Reference: Day Of The Lord
Hastings
The day in which Jehovah was expected to punish sinful Hebrews and the enemies of Israel, and to establish at least the righteous remnant of His people in political supremacy. The Hebrews believed implicitly that their God Jehovah was certain to defeat all rivals. Before Amos this view had not reached a definite eschatology, and probably involved only a general expectation of the triumph of Israel and Israel's God. With Amos, however, the conception of punishment became less ethnic and more moral. The sins of Israel itself deserved punishment, and Amos declared that the luxury of the nation, with all its economic oppression, had grown hateful to Jehovah, and unless abandoned would bring fearful punishment (Am 2:6-8; 3:9-15; 5:10-13; 6:4-8). The righteousness of Jehovah demanded that the sins of His people as well as those of the heathen should be punished. After Amos the thought of an awful day of Divine punishment was extended from Israel to a world of sinners. According to Zephaniah (Am 1:2-15; 2:4-15), punishment was now to come upon all wicked persons, both Jews and Gentiles, because of wrong. So, too, the unknown prophet who wrote under the name of Malachi. Ezekiel (Eze 30:2 f., Eze 34:12; 39:8 f.), however, reverted to the same national thought of a 'day of battle,' in which Jehovah would conquer all Israel's foes; and to some extent this same national idea is represented by Joel (Joe 2:18-27). With the later prophets there is to be seen an element of reconstruction as well as punishment in Jehovah's action. Sinners, whether Jews or Gentiles, are to be punished, but a pious remnant is to be saved, the beginnings of a new Israel.
It is clear that this conception of a great Day of Jehovah underlies much of the Messianic expectation of apocryphal literature. The establishment of a remnant of a pious Israel was the germ of the hope of the Messianic kingdom; and the Day of Jehovah itself became the Day of Judgment, which figures so largely in both Jewish and Christian Messianism. It fact, it is not too much to say that the eschatology of Judaism is really a development of the implications of the prophetic teaching as to the Day of Jehovah.
Shailer Mathews.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
"Son of man, prophesy, and say, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Wail, 'Alas for the day.'
As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
Behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord GOD; this is the day about which I have spoken.
Then the LORD was jealous for his land, And had pity on his people. The LORD answered his people, "Behold, I will send you grain, new wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied with them; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations. read more. But I will remove the northern army far away from you, and will drive it into a barren and desolate land, its front into the eastern sea, and its back into the western sea; and its stench will come up, and its bad smell will rise." Surely he has done great things. Land, do not be afraid. Be glad and rejoice, for the LORD has done great things. Do not be afraid, you animals of the field; for the pastures of the wilderness spring up, for the tree bears its fruit. The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. "Be glad then, you children of Zion, and rejoice in the LORD, your God; for he gives you the former rain in just measure, and he causes the rain to come down for you, the former rain and the latter rain, as before. The threshing floors will be full of wheat, and the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the great locust, the grasshopper, and the caterpillar, my great army, which I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, and be satisfied, and will praise the name of the LORD, your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; and my people will never again be disappointed. You will know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD, your God, and there is no one else; and my people will never again be disappointed.
He said: "The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither." Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Damascus, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron; read more. but I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it will devour the palaces of Ben Hadad. I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven, and him who holds the scepter from the house of Eden; and the people of Syria shall go into captivity to Kir," says the LORD. Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Gaza, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they carried away captive the whole community, to deliver them up to Edom; but I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, and it will devour its palaces. I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon; and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines will perish," says the Lord GOD. Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Tyre, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they delivered up the whole community to Edom, and did not remember the brotherly covenant; but I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it will devour its palaces." Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and his anger raged continually, and he kept his wrath forever; but I will send a fire on Teman, and it will devour the palaces of Bozrah." Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border. But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it will devour its palaces, with shouting in the day of battle, with a storm in the day of the whirlwind; and their king will go into captivity, he and his officials together," says the LORD.
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have rejected the LORD's law, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have led them astray, after which their fathers walked; But I will send a fire on Judah, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem." read more. Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Israel, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;
Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Israel, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; They trample on the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and deny justice to the oppressed; and a man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name;
They trample on the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and deny justice to the oppressed; and a man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name; and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined. Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. read more. Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Isn't this true, you children of Israel?" says the LORD. "But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, 'Do not prophesy.' Behold, I will crush you in your place, as a cart crushes that is full of grain. Flight will perish from the swift; and the strong won't strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself; neither shall he stand who handles the bow; and he who is swift of foot won't escape; neither shall he who rides the horse deliver himself;
Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see what unrest is in her, and what oppression is among them." "Indeed they do not know to do right," says the LORD, "Who hoard plunder and loot in their palaces." read more. Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "An adversary will overrun the land; and he will pull down your strongholds, and your fortresses will be plundered." Thus says the LORD: "As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed." "Listen, and testify against the house of Jacob," says the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts. "For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel on him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar will be cut off, and fall to the ground. I will strike the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will have an end," says the LORD.
They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks blamelessly. Forasmuch therefore as you trample on the poor, and take taxes from him of wheat: You have built houses of cut stone, but you will not dwell in them. You have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. read more. For I know how many your offenses, and how great are your sins?you who afflict the just, who take a bribe, and who turn aside the needy in the courts. Therefore a prudent person keeps silent in such a time, for it is an evil time.
Who lie on beds of ivory, and stretch themselves on their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; who strum on the strings of a harp; who invent for themselves instruments of music, like David; read more. who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore they will now go captive with the first who go captive; and the feasting and lounging will end. "The Lord GOD has sworn by himself," says the LORD, the God of Hosts: "I abhor the pride of Jacob, and detest his fortresses. Therefore I will deliver up the city with all that is in it.
Morish
This cannot be separated from Messiah's day. It is often characterised by judgement: "A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness . . . . the day of the Lord is great and very terrible." Joe 2:2,11,31; Mal 4:1. "The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night; for when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them." 1Th 5:2-3. "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up." 2Pe 3:10. This scene is followed by 'THE DAY OF GOD' in 2Pe 3:12, which ushers in the new heavens and the new earth.
It is important to keep the 'day' quite distinct from the coming of the Lord to fetch His saints; for many have misapplied the term, and it has been constantly asserted that the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians was written to show the saints that it was wrong to be expecting the return of the Lord; whereas the fact is they thought the day of the Lord had come (though the First Epistle keeps the two things quite distinct: compare 1Th 4:13-18 with 1Th 5:1-4), and this could not come until Antichrist was revealed. There will be judgements before the millennium, and there will be judgements after the millennium, so that we may regard the Day of the Lord as extending through the millennium: it will be 'the Lord's' day in contrast to 'man's' day.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
A day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn spreading on the mountains, a great and strong people; there has never been the like, neither will there be any more after them, even to the years of many generations.
The LORD thunders his voice before his army; for his forces are very great; for he is strong who obeys his command; for the day of the LORD is great and very awesome, and who can endure it?
The sun will be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD comes.
"For, behold, the day comes, it burns as a furnace; and all the proud, and all who work wickedness, will be stubble; and the day that comes will burn them up," says the LORD of hosts, "that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
But we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you do not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. read more. For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left to the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with God's trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore comfort one another with these words.
But concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need that anything be written to you. For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night.
For you yourselves know well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they are saying, "Peace and safety," then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape.
For when they are saying, "Peace and safety," then sudden destruction will come on them, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape. But you, brothers, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be disclosed.
looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, which will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?