The Day of the Lord
“One of the central prophetic themes in Scripture is the coming of the final day of God’s wrath known as the Day of the Lord.” (MacArthur, 199)
It is believed that Joel prophesied during the ninth century BC, He had this to say about The Day of the Lord:
“The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.” Joel 2:31 NASB
God is Holy. He does not like sin but we all sin. Romans 3:23
“Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” Leviticus 19:2 NASB
“Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts,
The whole earth is full of His glory.” Isaiah 6:3 NASB
God wants us to be holy too.
But each of us fail. We sin and are not holy.
He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love. Ephesians 1:4 NASB
Hopefully, you are getting the idea here. God wants us to be holy too. And when we are not, he will forgive us if we ask him too. But if we continue in our life of sin, he gets angry with us.
The question is, what is God going to about it when we continue to sin?
Day of the Lord
When the Day of the Lord arrives, we will know what God’s wrath is. We will experience it.
He has been patient, but his wrath will come out.
For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” Revelation 6:17 NASB
If you have been reading revelation along with this website, you know that we have read about the seals that are being opened.
Remember the first four seals:
- Peace but it is a false peace.
- War
- Famine
- Death
Then came the fifth seal
Martyrs
Followed by the Sixth seal
Terror
But the Seventh seal also contains seven Trumpets and seven Bowls!!!
Each is worse than the those that came before.
But you will have to continue to read about them here or by reading Revelation.
Are you ready?
We do not know when this is will happen. Mark 13:32
The Psalmist said about sin:
For I know my transgressions,
And my sin is ever before me. Psalm 51:3 NASBFor sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:14 NASB
For sin, taking an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. Romans 7:11 NASB
But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. Romans 7:20 NASB
The Psalmist spoke of Judgment:
Righteous are You, O Lord,
And upright are Your judgments. Psalm 119:137 NASBExalt the Lord our God
And worship at His holy hill,
For holy is the Lord our God. Psalm 99:9 NASB
Ezekiel told us:
And one called out to another and said,
“My holy name I will make known in the midst of My people Israel; and I will not let My holy name be profaned anymore. And the nations will know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. Ezekiel 39:7 NASB
Habakkuk gets into the discussion:
Your eyes are too pure to approve evil,
And You can not look on wickedness with favor.
Why do You look with favor
On those who deal treacherously?
Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up
Those more righteous than they? Habakkuk 1:13 NASB
Your Sin will find you out!
Way back to Moses; during the fourteenth century BC:
But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23 NASB
Isaiah 13:9 Three different versions about the Day of the Lord:
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. KJV
Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from it. NASB
See, the day of the Lord is coming —a cruel day, with wrath and fierce anger— to make the land desolate and destroy the sinners within it. NIV
It does not matter the translation you use, it says the same thing: The Day of the Lord is coming.
Zephaniah tells us what will happen:
14 Near is the great day of the Lord,
Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the Lord!
In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
15 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 darknessZephaniah 1:14-15 NASB
There is an escape:
“This ‘day of the Lord’ was inevitable, but persons and nations that repented would be spared.” (Easley, 113)
He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not [a]obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” John 3:36 NASB
Footnotes
a. John 3:36 Or believe
Do you believe in Jesus? Have you given your life and heart to Him?
Unbelief and Its Consequences
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth [a]in unrighteousness. Romans 1:18 NASB
Footnotes
Romans 1:18 Or by
Much more then, having now been justified [a]by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him Romans 5:9 NASB.
Footnotes
a. Romans 5:9 Or in
Jesus shed His blood for us so we may live with Him. This will allow us to escape God’s wrath.
For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,
10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come. 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 NASB
“In the midst of judgment, God spares those who are His.” (MacArthur, 189) Malachi 4:1-2
Glory Hallelujah
Because these are days of vengeance, so that all things which are written will be fulfilled. Luke 21:22
For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9 NASB
God will take vengeance on sinners:
“God’s holiness, righteousness, and justice demand that He take vengeance on unrepentant sinners.” (MacArthur, 189)
Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’ Ezekiel 33:11 NASB
God is patient to penitent sinners who embrace the gospel, but there will come a time when He will no longer withhold His judgment on those who reject it. (MacArthur, 190)
Are you going to reject Him?
Bibliography
Easley, Kendell H., Holman New Testament Commentary: Revelation. Nashville: B&H, 1998
MacArthur, John. New Testament Commentary: Revelation 1-11. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1999
Fifth and Sixth Seals The Seal of the Living God
