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The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events analysis
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The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events analysis - 1/24/2008 7:42:22 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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quote:
ORIGINAL: bob97
Saint, now tell me how you get a two day period for the Day of the Lord and briefly what occurs on the first day and on the second day.
The Day of the Lord: Night and Day
Like the emerging picture of the Daniel’s seventieth ‘seven’ which has two completely separate and opposing sides, the prophecy concerning the Day of the Lord is equally mixed so that it seems to be describing two different events. On the one hand, there is an eerie calm before the storm, literally, and on the other hand there is this tumultuous upheaval with blood, fire and smoke. This dichotomy can be resolved in the light of the nature of the Day of the Lord when viewed as the seminal event Christians have been looking forward to for centuries: being gathered to the Lord.
As Paul notes, Christ’s victory for people as a whole is a two-sided outcome. He uses a first century familiarity of the Roman world in 2nd Corinthians 2:14-16:
2CO 2:14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15 For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16 To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life.
This type of celebration would have been understood in the Roman world in the first few centuries after Jesus, but doesn’t make the transition to the 21st century well. In those days, the commanding General would parade his Army through Rome on the way to one of the Temples to celebrate his campaign’s victories. In tow, would be the spoils of war: booty, treasure and people. Some of the captured would be enslaved. But most of the captured opposing force would face a different fate; they would be the sport of the games and face execution.
The first, the victors, would be reveling in their celebration. The incense the priests would burn along the way would to them be like the sweet smell of success. However, the same incense would be like the smell of death for the vanquished at the end of the procession. To them, they were marching to their death. So the same event, in analogy to Christ here in the Epistles, has in one event two completely different outcomes and takes on a totally different perception.
Another aspect of the Day of the Lord has to do with the establishment of the Messiah that the Jews are still looking forward to in prophecy. This is the Messiah of Kingship, who conquers the world and sets up His holy nation of Israel that does not rebel. This is the Christ that was not represented in Jesus’ first advent. The Jewish leaders were looking for a Savior from the world that would fight and win, not a Savior from their sin that would die on the cross, and so they missed Jesus.
To this day, Jews still reject Jesus as the Messiah because of all the passages in Scripture that describe this warring, conquering King do not apply to the Servant that Christians present in their witness. Instead they are looking forward to the coming time, the Day of the Lord when these passages come to be. But this day is not a day of celebration for Israel. The prophets describe the Day of the Lord as: distress, destruction, ruin; a cruel day, a day of wrath with fierce anger, a day of trouble, a day of clouds and blackness, a time of doom, a day of darkness not light. They say the shouting of the warrior will be there and the land made desolate with fire; it will be a bitter day. The people will be crying “Alas” and they will be wailing and trembling in despair.
Joel says:
JOEL 2:11 The day of the LORD is great;
it is dreadful.
Who can endure it?
And Amos says:
AM 5:18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the LORD!
Why do you long for the day of the LORD?
The message the Prophets have for Israel is not a pleasant one. It is more like the smoke of the incense for the prisoners than that for the victors. Yet this is the day the Jews look forward to in the Messiah. This is the second half of Isaiah’s prophecy in 61:2, “the day of vengeance of our God.” Jesus fulfilled the first part, “the year of the LORD's favor” and that is all He claimed in Luke 4:21 for His first advent. But Jesus will accomplish on His second coming. But to the Church, the Day of the Lord is different:
…before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
AC 2:21 And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.'
To the Church, this is a day of redemption, a day when the elect are rescued from the world. This is the day when those will be saved in the third aspect of salvation, when they are gathered up to be with Christ. This is the day when the Church will receive their inheritance.
This is day of two different outcomes. It will literally be a night and day difference for those on the earth. To some, it will be sweet, to others, it will be a stench. Likewise this day will have different looks, one before and one after. And it all pivots on the coming of our Lord Christ Jesus.
< Message edited by Sinner-Saint -- 1/24/2008 7:58:33 AM >
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 7:47:16 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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The Sun/moon/star event
Weather forecast: cloudy, mild and no wind
The Day of the Lord may start out like any other day, but that soon changes. This day may or may not be a literal 24 hours, but as period of time taken together, constitutes a single period of time. The Day of the Lord, or Christ’s parousia, contains many different elements so much so that reading it sounds like two different stories. One in the familiar passages of the Gospel ends with the gathering. The other from the Old Testament speaks of blood, fire and smoke. Both are identifiable by a single specific and unique event: the sun/moon/star sign in the sky. This sign will be so unmistakable that even the non-Christians will heed it, but as shall be shown their conclusion about what it means is as wrong as their theology.
REV 6:12 I watched as he opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun turned black like sackcloth made of goat hair, the whole moon turned blood red, 13 and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as late figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f256/marcus_o_reillius/eschatology/Seal01.jpg
As the sixth Seal starts out there is an earthquake. The first element, the shaking of the earth has as a theological basis its foundation in the Minor Prophets.
HAG 2:6 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: `In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations…
Shaking the heavens and the earth indicates that these are both elements of creation rather than the realm of God. Likewise, the nations will also be shaken. The idea here is two-fold. One, what is hidden will be made plain. This analogy works like this. In a container place some rocks and cover them with sand. Shaking the container will actually bring the rocks to the surface as the sand works its way downward filling the smaller spaces the around the rocks. The other is that is only what is unshakeable or solid will remain. This means all the falsehoods built upon lies will come down and only the truth of God remains and in conjunction with the first aspect, become plain because it is all that is left standing. This is exactly what the author of Hebrews says in quoting Haggai:
HEB 12:26a …now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." 27 The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
< Message edited by Sinner-Saint -- 1/24/2008 8:12:09 AM >
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 7:50:06 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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Which raises the question of what remains? As the truth cannot be shaken, then truth remains. The Psalms speak of this in reverse fashion, here like the term Holy being applied in reverse fashion to the righteous in the meaning of Saints, going to those that are like Mount Zion; they trust in the Lord. As Jesus is unshakeable so is the Church:
PS 125:1 Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
The Seal account does not address the events within the sixth Seal as the Day of the Lord, but having the element of the sun/moon/star event certainly includes it as describing that Day because of the multiple accounts and references to it. This second event in Revelation’s Seal account has a parallel in the Olivet Discourse. It comes directly after the period Jesus identifies as the Great Distress “unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” This preserves this section as maintaining a straight line chronological order. As a sign, the sun/moon/star event has an element of the signature of God in the miraculous. Miracles are God’s stamp of exclusivity that marks an event as being authored by Him. God used the miraculous to put His stamp on the Law with all the miracles in bringing the Hebrew nation out of Egypt. Prophets are imbued with the miraculous to validate their words as coming from God. Jesus’ miracles proved God the Father witnessed to His teaching as well as Jesus. So it is fitting that Christ’s return be stamped with the miraculous as an indelible seal of God’s work.
As a time sequence marker, the darkening of the sun, the bloody appearance of the moon, and the fig like aspect to the stars, allows the sixth Seal to be linked directly to Jesus’ Olivet Discourse to the Disciples. Jesus’ Words as recorded by Matthew and Mark are not a direct quote of any Old Testament passage. Luke gives no detail, but he does state all three as signs in his gospel, but then his book is a compilation rather than a strict recitation. Starting with the Olivet Discourse as a mainline timeline are the following descriptions:
MT 24:29 "Immediately after the distress of those days
" `the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
MK 13:24 "But in those days, following that distress,
" `the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
MK 13:25 the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'
LK 21:25 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars.
As a matter of a counterpoint, looking at the sun/moon/star event ushers in some overlap of verses, because as a theme, darkness appears more than once in the struggle between God and Satan and more specifically, as a Judgment by God. Darkness can apply to being outside of God’s orb, as being thrown into the darkness when rejected by God. Darkness also represents the power of evil because it contains no light, being representative of Jesus. Darkness was featured at Christ’s crucifixion. Darkness is also used as Judgment of God in the fourth Trumpet and the fifth Bowl Judgment.
In this commentary, the idea behind presenting the Day of the Lord has it as a special day, separate from the rest. While darkness is used to demonstrate the withdrawal of the Lord’s favor and so act as a form of punishment, the darkness on this day in the verses linked to this particular day have additional characteristics not associated with other Judgments. To identify this day as a literal day, the three parts, should be listed. In addition, prophecy connects certain elements with the Day of the Lord aside from just darkness: blood, fire and smoke. These or some action by God which would lead to that should also be present in the context of any sun/moon/star passages which could be used to picture this unique day.
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 7:52:28 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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If the first order of the Day is an earthquake, then this covering of clouds could be just as sudden. While no verse puts both on the same day: that remains a distinct possibility. Joel does list an earthquake before the darkening as well. If the darkening sky were to be accepted as a natural phenomenon, then there would not be the fear expressed by those hiding themselves. Having it happen quickly would reinforce the change in the heavens as being supernatural. Man, not regularly acknowledging God, would then be forced to concede that he is faced with something he doesn’t understand and it follows that fear would surround his thinking. Just such a decisive change is indicated in Amos:
AM 8:9 "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD,
"I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
The point here is one of contrast. Noon, supported in the Hebrew, is the brightest part of the day. It is this time that God chooses to make dark announcing the end of the Great Distress that has persecuted followers of Christ. A rough parallel would be Elijah pouring water several times on the sacrifice God will consume on Mount Carmel, seemingly; it is against the odds. The accompanying word study to ‘noon,’ sohar, backs this up:
The brightness of that hour symbolizes the intense purity of justice (Ps 37:6; cf. Job 11:17) and the blessing that dispels gloom (Isa 59:10). It is also viewed as a time of security; thus a conquest carried on at this time indicates a conqueror’s superior strength (Jer 6:4; 15:8; 20:16 Zeph 2:4). Conversely, the rebellious grope in darkness even at noonday (Deut 28:28f.; Isa 58:10; Job 5:14). Since the sun will set at noon on the day of judgment, the troubles of that day will be very severe (Amos 8:9).―Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament p.755
The nature of the sun going down at noon with the verb action has not been stressed. This is because the nature by which the sun is removed may be understood in light of other Bible prophecies. The important aspect here is the darkening of the earth; all relative accounts are in agreement there. Having the sun go down would then be like a figure of speech. To describe how that might look to modern man requires a little study in imagery and figurative speech.
Now while Amos describes a time of wrath against Israel what evidence separates this day from other instances revealed in Revelation to include darkness, specifically, the fourth Trumpet of the seventh Seal and the fifth Bowl? The very section begins with the time being “ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer” as God says. This in itself suggests the beginning of judgment. Another clue which will tie this day to the Day of the Lord is the cryptic passage in verse 8:3, where bodies are flung everywhere and then silence. But revealing the nature of that passage will have to wait until later in this chapter, but it does tie in with the Day of the Lord as will be explained.
An aspect of the Bible which is lost with the advent of modern post-Renaissance perspective is the imagery surrounding various descriptions of this sun/moon/stars event. John’s use of imagery of sackcloth, blood and figs is not literal, but can be understood as being both descriptive of an unscientific viewpoint and also harkening to a greater meaning from the Bible. The Revelation verse is not an objective news report. To remove oneself and try to describe an event in an absolute, neutral and objective manner, especially one in which they were largely ignorant, was not part of their culture. Thus the reader has to accept this passage and like passages within the viewpoint that was prevalent then because this is another instance where the observer’s true point of view holds. From the viewing point on earth, the reader can conclude that the lights of the heavens will not be viewable. Hence the aspect of darkening as is used in Jesus’ Olivet Discourse and other sun/moon/star references. Furthermore, as to falling stars, not only did the ancient Hebrew people have no scientific knowledge of stars as solar fusion furnaces in all their various sizes, even in the educated age in the Roman age of Caesars the apostles did not have an objective point of view of space. From an observer’s true point of view, though not possible for a star as massive as the sun to fall to earth, nevertheless could describe a meteorite shower and they are commonly called falling stars, just as people today refer to sunrises and sunsets or even the sun ‘going down’ from Amos.
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 7:54:21 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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The greater meaning the reader can get out of the figurative language is how it is associated in the Bible, especially from John’s point of view because he is the writer. His experience, growing up with the Scriptures which modern Christians know as the Old Testament and his personal experience under Jesus ought to be taken into account. First of all, when John writes that the sun is like sackcloth, and the stars fall as figs, is to use simile. Also the color of the moon being blood red, and while the moon in an eclipse can appear reddish, may be imbued with descriptive language to suggest another element at work in the sixth Seal.
Sackcloth was coarse like burlap and was the dress of prisoners, slaves and the poor. It was adopted by prophets and worshippers to show identity with the poor and slaves and also to show mourning. The aspect of doom inherent with mourning is aptly applied here. This is day of sorrow. The image of darkness coming with judgment as with Pharaoh in Egypt is reflected in the Prophets as coming from God:
ISA 50:3 I clothe the sky with darkness
and make sackcloth its covering."
Blood can be a cleansing agent; it is provided by God for the remission of sin. It is blood that makes atonement for one’s life. In the Exodus, blood averted harm by substituting for the firstborn and appeased the angel of death. Likewise, Christ’s blood propitiates God’s wrath from believers in Jesus. But this aspect of the redeemer in grace also carries with it the aspect of wrath. As the goel of Isaiah 63:16 refers back to the winepress of Isaiah 63:2 and in Isaiah 63:4 describes both the year of the Lord’s favor which Jesus quoted for His ministry, the word for redeemer in Isaiah also is the one who brings about the day of the Lord’s vengeance. Blood is also a judgment upon the world and the means for expressing wrath. The blood that will pollute the land brings up another use of goel in Hebrew, defilement. Those left to take God’s wrath will have their water turned to blood like Moses did, and the same blood that cleanses the Saints becomes a curse for the damned as it will be all they have to drink eventually: drinking blood is prohibited by the Law. Much like Paul’s analogy of the burning incense to the returning victors’ celebration contrasts to the same perception it has for the condemned, the same element, blood, can have two vastly different meanings on the Day of the Lord depending on which side of judgment a person falls.
The last figurative simile has overtones in prophetic passages from the Old Testament and to the very Gospel message Jesus used to indicate the sun/moon/star event was a sign for those the Disciples represented, the core of God’s Church here on Earth. While it is not possible to discern John’s intent in writing this section entirely, the parallel between stating the stars to fall like figs, especially when wind is involved with all the overtones that wind carries with it being the word for the Spirit of God becomes unmistakable. If John wanted to point at the Gospel message of the Olivet Discourse, he could do nothing more to indicate alignment with the parable Jesus gives to the listeners to know this is the time they have inquired about: Jesus’ return.
MT 24:32 "Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33 Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.
So in the figurative sense, John is also describing a day of sorrow that rich and poor will mourn. It has a cutting edge to it in both redemption and wrath as the two uses of blood. Finally, the end is very near, right at the door as Jesus said. So adding these elements to the description gives the verse significance that transcends just the physical descriptions of events in the celestial realm.
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 7:57:07 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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On the other hand, the description of the heavens’ signs will be visible and real. There is a literal aspect to the Day of the Lord with the sun/moon/star event. To uncover this day and how it can be understood in terms modern man would be familiar with, leads to the Old Testament. First is the nature of the sun becoming like sackcloth. This event is perhaps best described in Ezekiel, here in a lament directed at Egypt, describes a future apocalypse:
EZE 32:7 When I snuff you out, I will cover the heavens
and darken their stars;
I will cover the sun with a cloud,
and the moon will not give its light.
EZE 32:8 All the shining lights in the heavens
I will darken over you;
I will bring darkness over your land,
declares the Sovereign LORD.
First of all, the image God uses here in Ezekiel shows that His Wrath is not quick in being carried out but takes time. The picture the words paint is of a flame being slowly extinguished for lack of oxygen. The process is slow and painful; much like crucifixion was in Jesus’ time. It also carries with it the idea of darkness, and all that is represented when the light (a symbol of Jesus and God) is removed. While those condemned to God’s judgment may wish to get it over with quickly, that is not what is in store for them.
The applicability of this verse in Ezekiel to the Day of the Lord is loose. Originally speaking of Egypt to be smashed in her arrogance by the Babylonians, it does contain the general order of sun/moon/stars in the event. Blood is also a major component in the passage, but being in Egypt may not be the same as the great flow of blood that will emanate from God’s Winepress which cover the land around Jerusalem. However, as and example of how God will fulfill prophecy with the sun becoming like sackcloth, this verse can be used to show the means by which God brings that about.
As a modern people, this event where the sky is darkened can be accomplished and understood as an unprecedented weather phenomenon whereby the clouds are so thick, like that under a summer thunderstorm where it literally gets dark. In one aspect of interpretation, this could remove the sun from sight. Covering the earth completely is not a normal weather pattern and so brings in that aspect of the miraculous. Just as Job gets his audience with God, He speaks to Job out of a storm, so it will be with this sign when God is about to come to the world.
ZEC 14:6 On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. 7 It will be a unique day, without daytime or nighttime--a day known to the LORD.
The aspect of unique would single this day out for consideration, but it must be remarked that ‘unique’ itself is inferred from the original Hebrew. While the NASB renders Zechariah 14:7 similarly, the King James renders it as ‘one day.’ This goes back to the word in the Hebrew, ’ehad. This word is used in Deuteronomy 6:4 for describing God, and also describes the union of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:24.
It is closely identified with yahad “to be united” and with ro’sh “first head,” especially in connection with the “first day” of the month (Gen 8:13). It stresses unity while recognizing diversity with that oneness. ―TWOT p. 30
Zechariah uses this same word later in the same section to describe one Lord, and His name as one, which then takes on the connotation of singular as in only. So interpreting ’ehad as unique is to take it in the sense of only. However, in the greater context of the Day of the Lord as unfolds here in this commentary, as a day of diverse elements united in one, actually describes the true sense of ’ehad. This is one day that is divided between an eerie calm and a bewildering aftermath yet united; it is all the Day of the Lord.
What cements this passage in Zechariah as a Day of the Lord is two-fold. First, it has the element of darkness that is so much a part of the Day of the Lord. The second is the aspect of knowledge by God of this day. This marries exactly with what Jesus said of this day as only being known by the Father. As an additional bit of information, God reveals through the Prophet the condition of temperature here that is not specified in other end-time prophecy concerning this day. With an adjudication of being part of the Day of the Lord, this attribute can be added in to describe that day as it opens.
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 7:59:50 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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The Day of the Lord starts with a great earthquake. Then, in an unprecedented meteorological event, the earth is clothed in clouds so thick it is actually dark. Joel echoes this sequence of events as happening before the Lord appears:
JOEL 2:10 Before them the earth shakes,
the sky trembles,
the sun and moon are darkened,
and the stars no longer shine.
The day advances into night, but is not a night as would normally take place. The moon is darkened or if visible is reddish like an eclipsed moon. Going to the least light, the stars, has them falling. In Isaiah’s account, they do so with the next event: the scrolling of the sky. This passage here in Joel with the sun/moon/star event is explicitly tied to the Day of the Lord by the express language that it is the Day of the Lord. Not only will this day have this specific and unique sign associated with it, but the other elements of Joel 2, the advance of the Lord as the commander with His army in action. Furthermore, Joel agrees with the application of Ezekiel 32:7 to this day as well, noting it is a day of clouds in the opening in verse 2:2 followed by fire devouring the land before the advancing army. This judgment destruction is delayed in the opening of the sixth Seal in Revelation 7:3 until the army is properly sealed themselves.
Up until this point on Earth, there are several reactions to the day. On the one hand, while activity may pause, it certainly does not stop. When the day comes and it is recognized as not being a natural day, expect an interruption of the normal flow of life. There are two parts to the reaction. One is to pause then continue. The other is to hide and wait for it to pass. Jesus in speaking about this time of His coming said people would be working, preparing meals and sleeping. On the other hand, in Revelation, John writes the words of the Messiah and says people of all types will be hiding in fear of the coming of the Lord.
The adjective ‘every’ used in Revelation 6:15 describing those who are hiding modifies a definite noun two times with slave and free. Generally, this section is interpreted as being inclusive of all since a person would be either one or the other, however, another definition exists that can solve the dichotomy of why some are working and sleeping in Jesus’ example. The word, pa'" meaning each or all, can imply the whole in one sense, or it can be distributive as in whoever, or all possible --Theological Dictionary of the New Testament p 795. In the second case, it can indicate that those who hid themselves were of all classes of individuals.
To the first group, from which one is taken and another left, this is representative of the population out of which God’s elect come from. They are the ones who have waited until their redemption has drawn nigh and have not abandoned their faith. They will be going about their normal course of living, working, preparing meals and sleeping, but not the second group.
The group described in Revelation which lists the rulers, rich and powerful of this world foremost has gone into hiding. They have gone to fortified places like what exists outside Washington D.C. in order to save their lives. Rather than looking for their redemption drawing nigh, they are fearful of seeing the Lord. Rather than meet justice at His hand, they wish to be crushed by the impersonal forces and rock of the Earth. They understand what is coming, and John records their cry:
"Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?"
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 8:02:00 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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Now, as a case study in Biblical truth, more than one commentary has made a great deal of the first usage by John in Revelation of wrath here in verse 6:16. Because the word occurs here, and taking the Bible as always being true, they reach the conclusion that this is indeed where God’s Wrath commences. While the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and truth is indeed found within it, however, the question remains: Does the Wrath of God begin at this moment?
No. While the author is known, John, and the audience here being addressed is the world, the ones that are speaking are those who will be judged by God on the Earth. They have not gotten God right up until this time, and they are going to miss out on being saved in the last possible instance in which Jesus does save: the Harvest. The Bible is true, they do say what John quotes, but the speakers in this case are just as mistaken as they are about God. John is recording their error truthfully though.
Where then do these wicked people get the idea that God is coming for them? They know their time is up because from the parallel account of the one ‘seven’ in Revelation 13-16, an Angel of the Lord has proclaimed it! The first Angel says to the whole world in part:
“…because the hour of his judgment has come.” --Rev 14:7
While this is the Day of the Lord, and God’s Wrath is about to come, it is not coming at that precise moment. So the wicked, who do not love God, understand Him, nor believe anything about the prophecy of the end-times are not correct, but they quake in fear because they heard what was about to befall them. They know they are going to be judged by God because they know they don’t believe in Jesus. They are convicted already in their hearts, and so they know the judgment which is coming is for them.
So it matters little if the word John uses is the word for the Wrath of God. God’s Wrath is not what is coming next, but it is still to come. For the Christian though, the words of the prophet apply:
JER 10:2 This is what the LORD says:
"Do not learn the ways of the nations
or be terrified by signs in the sky,
though the nations are terrified by them.
Furthermore, the time that these people are making their declaration is during the opening of the sixth Seal. The Scroll cannot be opened and the decrees of God cannot be read until all the Seals have been opened. From Kings down to slaves, great and small, they all alike have jumped the gun. Their judgment is coming, but just not yet. In the context of the times, while the Day of the Lord has a duality to it, that Wrath will not immediately next at that time, however, it is coming nevertheless and it will last longer than that day as well.
The command to the Christian is to watch. Jesus commands us to remain faithful. He gives the Christian the means to know when the time is ripe, though no one will know the day, and when that day arrives, no one will know the hour. The general sequence of events allows the Christian to prepare for a time when those in rebellion against God oppress those that follow Christ, and ultimately persecute them until, if God had not shortened those days; none would be left. But Victory is not far off, and can be found as the sky scrolls back.
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 8:03:25 AM
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The dictates of sun, moon and star means this Day of the Lord so far has progressed from day into night, though the differentiation may be very subtle due to the darkening. The Bible as God’s Word has some interesting verses and all indications given to us align with the hour being late. If as Paul says, God’s Law can be found written in the heart of man in his intrinsic sense of morality, then there is parallel in not only in popular sayings of ‘the calm before the storm’ and ‘the eleventh hour’ but also in the universal notion of calamity from beyond man’s capacity in doomsday scenarios. These are all present here in the Day of the Lord. From Zechariah’s unique day, verse 14:7 ends with these words:
When evening comes, there will be light.
Keeping with a late hour, Jesus gives two parables to the Disciples. One in Matthew, the parable of the ten virgins, has the bridegroom, Jesus, coming after the midnight hour. The other in Mark, concerns the example in 13:35 and states that “you do not know when the owner of the house will come back--whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn.” The point here is that the hour is still not known, though a general indication that the day will not be truncated before the moon would normally be visible is supported by all the language used in the Bible, and by Jesus’ parables as well. As a disclaimer, saying this should not offend any that would insist upon a literal know-nothing position which could have the hour coming during the day. Knowing that hour does not come during the normal hours of daylight does not specify which hour the Lord returns.
The third event in the sequence as depicted with the opening of the sixth Seal is the scrolling of the sky. From an observer true point of view for the North American continent, this would likely be the next observable event in the progression of the Day of the Lord. Given the overall statements in the Bible, some overlap may occur with the previous event of the sun/moon/star. Any overlap though, would not negate the general sequence of one coming before the other. This is because of specific language in the Bible which delineates the falling of stars as associated with the scrolling action taking place:
ISA 34:4 All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved
and the sky rolled up like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall
like withered leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree.
This chapter and the next in Isaiah concerns a time of God’s Judgment and Salvation. From the text though, like the Servant passages, a firm order of linearity is not always the rule. Here in Isaiah, like many other passages describing Jesus, each verse or section is stated without any strict connection to verses around it. The verses here lack the ordering conjunctions which underscores linear storytelling between it and those in the section. This is not to say the verses do not all run on the same theme of end time Judgment and Salvation, just that they do not denote a strict linearity between the verses as presented.
The lack of linearity stems because Isaiah doesn’t use a Western timeline reference. The Prophet’s perspective as described by George Ladd sees the future as being overlaid on the present. So the second rule for interpretation here, linearity, is superseded by the first, truthfulness. Isaiah’s prophecies fulfilled by Jesus’ first advent contain passages where each is true, yet, they are also dispersed within other sections and the linearity is therefore disrupted. In interpreting Isaiah, not as a modern author, but as a person who combines different elements and superimposes them without a strict order of cause and effect, allows for a relaxation of the general rule of linearity. Isaiah covers different elements separately within chapters 34 and 35 which describe God’s judgment on Earth. However jumbled the overall picture though, within this verse linearity is preserved.
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 8:04:59 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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Looking at the events being described leads to its placement at this junction because of two specific and unique events: the scrolling of the skies and the falling stars. There are only two instances in the Bible that describes the sky being scrolled; here in Isaiah and in Revelation with the opening of the sixth Seal. Because the scrolling in the sixth Seal comes at the end of this age and Gabriel indicated to Daniel that prophecy will be completed with the coming of the Messiah with the seventy ‘sevens,’ there is no basis to put Isaiah’s scrolling as a separate event. Likewise, there are only four instances of falling stars, this in Isaiah, two in the Synoptic Gospel accounts from the Olivet Discourse, and last in the section in Revelation with the sixth Seal. (Other stars falling concern allegorical usage to describe Satan’s fall as noted from the discussion previously in chapter 4 of this book from Revelation chapter 12 in conjunction with Luke 10:18.) Three of these are firmly linked to the same sun/moon/star event. Therefore, like with the scrolling of the sky, the falling stars describe a unique event happening at the end of the age. Therefore the fit of this verse is appropriate and as a multiple account can be folded into the whole timeline and its specific information showing an overlap between the sun/moon/star event and the scrolling can be incorporated.
More detail is added which can aid in presenting the unfolding timeline sequence of events, augmenting the overall sequence and in this instance, showing some overlap. To say the day changes dramatically with the darkening of the sun, and then the obscuration of the moon and stars, this condition of the ‘heavenly bodies’ thus started before the scrolling. The effects rendered upon them first of being darkened still precedes now their falling. If the stars described in the sun/moon/star event are then said to fall, now their falling can be understood as part of the magnificent scrolling of the sky and both act to punctuate the day which to this point has been rather dull even if it has been imposing.
Taking Isaiah 34:4 and inserting it here as an introduction to the third event shows another reference John could have been making with likening the falling of stars as figs. Interestingly enough, Jesus describes the same thing in the Olivet Discourse, which with the Scripture being unbroken; it not surprising. The stars up until this point may not have been visible and then from an observer true point of view would cascade out of the sky like a meteor shower coinciding with the scrolling of the sky. This would render each statement between their darkening and their fall which at first reading would seem contradictory as being true as it is revealed in putting both together at this moment one after another. Indeed, rather than being a “this or that” equation, having both elements present in this order would fulfill each prophetic description.
With the scrolling of the sky and the cascading of the ‘stars,’ Jesus also says that His Salvation is literally at the door at this point. This analysis labels this second celestial sign as the sign of the Son of Man in the sky. Thus this final sign after the foreboding beginning of the Day of the Lord signals a distinct event and this celestial lightshow precedes Christ’s arrival. Those on the earth around the point of His descent then see the Lord descending as He had gone up. Subsequently, the rest of the earth sees Him covering the earth on the clouds.
The sky scrolls to reveal Jesus descending with a celestial firestorm of falling stars. As He touches down as He left, the second earthquake of Revelation 6:14 ensues. Since Jesus has some work to do on the Earth and beyond the natural world, the scrolling does not have to continue, but could pause. Indeed, other events are ordered before Jesus gathers the Elect from the corners of the Earth which necessitate a pause at this juncture. However, when He comes on the clouds, the scrolling of the sky would continue when the Lord arises to the clouds with the resurrected souls from Paradise. If the scrolling were to proceed from east to west not only would each time zone be able to have the sky turn light at night, but it would be a literal fulfillment to Jesus’ words describing His parousia being like lightening flashing in the east unto the west. Thus suggested as a best “fit” looking forward to Christ covering the earth would see Him from the vantage point of one still standing on the earth as looking up, seeing the sky scroll back from the east and with a host of falling stars, see Christ illuminated on the clouds with all the resurrected souls from Paradise with Him.
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 8:06:14 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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How Many Returns of Christ?
How many times does Christ actually appear: once or twice? This question has plagued debates between commentaries. Different schools have argued incessantly over this doctrine in eschatology. The Post-Millennial and Amillennial schools teach but one all-inclusive coming of Christ. In this Day of the Lord, all of prophecy is fulfilled down to the separation of the goats and the sheep. They say there is but one resurrection, one judgment, and then everything passes into the new Heaven and new Earth.
The Pre-Millennial schools vary in their interpretation. The Historical Pre-Millennial school has but one coming sandwiched between the Tribulation and the Millennial. The Post-Tribulation takes this one step farther and states the Tribulation period as being the whole of the seventieth ‘seven’ so in essence preserves the sense of but one second coming. The Pre-Tribulation school differs from the others in having Christ return before the end of this present age. So this last school of eschatology qualifies the Rapture as saying Christ does not actually touch the Earth, but remains on the Cloud. This allays criticism leveled against it by the other schools which are united in saying there is but one return of Christ on the Earth.
To answer this question, leads to actually questioning the premise by which the number of times the Lord actually sets down upon the Earth has become an issue in the first place. If the premise is a neat transition, then Christ only has to return to restore order: ergo, one return of Christ. This simple view dictates Christ’s return must be decisive and final. However, if the Elect are first removed, and those remaining are largely destined for destruction, then having that take some time in a literal and physical manner would not be outside of the character of God. If revenge is God’s, and God is patient with its coming, then it does not have to last only a moment. Indeed, the very structure of the Seal chronology leading up to the unsealing of the Scroll with the desolations God has decreed written within and without suggests God’s Wrath takes time as the fifth Trumpet alone takes five months.
Therefore, if Jesus is to return as Isaiah 61:2 says with God’s vengeance, then how many times He touches the Earth is moot. Indeed, it would not matter as a theological point: God is still God and can do as He wishes in fulfillment of God’s plan. Taking a literal view of Scripture as outlined herein has Jesus touching down more than once before the Millennium Kingdom is actually established. If putting various events in a logical order is correct, then there are multiple times the Lord returns before the establishment of the Kingdom of God on Earth which is announced in Revelation 11:15, and the world moves into the Millennium.
There can only be one return of Christ when that is defined as Jesus coming back after His Ascension from the Mount of Olives. After He returns, then as shown below, He can do as He needs. For the clear majority of the world, Jesus will be seen returning on the clouds to gather those who are still alive and are left of the Elect: the Church. This observer-true view of Jesus’ return involves no touchdown per se, and the first they see of Him, He is on the clouds with the Living whom have already been resurrected from the grave.
The principle which can be displayed in the Bible is this:
Jesus is mobile: once He returns ― He can freely traverse Heaven and Earth.
Nowhere in the Bible does it dictate that once Jesus returns that He is bound to the Earth. Indeed there is a verse where the Bible suggests Jesus’ mobility after His return. The principle of Jesus’ freedom of mobility between Heaven (the spiritual plane) and Earth is buttressed by two separate parts in the Bible where Christ has demonstrated He is able to transcend dimensions and boundaries in the spiritual plane and a third which points to mobility in the future:.
1. First is in death. When Jesus was on the cross He told the thief on His right that they would be in Paradise that day. Jesus had previously given us the only glimpse we have into the afterlife with Paradise in Luke 16:19-31 about in the story (not a parable) of the beggar Lazarus. However, in 1st Peter 3, Jesus is not bound to only Paradise, but goes to visit spirits imprisoned from the time of Noah. Their imprisonment suggests they are not in Abraham’s bosom or enjoy any rest in death. These spirits may very well be in the abyss between Paradise and Hades as Jesus relates the afterlife in the Bible.
2. Secondly, Jesus makes three appearances to the Apostles as revealed in John. Additionally, Jesus appears and instantaneously disappears to others. He makes His final appearance to many on top of the Mount of Olives. All these separate “returns” happen after His Resurrection. Here Jesus demonstrates His ability to traverse Heaven and Earth at will so as to establish witnesses which proves His Resurrection.
3. In the prophecy of Revelation 14:4, we find the 144,000 go wherever Jesus goes. This certainly suggests Jesus is mobile. With His mobility in the grave between His death on the Cross and His Resurrection, and the several times He made an appearance on Earth after His Resurrection; arguably Jesus can be highly mobile, traveling between dimensions of Heaven and Earth as need be.
When looking at the activities Jesus performs, they differ significantly as to location, action and purpose. Furthermore, the actions described take time. In the case of the final battle of the one ‘seven’ and Jesus’ revealing to the Remnant, according to the Man in Linen from Daniel 12:11 & 12, there are two additional time periods between the last of the one ‘seven’ and the Millennium.
1. As will be shown in the next section: upon His return, Jesus touches down on the Mount of Olives. This correlates to the second earthquake of the sixth Seal. Later on the Day of the Lord, Jesus gathers those who are still alive and are left ― the Elect (the last of the Church) from the clouds (with the majority of the Elect who have been just resurrected from Paradise). These events are associated with the Day of the Lord because of the signature Sun/moon/star event. This half of the Day of the Lord is pointed at the Elect, which, during the Church Age, is synonymous with the Church. However, those selected by God can include Old Testament Saints who believed in the Lord.
2. Also on the Day of the Lord, other images in Old Testament prophecy show the Lord (Jesus) trampling out His Wrath upon the Land (Israel). This is the other half of the Day of the Lord pointed at unbelieving Israel. There are battles on this Day as well, one centered around Jerusalem and another south of the Holy City in the Valley of Decision. In these battles, Jesus takes on the forces of the King of the North. In addition, an army is pictured with Jesus. In Ezekiel 9, the Lord is pictured in the Temple and sends six soldiers out to kill men, women, and children without pity or compassion. The reason for this cleansing is to rid Israel of idolatry and prepare it as an anvil upon which to smash the nations.
3. At the end of the one ‘seven’ a different battle is fought in Armageddon, which as a name, places this battlefield in the hill country of Ephraim. In Revelation 19, Jesus is pictured again with His Army about to go forth from the Heavenly realm. This battle is the final one where Jesus wipes out the assembled nations of North, South, and East and the two main antagonists, the anti-Christ and the False Prophet are captured alive. While the action is similar to the second half of the Day of the Lord, this battle in another location and the purpose has changed as well. This time, God directs His Wrath at the Nations. So Israel has already been cleansed and stands ready as a platform upon which to smash the nations.
4. Some seventy-five days later (after the 30 and 45 day periods as laid out by the Man in Linen in Daniel) Jesus appears to the assembled Remnant of Israel as the Kingly Messiah. At that time, He is revealed to them as the Servant Messiah they had previously pierced (and rejected) in the person of Jesus. This then begins the earthly reign of Jesus and thus a new time in man’s existence comes to be: the Millennium. During that time, Jesus will be a present reality upon the Earth. The resulting new paradigm removes faith as a requirement for Salvation because now God can be proved by direct, observable evidence. Prophecy will no longer be necessary when the Lord is present; with Jesus’ anointing as King, Daniel 9:24 will be fulfilled in its entirety.
These four distinct appearances of Jesus do not include His interaction to lead the Remnant during the second half of the one ‘seven.’ Isaiah documents that the Lord will go before those from Judea and Jerusalem who flee, guide them, and act as a rear guard protecting them, and that they will rely upon the Lord, even though they do not know His true identity until He is unveiled at the beginning of the Millennium, being blind until then (Isa 10:20, 42:16, 52:12).
Scripture does not absolutely dictate that only with the very instance of Christ’s return that He must establish His Millennial peace in one fell swoop. Rather, the surety of the anti-Christ’s destruction and the establishment of God’s Kingdom will be realized after a very long absence. Allowing for different visitations after His return to accomplish that in fullness cannot be ruled out. Elements of God’s Wrath take time in order to be felt in their entirety. Indeed, looking at the various and sundry events associated with Jesus, time must be allowed to pass between them. Despite any disagreement on the timing of the Rapture, those with a millennial bent must acknowledge that between the end of the one ‘seven’ and the beginning of the Millennium, there must be separate instances where Jesus appears on the earth because of the 30 and 45 day periods.
Therefore, Christ returns but once: on the Day of the Lord and as Isaiah 52:8 and Revelation 1:7 dictate, everyone will see Him. However, how many times Jesus subsequently alights upon the Earth before establishing the Millennium is determined only by God’s plan of vengeance and Jesus’ part in that Wrath until the Millennium Kingdom is established.
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 8:10:50 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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Touchdown
Jesus has been making an abode for the Church since He ascended into Heaven. The very words Jesus cites in John 14 refers to the first century Jewish wedding practice and ties in with the Church being the Bride of Christ in figurative fashion. One side-by-side comparison between the wedding ritual and Christ’s two Advents is in Appendix C. In conjunction with that ritual being a figurative example for looking at the Rapture, the predominant view does not allow Jesus to touch down before taking the Church back to Heaven, just as the Groom doesn’t come into the house of the Bride. However, analogies and figurative illustrations of reality need not take precedence over actual events just as Paul says the Festivals are a shadow of things to come but the reality is found in Jesus.
In keeping with Paul’s reasoning to prevent straight jacketing eschatology, there are two distinct references for demanding Christ touch down on the Earth before gathering the Elect:
• The first reference hails from Christ’s Ascension as written in Acts chapter 1.
• The second reference stems from the second great earthquake in the general timeline given with the opening of the sixth Seal backed up with specific prophecy in Zechariah.
In the first reference, Jesus was taken up from the Mount Olives, and the angels say Jesus will return in the very same way. As a first event of the Lord in coming after those who are still alive and are left, the position here is that Christ touches down on the Mount of Olives splitting it in two. The interesting point here is that this in turn leads to a plethora of Old Testament passages which describe the Lord on Mount Zion, a bare hill top. If Jesus’ return as indicated in the Olivet Discourse is on the Day of the Lord, then events surrounding the Day of the Lord which involve a mountain top become significant to understanding the events of that day.
AC 1:9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.
AC 1:10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."
AC 1:12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city.
The second reference in the Seal chronology acts as a general order for the events which take place on the Day of the Lord. Specifically, the sixth Seal, which contains the sun/moon/star sign of the Day of the Lord, reveals an order which may allow for the some of the diverse Old Testament references to be framed within a whole. At this point, the chronology has only gone up to the fourth physical manifestation: the second great Earthquake. Retracing the sequence of events about the Day of the Lord the order indicates the scrolling of the sky as the sign of the Son of Man follows with a great earthquake:
REV 6:14 The sky receded like a scroll, rolling up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
The fourth event to be set in sequence marries the multiple account prophesized by the Angels to the Apostles in Acts with a source for an earthquake in accordance with the first reference for saying Christ touches down on the Mount of Olives: Zechariah.
ZEC 14:4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.
Does the splitting of the Mount of Olives east to west with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south allow for every mountain and island (which are, after all, just mountains above the sea floor) to be moved? If nothing else, the Indian Ocean earthquake of 2004 which caused the Christmas tsunami has shown that one earthquake can actually displace every reference on earth from its previous position on the earth. The movement of plates affects more than just the immediate fault, and this earthquake, like the one that caused the tsunami will literally ring the earth like a bell (Sumatra Quake Shook Earth’s Total Surface by Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press Writer; May 19, 2005).
While Zechariah, like Isaiah, sprinkles visions without regard to a strict overall linear timeframe, this verse is set in an end-time passage. In chapter 14 verses 3 through 7, Zechariah describes various aspects of the Day of the Lord. Especially telling of this particular Day is the wording of the uniqueness of this day, so much so that the even the wicked will know something is afoot.
The language Zechariah uses in describing this unique day of 14:7 also allows for a unification of days into one. Repeating some word study from the last section, the word for unique, ’ehad is closely identified with yahad “to be united.” The author in the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament associates this word with ro’sh, the “first head,” which is in connection with the “first day” of the month and he says it stresses unity while recognizing diversity with that oneness.
This rationale supporting Christ’s touchdown on the Mount Olives is associated with the great earthquake He causes. This earth-changing geological cataclysm will alter the Earth’s topography just as the earthquakes in the Indian ocean of December 2004 had ramifications far beyond the fault shift. As Zechariah points out, the splitting of the Mount of Olives has application for another select people of God, the remnant God will save through the second half of the seventieth ‘seven.’
ZEC 14:5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.
Notice that Zechariah has the sequence of events in the same order as presented in the Seal chronology of Revelation. After the people flee, Jesus comes with “all the holy ones” with Him. In the Seal account, the next event which Jesus causes is the sealing of the 144,000. The role they play will be laid out in a following section, but the words here might explain why they flee: they are literally running away from them.
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RE: The Day of the Lord - from a sequence-of-events ana... - 1/24/2008 8:12:55 AM
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Sinner-Saint
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Zechariah details an event which is not in the Seal chronology. As Revelation is addressed for the Church, events directed toward Israel are not its subject. For that, the Old Testament Prophets were used to foretell what would happen to Israel on the Day of the Lord. It is completely different than for the Church versus Israel just as Paul juxtaposed the different ends for the Roman victory parade with its army and its captives.
Harkening back to the Olivet Discourse, on the eve of midpoint of the seventieth ‘seven,’ those Jews in Judea were to flee when they saw the army encamped around Jerusalem and/or the abomination, the talking statue of the anti-Christ which is quickly set up in the Temple. Now on the Day of the Lord, when He touches down, some people of Jerusalem will flee before the Lord, and they will flee to the east. God will lead them as Isaiah says in the context of a day of Wrath:
ISA 42:16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
I will turn the darkness into light before them
and make the rough places smooth.
These are the things I will do;
I will not forsake them.
They are blind because they do not yet believe in Christ. They still have the veil of Moses before them and they cannot see the truth. This veil will be lifted when they come into the Millennium as Zechariah prophesizes and look upon the One they have pierced. God will lead them as prophesized in parallel account within Revelation 12:14:
The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach.
The distance between Jerusalem and the Mount Olives is a Sabbath Day’s walk or about 1100 meters. It will require some minutes to traverse this distance, with a person being able to walk a mile (about 1600 meters) in about 20 minutes at a good pace. Allowing for the confusion and panic, it may take half an hour for this portion of the remnant that will be called out of Jerusalem (ostensibly to join those who fled from Judea) to make it through the valley the earthquake has created and to move onto safety.
Jesus’ touchdown on the Mount of Olives satisfies in mirror image the prophetic words of the Angels in Acts. As shown from Zechariah, this touchdown produces a large earthquake which displaces a sizeable volume of earth which would then qualify as a great earthquake. This then would satisfy the prophecy contained in the fourth physical manifestations on the earth and in the sky in the Seal account which orders the signs which take place on the Day of the Lord. Two events are ordered after these four signs, and they come after the touchdown of Jesus in the sequence of events on the Day of the Lord. Still there are other elements which have to be woven into the sequence of events dictated by the Revelation account of the Seals.
In the parallel account of Revelation chapters 13-16 inclusive, another picture emerges which acts like a multiple account to Zechariah: Jesus is standing with the 144,000 on Mount Zion.
REV 14:1 Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads
The placement of Mount Zion seems to contradict Zechariah’s prophetic words and the witness of the angels in Acts. However, as a place, Mount Zion is less specific than the Mount of Olives, saying Holy Mountain, or listing the Temple Mount as the actual location for the Lamb to stand. While Mount Zion is closely associated in the Bible with Jerusalem as the place of God’s habitation, the Old Testament makes a distinction between Jerusalem and Mount Zion (1 | | | |
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