The Day of the Lord / August 2005

When I was 14 years of age, I attended Abilene High School in Abilene, Kansas. At the urging of my mother, I enrolled in Miss Edberg’s Latin class. Miss Edberg had been my Mother’s previous teacher. She was a very mature sweet lady who had never married, but was devoted as a teacher and care provider of her own mother. It was true that she was sweet, but she also could frown and scowl at substandard student performance. I mention this because I didn’t like Latin class all that much, and Miss Edberg wasn’t all that happy with my academic performance.

During that year of school, someone announced and it was covered by the national news outlets that the world would end on a certain date at precisely 1:30 p.m. It was the first time I had ever heard of the phrase “the Day of the Lord” and its “end of the world” prediction. It was frightening to me but what made it worse was the timing. My Latin class was from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. That meant that the world was going to end and my last hour here on the Earth would be in Miss Edberg’s Latin class. It was more than frightening; it was downright depressing.

On the day in question, Miss Edberg made mention of the prediction. It was one of the few times I saw her smile. At the conclusion of the class, she noted with the same smile that the world had not ended. I wasn’t sure whether she was talking about the prediction or just her class in general. But this was my first introduction to the subject of the Day of the Lord.

The Day of the Lord is prophesied in the Bible. In fact, it is a major theme and specific phrase used by many prophets in the Bible. It is the dominant subject for the books of Joel and Zephaniah. However, if you go to your average believer today, especially one that is interested in the second coming of the Messiah, you will hear a variety of explanations for what the “Day of the Lord” is. If you persist in questioning how it relates to the Great Tribulation, the Rapture, and the Second Coming, then you hear even more befuddling explanations. The truth is that most believers have only heard the phrase but they don’t know if it is one day or a period of time. However, if you do not know what the “Day of the Lord” is, you are more than spiritually uninformed, you are in great personal danger.

The question of knowing and understanding the “Day of the Lord” is posed by the prophet Amos. His answer is striking and speaks to the lack of understanding of many and the danger posed.

Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord, for what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you? It will be darkness and not light; as when a man flees from a lion, and a bear meets him, or goes home, leans his hand against the wall, and a snake bites him. Will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light, even gloom with no brightness in it?

Amos 5:18-20

Defining the Day of the Lord

A day of darkness and gloom is more than an expression of “Doom and Gloom.” There really will be darkness and clouds. Imagine for a moment that the world is plunged into darkness with no sun, moon, or stars to be seen. Imagine the density of the clouds that have blocked the light from reaching the surface of the earth. Now listen to the prophet Zephaniah describe the day to you.

Near is the great day of the Lord, near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the Lord! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. A day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
a day of trumpet and battle cry, against the fortified cities and the high corner towers. And I will bring distress on men, so that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the Lord; and their blood will be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord's wrath; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end, indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth.

Zepheniah 1:14-18

Before we go any further with this subject, let’s correct the biggest misunderstanding about the Day of the Lord. If you are a mortal man or in the flesh on the surface of the Earth when this day comes, you will not survive. There is no hole deep enough, no closet to be hidden in, no city immune that will prevent the complete destruction of all inhabitants of the Earth. Anyone telling you otherwise, does not know what the Day of Lord is. The completeness of this destruction is specifically addressed by the same prophet Zephaniah.

“I will completely remove all things From the face of the earth,” declares the Lord. “I will remove man and beast; I will remove the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and the ruins along with the wicked; and I will cut off man from the face of the earth,” declares the Lord.

Zepheniah 1:2-3

It will be on all nations. No one survives the Day of the Lord (not even animals).

Be silent before the Lord God! For the day of the Lord is near, for the Lord has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests. Then it will come about on the day of the Lord's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, the king's sons, and all who clothe themselves with foreign garments.

Zepheniah 1:7-8

It will be upon the land of Israel. Israel is not exempt from the Day of the Lord.

“And on that day,” declares the Lord, “There will be the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, A wail from the Second Quarter, and a loud crash from the hills. ‘Wail, O inhabitants of the Mortar, for all the people of Canaan will be silenced; all who weigh out silver will be cut off.’ And it will come about at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are stagnant in spirit, who say in their hearts, ‘The Lord will not do good or evil!’”

Zepheniah 1:10-12

Interestingly enough, the Fish Gate, the Second Quarter, and the Mortar (the Merchants) are referring to a very specific place in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is geographically the center of the Muslim Quarter.

The prophet Joel speaks to the same decisive destruction of the Lord this way.

Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and it will come as destruction from the Almighty.

Joel 1:15

Blow a trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; surely it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the mountains, so there is a great and mighty people; there has never been anything like it, nor will there be again after it to the years of many generations.

Joel 2:1-2

Let the nations be aroused and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; the vats overflow, for their wickedness is great. Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness.

Joel 3:12-15

The valley of Jehoshaphat is the valley of Jezreel where the mountain of Meggido is. That particular mountain in Hebrew is called Harmageddo. You may be more familiar with the English version: Armageddon.

Isaiah describes the Day of the Lord this way.

For the Lord of hosts will have a day of reckoning against everyone who is proud and lofty, and against everyone who is lifted up, that he may be abased. And the pride of man will be humbled, and the loftiness of men will be abased, and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.

Isaiah 2:12,17

Wail, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

Isaiah 13:6

Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, cruel, with fury and burning anger, to make the land a desolation; and He will exterminate its sinners from it.

Isaiah 13:9

Therefore I shall make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken from its place at the fury of the Lord of hosts in the day of His burning anger.

Isaiah 13:13

Ezekiel describes the Day of the Lord this way: No one survives the Day of the Lord, even if you are in a space capsule.

Son of man, prophesy and say, “Thus says the Lord God, ‘Wail, Alas for the day!’ For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.”

Ezekiel 30:2-3

Obadiah describes the Day of the Lord this way.

For the day of the Lord draws near on all the nations. As you have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head.

Obadiah 1:15

Malachi describes the Day of the Lord with those judged resulting in ashes.

For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze," says the Lord of hosts, "so that it will leave them neither root nor branch." And you will tread down the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing," says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 4:1,3

The Apostle Peter made the same reference to the complete destruction of the Earth.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

II Peter 3:10

The Day of the Lord is not limited to mortals with nations and cities. It is specifically upon God’s enemies.

In that day the Lord will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, with His fierce and great and mighty sword, even Leviathan the twisted serpent; and He will kill the dragon who lives in the sea.

Isaiah 27:1

And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies, assembled to make war against Him who sat upon the horse, and against His army. And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat upon the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.

Revelation 19:19-21

There are many eschatology theories setting the sequence of events at the Second Coming of the Messiah. Some of those theories say that some mortals will survive the wrath of God and live on the surface of the Earth afterwards. Those theories are completely false. The Day of the Lord is not up for discussion about its definition. It is well defined by the Bible. It is complete destruction from the Almighty. It is a complete harvest of everyone subject to God’s judgment.

Let me say it one last time: No one survives the Day of the Lord

And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. And another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Put in your sharp sickle, and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.” And the angel swung his sickle to the earth, and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God.

Revelation 14:17-19

With all of this complete destruction and annihilation of all inhabitants of the Earth, it is logical for us to ask, “But what about us?” This same question is asked while describing the sixth seal of the book of Revelation.

And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?

Revelation 6:12-17

Who is able to stand in such fierce wrath of Almighty God? There are many references given in Scripture to answer this question. I will summarize them for you. The Remnant of Israel, the overcomers, the survivors, the elect of God, the tribulation saints, the 144,000 sealed sons of Israel, and the believers of Yeshua the Messiah are those who see God’s judgments but do not receive them. As incredible as it may seem, God’s complete justice on all of mankind and the inhabitants of the Earth is NOT directed toward His people. His people are saved out of His wrath because we are not on the Earth when the Day of the Lord occurs. We are lifted off of the Earth at the resurrection and rapture into the clouds. Our new bodies apparently float.

For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah,

I Thessalonians 5:9

Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth who have carried out His ordinances; seek righteousness, seek humility. Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of the Lord's anger.

Zepheniah 2:3

“Therefore, wait for Me,” declares the Lord, “For the day when I rise up to the prey. Indeed, My decision is to gather nations, to assemble kingdoms, to pour out on them My indignation, all My burning anger; for all the earth will be devoured by the fire of My zeal. For then I will give to the peoples purified lips, that all of them may call on the name of the Lord, to serve Him shoulder to shoulder.”

Zepheniah 3:8-9

And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire, and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem There will be those who escape, as the Lord has said, even among the survivors whom the Lord calls.

Joel 2:30-32

And it will be said in that day, "Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation."

Isaiah 25:9

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.

Zechariah 14:1

The promises of God’s salvation and protection from His wrath are emphatic and sure. However, this next passage gives us an additional clue about how we will be found by the Lord and thus receive His protection.

Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: "Do not be afraid, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp. The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy. I will gather those who grieve about the appointed feasts— they came from you, O Zion; the reproach of exile is a burden on them.

Zepheniah 3:14-18

The Day of the Lord in the Feasts of Israel

As many of you already know, the appointed times of the Lord are defined in Leviticus 23 beginning with Sabbath and then with the annual feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Weeks, Trumpets, Atonement, and Tabernacles. One of the seven Levitical Feasts of the Lord is a model to prepare us for the Day of the Lord. It is the Day of Atonement, which is 10 days after Trumpets and 5 days prior to Tabernacles. The Day of the Lord is referred to by the Lord as a sacrifice. It is a solemn day, one that we are to be silent in and humble our souls. This is the same instruction for Atonement.

These are the appointed times of the Lord which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the Lord— burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and libations, each day's matter on its own day–

Leviticus 23:37

On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the Lord. Neither shall you do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the Lord your God. If there is any person who will not humble himself on this same day, he shall be cut off from his people. As for any person who does any work on this same day, that person I will destroy from among his people. It is to be a Sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your Sabbath."

Leviticus 23:27-30,32

The Day of Atonement is the 10th day of the Days of Awe. They began on Trumpets with trumpet blasts. However, the last trumpet blast is reserved for the Day of Atonement. The days of awe are said to be a time when God’s eyes move to and fro over the Earth to see who will live or die. The greeting for those days is “May your name be written in the book of life.” The Last Trumpet in the Book of Revelation is called the Seventh Trumpet.

The Day of the Lord in the Book of Revelation

And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may smite the nations; and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.

Revelation 19:15

Previously, I shared the description of the sixth seal in Revelation as describing the Day of the Lord. It begs a natural question. What about the seventh seal and the rest of the Revelation judgments? How do they correlate to the Day of the Lord? The seventh seal calls for the same silence described in the Day of Atonement.

And when He broke the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.

Revelation 8:1

One of the keys to understanding the Book of Revelation is to understand the Day of the Lord and how Revelation describes it. The Day of the Lord in Revelation is modeled in the Sixth Seal, the Seventh Trump, and the Seventh Plague. The comparison is striking.

The Sixth Seal

And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?

Revelation 6:12-17

The Seventh Trumpet

And the seventh angel sounded; and there arose loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Messiah; and He will reign forever and ever.” And the twenty–four elders, who sit on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, “We give Thee thanks, O Lord God, the Almighty, who art and who wast, because Thou hast taken Thy great power and hast begun to reign.” And the nations were enraged, and Thy wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to give their reward to Thy bond–servants the prophets and to the saints and to those who fear Thy name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

Revelation 11:15-18

The Seventh Plague

And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air; and a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne, saying, "It is done." And there were flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder; and there was a great earthquake, such as there had not been since man came to be upon the earth, so great an earthquake was it, and so mighty. And the great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of His fierce wrath.

Revelation 16:17-19

The combination of these judgments is described with a very great earthquake, flashes of lighting and peals of thunder (a great storm with hailstones), and major upheaval in the Earth. This is the backdrop to the Last Trumpet call, the voice of the Archangel, and the Messiah returning in great wrath. Part of this storm (the great number of clouds) and the upheaval is initiated by events in the Great Tribulation by the 5th trumpet with the star (asteroid/comet) striking the earth. The darkness in the last months of the Great Tribulation are referred to as the final days of indignation.

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. And he opened the bottomless pit; and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit.

Revelation 9:1-2

Smoke and debris from a deep impact scenario would produce both incredible lightening storms and very large hailstones (what goes up must come down).

The Day of the Lord and the Great Tribulation

Many brethren lump these two items together, but it is clear by Yeshua’s description that the Day of the Lord comes in the days immediately after the Tribulation.

Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), for then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall. And unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days shall be cut short.

Matthew 24:15.21-22

But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.

Matthew 24:29-31

According to Yeshua’s description, the great tribulation ends and then “all hell breaks loose” in the days immediately following. I believe that the number of those days immediately following will be 45 and the fall feasts will occur in them: the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles. The Apostle Paul also weighs in on getting the sequence of events prior to the Day of the Lord.

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so–called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.

II Thessalonians 2:1-4

Paul’s sequence of the Great Tribulation is clearly before the Day of the Lord with the man of lawlessness (the antimessiah) operating in the Great Tribulation prior to the Day of the Lord. Since the man of lawlessness had not emerged, he argued that the Day of the Lord had not happened.

In fact there are number of other prophecy requirements prior to the Day of the Lord not the least of which is the restoration of the two houses of Israel and the gathering of Israel from all nations.

For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; and they have divided up My land.

Joel 3:1-2

And it will come about in that day, that the Lord will start His threshing from the flowing stream of the Euphrates to the brook of Egypt; and you will be gathered up one by one, O sons of Israel. It will come about also in that day that a great trumpet will be blown; and those who were perishing in the land of Assyria and who were scattered in the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.

Isaiah 27:12-13

For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

Isaiah 34:8

The Day of the Lord and the Rapture

Invariably, the subject of the Rapture always comes up when discussing the end times and the Day of the Lord. Many brethren are hoping that the Rapture occurs even before the Great Tribulation or the Day of the Lord. Their definition of the event is the escape of the church from the Earth with the antimessiah and any of the Revelation judgments. But the Bible’s definition of the Rapture is something different. It is called the resurrection.

The resurrection and the rapture are the same thing. The resurrection is the translation of saints who have died receiving their immortal bodies. The Rapture is the translation of saints who are still alive into their immortal bodies. It happens at the same time with the Resurrection of the dead.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.

I Thessalonians 4:15-17

The Resurrection and the Rapture of the saints will fulfill the prophetic picture of the Feast of Trumpets. This feast of 10 days prior to Atonement. Therefore, we can safely say that the Resurrection and Rapture is just prior to the Day of the Lord. But both events are in the days immediately after the Great Tribulation.

Some who believe in the Pretribulation Rapture say that no one knows when the Lord comes and this is why He comes before the tribulation. They say this for two reasons: they equate the Great Tribulation with the Day of the Lord and they say He comes like a thief in the night (no one knows).

For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

I Thessalonians 5:2

Yeshua has defined the Great Tribulation as the three and half year period prior to the Day of the Lord. The Lord’s coming as a thief in the night is further confirmation to the Biblical Holidays and their prophetic sequence. The expression “a thief in the night” comes from the temple service. When the High Priest would enter the temple each day, he came early before the dawn. These are the same hours that a thief would break into a house or building. He would enter in a stealthy manner to check on the temple guards. Sleeping guards were awakened by their garments being ignited by fire from the altar. Equating Yeshua’s return to the “thief in the night” is a perfect description. It will be dark with many clouds, the brightness of His coming will precede any sound. He is returning as the Great High Priest, after the order of Melchizedek. He will exact justice with fire.

The book of Hebrews describes the Great High Priest’s justice (the Day of the Lord) in the following way.

But a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Hebrews 10:27,31

…for our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 12:29

How do you conclude an article like this on the Day of the Lord? I think we need to keep our heads up and be encouraged. It is the day of God’s judgment, a day reckoning, a day when the guilty no longer go unpunished. It must be addressed accurately with a sober mind. Let me offer this as a final definition: The Day of the Lord is a day of darkness and clouds (doom and gloom), but it has nothing to do with Miss Edberg’s Latin class.

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