The Day of the Lord

Jesus will arrive to gather his saints on the Day of the Lord, but only after the apostasy and the unveiling of the Son of Destruction.

In his second letter to the church of Thessalonica, Paul refutes claims that the Day of the Lord is imminent or has even begun. That Day will not arrive until the apostasy occurs and the man without law is revealed, the Son of Destruction, whom Jesus will destroy when he arrives in glory.

Paul describes this day in the letter’s first chapter, the “revelation of Jesus Christ from heaven.” On that day, Jesus will reward his faithful followers but also punish those men who have persecuted the Church and rejected the Gospel - “with everlasting destruction from the face of the Lord” - (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10).

The ‘Day of the Lord’ is a term derived from the Old Testament, referring to the time of God’s visitation when the Lord rescues His people and judges His enemies - (For example, Isaiah 2:12, Joel 1:15, 2:1, 2:31, 3:14, Malachi 4:5).

[Photo by Tobias Rademacher (Auckland) on Unsplash]

In the letter’s second chapter, Paul connects the Day of the Lord to the “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ of Jesus Christ (παρουσια) and the “gathering” of his elect:

• “Now, we urge you, brethren, concerning the arrival [‘Parousia’] of our Lord Jesus Christ and OUR GATHERING TOGETHER TO HIM, that you are not quickly shaken from your mind, neither alarmed, whether from spirit, whether from word or from letter, as by us, specifically, that the day of the Lord is imminent” – (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2. Note the verbal allusion to Isaiah 11:10-12).

• “And in that day, there shall be a root of Jesse, and he that will arise to rule over the Gentiles. In him will the Gentiles trust, and his rest will be glorious. <…> And he will lift up a standard for the nations, and he will gather the lost ones of Israel, and he will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” – (Isaiah 11:10-12, the Septuagint version).

Paul also discusses the Day of the Lord in his first letter to the Thessalonians. This day will result in “sudden destruction” for the unprepared. However, “the sons of light” will not be overwhelmed by it. Instead, they will “acquire salvation” when Jesus arrives - (“For you know accurately that the day of the Lord is coming as a thief in the night” - 1 Thessalonians 5:1-8).

Paul also identifies the Day of the Lord as “the Day of Jesus Christ,” the day when Jesus will vindicate believers and judge the nations. And so, the Day of the Lord described in the Hebrew Bible becomes intimately connected with Christ, and his arrival - (1 Corinthians 1:8, 5:5, 2 Corinthians 1:14, Philippians 1:6-10, 2:16).

• “So that you come behind in no gift, waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you unto the end, unimpeachable on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” – (1 Corinthians 1:7-9).

Jesus applied language from related Old Testament passages when describing the future coming of the Son of Man. For example:

• “But 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 THE HEAVENS, 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 HIS ELECT FROM THE FOUR WINDS, from one end of heaven to the other” – (Matthew 24:29-31).

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

• “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, there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem” - (Zechariah 12:10).

• “I saw in the night-visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven, one like unto a son of man” - (Daniel 7:13).

PETER AND THE APOCALYPSE

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

Until the arrival of that final day, believers must live righteously and “earnestly desire the arrival [‘Parousia’] of the Day of God.” By doing so, they may “hasten” the glorious Day - (2 Peter 3:1-12).

The Book of Revelation also uses language from the Old Testament to describe the Day of the Lord, the time of judgment and wrath. Only now, that day is linked to “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. Note the allusion to Zechariah 12:10).

• “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 HEAVENS FELL TO THE EARTH, as a fig tree casts her unripe figs when she is shaken of a great wind. AND THE HEAVENS WERE REMOVED AS A SCROLL WHEN IT IS ROLLED UP, and every mountain and island was moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, HID THEMSELVES IN THE CAVES AND IN THE ROCKS and in the rocks of the mountains. 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. Note the several verbal allusions to Isaiah 2:10, 2:19, 34:4, Joel 2:11, 2:30-31, Nahum 1:5, 3:12, Hosea 10:8, Malachi 3:2).

The New Testament identifies the Day of the Lord of Old Testament expectations with the arrival of Jesus from heaven when he will gather his saints and judge his enemies. It will be a day characterized by celestial and terrestrial upheaval, a time of vindication of the elect of God, but also of condemnation and punishment of his enemies.

As the Apostle Paul makes clear, that day will not begin before the final apostasy and the unveiling of the Son of Destruction. He will take his seat in “the Sanctuary of God” and use “all power and signs and lying wonders” to deceive all those who refuse “the love of the truth” and choose instead to believe the lie.

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[Citations of Old Testament passages in this article are based on the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint. Text printed in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS represents quotations and verbal allusions from the Old Testament. The Septuagint is represented by the Roman numeral for ‘seventy’ or LXX based on the Latin name of the translation, ‘Interpretatio septuaginta virorum’]

 

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SEE ALSO:

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

• Rumors and Disinformation - (False information about the Day of the Lord caused alarm and confusion among the believers of Thessalonica – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

• The Apostasy - (Paul warns of the coming Apostasy, which he links to the unveiling of the Man without Law when he takes his seat in the Church)

• Missing Events - (Two events must occur before the Day of the Lord begins: The Apostasy and the unveiling of the Man of Lawlessness in God’s House)