|
 In
ISA.13:6 we read, "Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at
hand" (vs. 9-f.). "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. 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"... "therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth
shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of host, and in
the day of his fierce anger."
Surely
this refers to the end of time—but wait — the chapter begins:
"The burden of Babylon," and vs. 17-19 says, "I will stir
up the Medes against them, ... and Babylon ... shall be as when God
overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah." This does NOT refer to the end of
time — but to the destruction of the power of Babylon.
In
ISA.34:2-f. we read "For the indignation of the Lord is upon all
nations ... and the mountains shall be melted with their blood. And all
the hosts of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled
together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf
falleth... " Verse 8 says, "It is the day of the Lord’s
vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And
the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof
into brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It
shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up
forever; from generation to generation it shall lie waste;" etc. Is
this the end of time? NO,
|
|
this is God’s punishment of Idumeans (vs.5)
God,
through Jeremiah, foretold the overthrow of Egypt by Nebuchadnezzar,
king of Babylon (JER.46) and called this "the day of the Lord
God of hosts". God foretold judgment upon Israel (JOE.1:1-f.)
calling it "the day of the Lord (vs. 15), preceded by "the
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood
"(2:31). The destruction of Jerusalem, as foretold in ZEC.14,
is called "the day of the Lord" and says, "Then shall
the Lord go forth….". It should come as no surprise to
students of the Old Testament when Jesus foretells the destruction
of Jerusalem (MAT. 24:) that he uses the same sort of language
saying "there shall be famines, and pestilences, and
earthquakes, in divers places". The sun will "be darkened
and the moon shall not give her light and the stars shall fall from
heaven and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken"
(MAT.24:-34).
Clearly,
not every "Day of the Lord" is the final judgment day, the
final coming of the lord. The Lord has "come" many times
— in judgment upon nations, cities, people. Almost without
exception, his "coming" is pictured in strong, colorful
figures, with many references to the sun, moon and stars. Their
"falling" evidently refers to the overthrow of government
and great military powers. Perhaps all these figures portend the
final and literal coming of the Lord described in 2PE.3:10-f. With
such examples of His power and warnings, we should prepare for His
certain coming.
[Previous
Article] [Next
Article]
|
