The Day of the Lord Pt. 1

Now we are going to study some concepts, rather than a particular book. The first will be the Day of the Lord. The second will be the Second Coming of Christ. The third will be the resurrection/rapture.

The Day of the Lord is a phrase that is repeated over and over throughout the scriptures. In every case, it refers to the day of judgment of the world by God. It has another name in the New Testament. There it is sometimes referred to as the Day of Christ. When speaking of the Day of Christ, it is from the standpoint of the Christian’s life and how we will be kept to that day, saved on that day, etc. It is the same event, but seen from two perspectives, the unbeliever’s and the Christian’s.

We will start with the Old Testament scriptures about The Day of the Lord. When one goes through all of the prophets, it can be seen that there are other names that refer to this day. One is simply “That Day”. Others are “the day of vengeance, the day of temptation, the day of wrath, the day of evil, the day of battle, the day of adversity, the day of calamity, and the day of visitation”. Because trying to cover all of these references would take a very long time (basically we are talking entire books of the prophets in some cases), and I really want to get a synopsis of the events that are constantly repeated, we will only catch the verses that refer to the Day of the Lord in particular, and possibly some that refer to “that day”. As needed we will go back and catch others that help us to understand the scriptures in Revelation and elsewhere, but for now, I will restrict them to the following. Rather than type in the verses themselves, I will give the references for you to look up and then will outline the events associated with that day. Through this, we will get a clear picture of what events herald or constitute the Day of the Lord and the ordering of them, which will help us to put together a time line that will tell us what is to be expected of that day.

The following are the Old Testament scriptures. After covering all of the scriptures, they will be assembled in an orderly outline. It will be seen that the verses speak of the same events over and over. It would be best to read the passage before reading the listing of events.

Is. 2:10-22. The events listed in these verses are: arrogant men humbled (vs. 11, 12, 17); the Lord is exalted (vs. 11, 17) men hide in holes in the rocks and caves of the earth (vs.10, 19, 21); silver and gold idols are thrown away (vs. 18, 20); and the earth shakes (vs. 19, 21)

Is. 13:6-22. Destruction from the Almighty (vs. 6); people will faint and hearts melt from terror (vs. 7); men are seized by terror, pain, and anguish (vs. 8); it is a day of wrath, cruelty, and anger (vs. 9, 13); the land is made desolate (vs. 9); sinners are destroyed (vs. 9); the stars are darkened (vs. 10); the sun is darkened (vs. 10); the moon is darkened (vs. 10); the world is punished (vs. 11); the arrogant man is humbled (vs. 11); man will become scarce, so many will die (vs. 12); the heavens tremble (vs. 13); the earth will be moved out of its place (the world‘s orbit will be changed) (vs. 13); people will run and flee, but they will be killed. (vs. 14-15); their children will be killed before them. (vs. 16); the Medes will be stirred up to destroy mankind (vs. 17); they don’t regard silver or gold (vs. 17); they will kill indiscriminately with no regard for women, children or even babies (vs. 18); Babylon the greatest of all the kingdoms will be overthrown in the same manner as Sodom and Gomorrah. It will never be inhabited again except by animals and desert demons. (vs. 19-21)

Is. 34:1-17. A day of anger and wrath on all nations (vs. 2); it is the destruction of nations (vs. 2); there is incredible slaughter (vs. 3); the stars of heaven are dissolved (vs. 4); the sky is rolled up like a scroll (vs. 4); and the stars fall (vs. 4). It is a day of judgment (vs. 5); the Lord will slaughter those in Bozrah (a place in Edom) as a sacrifice, and there will be a great slaughter in Idumea (Edom) (vs. 6); it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, and a year of recompenses for what has happened in Zion (Jerusalem) (vs. 8); the streams will be turned to pitch (asphalt) (vs. 9); the ground into burning asphalt which shall not be quenched night or day with the smoke going up forever (vs. 9-10); it will lie waste and nobody shall go there again forever (vs. 10); only animals will live there and its former nobles will not be found (vs. 11-12); thorns and brambles will take over the buildings (vs. 13); it will be a place only for animals and desert demons (vs. 14).

Jeremiah 46:10. It is a day of vengeance. the Lord has a sacrifice in the north country by the Euphrates.

Ez. 7:19. People cast their silver and gold in the streets. It won't save them.

Ez. 13:5. It is a day of battle.

Ez. 30:3. It is a day of clouds, it is time of the heathen.