While the return of Christ is sometimes referred to as "the day of the
Lord" (2 Pet. 3:10), the same expression is used elsewhere in scripture
with reference to several other days of the Lord’s judgment. It is a mistake to
overlook the historical and literary contexts in which this phrase is so often
used.
1. Babylon (Isaiah 13:1-22).
This was a message of doom against Babylon (vv. 1, 19), delivered around 700
BC. It was called "the day of the Lord" (vv. 6, 9). The
instrument of the Lord’s judgment was "from a far country" (v. 5),
identified as "the Medes" (v. 17). It cannot refer to the final day
of the Lord, since "everyone will flee to his own land" (v. 14), even
the children will suffer (vv. 16, 18), houses will be plundered and wives
ravished (v. 16), etc. The heavenly bodies failing to give light (v. 10)
symbolically depicts this as a dark, terrible day of destruction. These symbols
are no more literal than the statement, "every man’s heart will melt"
(v. 7). This prophecy was fulfilled in 538 BC.
2. Edom or Idumea (Isaiah 34:5-12;
Obadiah 1-21). Isaiah describes the destruction of Edom as "the day of
the Lord’s vengeance" (34:8). Obadiah calls it "the day of the
Lord" (15). After suffering intensely at the hands of the Babylonians,
the Edomites were driven out of their homeland by the Nabatean Arabs during the
4th century BC. They were forced to adopt Judaism by John Hyracanus in 120 BC,
and had vanished from history before the end of the 1st century AD. These prophecies
were fulfilled.
3. Northern-Israel (Amos 5:1-27).
This message concerns the punishment of the northern kingdom of Israel,
described as "the day of the Lord" (vv. 18, 20). This prophecy
was fulfilled in 722 BC when the Assyrians led Israel away into captivity.
4. Southern-Judah. Because of their wickedness, the southern
kingdom of Judah was to be punished, along with the destruction of their
principal city, Jerusalem. The Babylonians were the instruments of God’s
judgment, and this was described by Jeremiah as "the day of the Lord’s
anger" (Lam. 1:12; 2:1, 21-22); by Ezekiel as "the day of the
wrath of the Lord" (7:19) and "the day of the Lord"
(13:5); and by Zephaniah as "the day of the Lord"(1:7), "the
great day of the Lord" (1:14-18), and "the day of the Lord’s anger"
(2:2-3). This judgment was accomplished around 586 BC.
5. Egypt (Jer. 46:1-28;
Ezekiel 29:1 - 32:32). The Lord’s judgment against Egypt was called by Ezekiel,
"the day of the Lord" (30:3), and by Jeremiah, "the
day of the Lord God of hosts" (46:10). The instrument of God’s wrath
was identified as Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians (Jer. 46:2, 13, 26; Ezek.
30:10). This was fulfilled in 568 BC.
6. Jerusalem. Having been rebuilt
after the Babylonian exile, Jerusalem (the center of Judaism) was destined to
be destroyed again, this time by the Romans in AD 70. Zechariah called it
"the day of the Lord," when "all nations" [Rome =
the world empire] were to gather "against Jerusalem to battle"
(14:1-2). Joel also called it "the day of the Lord" (1:15;
2:1, 11, 31; 3:14). This judgment was to be against "the inhabitants of
the land" (1:2, 14; 2:1), the city of Zion (2:1, 9, 15), and the temple
(1:9, 13-16); and the New Jerusalem or spiritual Israel was to emerge for all
nations (2:27; 3:17-21; cf. Gal. 6:15-16; Heb. 12:22-23). When was this to
occur? In Acts 2:16-21 Peter quotes Joel 2:28-32 and applies it to events that
were taking place as he spoke. The Spirit was poured out on the Jewish
apostles in AD 30 (Acts 2:1 ff.) and on Gentile men and women approximately ten
years later (Acts 10:1-48), and Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70,
thus completing the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy. Malachi foretold that
before "the great and dreadful day of the Lord," Elijah would
come to help the Jews "remember the law of Moses" and to restore
family relationships (4:1-6). This was fulfilled in John the baptist (Luke
1:16-17; Matt. 3:1 ff.; etc.), about forty years prior to Jerusalem’s
destruction.
7. Christ’s return (Acts 17:31;
Rom. 2:5; 1 Cor. 1:8; 5:5; 2 Cor. 1:14; Phil. 1:6, 10; 2:16; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2
Thess. 2:2; 1 Pet. 2:12; 2 Pet. 2:9; 3:7-12; 1 John 4:17; et al.). This has yet
to be accomplished, but with the proven track record of the fulfillment of the
other days of the Lord, we can have confidence that this one will also
certainly come to pass!
Addendum: Symbolism of God’s Past Judgments
When the violent overthrow of a nation was
predicted in the OT and was referred to as the day of the Lord’s judgment,
common symbols were used to vividly describe the event. When the sun, moon,
and stars were said to be darkened, this figuratively depicted
God’s judgment as a dark day of despair (Isa. 13:10; Amos 5:8, 18, 20; Lam.
3:2, 6; Zeph. 1:15; Ezek. 30:18; 32:7-8; Zech. 14:6; Joel 2:2, 10, 31). Earthquakes
and constellations falling from heaven symbolized divine judgment and
the fall of a powerful nation (Isa. 13:13; 34:4; Ob. 4; Lam. 2:1; Joel 2:10). Fire
and blood were common symbols of devastation (Isa. 13:8; 34:3-10;
Ob. 18; Amos 5:6; Lam. 1:13; 2:3, 4; 4:11, 13, 14; Zeph. 1:17,18; Jer. 46:10;
Ezek. 30:8, 14, 16; 32:6; Joel 1:19-20; 2:3, 5, 30, 31; Mal. 4:1). Since the
first six "days of the Lord" mentioned above have all been fulfilled
in history, it is a mistake to literalize the symbolism of these prophecies and
to ignore their immediate and historical contexts.
--Kevin L. Moore
Related Posts: Matthew 24: End of the World or Jerusalem's Fall?, Ezekiel's "Wheels"
Related articles: Neal Pollard's Things that won't be at the Judgment
Related Posts: Matthew 24: End of the World or Jerusalem's Fall?, Ezekiel's "Wheels"
Related articles: Neal Pollard's Things that won't be at the Judgment
No comments:
Post a Comment