“And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

[Luke 21:27-28]

When fully grasped, the Day of the LORD is the most sobering, heart-wrenching reality. Divine judgment. Righteous Anger. Fire and blood and thick clouds of smoke. Distress all around. When the powers of the heavens are shaken and all the nations on the earth will mourn and tremble at His presence. For it is the day most terrifying for those who refuse to believe and obey the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yet what is sheer horror to a wicked world will be the most beautiful sight ever beheld by the children of God.

For the saints of the Most High, the Day of the LORD is the long-awaited day of deliverance! It is the Day we meet our Maker — face-to-face — and we will stand in awe of Him who comes from heaven in all His power and great glory.

And then at that moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall become like Him, sons of God, and we shall know Him truly as we are truly known. It is the Day that all of God’s children from all time will be gathered together to marvel in His presence and rest in His everlasting love.

“Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.”

[1 John 3:2]

For believers, the Day of the LORD is our ultimate salvation, our final redemption, our day of destiny, our triumph of victory, our joy complete, our entrance into eternity. For those in Christ Jesus, the Day of the LORD is the greatest Day in history. When all things are made new!

Don’t miss the qualifier. This reality is only for true believers in Jesus Christ. For only those in a personal relationship with the Father through faith in the Son will be delivered in the end.

Since this literally is of eternal importance, I should clarify what is meant by belief or saving faith. This is the essence of how men must respond to the gospel.

Saving faith is relentless trust in the Person and finished work of Jesus Christ — the Son of God — who died on the cross for our sin, was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead according to the Scriptures. We are saved by God’s grace through faith, which results in the following realities …

• Redeemed by Jesus — set free from the penalty of sin and death — by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, who became our substitute for sin and paid our ransom at the price of His own life.
• Regenerated by the Holy Spirit — enter spiritual union with the Lord Jesus and receive the divine nature as a new creation in Christ.
• Reconciled to God — all enmity with God is removed as the Prince of Peace now rules and reigns in our hearts, restoring us into a relationship with God the Father through Christ the Son and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit

Only the just shall live by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. And for the justified in Christ — the redeemed — the Day of the LORD will be the most glorious day imaginable.

Now let’s dive a little deeper.

You Will Suffer Tribulation

Jesus Christ made many promises to His followers. One recurring promise was that as long as we remained in this present age, we will have tribulation and the world will hate us for His name’s sake [John 15:18-21, 16:33].

From the very beginning, God’s people have been well acquainted with sorrow, suffering, and persecution. Jesus reminds us of “all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah” [Matthew 23:35]. Jesus also encourages us in the joy we find when we identify with Him through persecution.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

[Matthew 5:10-12]

Consider the testimony of the Old Testament. The children of Israel suffered relentlessly and eventually were exiled for being identified as Yahweh’s own portion. From Lot to Job to Joseph to David to Elijah to Jeremiah to Daniel …. the list goes on and on.

Then consider John the Baptist and the Apostles, nearly all of whom died a martyr’s death for the sake of the gospel. The entire testimony of church history is one of persecution and suffering for the cause of Christ, and to this day Christians and Jews remain the most persecuted people groups in the world. That’s not to mention Jesus Himself, who is the supreme example of the righteous suffering at the hands of evil.

A countless number of God’s people — both known and unknown — historically have suffered for their faith.

The author of Hebrews provides one of the most sobering reminders of the cost to follow Jesus Christ and to identify with His name.

“Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”

[Hebrews 11:36-40]

There is a reality for all the saints who belong to God and who have both lived and died in faith. God’s people have yet to receive what has been fully promised, which is a far better country — a new heaven and a new earth where righteousness dwells forever.

“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city” [Hebrews 11:16].

That is why the Day of the LORD is so significant for all believers of all time. It is the Day we will finally receive resurrected bodies, inherit the earth, receive our reward as heirs to the kingdom, and dwell eternally in the presence of our God.

Great Tribulation

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”

[Matthew 24:21-22]

I confess that I used to be confused about the difference between God’s wrath and the great tribulation. While there is a unique distinction between the two, they are not mutually exclusive.

When I say the great tribulation, I am speaking of a defined period of approximately 3.5 years (1260 days or 42 months) that culminates with the final measure God’s wrath on the Day of the LORD. I do believe there is legitimate Biblical support for a 3.5 year great tribulation, while I personally am not convinced that we can clearly define any future 7-year period [see Daniel 9:25-27], unless it is derived from it’s obvious connection to the fact that 3.5 years is the midpoint of 7-years.

Tribulation is a generic word that can refer to any and include every form of distress, trouble, calamity, judgment, persecution, pressure, wrath etc… Tribulation can involve a full spectrum of troubles, from internal and external to physical and emotional to personal and universal. So if that is the case, then tribulation does not always directly involve divine judgment, but it most certainly cannot exclude the wrath of God.

In other words, God’s wrath is the epitome of tribulation. God’s wrath would be the worst part of any “tribulation,” and therefore must be the height of the great tribulation, as the worst time in human history.

And that is precisely what the Scriptures bear. The Day of the LORD is the culmination of God’s wrath at His coming, yet the great tribulation also will include progressive acts of divine judgment and demonstrations of God’s wrath [see the Seal, trumpet, bowl judgments etc..] that represent the agonizing labor pains that precede the return of Christ.

That is precisely what makes the great tribulation so great! It will be that unique time in history that will never again be equaled in magnitude and mass destruction. That is because it will be the culmination and combination of man’s wickedness and violence, worldly upheaval, natural disaster, demonic evil, satanic wrath, divine judgment — all climaxing with the righteous indignation and final outpouring of God’s wrath.

That is why Jesus says that if God doesn’t put an end to the great tribulation — then no human being would survive. All flesh would be lost. But for the sake of the elect — people of faith — God will bring everything to an end.

The end of the great tribulation will be that moment when the dust clears and the trumpets stop and sun breaks through the darkest clouds and the earth stops shaking and the roaring oceans are stilled and the enemies of God have been defeated and the battle is over and the whole world will stand in total silence — in awe of the King who has returned from heaven to claim His kingdom and sit down on His glorious throne on the mountain of Zion.

That is how God brings an end to the great tribulation. And that is why the Day of the LORD is the great Day of our deliverance.

God is Able to Protect His People

The next obvious conclusion is that there will be a unique generation of believers on the earth during this most perilous time that will endure to the end and so be delivered. Some are confused about this, especially in light of alternative views like the pre-tribulation rapture.

But the testimony of God’s word is crystal clear. God’s elect, His children — the church of the living God — will be on the earth during the great tribulation and must endure many hardships, including captivity, persecution, satanic wrath, and even death. But God only directs His wrath on the ungodly and the wicked, never the righteous.

Plus, lest we forget, when Christ comes we will be changed in an instant and be like Him, glorified, and therefore we will have received our resurrected bodies. At that point, we cannot die. We cannot get hurt. We cannot experience pain. So as Jesus unleashes His wrath on the nations and pours out his fire upon the earth on that Day — it won’t affect us. We will be untouchable!

God has proven Himself quite capable of both protecting His own while at the same time concentrating His wrath on His enemies. He did this with the Hebrews in Egypt, with Noah and flood, Lot in Sodom, the remnant during the Babylonian invasion, Daniel in the lion’s den etc … God’s track record is not about removing us from as much as it is seeing us through tribulation.

“Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourselves for a little while until the fury has passed by.”

[Isaiah 26:20]

“Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.”

[Zephaniah 2:3]

“But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

[Luke 21:36]

“I am not asking that You take them out of the world, but that You keep them from the evil one.”

[John 17:15]

When We Finally Find Relief and Rest

The Day of the LORD will be our great Day of Deliverance, when Christ shall come to save His people.

The Apostle Paul provides one of the most descriptive accounts of this future Day of Deliverance in 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10. Notice how he connects our day of final relief and rest from tribulation with the Day of the LORD.

1. “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering …” [2 Thes. 1:5] — God’s people who endure suffering for His name are worthy of the coming kingdom.
2. “Since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when …” [2 Thes. 1:6-7] — God has promised to repay with tribulation those who cause us tribulation and to grant us our final relief when?
3. WHEN … “the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus …” [2 Thes. 1:7-8] — God tells us exactly when we can expect ultimate relief and final redemption. When Jesus is revealed from heaven in flaming fire to inflict vengeance.
4. WHEN … “He comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed …” [2 Thes. 1:10]

The Day of the LORD. The Day of Deliverance for all God’s people.

Next time I will examine the relationship between ethnic/national Israel and the remnant of the faithful in last days.

Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.

[Zechariah 14:3]

The Old Testament prophets often delivered prophecies that were intended to convey dual fulfillments — one near and one far away. Many of the divine judgments declared on Israel’s enemies have been partially fulfilled in history, yet a final fulfillment is yet future. For example, Yahweh announced and fulfilled His promise to judge ancient Babylon, but there remains a future judgment described for “Babylon the great” in Revelation 17-18.

The Day of the LORD is the context for the final judgment of these nations, and this post will demonstrate that the LORD was specific when communicating this climatic judgment through the prophets. God uses historical names of specific nations for a reason. The same general geographical territories that historically have been hostile to Israel remain hostile to this day, which sets the stage for intensifying conflict in and around the Holy Land leading to the Day of the LORD.

The Nations in Isaiah

Isaiah dedicates an entire 10 chapters to the final judgment of the nations in the last days. Interestingly enough, both Israel and Jerusalem are listed among those nations who will suffer divine punishment. As the LORD uses the nations as a rod of His anger during the last invasion of Israel and siege of Jerusalem, He will judge His own people for their idolatry and unbelief. Then the LORD will return to deliver the remnant of believing Israel [see Romans 11:25-26] and will strike down the nations for their own rebellion.

Here is a breakdown of nations from Isaiah.

• Babylon (13:1-14:23) — modern day Iraq/Syria
• Assyria (14:24-27) — modern day Syria/Iraq/eastern Turkey
• Philistines (14:28-32) — modern day Gaza
• Moab (15-16) — modern day Jordan
• Syria and Israel (17)
• Ethiopia (18)
• Egypt (19-20)
• Cush (20) — modern day Sudan/Ethiopia
• Babylon (21:1-10)
• Edom (21:11-12) — modern day Jordan/Saudi Arabia
• Arabia (21:13-17) — Saudi Arabia/Yemen
• Jerusalem (22)
• Tyre (23) — modern day Lebanon

It should be noted that special interest is again given to the territories of Bozrah and Edom in Isaiah 34 and 63, which are classic Day of the LORD passages. Again, these territories correlate to modern-day Jordan and northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The Nations in Jeremiah

Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them.” So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it:

[Jeremiah 25:15-17]

Jeremiah, like Isaiah is full of divine judgments agains the nations [see Jeremiah 46-51], but chapter 25 provides the most complete list from the weeping prophet. As you can see, there is a great deal of overlap between Isaiah and Jeremiah.

• Jerusalem and the cities of Judah (25:18)
• Egypt (25:19)
• Uz (25:20) — exact location uncertain but likely in proximity to modern day Jordan/Syria/Iraq
• Philistines (Ashkelon, Gaza, Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod) (25:20) — modern day Gaza
• Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon (25:21) — modern day Jordan/northwestern Saudi Arabia
• Tyre, Sidon, and the coastland across the sea (25:22) — modern day Lebanon and eastern Mediterranean
• Dedan, Tema, Buz (25:23) — modern day Saudi Arabia
• Arabia (25:24) — Saudi Arabia
• Zimri, Elam, and Media (25:25) — modern day Iran
• All the kings of the north, far and near — the Hebrew word for “north,” —Zaphon — can refer simply to geographical territories north of Israel, such as Turkey, but there is also a connection with spiritual wickedness in high places and the term Zaphon [see Isaiah 14:13, Daniel 11, Ezekiel 38]. This could be a reference to the concentration of all the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places in the last days.
• All the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth (25:26) — This catch-all phrase shows the scope of influence the Antichrist will have in the last days. Although his government will be centralized in the Middle East, his reach will be in some ways global. [see Revelation 13:5-8]
• Babylon (25:26) — Again there is special attention given to Babylon, which is the historical archenemy of Israel and seat of satanic power and influence.

The Nations in Ezekiel

Ezekiel is no exception when naming the nations to be judged on the Day of the LORD. The prophet dedicates chapters 25-32 to pronounce judgments on specific nations and also provides one of the most comprehensive descriptions of the Day of the LORD in chapters 38-39.

Consider Ezekiel’s lament of Pharaoh and Egypt to be judged on the Day of LORD in chapter 32.

• Egypt is delivered to the sword; drag her away, and all her multitudes (v. 20)
• Assyria is there, and all her company, its graves all around it, all of them slain, fallen by the sword (v. 22)
• Elam (Iran) is there, and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword (v. 24)
• Meshech-Tubal (Turkey) is there, and all her multitude, her graves all around it, all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword (v. 26)
• Edom (Jordan) is there, her kings and all her princes, who for all their might are laid with those who are killed by the sword (v. 29)
• The princes of the north are there, all of them, and all the Sidonians (Lebanon), who have gone down in shame with the slain (v. 30)

Ezekiel also provides details from his description of the judgment of Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal in chapter 38. As I have written in previous posts, Gog is the final end-times Antichrist figure.

• Meshech, Tubal, Magog, Beth-togarma, Gomer — modern day Turkey/Syria
• Persia – modern day Iran
• Cush – modern day Sudan/Ethiopia
• Put – modern day Libya/Northern Africa

Once again, there is considerable overlap with the nations mentioned by the Biblical prophets. I will share one more passage that hones in on the immediate people groups immediately around Israel. Psalm 83.

The Nations in Psalm 83

Although some interpret Psalm 83 to be some kind of regional conflict that becomes the catalysts for the great tribulation and military campaign of the antichrist, I believe this psalm clearly is referring to the Day of the LORD.

The psalmist describes a conspiracy between nations to destroy God’s people, saying, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Israel be remembered no more,” and also “Let us take possession for ourselves of the pastures of God.” [Psalm 83:4, 12 ] After listing the names of the nations, the psalmist uses classic Day of the LORD language to invoke God’s judgment of His enemies.

O my God, make them like whirling dust,
like chaff before the wind.
As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
so may you pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane!
Fill their faces with shame,
that they may seek your name, O LORD.
Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;
let them perish in disgrace,
that they may know that you alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are the Most High over all the earth.

[Psalm 83:13-18]

Again. We discover another consistent overlap here with perhaps more focus on the immediate surrounding nations. Read Psalm 83:5-8.

• Tents of Edom (Jordan/northwestern Saudi Arabia)
• Ishmaelites (Saudis – Ishmael father of the Arabs)
• Moab (Central Jordan)
• Hagrites (Hagarenes – Northern Jordan)
• Gebal (Lebanon)
• Ammon (N. Jordan)
• Amalek (Arabia)
• Philistia (Gaza Strip)
• Tyre (Lebanon)
• Asshur, aka Assyria (Syria/Tukey/Iraq)

The Never-Ending Hatred

In closing, it is worth noting that Ezekiel refers to a blind hatred and contempt for Israel as the “never-ending enmity” of God’s enemies. The same spirit of utter disdain for Israel has remain constant in the surrounding nations for centuries, and it seems to be growing stronger each passing year. The spirit of the Antichrist will be what ultimately unifies all of these nations in their common hatred of God’s people, which will lead to the Day of the LORD.

“Thus says the Lord GOD: Because the Philistines acted revengefully and took vengeance with malice of soul to destroy in never-ending enmity, therefore thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I will stretch out my hand against the Philistines, and I will cut off the Cherethites and destroy the rest of the seacoast. I will execute great vengeance on them with wrathful rebukes. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I lay my vengeance upon them.”

[Ezekiel 25:15-17]

“Because you (Seir/Edom) cherished perpetual enmity and gave over the people of Israel to the power of the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, therefore, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will prepare you for blood, and blood shall pursue you; because you did not hate bloodshed, therefore blood shall pursue you.”

[Ezekiel 35:5-6]

Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.” So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath.

[Revelation 14:18-19]

As Jesus agonized in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, He asked the Father — if possible — to “take this cup from me.“

What cup?

The cup of God’s wrath.

The Father drained His cup of fury and poured out the full measure of His wrath on Jesus at Calvary. As Jesus shed His own blood, He became the propitiation for sin, crying out, “It is finished!”

The Scriptures are clear, however, that there is another cup to be poured out on the Day of the LORD — a cup of divine wrath overflowing with blood.

But on that Day, Jesus will be the One treading the winepress of God’s wrath, and instead of His own blood, the land will be flowing with the blood of His enemies.

The Two Great Harvests of the Earth

There will be two distinct harvests at the end of the age on the Day of the LORD. One will be the final gathering of God’s people, in which believers will be redeemed at the resurrection and receive glorified bodies to inherit the kingdom of God on earth. We ultimately will be made like Jesus. As John says, “we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” [1 John 3:2].

This is the harvest of the righteous and the final redemption of God’s people.

The other great harvest will be the final gathering of the wicked and rebellious nations who will unite against the Lord Jesus and invade the Holy Land at the end of the age.

Both of these harvests culminate on the Day of the LORD and at the final battle for Jerusalem, when Jesus returns to earth to rescue His own people and strike down the nations in judgment. Jesus teaches us the parable of the wheat and tares to illustrate this reality and clarifies that “the harvest is the end of the age” [Matthew 13:39].

Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

[Matthew 13:30]

John’s vision in Revelation 14 echoes the words of Jesus by contrasting the two harvests — one for the righteous and one for the wicked.

Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

[Revelation 14:14-16]

The final gathering of God’s people is always connected to the return of Jesus and the resurrection of the righteous, which takes place “on the last day” [John 6:40-44]. As Jesus brings his armies from heaven to do battle on the last day, “He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven” [Mark 13:27].

The Apostle Paul also connects the final harvest of the righteous with the final judgment of the Antichrist on that Day.

“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him … Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction … whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.”

[2 Thessalonians 2:1, 3, 8]

The Apostle Paul is in agreement with Jesus and the prophets. The Day of the LORD will not come until after the Antichrist is revealed and leads his final rebellion. According to Paul, believers will not be gathered together to Jesus until the coming of Jesus to earth, which is precisely when He will destroy the Antichrist and his armies [see also Ezekiel 38-39, Revelation 19:11-21].

Which leads us to the second great harvest.

The Grapes will be Ripe

Once the fullness of the Gentiles has come in, all those who have pledged their allegiance to the Antichrist will converge as one like a mass cluster of grapes, ripe for harvest.

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.

[Revelation 14:9-10]

The winepress must be filled with the grapes of God’s enemies. On that Day, the harvest will be ripe. Notice how Joel uses the very same language to describe the final battle for Jerusalem.

“Let the nations be roused and advance to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit down to judge all the nations on every side. Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because their wickedness is great.”

[Joel 3:12-13]

The Land of Israel — The Great Winepress

As the nations gather for war on the Day of the LORD, the land of Israel will become a natural winepress as it were. The LORD has been preparing for this very hour. Megiddo will be full. Jehoshaphat will be full. Jerusalem a cup of staggering. Hundreds of millions gathering for war in the Valley of Decision!

Although the surrounding nations will be drawn into battle by the satanic spirit of the Antichrist and blinded by a strong delusion, little will they know that it was God’s plan all along. The LORD is gathering them for this final battle [Zechariah 14:1-2].

“And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army.”

[Revelation 19:19]

Jesus will Tread the Winepress

Once the Beast and his armies are gathered in the winepress, the heavens will be opened and all the kings of the earth will wail as they see the King of kings riding on the clouds in power and great glory to strike them down with his rod of iron.

Consider the following prophecy of this dreadful day when Jesus returns to earth to wage war against the wicked.

Who is this who comes from Edom,
in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,
he who is splendid in his apparel,
marching in the greatness of his strength?
“It is I, speaking in righteousness,
mighty to save.”

Why is your apparel red,
and your garments like his who treads in the winepress?

“I have trodden the winepress alone,
and from the peoples no one was with me;
I trod them in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath;
their lifeblood spattered on my garments,
and stained all my apparel.
For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and my year of redemption had come.
I looked, but there was no one to help;
I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;
so my own arm brought me salvation,
and my wrath upheld me.
I trampled down the peoples in my anger;
I made them drunk in my wrath,
and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.”

[Isaiah 63:1-6]

Isaiah’s prophecy is one of the most intense descriptions of the Day of the LORD. Jesus is portrayed marching in bloody garments, striking down His enemies in wrath. This prophecy sets the original context forJohn’s vision of Jesus coming to tread the winepress.

“He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.”

[Revelation 19:13-16]

On that Day, the carnage will be catastrophic. The corpses countless. The bloodshed … relentless.

Rivers of Blood

“And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse’s bridle, for 1,600 stadia.”

[Revelation 14:20]

Once King Jesus is on the ground and begins treading the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God, the blood will begin to flow. Never has there been such carnage in all of human history. It will be a time of such anguish that no human life would survive on the earth unless God cuts it short [Matthew 24:21-22].

The Apostle John saw a vision of that Day, where he says that the blood flowed as high as a horse’s bridle for approximately 180 miles! In other words, the day of God’s wrath will create a literal river of blood.

I’m not exactly sure how such a massive river of blood could be generated, even by the potential of hundreds of millions of fallen soldiers and animals, but perhaps when the blood of God’s enemies is mixed with a water source, a river of that magnitude is not outside the realm of possibility.

There are other prophetic passages that describe that fateful day.

“I will bring distress on mankind,
so that they shall walk like the blind,
because they have sinned against the LORD;
their blood shall be poured out like dust,
and their flesh like dung.
Neither their silver nor their gold
shall be able to deliver them
on the day of the wrath of the LORD.
In the fire of his jealousy,
all the earth shall be consumed;
for a full and sudden end
he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

[Zephaniah 1:17-18]

“Draw near, O nations, to hear, and give attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it; the world, and all that comes from it. For the LORD is enraged against all the nations, and furious against all their host; he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter. Their slain shall be cast out, and the stench of their corpses shall rise; the mountains shall flow with their blood. All the host of heaven shall rot away, and the skies roll up like a scroll. All their host shall fall, as leaves fall from the vine, like leaves falling from the fig tree. For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,
upon the people I have devoted to destruction. The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood; it is gorged with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. Wild oxen shall fall with them,
and young steers with the mighty bulls. Their land shall drink its fill of blood, and their soil shall be gorged with fat. For the LORD has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

[Isaiah 34:1-8]

“And I will cast you on the ground;
on the open field I will fling you,
and will cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you,
and I will gorge the beasts of the whole earth with you. I will strew your flesh upon the mountains
and fill the valleys with your carcass.
I will drench the land even to the mountains
with your flowing blood,
and the ravines will be full of you.”

[Ezekiel 32:4-6]

The Nations by Name

In closing, I would like to bring attention to the overwhelming testimony of the Biblical prophets that mention by name all of the enemy nations that will be gathered to make war with the Lamb on that Day.

In my next post, I intend to take the time to look at each prophetic passage and work down the list, nation by nation, but for now I will close with Jeremiah’s account of that Day, when the Lord Jesus returns from heaven to tread the winepress of God’s wrath.

“You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them:

Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me:

“Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it …

The LORD will roar from on high,
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold,
and shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the LORD has an indictment against the nations;
he is entering into judgment with all flesh,
and the wicked he will put to the sword,
declares the LORD.”

Thus says the LORD of hosts:
“Behold, disaster is going forth from nation to nation,
and a great tempest is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth!

And those pierced by the LORD on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.”

[Jeremiah 25:15, 30-33]

“I have trodden the winepress alone,
and from the peoples no one was with me;
I trod them in my anger
and trampled them in my wrath;
their lifeblood spattered on my garments,
and stained all my apparel.
For the day of vengeance was in my heart,
and my year of redemption had come.”

[Isaiah 63:3-4]

Jesus came into the world the first time as the Lamb, giving His own life as the atoning sacrifice for sin. He was punished on the cross and suffered the payment for sin He did not commit.

Jesus became the sole object of God’s wrath on our behalf so that we could receive mercy and be saved from the wrath of God.

He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! [John 1:29]

But Jesus is coming next time as a roaring Lion to punish the ungodly, repay the wicked, destroy the evil one, and trample his enemies in wrath.

This is the Day of Vengeance.

The Wrath of the Lamb

“Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

[Revelation 6:16-17]

If there has ever been a contradiction in terms, it is the “wrath of the Lamb.” As the perfect sacrifice for sin, Jesus will forever be the Lamb, but as the rightful judge of the whole world, He also is the Mighty Warrior who is coming to punish the ungodly and take vengeance on His enemies.

Jesus Christ is the ultimate Avenger of evil.

The Day of the LORD, therefore, will be the day of vengeance. The Day when the Lion of the Tribe of Judah roars in Zion and wrath of the Lamb is finished.

Vengeance is Mine Says the Lord

For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

[Hebrews 10:30-31]

It is a fair to ask a few questions concerning the day of vengeance. For example …

1. Who will be the object of the LORD’s vengeance on that Day?
2. What will be the scope of His vengeance?
3. Why will the LORD be so angry on that Day?
4. How will He take revenge on His enemies?

These are all fair questions that I intend to answer, but I first want to share a few thoughts.

God is holy and righteous, and we are not. We are by nature rebellions and wicked. Every time we sin and transgress, we are an offense to a holy God and deserve His righteous judgment. God owes us nothing but vengeance. He is just to repay us for our sin.

Only through faith in Christ is mercy available.

We must not overlook the fact, however, that God has demonstrated extreme acts of vengeance throughout history.

For beginners, He destroyed the whole world with a flood in Noah’s day. He leveled wicked cities with fire and brimstone in Abraham’s day. He poured out wrath on Egypt in Moses’ day. He struck the Israelites with a plague that killed thousands at Mt. Sinai. He caused the earth to swallow up Korah and his rebels and consumed 250 with fire that day. He used Joshua and the Israelites to destroy the wicked inhabitants of Canaan. God even used King Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians as an instrument of vengeance on His own people.

God is patient and long-suffering and desires that none should perish and all come to repentance, but there is a limit to God’s mercy. When He determines to take vengeance, He has every right to do so.

My point is that God has demonstrated acts of vengeance in the past in order to give us a more comprehensive understanding of the future Day of Vengeance.

In Luke 21:22 the Lord Jesus also calls the great tribulation the “days of vengeance, so that all that is written may be fulfilled.” This means that this time of unequaled distress before the end will be days of vengeance, but the end will be the Day of Vengeance, climaxing with the wrath of the Lamb.

The Punishment of the Nations

The primary object of God’s wrath on the Day of Vengeance will be the Antichrist, the wicked kings of the nations, and all their hordes of soldiers. God is not arbitrary and careless when taking revenge but is very specific and direct. The LORD has always been able to punish and save at the same time. He has always poured out wrath on the wicked while at the same time protected the righteous.

I will spend more time in a later post demonstrating how the prophets distinctly describe the punishment of each individual nation on the Day of the LORD.

But for now, Nahum’s prophecy provides a clear description of who is in view on the Day of the Lord’s vengeance. God will take vengeance on all His enemies on that Day.

“The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
the LORD is avenging and wrathful;
the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither;
the bloom of Lebanon withers.
The mountains quake before him;
the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
the world and all who dwell in it.

Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
The LORD is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.
What do you plot against the LORD?
He will make a complete end;
trouble will not rise up a second time.”

[Nahum 1:2-9]

On Account of My People

One of the primary reasons the LORD is so angry on that Day is because He is coming to avenge the pain and suffering of His own people. The Scriptures are clear that the great tribulation will involve the intense persecution of the saints and many of God’s people will die the death of martyrs.

The spirit of antichrist can always be identified because Satan has always sought to destroy God’s people — both Jews and Christians. The great tribulation will be both the time of Jacob’s trouble and the time of great affliction for the church.

It is for this reason that Jesus returns to take retribution against the Beast and all those who persecute God’s people in the last days.

“I  will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there, on behalf of my people and my heritage Israel, because they have scattered them among the nations and have divided up my land.”

[Joel 3:2]

“For I am with you to save you, declares the LORD; I will make a full end of all the nations among whom I scattered you, but of you I will not make a full end … Therefore all who devour you shall be devoured, and all your foes, every one of them, shall go into captivity; those who plunder you shall be plundered, and all who prey on you I will make a prey.”

[Jeremiah 30:11, 16]

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?”

[Revelation 6:9-10]

“The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

[Rev 11:18]

And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say,

“Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was,
for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!”

[Revelation 16:5-6]

“This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”

[2 Thessalonians 1:5-8]

The Day of the LORD will be the culmination of the wrath of Almighty God and the great Day of God’s Vengeance on the ungodly. God will avenge the blood of His people and will by no means leave the guilty unpunished.

Who will be able to stand on that day? Only those who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb will be protected in the shadow of His wings, “when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed” [2 Thessalonians 1:10].

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake.

[Revelation 16:17-18]

In my last post, I established that the Day of LORD will be accompanied by signs and wonders on earth and in heaven.

Today I want to focus in on another great sign that is associated with the Day of the LORD — the great earthquake.

The Lord Jesus prophesied that the beginning of birth pains in the last days will be characterized by a growing frequency and intensity of earthquakes in various places throughout the earth, but He clearly said that “the end is not yet.”

But the Scriptures are clear that there will be a great earthquake associated with the return of Jesus Christ that will shake the very foundations of the earth. It is THE EARTHQUAKE of ALL EARTHQUAKES — the likes of which this world has never before seen. There is no Richter scale on earth that will be able to measure the magnitude of this monster quake.

As we dig into the prophetic Scriptures, we can begin to put pieces together that will help determine when this great earthquake will hit.

In my introductory passage above [Revelation 16:7-8], this great earthquake is connected to the 7th bowl judgement, in connection with the return of King Jesus from heaven to fight the battle of Armageddon. Let’s see what else we can learn.

Islands Removed and Mountains Thrown Down

“And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found.”

[Revelation 16:20]

The first think I immediately pick up on is the language used to describe the aftermath of the great earthquake on the Day of the LORD. When interpreting Scripture, especially the prophetic and apocalyptic, it is imperative that we draw from comparative language throughout the Bible to gain a comprehensive picture of the event.

The 7th bowl judgment clearly says that the magnitude of this earthquake is so catastrophic that the islands “fled away” and the mountains were not to be found. Now this language could be hyperbole — using extreme exaggeration to make a point — or it could be literal. Either way, the message is clear. This quake is so devastating that the topography of the earth is permanently changed.

But this isn’t the only place we find this language depicting extreme devastation?

The Great Quake in the Old Testament

The Old Testament is riddled with language about such a great earthquake — an utter shaking of the earth — and these accounts are always connected to the Day of the LORD.

The Psalms

“Then the earth reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and devouring fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
He bowed the heavens and came down;
thick darkness was under his feet.
He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water.
Out of the brightness before him
hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.”

[Psalm 18:7-12]

THe Prophet Isaiah

“Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.”

[Isaiah 13:13]

“Behold, the LORD will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants … For the windows of heaven are opened,
and the foundations of the earth tremble. The earth is utterly broken, the earth is split apart, the earth is violently shaken. The earth staggers like a drunken man; it sways like a hut; its transgression lies heavy upon it, and it falls, and will not rise again. On that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth.”

[Isaiah 24:1, 18-21]

The Prophet Nahum

“The mountains quake before him; the hills melt; the earth heaves before him, the world and all who dwell in it. Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.”

[Nahum 1:5-6]

The Prophet Joel

“Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near
in the valley of decision.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.

The LORD roars from Zion,
and utters his voice from Jerusalem,
and the heavens and the earth quake.
But the LORD is a refuge to his people,
a stronghold to the people of Israel.”

[Joel 3:14-16]

The Prophet Jeremiah

“I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,
and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger.”

[Jeremiah 4:23-26]

“But the LORD is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation.”

[Jeremiah 10:10]

The Prophet Ezekiel

“But on that day, the day that Gog shall come against the land of Israel, declares the Lord GOD, my wrath will be roused in my anger. For in my jealousy and in my blazing wrath I declare, On that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel. The fish of the sea and the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the field and all creeping things that creep on the ground, and all the people who are on the face of the earth, shall quake at my presence. And the mountains shall be thrown down, and the cliffs shall fall, and every wall shall tumble to the ground.”

[Ezekiel 38:18-20]

The Prophet Zechariah

“Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall 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.”

[Zechariah 14:3-5]

Of course these Scriptures are not exhaustive, but I wanted to show how the Old Testament prophets all predicted a great shaking of the earth in association with the Day of the LORD and His fierce wrath upon the wicked. All of these prophetic passages are describing the same GREAT EARTHQUAKE that will devastate the earth when the Lord Jesus returns in power and glory to wage war.

But as we will see, there are several other passages in the book of Revelation that describe this same great earthquake.

The Great Quake in Revelation

When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

[Revelation 6:12-17]

The 6th Seal in Revelation ties everything together.

Notice how the language of the 6th seal is identical to the language in Revelation 16 and the 7th bowl judgment, as well as the Old Testament passages describing the Day of the LORD. Clearly these are the same events. Both refer to a “great earthquake,” which causes the mountains and islands to be removed from their place.

Furthermore, this language is repeated through the book of Revelation to give us a key to interpretation. Again, when the same language and description is repeated verbatim in the Scriptures, it is an interpretive clue to understand that those Scriptures are describing the same event. For example …

• The 6th Seal = the great earthquake, every mountain and island removed, day of God’s wrath
• The 7th Seal = “and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake” [Revelation 8:5]
• 7th Trumpet = “There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail” [Revelation 11:19]
• 7th Bowl = “And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake … And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found. And great hailstones, about one hundred pounds each, fell from heaven on people; and they cursed God for the plague of the hail, because the plague was so severe” [Revelation 16:18, 20-21]

Now I’m not the brightest man, but I am at least simple enough to understand that all of these Scriptures above are describing the VERY SAME EVENT. Just in case you missed it, I will recap.

When we put the 6th & 7th Seal, the 7th Trumpet, the 7th Bowl and all the Old Testament prophecies together, it is clear that they agree in the following details and provide an outline of the sequence of events leading up the final Day of the LORD and His return.

• The Great Earthquake
• Lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder
• Severe Hail (Also See Ezekiel 38)
• Mountains thrown down
• Islands removed
• Heavens opened — sky rolled back like a scroll
• Jesus coming back on the clouds in glory
• Host of heaven coming with Jesus
• Jesus waging war on the nations at Armageddon
• Final Wrath of God poured out on Antichrist and his evil armies
• The wicked try to hide from the fierce anger of the LORD (see Isaiah 2:19-21 and Luke 23:29-30)
• Jesus establishes His kingdom

There is only one GREAT EARTHQUAKE, and it will occur on the Day of the LORD when Jesus comes in wrath to judge the nations and wage war at the Battle of Armageddon. The Scriptures agree.

“And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.”

[Joel 2:30-31]

The Old Testament prophets, such as Isaiah, Joel, Zephaniah, and Zechariah, are expert witnesses when it comes to the Day of the LORD. Every New Testament reference to the last days and the Day of the LORD are built upon the imagery and information in these prophetic books.

The problem, however, is that the majority of believers are not well versed in the Old Testament, much less the prophets, which breeds much unnecessary confusion and misinterpretation of the end times and Day of the LORD.

In our introductory passage above, the prophet Joel says that there will be signs and wonders both in the heavens and on the earth leading up to the “great and awesome (dreadful) day of the LORD.” In other words, these signs and wonders will be seen just “before” the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven and comes back to earth to wage war against the ungodly.

So what are these signs? I’m glad you asked.

Signs on the Earth

I will begin by considering the wonders on the earth that will be connected to the coming of the Lord and His great Day of vengeance. Joel says that on the earth there will be “blood, fire, and columns of smoke” [Joel 2:30].

My first step in discerning the nature of these signs is to look for similar language and descriptions in the Bible that potentially provide a more comprehensive picture.

One obvious place to start is the book of Revelation — more specifically the trumpet and bowl judgments. As a matter of fact, the first two trumpet judgments in Revelation 8 are quoting verbatim from Joel 2.

“The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up.

The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.”

[Revelation 8:7-9]

As we continue to work through the trumpets and bowl judgments, we see even more details about the signs on the earth before the great Day of the LORD.

1. The 5th Trumpet — “He opened the shaft of the bottomless pit, and from the shaft rose smoke like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened with the smoke from the shaft.” [Revelation 9:2]
2. 6th Trumpet — “By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed, by the fire and smoke and sulfur coming out of their mouths.” [Revelation 9:18]
3. The Two Witnesses — “They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.” [Revelation 11:6]
4. The 2nd, 3rd & 4th Bowls — “The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood.… The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire.” [Revelation 16:3-4,8]

All of these signs on the earth will intensify in severity and frequency the closer we come to the Day of the LORD. That is why this time of great tribulation and distress will be like no other and never again shall be.

Notice that all of these signs and wonders on the earth culminate with the gathering of the evil armies under the authority of the Beast (Antichrist) “to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty” [Revelation 16:14].

Interestingly enough, Joel and the prophets have much to say about this final battle for Jerusalem. This will be the futile attempt of the Antichrist to assemble all the armies of the earth to come against Jerusalem, only to discover that the King of kings has returned to the earth to utterly destroy him. [see Revelation 16:12-21, 19:11-21]

I plan to save the Battle of Armageddon for a later post, but for now, let us take a look at the heavenly signs that accompany the Day of the LORD.

Signs in the Heavens

“Multitudes, multitudes,
in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near
in the valley of decision.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.”

[Joel 3:14-15]

From the very beginning, God created the celestial bodies to measure time, mark the seasons, and also for signs [Genesis 1:14]. At the same time God’s judgments on the earth are causing men’s hearts to melt with fear, there will be signs in heavens above that will be getting the world’s attention. The cosmic chaos before the Day of the LORD will warn all the inhabitants of the earth that the end is at hand.

What could these heavenly signs be and how should we interpret them?

I believe solar and lunar eclipses are in full view, as well as celestial conjunctions where stars and planets converge. I also believe these signs could include potential meteors and comets falling to earth [see Revelation 8:8-11].

The Scriptures also allude to billows of smoke causing the sun to be darkened in Revelation 9:2, and the 5th bowl judgment seems to supernaturally plunge the kingdom of the Beast into darkness, just like the LORD caused the plague of darkness to fall on Egypt while at the same time providing light for the Israelites [Exodus 10:21-23].

The prophet Zephaniah also alludes to the Day of the LORD as a day of thick darkness.

“The great day of the LORD is near,
near and hastening fast;
the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter;
the mighty man cries aloud there.
A day of wrath is that day,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of ruin and devastation,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness.”

[Zephaniah 1:14-15]

Jesus Himself quotes directly from Joel 3 and speaks of the “sign of the Son of Man” appearing in heaven when He returns in power and great glory [Matthew 24:29-31]. There are multiple passages in both the Old and New Testament that emphasize these unique heavenly signs. I will share some of them here for context.

Old Testament

“Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless. I will make people more rare than fine gold, and mankind than the gold of Ophir. Therefore I will make the heavens tremble, and the earth will be shaken out of its place, at the wrath of the LORD of hosts in the day of his fierce anger.”

[Isaiah 9:9-13]

“For the LORD is enraged against all the nations,
and furious against all their host;
he has devoted them to destruction, has given them over for slaughter.
Their slain shall be cast out,
and the stench of their corpses shall rise;
the mountains shall flow with their blood.
All the host of heaven shall rot away,
and the skies roll up like a scroll.
All their host shall fall,
as leaves fall from the vine,
like leaves falling from the fig tree.”

[Isaiah 34:2-4]

“I will drench the land even to the mountains with your flowing blood, and the ravines will be full of you. When I blot you out, I will cover the heavens and make their stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give its light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over you, and put darkness on your land, declares the Lord GOD.”

[Ezekiel 32:6-8]

New Testament

“And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

[Luke 21:25-27]

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, 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 out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

[Matthew 24:29-31]

“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?'”

[Revelation 6:12-17]

Conclusion

The Biblical authors have spoken and are clear. The Day of the LORD is the END. It is the final day of His vengeance upon the earth when He comes in power and great glory to tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God.

There will be clear signs in the heavens and on the earth just prior to the epic moment the sky is rolled back like a scroll and the LORD is revealed from heaven in flaming fire. This is the day our Warrior King Jesus returns to the earth to wage war against the Antichrist and his evil hoards at Armageddon.

Jesus reminds His followers not to fear, however, because the Day of the LORD is the day of our ultimate redemption, when we receive our resurrected bodies and join the heavenly host in triumphant procession on the earth behind the King of kings. This why Jesus tells us …

“Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

[Luke 21:28]

How awful that day will be! No other will be like it …

[Jeremiah 30:7 – NIV]

The testimony of human history is plagued with disaster, calamity, war, and devastation. Millions have suffered and died at the hands of their fellow man, as mankind has proven to possess the relentless capacity to bring the worst out in each other.

Countless more have perished in the indiscriminate wake of natural disasters, whether earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, or floods, and even more still have fallen victim to disease, plague and famine.

In the 20th Century alone, we witnessed some of the worst atrocities known to man. Multiple world wars, the Holocaust, systematic genocide, and abortion on demand just to name a few.

But lest we forget that no matter how bad things have gotten in the past, we still are awaiting a Day to come that will be like no other — the Day of the LORD. As difficult as it is to fathom, the Bible says that a Day is coming that will make all of the collective catastrophes of human history pale in comparison.

It is almost impossible to conceive of a scenario that could be worse than what we already have seen and experienced, and yet the Scriptures are clear. The Day of the LORD will be unique is scope, intensity, devastation, and distress. Jesus Himself makes this abundantly clear.

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” 

[Matthew 24:21-22]

The Day of the LORD is a process of cataclysmic events that will end with the climatic and triumphant appearance of Jesus Christ. The Day of the LORD will be the greatest amalgamation and concentration of human wickedness, spiritual evil, satanic destruction, cosmic disintegration, natural disaster, and divine indignation that the world has ever seen.

The closest thing we have seen to the Day of the LORD was the global flood of Noah’s day, which is one of the primary templates to help us understand what is to come.

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.”

[Matthew 24:36-37]

The Height of Spiritual Rebellion

There was a supernatural rebellion and heavenly mutiny in the days of Noah that led to one of the grossest forms of corruption the world has ever seen. The sons of God (angelic beings) willfully abandoned their proper position of authority in the heavens and came down to earth in an attempt to corrupt the human race, destroy mankind, and eliminate the potential for the Messiah to be born through the “seed of the woman” [see Genesis 3:15, 6:1-5].

This spiritual rebellion introduced all forms of perversion to mankind, resulted in the acceleration of evil on the earth, and forced God to intervene with an extreme act of divine judgment. We should expect, therefore, the Day of the LORD to be preceded by an even greater supernatural rebellion and satanic manifestation, as in the person of the Antichrist.

The Depth of Human Depravity

In the days of Noah, the wickedness of mankind had passed the point of no return. Of all the people on the earth in that day (which some have estimated to be billions) only Noah and his family were in right relationship with God.

“The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart … And God saw the earth, and behold, it was corrupt, for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘I have determined to make an end of all flesh, for the earth is filled with violence through them. Behold, I will destroy them with the earth.'”

[Genesis 6:5-6, 12-13]

We can expect the Day of the LORD to be preceded by a comprehensive spirit of sinful rebellion, immorality, idolatry and violence on the earth. As Paul says …

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God …”

[2 Timothy 3:1-4]

The DAY of Divine Judgment

As in Noah’s Day, the LORD determined to make an end of all flesh and bring swift destruction on the ungodly through a global flood. No flesh survived, save Noah and those on the ark. The global flood again is perhaps the greatest Old Testament prefigurement of the coming Day of the LORD. What makes the Day of the LORD so great and dreadful is that it will be the complete outpouring and exhaustion of the righteous indignation of a Holy God upon the earth.

As the Apostle Peter says, the Day of the LORD will be like the flood of Noah’s da,y, yet God will use different means having promised never to flood the entire earth again. The Day of the LORD will be a Day of fire instead, as our God is an all-consuming fire!

“That by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.”

[2 Peter 3:6-7]

While the flood of Noah’s day may be the closest thing we have ever seen to the Day of the LORD, we still have never seen a Day like it and never will again. It is a Day like no other because it will be the Day that God Himself come in all His glory and take the stage for all the world to see!

As we will see next time, it will be a Day characterized by a series of unmistakable signs in heaven and on the earth.