The Day of the Lord- part three

In part one and two we looked at 1 Thessalonians 5 which says “the day of the Lord” would come as “a thief in the night” and as “travail upon a woman with child”.

Then in 2 Thessalonians 1, Paul comforted new believers by saying that God would “recompense…THEM that trouble YOU…in flaming fire taking vengeance”.

In Acts 17 we saw that it was unbelieving JEWS who troubled the Thessalonians by bringing them before the city rulers and accusing them of having treasonous ideas.

Luke 21, the equivalent of Matthew 24, mentions “the days of vengeance”…

20 And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

Here Luke explains that the “days of vengeance” would look like Jerusalem being “compassed with armies”. 

Thus the days of vengeance were when Roman soldiers sacked Jerusalem.

It’s important we now proceed to the book of Revelation.

Revelation 6

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;

13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.

14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.

17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Here we see here the same cosmological language used in Isaiah, Joel, Acts 2 and Matthew 24 that is associated with “the day of the Lord”.

12…the sun became black…the moon became as blood;

17 For the great day of his wrath is come…

Also, if we look at the two verses prior to the ones I just read in Revelation 6, we see the same REASON for God’s “wrath” as in Matthew and Thessalonians. It is to avenge the blood of his saints. Those martyred for the sake of his kingdom.

Revelation 6

9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

This takes me to Revelation 17, which was truly a revelation to me.

5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus:

Also Revelation 18

24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

It was these scripture that led me to consider that Mystery Babylon represents the city of Jerusalem which was destroyed because the Jews beat, stoned and slew not only God’s servants but God’s own son.

Furthermore, Revelation indicates that God put it in the heart of Roman soldiers to fulfil his will and destroy their temple.

Revelation 17

16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

Fire and famine characterised the Roman siege, when the temple was “thrown down”.

Revelation 18

8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.

21…with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

The following is an excerpt from `The Wars of the Jews, Book 6’ Chapter 8, by first century historian Flavius Josephus, which vividly describes the sacking of the Jewish temple.

So the Romans…when they went in numbers into the lanes of the city, with their swords drawn, they slew those whom they overtook, without mercy, and set fire to the houses wither the Jews were fled, and burnt every soul in them, and laid waste a great many of the rest; (405) and when they were come to the houses to plunder them, they found in them entire families of dead men, and the upper rooms full of dead corpses, that is of such as died by the famine; they then stood in a horror at this sight…they ran every one through whom they met with, and obstructed the very lanes with their dead bodies, and made the whole city run down with blood, to such a degree indeed that the fire of many of the houses was quenched with these men's blood. (407) And truly so it happened, that though the slayers left off at the evening, yet did the fire greatly prevail in the night…

Before I proceed any further in Revelation I want to address 2 Peter 3, which is similar to 1 Thessalonians 5, in that they both use the phrase “a thief in the night”. 

For many, 2 Peter 3 is PROOF that “the day of the Lord” will occur at the literal end of the world, so let’s read that portion of scripture.

2 Peter 3

10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

First of all, take note that 2 Peter 3 describes heaven being “on fire” and earth “burned up”. 

Similar to how Malachi 4 says that the “great and dreadful day of the Lord” shall “burn as an oven” and “burn them up”. 

Similar to how John the Baptist warned of unfruitful trees being “cast into the fire” (Matthew 3). 

Similar to the parable Jesus spoke, in which a king “burned up” the city of those who slew his servants (Matthew 22).

Similar to Paul’s words to the Thessalonians, that God would “recompense” the Jews who persecuted them “in flaming fire” (2 Thessalonians 1). 

And similar to how Mystery Babylon was “burned with fire” (Rev. 18:8)

So 2 Peter 3 has to be weighed against all those scriptures, which as I’ve shown you, point to the destruction of the Jewish temple. 

What you may not know is that, according to Josephus, Jews regarded their temple as “heaven and earth”. 

Let me read you an excerpt from his book `Antiquities of the Jews’ Chapter 6 (Concerning the Tabernacle which Moses built in the wilderness, for the honour of God: and which seemed to be a Temple).

Now the room within those pillars was the Most Holy Place: but the rest of the room was the Tabernacle, this was open for the Priests. However this proportion of the measures of the Tabernacle proved to be an imitation of the system of the world. For that third part thereof which was within the four pillars, to which the Priests were not admitted, is, as it were, an Heaven, peculiar to God. But the space of the twenty cubits, is, as it were, sea and land, on which men live: and so this part is peculiar to the Priests only.

So basically Josephus was saying that the outer court of the tabernacle represented the sea, the holy place represented earth and the holy of holies, heaven.

With that in mind let’s read a little further in 2 Peter 3

12 Looking for and hasting unto the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?

13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Is “righteousness” relegating to a future kingdom that only manifests after the literal end of the world?

Revelation 21 describes the New Jerusalem that is associated with this new heavens and new earth wherein dwells righteousness.

Revelation 21

1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea.

2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God…

Now consider Paul’s words in Galatians…

Galatians 4:22-26

…Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman…

Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants…

…Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.

But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

Here we see two cities contrasted against each other, “Jerusalem which now is” and “Jerusalem which is above”. The former is associated with the old covenant, the latter, the new covenant.

Revelation also contrasts two cities…

The Old Jerusalem (Mystery Babylon) and the New Jerusalem. Which again represent the old and new covenant.

The destruction of the Jewish temple in 70AD was very significant because it marked the point at which the old covenant system passed away and the New Jerusalem, representing the New Covenant was fully manifest.

Hebrews 9

8 …the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:

Once Jesus died and his spirit was poured out, there was no more use for the “first tabernacle” in which the high priest sprinkled the blood of animals upon the mercy seat and communed with God.

Through the blood of Christ WE can enter the holiest and commune directly with God.

In conclusion,

You might agree that God brought judgement upon the Jews for killing and stoning his prophets, even crucifying Christ and refusing to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. You might agree that the kingdom of God was taken from them and given to a spiritual nation bringing forth fruit.

You might even be willing to call the destruction of the temple and the slaughter of over a million Jews in 70AD the “day of the Lord” as prophesied by Malachi, John, Jesus, Peter and Paul but then you say “how does that apply to me?” “Does that mean I don’t have to repent? Does that mean there’s no “wrath to come” for me? Is there no future judgement?

Hebrews 9

27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:

God still judges and he’ll judge every one of us. We still need to bring forth fruits meet for repentance if we want to be part of his glorious kingdom, the New Jerusalem wherein dwells righteousness. 

God is long-suffering but if we continually reject “the door” to the kingdom (John 10:9), the time will come when “the door” will be permanently shut to us. 

Isaiah 55:6 Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near 

Let us each work out our own salvation. God bless.

The Day of the Lord- part two

In my last article (The day of the Lord- part one) we saw how 1 Thessalonians 5 and Isaiah 13 mention not only “the day of the Lord” but a woman travailing in pain to give birth, so clearly these scriptures are linked.

Isaiah 13 also describes the sun, moon and stars being darkened which is important to note.

We looked at Malachi 4, which says that "Elijah" would come before the “great and dreadful day of the Lord” that would “burn as an oven” and we saw the fulfilment of Malachi's prophesy in Matthew 11, where Jesus identified John the Baptist as Elijah.

In Matthew 3 John the Baptist spoke to the pharisees and sadducees in the spirit of Elijah, warning them to “bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance” in order to “flee from the wrath to come”. He said that unfruitful tree would be “cast into the fire”.

In Matthew 21 Christ cursed the unfruitful fig tree and went on to share a parable in which those left in charge of a vineyard, beat, stoned and slew not only the servants but the son of the vineyard owner. 

Jesus finished this parable by saying, directly to the chief priests and Pharisees, “the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof”.

Matthew 22 and 23 continue in a similar vein. The Jews are clearly identified as the ones stoning and killing not only Gods servants but God own son and for that, their city would be “burned up” and their house left “desolate”.

This all flows into Matthew 24 where Jesus prophesied the Jewish temple being “thrown down”.

Also in Matthew 24 we see the SAME cosmological language used in Isaiah 13 that is associated with “the day of the Lord”, AFTER which Jesus said “this generation shall not pass till ALL these things be fulfilled”, suggesting that the “great and dreadful day of the Lord” that would “burn as an oven”, the “sudden destruction” as “travail upon a woman with child”, would happen to the JEWS of THAT GENERATION. 

So how long is a generation? 

A generation is how long it takes a person to replace themselves. For example, if they had a child at twenty, in another twenty years that child would be ready to have a child, thus one generation is about forty years.

Psalm 95

10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation...

Numbers 32

13...forty years...all this generation...

The number forty is mentioned throughout the bible. Jesus fasted for forty days in the wilderness, also the Israelites wandered for forty years before reaching Canaan land. 

Deuteronomy 8:2

…the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

Thus the number forty represents a period of testing.

The period from Christ’s death to the destruction of the Jewish temple was about forty years, one generation! 

That’s how long the Jewish nation were given to "bring forth fruits...meet for repentance" before the kingdom of God would be "taken" from them and "given" to a nation bringing forth fruit.

This image is from the Arch of Titus in Rome. It provides archeological proof of the destruction of the temple by Roman soldiers in 70AD. 

Matthew 24:37 mentions the …days of Noah…

What happened in the days of Noah? God wanted to destroy all the people on the earth but he WAITED until Noah had prepared the ark.

1 Peter 3:20…the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing…

2 Peter 3: 6&9

Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.

The Lord is not slack…but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Once everyone who was meant to be in the ark was in it, God SHUT the door, meaning time was up for those who’d refused to repent.

Genesis 7:16

And they that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as God had commanded -- him: and the LORD shut him in.

In Matthew 25 we have a curious story of ten virgins waiting for their bridegroom to come. Five of those virgins had run out of oil thus were unable to enter the bride chamber in time. The door was “shut” to them.

Matthew 25

10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was SHUT.

11-- Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.

12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not.

At the destruction of the temple in 70AD, time was up for the Jewish nation. The door was ‘shut” to them in the sense that the kingdom of God was permanently taken from them.

After the olivet discourse, ending in Matthew 25, the pharisees began plotting to kill Jesus (Matthew 26:1-3).

Why? Because they “perceived that he spake of THEM” (Matt. 21:45) and their beloved temple being destroyed. 

He dared to prophesy God’s judgement, the day of the Lord, coming upon THEM.

The gospel of Matthew goes on to describe Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, which rolls straight on to the book of Acts, where we see the Holy Spirit poured out at Pentecost. 

When Peter, full of the Spirit, descended from the upper room to preach the gospel, he quoted the prophet Joel.

Acts 2

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;

17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh…20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?

Notice that Peter addressed “men of Israel” and told them that they were responsible for Christ’s crucifixion, to which they replied “what shall we do”. 

These “men of Israel” were eager to avoid God’s judgement, which would indicate that the “great and notable day of the Lord” as prophesied by Joel, was to happen in THAT generation.

Just as John the Baptist had told the chief priests and pharisees to “bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance”, Peter told these “men of Israel” to…

38 …Repent and be baptised…

Once again take note of the cosmological language used in Acts 2

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come

Similar to that in Matthew 24 where Jesus prophesied the destruction of the temple.

29 …shall the sun be darkened and the moon shall not give her light…

And Isaiah 13

10…the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

Which I showed you earlier, is linked to 1 Thessalonians 5.

All these portions of scripture are linked! They are all speaking of “the day of the Lord”!

Let’s examine 1 Thessalonians 5 once more.

1 Thess. 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.

Now let’s continue to the first chapter of Paul’s 2nd epistle to the Thessalonians, which sheds light on 1 Thessalonians 5.

2 Thess. 1

6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble YOU;

And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,

In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Who was troubling the Thessalonians? We find the answer in Acts.

Acts 17

1…they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures…

4 And some of them believed…

5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy…

6…drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;

7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

Unbelieving JEWS brought the Thessalonians before the rulers of the city and accused them of having treasonous ideas, causing a wave of persecution to come upon them.

It was unbelieving JEWS that were troubling the Thessalonians thus Paul comforted them by saying that God would “recompense tribulation to THEM that trouble YOU…in flaming fire taking vengeance”

He was speaking of the “day of the Lord”, the destruction of the temple, the end of the Jewish age!

In part 3 we will venture into the book of Revelation, yet another place where the cosmological language associated with the day of the Lord is used. 

I will also address 2 Peter 3 which, for many, is proof that the day of the Lord will happen at the literal end of the world, so let’s be Bereans and search the scriptures to see if the things we believe are really so.