The Day of the Lord

Jesus will arrive to gather his people on the Day of the Lord, and in the New Testament, this event becomes the Day of Christ.

In his second letter to the Thessalonians, Paul refutes claims that “the Day of the Lord” is imminent. That day will only arrive after “the Apostasy” and the “revelation of the Man of Lawlessness” occur. Jesus will destroy this deceiver at his “Arrival” or ‘Parousia’, an event the Apostle links to this final day.

“The Day of the Lord” is a term found often in the Hebrew Bible where it is applied to the time of visitation and judgment by God, “the Day of Yahweh.” On that day, the God of Israel intervenes to rescue His people and to judge His enemies, and it is accompanied by celestial and terrestrial upheaval - (Isaiah 2:12, Joel 1:15, 2:1, 2:31, 3:14, Malachi 4:5).

[Dawn Photo by Remi Yuan (Canada) on Unsplash]

In 2 Thessalonians, Paul connects this “Day of the Lord” to the “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ of Jesus Christ (παρουσια), the gathering of his elect, and the destruction of the Man of Lawlessness.

In the same Letter, the Apostle describes “the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven” when he will “take vengeance” on all those who disobey the Gospel. Christ will also be glorified in his saints and “marveled at” on that day. Both the righteous and the wicked receive their rewards when Jesus appears - (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10, 2:1-12).

Paul also discusses “the Day of the Lord” in his first Letter to the Thessalonians. That day will mean “sudden destruction” for the unprepared, but “the sons of light” who remain faithful and awake will not be overwhelmed. They will “acquire salvation” - (“For you know accurately that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night” - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:1-8).

Elsewhere in his letters, Paul identifies the Day of the Lord as “the day of Jesus Christ,” the moment when he will vindicate his righteous ones but judge the wicked. Thus, the Day of the Lord described in the Hebrew Bible becomes intimately connected with Jesus and his “arrival” from heaven - (1 Corinthians 1:8, 5:5, 2 Corinthians 1:14, Philippians 1:6-10, 2:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).

• “So that you come behind in no gift, waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, unreproveable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” - (1 Corinthians 1:7-8).

• “Do all things without murmurings and questionings, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as lights in the world, holding forth the word of life, that I may have whereof to glory on the day of Christ, that I did not run in vain neither laboured in vain” - (Philippians 2:14-16).

The link between the Day of the Lord and the return of Christ did not originate with the Apostle Paul. Jesus applied language from key Old Testament passages when describing the future coming of “the Son of Man”:

• “But immediately after the tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give her light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in the heavens. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” – (Matthew 24:29-31).

• (Isaiah 13:10) – “The day of Yahweh is coming <…> For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.”

• (Joel 3:15) – “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision, for the day of Yahweh is near <…> The sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.”

• (Zechariah 12:10) – “They will look unto me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for him, as a man mourns for his only son <…> On that day will there be a great mourning in Jerusalem.”

PETER AND THE APOCALYPSE

The Apostle Peter also links the Day of the Lord to the ‘Parousia’. Despite “scoffers” who ask, “Where is the promise of his arrival,” the “Day of the Lord” will come. On that day, “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fervent heat.”

In the time between now and that final day, believers must live righteously and “earnestly desire the coming of the Day of God.” By so doing, they may even “hasten” the arrival of the Day of the Lord - (2 Peter 3:1-12).

The Book of Revelation also uses the Old Testament language that originally described the Day of Yahweh and his visitation in judgment, only now, it is closely associated with “the slain Lamb,” Jesus Christ:

• “Behold, he comes with the clouds; and every eye will see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him” - (Revelation 1:7).

• “And I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth, as a fig tree casts her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. And the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. <…>  and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath is come, and who is able to stand? “ - (Revelation 6:12-17).

The New Testament consistently identifies the Day of the Lord of Old Testament expectations with the arrival of Jesus at the end of the present age.  When he arrives, he will gather his saints and judge his enemies. It will be a day characterized by celestial upheaval and tremendous events on Earth, a time of vindication for his elect but also of condemnation for his enemies.

However, as the Apostle Paul makes clear, that day will not begin before the Apostasy and the revelation of the Man of Lawlessness when he takes his seat in “the sanctuary of God” and employs “all power and signs and lying wonders” to deceive all those who refuse “the love of the truth.”

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SEE ALSO:

• Vindication or Condemnation - (The arrival of Jesus will mean vindication for the righteous, but judgment and punishment for the wicked)

• The Just Judgment of God - (The arrival of Jesus will mean vindication and rest for the righteous, but everlasting loss for the wicked - 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10)

• Coming on the Clouds - (The whole earth will see the Son of Man arriving on the clouds of Heaven, and he will send his angels to gather his elect –Mark 13:21-27)

• Gathering the Elect - (The saints will be assembled before Jesus on the Last Day, and the wicked will be collected for judgment and cast from his presence)