The Day of the LORD is a special term in the Bible used to refer to a period of time when
God directly intervenes in human affairs–in judgment or in blessing. The Day of the Lord we are
presently waiting for in our time frame will begin with the rapture (or “translation”) of the
Church and will continue through The Tribulation Period (seven years), and on through the
thousand-year reign of Christ on earth until the time of the “new heavens and new earth”
(Revelation 21).
In contrast to the coming Day of the Lord, we can think of the present age as “The Day of
Man,” because God has allowed human evil to run its full course in our time. God’s interference
with man’s attempts to conduct his own affairs as he pleases is today minimal. Although there is
restraint from God on man’s attempts to run things, God is now allowing what is called “the
mystery of lawlessness” to run its course. The culmination of “Man’s Day” will be the
appearance on the stage of history of a great world leader, a “lawless one,” who will in actuality
attempt to counterfeit God’s Messiah and King, Jesus.
For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will
continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. 8And then the lawless one will be revealed whom
the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendor of his
coming. 9The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed
in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, 10and in every sort of evil that deceives
those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11For
this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie 12and so that all
will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness. – 2
Thessalonians 2:7-12
At the present time Jesus Christ the Lord is ruling over the earth (and indeed over the
entire universe), however he is not yet reigning on the earth. It is God’s will “that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11).
According to God’s decree, all men will one day submit to the authority of Jesus willingly or by
force–one way or the other. The above quotation is repeated also in Romans 14:11 and is
derived from Isaiah Chapter 45 in the Old Testament.
Before departing from his disciples for the last time from the Mount of Olives Jesus
instructed his disciples giving them what has been called “The Great Commission.” Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[ the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”- Matthew 28:18-20
The disciples and Christians of the First Century all expected Jesus to return very soon.
Indeed this has been the hope of the true church in every generation.
Come Thou long expected Jesus, born to set Thy people free,
From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in Thee.
Israel’s Strength and Consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.
Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child and yet a King.
Born to reign is us forever, Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.
By Thine eternal Spirit Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne.
(Charles Wesley, 1707 – 1788)
The actual second coming of Christ to earth is described several places in the New
Testament (as well as in the Old). Towards the very end of the First Century the aged apostle
John saw the Second Advent in a great vision. Jesus descended from heaven on a white horse to
fight the Battle of Armageddon. His title was King of kings and Lord of lords (Revelation 19:11-
16).
For the unrepentant who reject Christ’s rule over them now during the present Day of
Grace, the fast-approaching Day of the Lord will be a time of terrible retribution, judgment and
eternal destruction. For God’s people it will mean final purifying, fulfillment, and reward. The
Apostle Paul describes the parousia (“presence,” or “appearing”) and the epiphaneia (“shiningforth”
or second coming) of the Lord as a single event in his First letter to the Thessalonians. In
our earthly time frame these two events (the rapture of the Church and the second coming in
power and glory) are separated by the seven years of The Tribulation Period (2 Thessalonians
1:3-12).
The Old Testament is replete with vivid poetic descriptions of impending judgments on
Israel, and/or the Gentile nations, which also will be more completely carried out by the Lord at
the end of the age in which we now live (Isaiah 13:6-13).
God’s judgments-both of men and Satan, “the god of this world (or, age)”–are especially
directed at the root problem of sin–which is pride.
10 Go into the rocks,
hide in the ground
from dread of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty!
…
19 Men will flee to caves in the rocks
and to holes in the ground
from dread of the LORD
and the splendor of his majesty,
when he rises to shake the earth.
20 In that day men will throw away
to the rodents and bats
their idols of silver and idols of gold,
which they made to worship. – Isaiah 2:10, 19-20
Today, the New Testament offers wonderful, complete forgiveness of all sin made
possible by the death of God’s own son, Jesus, on our behalf. The full power of his resurrection
enables those who follow Jesus to live whole and godly lives. Furthermore, Christ promises that
his bride, the true church, will escape from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
The writer of the letter to the Hebrews warns that God will soon shake not only all the
cities of the earth, the foundations of all human society, but also the heavens themselves,
including the “principalities and powers in the heavenly places,” the unseen angelic orders who
presently control human affairs to a great extent. Only those things in heaven and on earth which
God himself has built will survive! (Hebrews 12:25-29).
Zephaniah the prophet gives us an especially vivid view of the Day of the Lord. A partial
fulfillment of this prophecy occurred about 30 years later in the Babylonian captivity. However it
is clear that the full implications of this prophecy are yet future (Zephaniah chapter 1).
14 “The great day of the LORD is near—
near and coming quickly.
Listen! The cry on the day of the LORD will be bitter,
the shouting of the warrior there.
15 That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,
16 a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
17 I will bring distress on the people
and they will walk like blind men,
because they have sinned against the LORD.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like filth.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the LORD’s wrath.
In the fire of his jealousy
the whole world will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live in the earth.” – Zephaniah 1:14-19
Zephaniah also writes of blessings upon Israel and all the nations in the days of Messiah’s
visible, earthly, thousand-year reign (Zephaniah 3:8-20).
Joel tells of disturbances in the heavens and great disruptions in nature associated with
the Day of the Lord. These events are also described in the New Testament.
30 I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
31 The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.
32 And everyone who calls
on the name of the LORD will be saved;
for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
there will be deliverance,
as the LORD has said,
among the survivors
whom the LORD calls. – Joel 2:30-32
And in the New Testament,
I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black
like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13and the stars in the
sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14The sky
receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its
place.
15Then the kings of the earth, the princes, the generals, the rich, the mighty, and every
slave and every free man hid in caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16They
called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who
sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17For the great day of their wrath has
come, and who can stand?” – Revelation 6:12-17
God’s ultimate purpose in judging evil is not the destruction of mankind but a new
creation (Isaiah 65:17-25).
The Apostle Paul tells us that the Day of the Lord will approach and come upon the
world silently and unannounced:
1Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, 2
for you know very well
that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3While people are saying, “Peace and
safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they
will not escape.
4But you, brothers, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5You are
all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6
So
then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled. 7
For those
who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8But since we belong to the
day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation
as a helmet. 9
For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord
Jesus Christ. 10He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with
him. 11Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. – 1
Thessalonians 5:1-11
References
For the term the Day of the Lord see Isaiah 13:6, Isaiah 13:9, Isaiah 58:13, Jeremiah 46:10,
Ezekiel 13:5, Ezekiel 30:3, Joel 1:15, Joel 2:1, Joel 2:11, Joel 2:31, Joel 3:14, Amos 5:18, Amos
5:20, Obadiah 15, Zephaniah 1:7, Zephaniah 1:14, Zechariah 14:1, Malachi 4:5, Acts 2:20, 1
Corinthians 5:5, 2 Corinthians 1:14, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:2, 2 Peter 3:10.
For the term that Day (which refers either to an impending or a final judgment when God
intervenes) see Deuteronomy 31:17, Deuteronomy 31:18, 1Samuel 8:18, Isaiah 2:11, Isaiah 2:17,
Isaiah 2:20, Isaiah 3:7, Isaiah 3:18, Isaiah 4:1, Isaiah 4:2, Isaiah 7:18, Isaiah 7:20, Isaiah 7:21,
Isaiah 7:23, Isaiah 10:20, Isaiah 10:27, Isaiah 11:10, Isaiah 11:11, Isaiah 12:1, Isaiah 12:4, Isaiah
17:4, Isaiah 17:7, Isaiah 17:9, Isaiah 19:16, Isaiah 19:18, Isaiah 19:19, Isaiah 19:21, Isaiah 19:23,
Isaiah 19:24, Isaiah 20:6, Isaiah 22:8, Isaiah 22:12, Isaiah 22:20, Isaiah 22:25, Isaiah 23:15,
Isaiah 26:1, Isaiah 27:1, Isaiah 27:2, Isaiah 27:12, Isaiah 27:13, Isaiah 28:5, Isaiah 29:18, Isaiah
30:23, Isaiah 31:7, Isaiah 52:6, Jeremiah 4:9, Jeremiah 30:8, Jeremiah 48:41, Jeremiah 49:22,
Jeremiah 49:26, Hosea 2:16, Hosea 2:21, Joel 3:18, Amos 2:16, Amos 8:3, Amos 8:13, Amos
9:11, Micah 2:4, Micah 4:6, Micah 5:10, Micah 7:11, Micah 7:12, Zechariah 2:11, Zechariah
3:10, Mark 2:20, Luke 6:23, John 14:20, John 16:23, John 16:26.
Paul uses the term “the day of Christ” in 1 Corinthians 1:8, Philippians 1:10 and 2:16.
Especially recommended for a better understanding of this complex subject are Ray
Stedman’s commentary on the two letters to the Thessalonians140, his Expository Study on the
Olivet Discourse141, and his commentary on the book of Revelation142
.
