The Day of the Lord: A Call to Repent
“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.
God reveals the purpose of the terrifying warnings He gives us about the Day of the Lord. Our loving Creator God wants us to turn from our self-destructive ways of sin and selfishness, and instead to seek His good and beneficial way.
Instead of thumbing our nose at God, He wants us to humbly desire a relationship with Him. In fact, God will be looking for repentance during the pouring out of the seven last plagues (Revelation 16:9, 11).
God’s amazing plan calls for everyone to be offered a chance to become His children (2 Peter 3:9; 1 John 3:1)! He was willing to give the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus Christ to make that possible, but His plan can only work if we turn—repent—from going our own way and choose to go God’s way.
The biblical warnings of the Day of the Lord should motivate us to make that change now. Some who fail to respond to God today will finally come to repent during the darkest days of the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord. Ultimately, all people will understand the message and will make their choice. God’s great desire is that all will make the right choice (1 Timothy 2:4).
If you understand the message now, don’t wait! Answer God’s call now, starting by learning more about what the Bible teaches about repentance. See our article “What Is Repentance?”
