When deciding what to think about the prophecies of the Day of the Lord, we have to realize the extremes under discussion. On the one hand, there are catastrophic events. On the other hand, the end result can be Paradise. So will that Day end with good news, or bad news?
Good or bad?
To get the thought process started, consider the “David vs Goliath” events below. Were they good news or bad news?
- Miracle on Ice (1980 Winter Olympics – Ice Hockey): The U.S. Olympic team (mostly college players) defeated the heavily favored Soviet Union team 4-3 in the medal round. The Soviets had dominated international hockey for years and were considered nearly invincible. The U.S. went on to win gold.
- Leicester City (football/soccer) wins the Premier League (2015–16): Leicester entered the season as 5,000-to-1 underdogs (among the longest odds ever for a major league title). They had barely avoided relegation 1 the prior year yet finished first, well ahead of traditional powers like Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea.
- American revolution: Thirteen loosely organized colonies with no professional army, almost no navy, limited industry, and deep internal divisions took on the world’s leading military and naval power. Britain had a standing professional army, the largest navy on earth, global resources, and the ability to hire large numbers of German troops. (Hint: The colonies won.)
- Battle of Midway (1942): U.S. Navy (with fewer carriers and aircraft) ambushed and sank four Japanese aircraft carriers, reversing the balance of power in the Pacific early in World War II.
- Battle of Cajamarca (1532): Francisco Pizarro’s force of fewer than 200 Spanish conquistadors (with horses, steel weapons, and firearms) captured Inca emperor Atahualpa and defeated a much larger Inca force (thousands present in the area, with the empire controlling tens of thousands more).
- David vs Goliath: One young man not yet considered eligible to be in Israel’s army, volunteered to engage in single combat against the extremely tall, strong, well-equipped champion soldier of the Philistines. Against an opponent wearing 125 pounds of armor and wielding a spear with a 15-pound iron point, David ended the encounter with a single well-placed stone from a slingshot.
To the U.S. hockey team, the Leicester City soccer team, the American colonies, the U.S. Navy, the Spanish conquistadors, David and the Israelites, these were all very good news.
To the Russian hockey team, the rest of the Premier League teams, the British redcoats, the Japanese Empire, the Inca civilization, Goliath and the Philistine army, not so much!
“Good news” vs “bad news” depends on whose side you’re on. The same is true of the Day of the Lord.
When does that Day come?
This article was inspired by my recent re-reading of the short book of Joel in the Old Testament. These three chapters written several hundred years B.C. describe both great horror and great joy.
The immediate context of the book is a recent locust invasion combined with a drought that completely devastated the land of Israel, described in chapter 1. Joel 1:14-15, Joel 2:1 and Joel 2:12-17 warn the people to turn to the Lord because even worse is on the way: An army is coming that behaves like the locusts, swarming over and destroying everything in its path. However, after the great invasion/battle comes a complete reversal once the Lord’s judgment is complete. Joel 2:18-27 promises that God will then relent and remove the invading army and restore Israel’s fortunes.
Note: The timing of the book is unclear. The text makes no reference to specific kings or armies that we can compare to secular history. Contenders for the invading army could be Assyria (722 B.C) or Babylon (586 B.C.) if the book was written that early. If written later (some scholars choose 300 or 400 B.C.), the “army” could be the locusts themselves, or it could be already referring to the end-of-time warfare. There is no clear consensus among interpreters.
Joel then turns to another prophecy, of which the locusts and invasion are merely foretastes. A day is coming when all nations will be judged.
Joel’s prophecies are the most densely packed into a short space, but they are far from alone in the Bible. My AI search found 20 or so exact references to “Day of the Lord” 2, 30-40 clear references if phrasing such as “day of God”, “day of vengeance”, “day of wrath” is included, and over 100 references to “in that day”. Some of the other major Old Testament warnings include Isaiah 2:12, 13:6, 13:9, 34:8; Amos 5:18–20; and Zephaniah 1:7–8, 14–18, 2:2.
A complete analysis of all such passages is beyond the scope of this article. The short version is that they have a common theme of what happens when God says “Time’s up!” Sometimes the comeuppance is local to ancient Israel or one of their enemies, and can be traced in secular history. Other times it is forecasting the ultimate judgment, on all mankind for all of history’s sin. Sometimes, as in Joel, both are combined and overlapping.
That Day will be Horrible
The “Day of the Lord” prophecies — especially the ultimate ones — are absolutely terrifying. They describe the indescribable: Catastrophic destruction raining down to punish all unrighteousness. Here are a few of the manifestations of God’s wrath that will be unleashed:
The sun will be turned into darkness
Joel 2:31, Isaiah 13:13, Zephaniah 1:18, 2 Peter 3:10
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.
…
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
And the earth will be shaken from its place
At the fury of the LORD of hosts
In the day of His burning anger.
…
Neither their silver nor their gold
Will be able to deliver them
On the day of the LORD’s wrath;
And all the earth will be devoured
In the fire of His jealousy,
For He will make a complete end,
Indeed a terrifying one,
Of all the inhabitants of the earth.
…
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
Most of the book of Revelation is a detailed step-by-step description of these end times. Especially, the warnings and judgments poured out in chapters 6 through 11 3 include:
- First…
- A rider on a white horse is sent out to conquer.
- A rider on a red horse is sent out to cause war.
- A rider on a black horse is sent out to cause famine.
- A rider on a pale horse is named Death, and given authority to kill a quarter of the earth “with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth“. (Revelation 6:8)
- Then…
- “a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.” (Revelation 6:12-14)
- Followed by…
- Hail and fire mixed with blood, burning up a third of the earth and its trees and grass
- A mountain of fire thrown into the sea, turning a third of its water to blood and killing a third of its creatures
- A third of the fresh-water rivers and springs poisoned, causing many deaths
- A third of the light from sun, moon, and stars darkened
- Locusts and scorpions released to torment, but not kill, for five months (so painful that their victims wish they could die)
- Four angels released with armies to kill a third of all mankind
That would definitely seem to be bad news! But afterward….
That Day will be Wonderful
Joel also describes the aftermath of all that horror: The restoration of those who belong to God. In immediate context, that was the people of Israel. For instance, one preliminary Day of the Lord was the conquest by — and exile to — the Babylonian empire. Seventy years later, the Israelites were allowed to return and rebuild Jerusalem and its Temple. After the final Day, all of God’s people (all who have chosen to trust Jesus as their Savior to see them through this Day) will be restored. As Joel says:
And in that day
Joel 3:18
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
And the hills will flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water;
And a spring will go out from the house of the LORD
To water the valley of Shittim.
Other prophets share in giving news of this restoration. They include Isaiah 4:2-6, Isaiah 25:6-9, Ezekiel 36:22-37, and Zephaniah 3:12-20. Peter reminds us that “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” (2 Peter 3:13)
Just as Revelation gives the most information on the bad-news side of the Day of the Lord, it also gives the most on its good news.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:1-4
Whose side will you and I be on?
As with the David-and-Goliath examples at the beginning of the article, whether the Day of the Lord is good news or bad news depends on which side we’re on. To those who have chosen to be on God’s side, He promises to protect them from the judgment 4 on all of history’s accumulated evil. Starting with Joel again:
And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Joel 2:32, 3:16
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the LORD has said,
Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.
…
The LORD roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the heavens and the earth tremble.
But the LORD is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.
Similar promises are recorded in Psalm 46:1-3, Nahum 1:7, Zephaniah 2:3.
But to those who stand against Him, preferring their own resources to His protection, that Day will be very horrible, no-good, very-bad news indeed!
That is not at all what He wants (Ezekiel 33:11, Luke 13:34, 2 Peter 3:9). He has gone to great lengths to provide us with an alternative. Our choice is whether or not to accept it.
Note: Other articles on the topic of God’s judgment and His provision for escape include “Fear of God“, “Bloodthirsty God?” and “Wrath of God“.
P.S. A few days after I completed this article, but before it was published, I happened to re-read another three-chapter prophet: Zephaniah. Writing in about 640-609 B.C., he followed the same progression as Joel. He described punishment on Israel’s idolatry, then punishment of their enemies, a complete worldwide destruction, and a final restoration of God’s faithful people. It seems that God is trying to be sure that we get his message!
Footnotes and Scripture References
- Basically, being kicked out of the league and demoted to the Minors for being at the bottom of the pack. After spending most of the previous season near the bottom, Leicester City managed to move up to 14th out of 20 teams.
- Exact count varies depending on translation.
- More detail on these chapters can be found in this article.
- Or during, or through that judgment. Sometimes God’s protection comes from His presence with us even in the midst of trouble. Whether or not He protects us from physical harm, He always protects those who trust Him from spiritual destruction.