The Day of The Lord - The Event That Starts The End of The World - By Beginning and End -
https://beginningandend.com/day-lord-event-starts-world/ "..let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; "
This is the first article in the Beginning and End Rapture Series.
The timing of the Rapture, the end times supernatural removal of all Christians on Earth to meet Jesus in the clouds, is a hotly debated subject in Christianity. The Beginning and End Rapture Series will examine the Rapture, what it is and when it takes place in the Biblical prophetic timeline. But in addition to knowing when in the Bible the Rapture occurs, it is equally, if not important to know why. Why is there a need for a Rapture? What is God's purpose in doing this? The Day of The Lord is one of those reasons that the Rapture must take place.
In the majority of rapture discussion the terms "7-Year Tribulation" and "The Tribulation" are often used to describe the final end times period detailed in the Book of Revelation that precedes Armageddon and the Second Coming of Christ. This article will assert that the Bible actually uses a different term much more frequently to describe the commencement of this final series of judgments: The Day of The Lord. The Day of The Lord and Daniel's 70th Week (As detailed in Daniel Chapter 9, is final 7 years of the world which commence with a covenant between Israel and the Antichrist) are the proper, Biblical title for the period in which God will supernaturally judge the world and unleash the judgments described in the book of Revelation's trumpets and bowl judgments (Jesus later describes this entire time as "Great Tribulation" which is also an appropriate term).
In addition, the Bible outlines clear signs that must be fulfilled in order for this period to begin and a series of events that will take place once it has started. By removing preconceived notions about the end times and just looking to Scripture, this article may be able to shed some new light on commonly held beliefs about the end times. Please note that the approach of Beginning and End is 2-fold: (1) Letting the Bible define itself by comparing scripture against scripture and not using human-made theories on prophecy - "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." 1 Corinthians 2:13; and (2) knowing that God expects us to search the Scriptures. Many prophetic concepts are not easily grasped and we are to study the Bible with time and care to learn what God's plan for the world. And the answers are all in scripture: "Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." -Amos 3:7. So for this study there will be no reference to charts, timelines or other commonly cited information used in Rapture articles unless based directly on Bible scripture.
Much more important than just "being right" about the rapture is understanding that there are lives and souls at stake. The Bible stresses that the unbelieving world (and even some professing Christians) will be completely caught off guard by this event. It is this website's prayer and hope that readers are ready, watchful and looking to The Lord and not lost in the sinful world when these things come to pass.
What is The Day of The Lord?
Isaiah 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: 8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 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. 11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
The "Day of The Lord" is the Biblical, Old Testament term used to refer to start of the end of age judgments of the book of Revelation which God will pour out on the world starting with a massive global earthquake. This is a time when God will actively intervene in the affairs of humanity with devastating impact. These judgments will be experienced by the entire world population at a time when society has been lulled into a false sense of security. The world will think it has achieved "peace and safety" and then sudden destruction from God will come. The Day of The Lord will also overlap (as will be shown) overlap with the 70th week of Daniel, the prophesied final 7 years on Earth before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. But as the Scriptures above clearly detail, God will at this time, in anger, send catastrophic judgments that will cause every man's heart to "melt" in fear. Many verses in the Old Testament give the same confirmation:
Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice 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,
Zephaniah 1:7 Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests. 8 And it shall come to pass in the day of the LORD's sacrifice, that I will punish the princes, and the king's children, and all such as are clothed with strange apparel.
Amos 5: 18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. 19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. 20 Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
1 Thessalonians 5:2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
Isaiah 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand; 2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations.
Notice the passage above from Joel describes an army whose destruction is so horrific that there has never been anything like it, nor will there be in the future. This coincides with how Jesus described the end times to His disciples: " 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." (Matthew 24).
This verse is often cited for why many people refer to the end times as "The Tribulation" or the "7 Year Tribulation." However, Jesus is using the term "great tribulation" to describe what is Biblically, the Day of The Lord and all the judgments that follow. In fact the term "7-year tribulation" is never even in the Bible. One of the goals of this article is to emphasize how the Bible specifically describes things as opposed to how Christian authors and pastors have decided to in recent years. The "Day of The Lord" is a very clearly detailed event that will in essence, kick off the final judgments of the world before the Second Coming of The Lord Jesus Christ.
Could This Take Place at The First Seal of Revelation Chapter 6?
Revelation Chapter 6 details a scene the Apostle John witnesses in Heaven where God The Father gives Jesus a sealed book that only He, as Messiah, is worthy of opening. The book (which would most likely resemble a scroll) contains seven seals and with the opening of each seal of the book, various events take place. The Traditional Pre-tribulation Rapture model places the start of the Day of The Lord at the opening of the first Seal of Revelation Chapter 6. However, this does not really line up with Scripture. Bible scholar Peter Goodgame, author of the end-time prophetic book, 'Redmoon Rising' explains this point succinctly:
Proponents of the predominant Pre-Trib view (Fruchtenbaum, Walvoord) place the start of the Day of the Lord at the opening of the first Seal, which they teach also marks the beginning of the 70th Week covenant of Daniel 9:27. We know that the 70th Week begins with a seven-year peace covenant, while the Day of the Lord begins with sudden destruction. How can these seemingly different events, beginning in radically different ways, begin at the same time? Where is the "sudden destruction" in the first Seal of Revelation?
There is really nothing in the Bible that explicitly connects the first Seal with the beginning of the Day of the Lord. This connection was made by early Pre-Trib scholars because of their focus on the 'seven-year tribulation.' Once it was decided that the first Seal represents both the Antichrist and the beginning of the 70th Week covenant these scholars were "painted into a corner," so to speak, and forced to conclude that the first Seal must also mark the beginning of the Day of the Lord. In the next section we will break away from this questionable emphasis on the first Seal and examine the Scriptures from a fresh perspective. In the end it will become clear that the Day of the Lord does not begin with a diplomatic or bureaucratic event such as the signing of the 70th Week covenant, but with the sudden and destructive outpouring of the wrath of God upon the entire world!
So now that it is clear that The Lord is going to pour out judgments onto the Earth in the end times in a form of massive destruction, the question to now examine is why is God going to do this? Why would The Lord at that point choose to make such a drastic intervention and bring destruction upon the Earth? Fortunately, the Bible explains.
The Purpose of The Day of The Lord
In studying the Bible and events past and present, it is very important to understand why The Lord is doing a certain thing. Most Christians agree that the events listed in Revelation will happen in the future but there is rarely much discussion about why they are going to happen. Once again, by studying Old Testament scripture regarding the Day of The Lord, it becomes quite apparent there are several purposes to the Day of the Lord:
1. To Protect Israel
Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. 16 The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.
Isaiah 34:8 For it is the day of the LORD's vengeance, and the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion.
Joel 2:1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
The verses above show a very specific purpose: God is protecting His Holy Nation of Israel at the time of the Day of The Lord. "Zion" or "Mt. Zion" is another term for Jerusalem and the Day of The lord is a time when God will rise up and "roar" from His Holy City. Despite the spiritual state of Israel today, the people of Israel have always been elect by God for special purposes. And despite the current political situation, the land of Israel is God's Holy Land. In fact most of the end times events of Revelation are centered on Israel. It is where Jesus Christ will return at His Second coming (Revelation 19). It is where the Antichrist will set himself up in the temple to proclaim himself God (1 Thessalonians 2). It is where the two witnesses sent by God during the final years of the world will preach from (Revelation 11). It is where the 144,000 end times witnesses of God will be from (Revelation 7). It is where Armageddon will take place (Revelation 19). And t is where Jesus will establish His Millenial Kingdom on the throne of David (Revelation 20).
So again, when studying Bible prophecy, the purposes of God should not be overlooked - one of the main themes of the end times is God reconciling, saving and restoring Israel and His Holy City of Jerusalem. And the Day of The Lord is the start of this. So what causes God to mount this massive defense of the faithful remnant in Israel on the Day of The Lord? It will be the attack of the Gog-Magog army:
Ezekiel 38:18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face. 19For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel; 20 So that the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the heaven, and the beasts of the field, and all creeping things that creep upon the earth, and all the men that are upon the face of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.
Notice that once Gog invades Israel, The Lord now rises to action in "fury". Just as the verses above about the Day of The Lord state, God is angry and is going to intervene directly into world events. And His response is to shake the entire Earth with destructive force, another distinct characteristic of the Day of The Lord. The Gog-Magog alliance's attack on Israel will provoke The Lord to such anger and vengeance to be unleashed on the entire planet.