held in October of each year by a local church to depict some of the events of the book of Revelation. I’ve never been on this walk through the woods, so I don’t know how the scenes conclude or how the gospel is presented (which is the ultimate objective), but I have heard reports that it can be a very scary experience. Fortunately for us as believers in the gospel, being dissolved like the rest of the earth is neither our fate nor the end of the story. After the events of Revelation, comes the Millennium, of which the Sabbath is a foretaste. Consider this prophecy from Isaiah concerning those upcoming days:

The wilderness and the dry land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a wildflower.  It will blossom abundantly and will also rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the splendor of our God.  Strengthen the weak hands, steady the shaking knees! Say to the cowardly: “Be strong; do not fear! Here is your God; vengeance is coming. God’s retribution is coming; he will save you.” Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing for joy, for water will gush in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the parched ground will become a pool, and the thirsty land springs. In the haunt of jackals, in their lairs, there will be grass, reeds, and papyrus. A road will be there and a way; it will be called the Holy Way. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for the one who walks the path. Fools will not wander on it. There will be no lion there, and no vicious beast will go up on it; they will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk on it, and the redeemed of the LORD will return and come to Zion with singing, crowned with unending joy. Joy and gladness will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee. Isaiah 35:1-10 CSB

My prayer for you this Sabbath is that the truth of these words will comfort and encourage you, and that those things that currently cause sorrow and sighing will sink to their proper size next to a mighty God who is in control of it all.

Shabbat Shalom!