It was the week earlier than my marriage ceremony, and I used to be excited! All of my ideas have been on that coming day, my marriage ceremony day, when my life can be endlessly modified. Excited, completely happy, and afraid, my head was filled with all of the points of the marriage: Would the recorded music work? Would individuals dance at our swing music reception? However I used to be additionally interested by what would come after that coming day. Would I be a superb spouse? How would marriage change our relationship?
The idea of the day of the Lord in Scripture features equally. Like a bride ready for her marriage ceremony day, God’s individuals anticipate the day of the Lord with each hope and concern. It’s the day when God will act decisively to guage good and evil, rightly responding to each.
Merely put, the day of the Lord is a day during which the Lord intervenes. This intervention could also be perceived as optimistic, characterised by blessings, or unfavorable, characterised by punishment. In both case, when Scripture broadcasts the approaching day of the Lord, its objective is to name individuals to heed God: Hear when he speaks, reply when he calls, and anticipate his future intervention.
On that day, every part will likely be reworked. The one query that continues to be is whether or not somebody will likely be on the aspect of destruction or restoration—and what’s going to come subsequent.
The day of the Lord and the judgment of the Lord
The day of the Lord is related to God’s intervention in judgment. It concurrently footage proper judgments rendered for each the righteous and the depraved.
Within the Previous Testomony, justice is rooted in proper judgment, and God particularly stands because the Decide who will choose rightly, as we see within the Psalms (e.g., Ps 96:13). God will accurately choose wrongs. These wrongs create injustice that want correction via proper judgment.
In Hebrew, the phrases “justice,” “judgment,” and “choose” all share a standard root. We nonetheless see remnants of this in English after we speak concerning the justice system the place judges are to make proper judgments. This helps us keep away from pondering that “judgment” speaks solely of one thing unfavorable to keep away from. Proper judgment each rewards and punishes and, at its finest, positively transforms lives.
We are able to think about trendy conditions the place the identical judgment feels optimistic for one particular person and unfavorable for one more. A mom rejoices in courtroom when her little one’s assassin receives deserved punishment. A employee celebrates when his employer should pay wages unjustly withheld for years. If we focus solely on the unfavorable judgment—the assassin’s sentence, the unjust employer’s penalty—we miss how the mom and employee expertise this identical judgment as hope.
For the oppressed righteous, that day is sweet information. The hope of proper judgment means every part flawed may very well be made proper.
Thus, after we see “the day of judgment” and “the day of the Lord,” we should bear in mind: For the oppressed righteous, that day is sweet information. The hope of proper judgment means every part flawed will likely be made proper by a God who is sweet, holy, and simply. Once we hear of “a day of darkness,” we must always ask: “Who experiences that day as ‘darkish’?”
The day of the Lord within the Previous Testomony
Whereas God’s future exercise is a theme all through the Previous Testomony, the phrase “day of the Lord” seems particularly in prophetic literature. The concept of a “day” within the Previous Testomony doesn’t essentially seek advice from a twenty-four hour interval, however slightly to a chosen time period. Thus, the “day” of the Lord might start on a selected day and final for a interval of particular time that God designates.
Pre-exilic: darkness and terror
The earliest examples of the day of the Lord within the pre-exilic interval—Amos, Isaiah, and Zephaniah—have a tendency to emphasise the day’s darkness and terror.
Amos
Amos possible supplies the Previous Testomony’s earliest use of the phrase “day of the Lord.” Amos 5:18–20 introduces the day by asking why the Northern Kingdom longs for a day that will likely be for them “darkness, not mild.” This means that the concept of the day of the Lord was already current among the many individuals earlier than Amos describes it, however their expectations of it have been flawed. Amos 5:12 exhibits that the Northern Kingdom had sinned significantly, oppressing the harmless. They beloved evil and hated good. But they suppose God will nonetheless take their aspect (v. 14). Amos’s description in verses 18–20 makes clear that God will choose their wickedness alongside the wickedness of the nations.
Isaiah
Whereas Amos emphasizes that all wickedness will likely be judged on the day of the Lord, Isaiah’s description focuses on how it will likely be a day of reversals. Isaiah 2 speaks of “days to return” (v. 2) and a “day” belonging to the Lord of Hosts (v. 12) when the Lord will choose between nations and peoples. He’ll flip their weapons into gardening instruments (v. 4). On the Lord’s day, God will humble the smug and highly effective (vv. 11–18). Isaiah 13 and 14 describe the 2 sides of the day of the Lord. The day will likely be a terrifying occasion for everybody (13:6–7) with cosmic-level results (vv. 10, 13). The Lord will choose “the world for its evil and the depraved for his or her iniquity” (v. 11). Isaiah associates today with the Lord’s wrath and anger (vv. 9, 13). But the Lord will present compassion on Judah and Israel. He’ll return them to their land and provides them energy over their enemies (14:1–2).
Zephaniah
Like Isaiah, Zephaniah emphasizes the common nature of the day (Zeph 1:2) and connects it with the Lord’s wrath (vv. 14–15). Constructing on Amos, Zephaniah piles phrases describing the day as darkish and upsetting. In only one verse, he contains: wrath, misery, anguish, destroy, devastation, darkness, gloom, clouds, and thick darkness (v. 15). In Zephaniah 2:1–3, solely the common-or-garden who search the Lord will likely be preserved. As a result of Isaiah and Zephaniah’s day is common in judgment, it might be eschatological, pointing to expectations of the “finish occasions.”
Exilic: judgment but hope
When Babylon took the Israelites captive (the exilic interval), the day continued to level to concern and doom. But it surely additionally supplied hope for the devoted.
Ezekiel
Whereas Ezekiel doesn’t use the phrase “day of the Lord,” he does use phrases and imagery just like the day of the Lord elsewhere within the OT. Ezekiel 7 describes how “the tip has come” (v. 2). Ezekiel repeatedly refers to this “finish” as “the day” (v. 10) or “the day of the Lord’s wrath” (v. 19). The imagery of concern and doom (vv. 5–9, 17–18), reversal of fortunes (vv. 19–21), and judgment on sin (vv. 8–9) sound just like earlier prophets like Amos, Isaiah, and Zephaniah. But whether or not “the tip” in Ezekiel refers to a future eschatological occasion coming at “the tip” or to Babylonian devastation throughout Ezekiel’s time stays unclear.
Obadiah
Obadiah focuses completely on the day of the Lord from begin to end. As an alternative of common judgment, Obadiah narrowly focuses on Edom’s judgment, Israel’s traitorous neighbor and cousin. Like Zephaniah, Obadiah layers descriptions of the day: misfortune, destruction, catastrophe, hassle (vv. 8–14). The Lord will choose Edom for its sins (v. 15). But like Isaiah 14, the Lord will stay devoted to his covenant guarantees to the Israelites (v. 17).
Postexilic: restoration and inclusion
When the Persians conquered the Babylonians, they allowed the Israelites to return to their land. Day imagery throughout this time turns into intensive, focusing not solely on God’s judgment but additionally his guarantees for the devoted—and (shockingly) even for the nations!
Joel
Whereas Amos possible supplies the earliest reference to the day of the Lord, Joel incorporates the best density of references to it. Joel’s day is one among each nice destruction and salvation with transformation. Joel begins with a locust plague’s devastation (presumably a metaphor for overwhelming armies; 1:2–12). However one thing worse is approaching: “the day of the Lord is close to” (1:15). Although concern of the day’s destruction pervades (2:11), a name for repentance gives hope that the Lord will restore the land and be current along with his individuals (vv. 18–27). After cosmic disturbances lead as much as the day (vv. 28–31), the Lord will deliver salvation to those that flip to him (v. 32). He’ll pour out his Spirit on individuals no matter gender, age, or social class (vv. 28–29). The day ends in common data of God’s sole rule (3:17), restoration of the land’s fertility (vv. 17–18), and the individuals’s return to Judah (v. 20). In Joel, the day gives hope for repentance, salvation, and restoration, and these turn into the foundations for the New Testomony’s understanding of the day.
Zechariah
Like Joel, Zechariah speaks of the day not completely as judgment however as restoration. The primary 13 chapters of Zechariah make frequent use the phrase “on that day” to point future acts of restoration (2:15; 3:10; 9:16; 12:3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11; 13:1, 2, 4; cf. “these days” in 8:23). Zechariah 14 describes the day’s results, together with:
- the Lord’s assist and safety for his individuals (vv. 1–5),
- his kingship over your entire earth (vv. 7–9),
- his defeat of Judah’s enemies (vv. 12–15), and
- survivors from all nations coming to worship God (vv. 16–21).
Thus, in Zechariah, God is the King who restores and saves his individuals. The New Testomony repeatedly makes use of today/kingdom imagery.
Malachi
Whereas Malachi’s day imagery is much less intensive than Zechariah’s, it emphasizes the individuals’s response to God’s prophetic calls and their purification. On that day, God will purify his individuals like a refiner’s hearth (3:2). Hearth imagery recurs when Malachi 4:1 compares the day to a burning oven, turning the smug and evildoers to stubble. The righteous is not going to solely escape this punishment (v. 2) however will assist enact judgment towards their enemies, who turn into ashes beneath their ft (v. 3). Malachi additionally anticipates Elijah’s coming as a part of the approaching day (v. 6).
A name to repentance and perseverance
All through these examples, descriptions of the day serve not merely to tell the individuals however to encourage them. The judgment of the day calls individuals to repent, whereas the hope of the day encourages perseverance via current difficulties.
On this means, the day interweaves with the prophets’ different themes. It emphasizes that evil requires judgment and God is devoted to guage accurately. The day often calls individuals to repent with the hope of being restored to God and their land. It typically exhibits how God, the Nice King, stands current within the midst of struggling and gives them hope for future transformation.
Every facet of the Previous Testomony day units up expectations current within the New Testomony.
The day of the Lord within the New Testomony
The New Testomony builds on the Previous Testomony image of the day of the Lord. Quite than utilizing the precise phrase, “the day of the Lord,” the New Testomony makes use of language similar to “on that day,” “day of God’s wrath,” “day of judgment,” and “the day of Christ Jesus.”
Whereas a few of the imagery about this coming day stays fairly just like the Previous Testomony, the New Testomony develops the idea in new methods in mild of Jesus. Beth Stovell and David Fuller summarize New Testomony utilization nicely:
In lots of locations within the New Testomony, the “Day of the Lord” is an occasion that may come sooner or later (Phil 1:6). It contains judgement of the righteous and the depraved (Rom 2:5, 16; 1 Cor 1:8; 5:5; 2 Cor 1:14; 2 Tim 4:8; 2 Pet 2:9) and destruction of the bodily creation (2 Pet 3:10). It’ll come all of a sudden in a time of obvious peace (1 Thess 5:2–3), however can be preceded by insurrection (2 Thess 2:2–3).
Let’s survey a number of significantly illuminating examples.
The Gospels: from in the future to 2
Within the Gospels, Jesus’s parables and preaching converse concerning the coming day of God’s judgment, often associating the day with God’s kingdom. But as Jesus explains what’s going to occur, he begins to transition expectations from these developed within the Previous Testomony. On one hand, the day will embrace points of earlier expectations: judgment on wickedness, reversal of fortunes, cosmic disturbances, salvation, and transformation. However, the day will not be a single decisive future second because the Previous Testomony pictured. As an alternative, in the future has turn into two.
The primary day has already begun. It started when Jesus got here. Its results are already underway as Jesus judges oppressors, brings salvation, and his kingdom reverses fortunes. This explains why the Gospels repeatedly converse of Jesus fulfilling Previous Testomony anticipations. Jesus’s first coming marks how God is current with individuals of their struggles.
But Jesus’s arrival, loss of life, and resurrection haven’t fulfilled all Previous Testomony expectations for the day. The climactic occasions when every part is judged and is ready proper is but to happen. Jesus’s parables and preaching level to a different future day when this may occur: Jesus’s return, his second coming. So Jesus addresses what it means to reside in God’s kingdom within the area between his first and second coming.
Acts: The day has arrived
Acts supplies a placing instance of this current sense of the day. Peter quotes Joel 2 to clarify what’s occurred at Pentecost: The Lord has poured his Spirit on individuals, no matter gender, age, and social class! The day of the Lord has come! Peter explains that the day has arrived due to Jesus (Acts 2:22–36). By Jesus, God labored miracles and wonders (v. 22) anticipated in “the final days” (v. 17). Jesus died and was resurrected (vv. 23–24).
As with different Previous and New Testomony passages concerning the day of the Lord, Peter’s objective will not be merely to tell. He requires a response from the individuals: Repent and be baptized. The Previous Testomony themes of repentance and purification re-emerge, however at the moment are related to Jesus’s forgiveness and the Holy Spirit (vv. 38–39).
Revelation: the day as previous, current, future
As we’ve seen, the New Testomony transforms the only day of the Lord into two, equivalent to Jesus’s first and second comings. However this raises an essential query: Is the day the identical as “the tip occasions”?
Quite than equating the day with the tip occasions, it’s extra correct to say Jesus has expanded the day’s that means to start and finish with him. Jesus’s first coming initiated the day of the Lord. We proceed experiencing these points of the day. But we anticipate the approaching day ultimately occasions when Jesus Christ will return and end what he began. On this means, the day of the Lord instantly correlates to the belief of God’s kingdom, which can be fulfilled in two installments (“already/not but”).
Jesus’s first coming initiated the day of the Lord. But we anticipate the approaching day ultimately occasions when Jesus Christ will return and end what he began.
Revelation gives insights into the previous, current, and future points of the day of the Lord whereas providing an end-times depiction of Jesus’s second coming. As Revelation begins, the Lord calls John to jot down Revelation on “the Lord’s day” when he’s “within the Spirit” (1:10). Then Revelation introduces Jesus, the Nice King to be worshiped, as “the Alpha and Omega … who’s, and who was, and who’s to return” (v. 8) and “the primary and the final” (v. 17). The day of the Lord begins and ends with God. Our expertise of the dominion of God and the consequences of the day are previous (“who was”), current (“who’s”), and anticipated sooner or later (“who’s to return”).
Elsewhere, Revelation describes God’s judgment on the persecutors of God’s individuals with phrases similar to “the wrath of the Lamb,” adopted by “the nice day of his/their wrath” (Rev 6:16–17), and “the nice day of God Almighty” (16:17). Constructing on Previous Testomony expectations of the day of the Lord, Revelation demonstrates God’s presence amidst individuals’s sufferings. John describes himself as “your brother and companion in struggling and kingdom and affected person endurance” (1:9). Revelation additionally factors to how Jesus’s struggling gives hope for the longer term day of his return. In Revelation 5, solely the slain Lamb proves worthy to open the scrolls that reveal the day, salvation, and ultimate judgment.
The day of the Lord in our lives
If God’s kingdom is previous, current, and future, then we will expertise the day this fashion, too.
1. A day of humble sacrifice
The character of Jesus’s first and second comings reveals one thing highly effective concerning the day and God’s kingdom. In his first coming, Jesus got here with humility, keen to endure and die for others. As Revelation exhibits, this made him worthy to enact the day’s ultimate phases in his second coming.
Jesus’s humility and sacrificial love supply us a mannequin for our personal lives.
2. A day with out concern
At occasions, Christians have lived in concern of the approaching “day of judgment” or “day of the Lord” due to the potential unfavorable implications that they are those to be judged for his or her actions.
Nonetheless, Jesus removes concern and reshapes the day of judgment as excellent news, focusing our consideration on how we will reside in God’s kingdom now.
3. A day for the poor in spirit
As Joel calls individuals to mourn and weep in response to the day of the Lord, the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 remind us that God blesses those that mourn for a hurting world.
The Beatitudes reveal what kingdom individuals seem like. They’re hearts turned towards God. They acknowledge their weak point, starvation, and thirst for him, looking for transformation by Christ’s holiness.
4. A day whose future shapes the current
Residing in mild of those Beatitudes helps us reside with “the tip” in thoughts. Specializing in the day of the Lord reminds us of what we all know. We all know what God will do—and what we’ll do—on the finish of time.
So we will reside with this finish in thoughts as we reside within the current. We are able to search the hope of all nations worshiping collectively, sharing assets with others so nobody stays empty, and doing so empowered by the Spirit.
5. A day that informs our struggling
Once we imagine in God’s already-and-not-yet kingdom, we develop in our understanding of how to reply to struggling.
Depictions of the day remind us that God is current within the midst of deep despair and struggling. Revelation reminds us Jesus, the slain Lamb, is aware of our ache.
6. A day of creating proper
Lastly, remembering the day encourages us to imagine in God’s final judgment of evil, violence, loss of life, and their results.
God is actively at work now to guage evil and rework the world for good, however we imagine he’ll full this work absolutely in Jesus’s second coming. We are able to reside assured that God will make all issues proper—and that even now we will take part in working towards that imaginative and prescient.
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