To The Unknown God

       Much of the last half of the book of Acts is an historical account of the spread of Christianity into the known world at that time, particularly Asia Minor, the Balkan Peninsula, and even into the western regions of the Roman Empire. In Acts 17 we find Paul and his companions in Greece. Always up for a good debate, Paul goes to the Areopagus, a rocky outcropping that serves as the ideal meeting place to discuss the issues of the day. The hill is dedicated to Aries, the Greek god of war. You may know it as Mars Hill; Mars was the equivalent god for the Romans.
      As Paul wanders about the place, he notices an altar to the Unknown God. Both the Greeks and the Romans like to cover all their bases, just in case. Paul sees this as an ideal opening. He addresses the conclave, explaining that their unknown god is really God the Creator of the world and everything in it. He is the Lord of heaven and earth, who cannot be confined to temples made with hands nor can He be fashioned into an idol to be worshipped. He needs nothing, “since He gives to all life, breath, and all things” (vs.25).
        Paul confirms that all mankind is of one race and one blood, no matter what nationality or ethnicity they acknowledge. God makes Himself known generally in creation “so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being” (vs. 27-28). Paul, a learned scholar, quotes one of their own poets to show how God has put His truth into this world. “For we are all His offspring.”
        The Chronos Lesson: The next point Paul makes confirms that the foundational apostles not only understood but also preached God’s Day Code, the great Week of God’s plan of redemption in terms of seven 1,000-year Days.
         Paul continues his sermon, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked [until Christ’s first coming], but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a Day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead” (vs. 30-31). The Man here is Christ the Head and His Body united as one at the rapture. We—both Christ as the firstborn from the dead, and His Body who shall overcome death at the rapture—are appointed to rule by virtue of our having overcome Death through resurrection.
        Hopefully by now you recognize that this appointed Day is the last Day in God’s prophetic week. When counting from Adam, it is the 7th Day; when counting from Christ, the last Adam, it is the 3rd Day. It also has several other titles in Scripture: the Age to Come (Luke 18:30), the Day of Christ (2 Thess. 2:3), the Day of His Coming (Mal. 3:2), the Day of Redemption (Eph. 4:30), the Day of Judgment (1 John 4:17), the Day of Wrath (Rom. 2:5), the Day of Vengeance of our God (Is. 61:2), the Day of Salvation (Is. 49:8), and the Day We See Approaching (Heb. 10:25).
        For those who believe in Jesus Christ, it is a Day of rejoicing! For those who have rejected God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, it is a snare. “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly. For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth” (Luke 21:34-35).
        By the way, the fact that this Day is the preappointed last Day of God’s prophetic week, we know the chronos timing of it. And since this Day has many signs associated with it in Scripture, we can see the corresponding kairos signs.  Jesus repeatedly said that He will come again at the rapture on this last Day to raise us up. Therefore, we know beyond any shadow of doubt, that the rapture cannot happen at any moment and is not a signless event as many falsely teach.