In all intelligent discussions of end-time events and the coming snatching away of believers (the rapture), the student of Bible prophecy faces the central question of : What is meant by the term, the Day of the Lord? This article is meant as an introductory discourse on that topic, to view the Day of the Lord from all sides and arrive at a conclusion based solely on the evidence presented in the Word of God, the Bible.
Many have proposed that the Day of the Lord is the entire 70th week of Daniel or the final 7 years until Shiloh (the Messiah) comes to establish the kingdom of God on the earth. Others have posited that the Day of the Lord is the millennial period or reign of the Messiah in Jerusalem. Outstanding teachers such as Hal Lindsey, have stated that although they believe that the Day of the Lord is the 7 year period, there is ample evidence that it is something else, and thus he concludes that they don't yet have sufficient understanding from God to know exactly the full meaning of the term. Finally, there are other noted teachers like Marvin Rosenthal, Robert Van Kampen and this author who have spent years studying the subject and believe that the Bible does show clearly that
the Day of the Lord is a specified period of time within the 7 year end-times period, called the Wrath of God. Let us examine the evidence.
The Day of the Lord is tied together with the changing of believers in the rapture in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 to 5:1-10. Notice that those alive when Christ comes (4:13-18) shall be changed instantly into their immortal bodies when they are caught up to the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (also 1 Corinthians 15:51-55). The text goes on in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-10, to say that believers are not to worry that the Day of the Lord has come like a thief and overtaken us, because believers are not in darkness, that the Day of the Lord should come upon us; and goes on to say that, "God has not destined us for wrath in the Day of the Lord, but for salvation."
Is the Day of the Lord the time of the wrath of God on the earth? It certainly is clear in Zephaniah 1:14-15
Near is the great Day of the Lord, near and coming 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 ....
Zephaniah 1:18
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.
The text from Zephaniah verifies that our understanding from 1 Thessalonians 4:13 to 5:10 is correct, namely, that the Day of the Lord is the period of God's wrath against the people of the earth. The text in Zephaniah disproves that the Day of the Lord is the millennium, since the millennial reign of Shiloh, the Messiah, will be a time of peace and prosperity for all the people of the earth, and the Zephaniah text states that the Day of the Lord is the time of God's wrath. Also note, that nothing in our study up until now prevents the pre-trib view from being correct, since the rapture precedes the time of wrath. However, is the Day of the Lord the entire 7 year period?
Let's take a look at another rapture text in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, where the Epistle was written again to warn the church not to believe that the Day of the Lord had come. Verse 1 states that the topic is the rapture or gathering of believers to Jesus at His coming. Verse 2 warns them not to be disturbed or deceived that the Day of the Lord had come. Verse 3 states, "Let no one deceive you for it (the Day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed." Verse 4 states that, "the man of lawlessness will be revealed by taking his seat in the Temple of God in Jerusalem and displaying himself as being God" (the abomination of desolation).
2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken 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.
Note that now we are getting further understanding with regards to the Day of the Lord. In both 1st and 2nd Thessalonians, the church is told specifically that the snatching away of the church in the rapture is before the Day of the Lord begins. Additionally, in 2 Thessalonians, we observe that two signs must take place before the Day of the Lord begins; the apostasy or falling away, and the revealing of the antichrist in the abomination of desolation in the Temple in Jerusalem. We also have that piece of the puzzle from Zephaniah which states that the Day of the Lord is the time of God's wrath.
herefore, it is absolutely impossible according to the Word of God for the Day of the Lord to be the entire 7 year period, since it cannot begin, and we are warned not to be deceived about it beginning, until after the abomination of desolation in the middle of the 7 year period. Those who are teaching that the Day of the Lord is the entire 7 year period are wrong! We also know that the Day of the Lord cannot be the millennium, because that period is not the time of wrath, but the time when God spreads the tabernacle of peace over the earth and spears are beaten into plowshares and swords into pruning hooks.
When does the Day of the Lord begin and are there any signs? In the book of Joel, which is about the Great Tribulation period when the sacrifices and grain offerings are stopped in the Temple, we have the answer. Joel 2:31 states:
The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes.
The same statement reversed, is in Joel 3:14-15
For the Day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The sun and the moon grow dark, and the stars lose their brightness.
What is this sign that the sun is turned into darkness and the moon into blood, before the Day of the Lord comes?
It is clearly enunciated in Revelation 6 as the 6th seal signs. Rev 6:12-13
And I looked when He broke the 6th 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.
So the sign that the Day of the Lord is to begin, is after the abomination of desolation in the middle of the 7 year period, and after the 6th seal signs when the sun becomes black and the moon like blood. But is that the time when the wrath of God begins as we concluded earlier?
Yes it is. Take a look a few verses down in Revelation 6:16-17
...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?"
The obvious conclusion of those who accept the Bible as the Word of God is that the Day of the Lord starts in the latter half of the 7 year period, after the abomination of desolation; and that the Day of the Lord starts after an end-times apostasy. Also, the Day of the Lord starts after the 6th seal signs of the sun being turned into blackness and the moon into blood; and the Day of the Lord is the period of the wrath of God. These conclusions are incontrovertible, as long as you accept the Bible as truth. Therefore, all those teachings by others mentioned about the Day of the Lord, are in error, except as in agreement with our conclusions reached here.
OK you say, but if the Day of the Lord is the period of God's wrath that begins at the 6th seal signs, what do you call the period prior to the Day of the Lord? Good question. The first half of the 7 year period is shown to be called the Tribulation period in Matthew 24, while the 2nd half of the 7 year period up to the 6th seal signs is called in Matthew 24, the Great Tribulation. The Tribulation and Great Tribulation periods are the time of the wrath of man, where nations and governments will persecute the people. A time when Babylon the Great headed by the antichrist will gain control over the economy of the earth. Again, the Tribulation and Great Tribulation problems are caused by man against man and as a consequence of the actions of people, it is not the unique time of punishment from God called the wrath of God.
These results lead to many other conclusions. For instance, if the wrath of God starts after the 6th seal signs of the sun becoming black and the moon like blood, then the follow-on events called the 7 trumpet judgments and the 7 bowl judgments are the judgments of God. They are the means that He uses to pour out His wrath on the earth. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to recognize that if the 7th seal were the wrath of God, then the 7 seals would be called the seal judgments (which they are not).
By Roy A. Reinhold
ource:
http://ad2004.com/prophecytruths/Articles/Prophecy/DayofLord.html
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Understanding the Day of the Lord
1 Thessalonians 5:1-9
1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
4 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.
The key in being able to better understand how God’s final judgement is going to unfold in these last days, and when it begins, can easily be found by first looking at what the Bible refers to as, ‘the day of the Lord.’ It is absolutely necessary that we know the meaning of it, what it’s consequences on the world are going to be, and what we need to be doing right now in order to prepare ourselves for it so that we don’t have to go through it.
Before I began my own research on this subject only a couple of weeks ago, I had no idea what it was all about other than knowing that it’s going to be a horrible time for anyone unfortunate enough to be here when it comes I knew it was God’s judgement on an unbelieving and wicked world but there is so much more to know about it than that. It is my hope and prayer that people take this message seriously and begin making their own preparations so they can avoid it. Jesus Himself described it this way in Matthew 24:21: “For then shall there be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
In order for me to get a better grasp of what the ‘day of the Lord’ is, I decided to look up other verses that talk about it and it didn’t take long for my eyes to be opened. As soon as I began reading them the scales fell away from my eyes and God showed me exactly what I was looking for. Things just began falling into place for me as far as being able to better understand God’s timing regarding certain events which are about to take place. There is no ‘secret knowledge’ involved in any of what God showed me because it is all found in His written Word.
The following are verses that helped me the most in my study and I want to share them with you. There are many others that also talk about it but I wanted to limit how many I included for the sake of time and space. Here they are:
Isaiah 13:6 – Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
Isaiah 13:9 – Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
Ezekiel 30:3 – For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen.
Joel 1:15 – Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come.
Amos 5:18 – Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.
Obadiah 1:15 – For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head.
What stands out for me more than anything else is the unmistakable clarity as to who the ‘day of the Lord’ is intended. It’s purpose is to ‘destroy the sinners’ and it is ‘the time of the heathen.’ The day of the Lord will be accompanied by ‘wrath and fierce’ anger. That leaves all of us out who have made our preparations ahead of time for not having to be included in this time of judgement by repenting of our sins and asking Jesus to be our Lord and Savior. We have asked for His forgiveness for all of our many sins and have received the gift of eternal life. There is no longer the danger of having to experience God’s wrath:
1 Thessalonians 5:9 – For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,”
Romans 5:1 – “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Peace with God means that He no longer has anything to be angry with us about or to judge us for because Jesus took our punishment upon Himself on the cross.)
2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For he hath made Him to be sin for us: who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
Ellicott’s Commentary defines the ‘day of the Lord’ as being “a fixed time for vengeance to be taken upon the heathen.” It also defines it as a “general day of judgement for mankind.”
Meyer’s New Testament Commentary (which also includes some of the Hebrew words) defines it as the “near impending period, when the present order of the world will come to an end, and Christ in His glory will return to earth for the resurrection of the dead, the general judgement, and the completion of the kingdom of God;”
And finally, gotquestions.org, which I have always found to be a good and reliable source of information, defines it this way: “The phrase “day of the Lord” usually identifies events that take place at the end of history and is often closely associated with the phrase “that day.” One key to understanding these phrases is to note that they always identify a span of time during which God personally intervenes in history, directly or indirectly, to accomplish some specific aspect of His plan.”
To recap: The day of the Lord will cover a span of time, it is intended for all those who never gave their lives to Christ, and will be all inclusive in that it will include all of the various elements (more on these shortly) of God’s judgement for the purpose of the destruction of sinners. That sounds pretty horrible, and it is, which is why we need to keep sharing the gospel of love to the people we come into contact with and pray for them!
Now that we have all of this information before us, the question to be asked is, when does it start? That can be found in the following verse:
1 Thessalonians 5:2,3 – 2 “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.”
There you have it. The Rapture of the Church is what ushers in the ‘day of the Lord’ and is the first judgement to take place in it and is accompanied by ‘sudden destruction’ which is actually triggered by the Rapture itself. Think about it, the world will be turned on it’s head after the Rapture occurs.
Since we know the Rapture (or the “catching away of the believers”) is what ushers in the ‘day of the Lord’, then that means the Rapture will be the first element of God’s judgement that all of those who were left behind will have to deal with, as well as the sudden destruction which goes hand in hand with it. Further, it also means that all of the other elements that make up this time of judgement which are to follow the Rapture, such as the arrival of the Antichrist, the signing of a peace agreement and rebuilding of the third temple, the Seal, Trumpet, and Bowl judgements included in the 7 year Tribuation period, and anything else I failed to mention here, have absolutely nothing to do with those of us who are saved because we will be in heaven when they take place. That means the whole debate about whether the Rapture of the Church is a pre/mid/post tribulation event has now become a moot point for us. The 7 year Tribulation period is what makes up the heart of the day of the Lord and as we’ve learned we will have no part in it. We won’t even be around it.
The Tribulation, as most people refer to it as, is also called ‘the time of Jacob’s trouble’ and it is during this 7 year period that God is going to restore His relationship with the Jewish people. It is during this period that they will finally come to believe that Jesus Christ really is their long awaited Messiah. It is not going to be an easy time for either the Jews or the world while all this is going on. God’s wrath and anger are going to be poured out like no one has ever seen before and will never be seen again.
Let’s take a quick look at Revelation 4:1,2 so that we can bring this to a close:
1 “After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. 2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.”
What many scholars and teachers have believed all along, is true, that John was allowed to witness and record the actual Rapture event itself. The similarities between these verses in Revelation 4 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16,17 are undeniable. I believe that our Rapture experience is going to be the same as what John experienced in his vision and that we are going to see the same things that he saw which is why God had him record it. What John recorded in Revelation 4:1 is what takes place in 1 Thessalonians 5:2. The statement God made to John, “…and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter” is to further establish what we’ve already learned and that is that first comes our departure and then comes judgement.
To sum it all up, I think that the confusion and controversy regarding our blessed hope (Titus 2:13) may be caused by the fact that there is no mention of ‘the day of the Lord’ in our Rapture discussions. You can’t have one without the other. Just focusing on the Rapture event itself has caused so much confusion through the years that it’s created major divisions in the Church. God, as we know, isn’t the author of confusion so He made clear in His Word exactly how and when it’s going to happen.
I think that Isaiah 28:9-13 (google it) applies quite well here but you will need a commentary to really understand it. From Forerunner Commentary; “This is very similar to Jesus’ explanation of parables. God says He scatters understanding on any given subject throughout the Bible, and our job is to put it all together and see the amazing truth that results. Therefore, parables cannot be interpreted alone; they rely on the revelation of the rest of Scripture.” – Richard T. Ritenbaugh, Parables and Prophecy
It’s time to make our preparations for the coming of the ‘day of the Lord’ and the only way we can do that is to be absolutely certain that our relationship with God is where it needs to be. Simply believing that God exists isn’t enough (James 2:19). “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – John 3:3
By Chuck Steele
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