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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