The Day of the Lord

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.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Coming to the topic of The Day of the Lord, we are entering a genre of Biblical literature that is in a class by itself. This genre is called Apocalyptic. Milton Terry defines this term in this way,

“It aims by means of pictorial communications to disclose what is important for man to know about the creation and government of the world by the ever-living God.”
(Terry, Milton. Biblical Apocalyptics, New York: Eaton & Mains, 1898, p.12)

He also states,

"The Old Testament apocalypses are a necessary introduction to the interpretation of Jesus' eschatological sermon on the Mount of Olives and to that of the Apocalypse of John. If the reader will take pains to examine our references he will find ample proof that the principal sources of the New Testament prophetic language and imagery are the Hebrew Scriptures." ( ibid, p. 6 )

It is important to note what Mr. Terry said,

"The principal sources of the New Testament prophetic language and imagery are the Hebrew Scriptures."

If we are to come to a proper understanding of the New Testament Apocalyptic passages, then we must gain a working knowledge of this same type of OT literature. For the New draws its influence from the Old. We must not be lazy students. We must be willing to dig into the fruitful fields of Old Testament literature, in order to navigate the New Testament writings.

Many Christians have been taught to think that this day of the Lord, is a singular event at the end of history, when Christ returns. However, the truth is quite different. When you conduct a search in the Old Testament for the phrase, day of the Lord, you will find it is mentioned 18 times. It is characterized, as we see in the opening passage, as a day of judgment against sinful man. Not only is it mentioned 18 times, but it is pronounced against five different people groups. Twelve times it is pronounced against Israel, or Jacob; twice against Egypt, once against Babylon, once against Edom, and twice against the nations in general. All of these are viewed as past events, except for four found in the NT, which speaks of what became the judgment upon Judea, in AD 70.

The Day of the Lord, How Many?

1. Against Israel ~ Isaiah 2:12; Ezek. 13:5; Joel 1:15, 2:1, 11, 31;Amos 5:18, 20; Zeph. 1:7, 14; Zech. 14:1; Mal. 4:5; Acts 2:20 (quoting Joel 2); 1Cor. 5:5; 2Cor. 1:14; 1Thess. 5:2; 2Pet. 3:10
2. Against Egypt ~ Jer. 46:10; Ezek. 30:3
3. Against Babylon ~ Isaiah 13:6, 9
4. Against the nations ~ Isaiah 34:8; Joel 3:14; Obadiah 1:15

Acts 2:20; 1 Cor. 5:5; 2 Cor. 1:14; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Pet. 3:10 all refer to the coming of the Lord Jesus in judgment, in AD 70.

If we seek a Biblical characterization of the Day of the Lord, Zephaniah gives us as good a picture as any.

1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice (sound) of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers.
17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD's wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

The phrase in verse 15, “That day is a day of wrath,” is almost identical with Jesus’ words, when He said in Luke 21:22, “For these be the days of vengeance.” (see also Jer. 46:10)

When we read about the cosmic events associated with the Day of the Lord, the description given in verses 15-16, would be quite descriptive of such an event.

As we can see from the passage quoted at the beginning of this chapter [Isaiah 13:9], the Day of the Lord is described as a day of wrath and fierce anger. It is a day in which He will lay the land desolate, and destroy the sinners from off of it. Notice, He states what He is going to do in plain language, then He restates this into the Prophets' Language. He describes this laying the land desolate and destroying the sinners out of it, as,

The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

In Jesus' Olivet Discourse, He used this same language, saying,

Matt. 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

What He describes here, is not a real cosmic event, but using the Prophets' Tongue to tell His disciples that the land of Judea would be laid desolate and the sinners thereof would be destroyed out of it. This desolation that Jesus speaks of is recorded by the historian, Josephus, when he reports,

And now the Romans, although they were greatly distressed in getting together their materials, raised their banks in one and twenty days, after they had cut down all the trees that were in the country that adjoined to the city, and that for ninety furlongs round about*, as I have already related...for those places which were before adorned with trees and pleasant gardens were now become a desolate country every way, and its trees were all cut down: nor could any foreigner that had formerly seen Judea and the most beautiful suburbs of the city, and now saw it as a desert, but lament and mourn sadly at so great a change: for the war had laid all the signs of beauty quite waste: nor if any one that had known the place before, had come on a sudden to it now, would he have known it again; but though he were at the city itself, yet would he have inquired for it notwithstanding. [Josephus, Wars, 6.1.1]

*90 furlongs is approximately 11.25 miles. So for over 11 miles around Jerusalem, there stood not a single tree. Josephus describes it as a desert. It would appear as a moonscape, or totally desolate. He remarks if someone who had seen Jerusalem before, were to stand in its midst at that time, they would ask, "Where is Jerusalem?". It had been so throughly decimated and razed to the ground, its former beauty could not be seen anywhere.

Jesus was speaking a language that the disciples would be quite familiar with. He was speaking the language of the Hebrew prophets. He was also a Hebrew prophet, speaking to God's covenant people as all the other prophets before Him. However, He was much more than just a prophet here. He not only pronounced the judgment, but He would be the one who would execute it, in fiery wrath.

The Apostle Paul wrote in his second letter to the Thessalonians,

1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.