What Does The Day of the Lord Mean? When Will the Day of the Lord Come?

When you hear about the Day of the Lord, what do you think it means?  When does the Bible say it will occur?

The Day of the Lord

There is so much in the Bible, from the Old Testament to the New about the “Day of the Lord” and it’s sometimes simply called “the Day” or “that Day” so we’ll explore what this means and try to find out when that day might come.  For those who step out of this life without Christ, their “day of the Lord” is the very next moment after they die so it’s critical to get right with the Lord today, while it’s still called today (2 Cor 6:2).  Every one of us is one breath, one accident, one brain aneurism, or one heartbeat away from eternity so it’s vital to find out today how you can be spared from being at the Great White Throne Judgment which is the final judging of all those who have refused to repent and believe (Rev 20:11-15).  That day will come suddenly and Jesus said it will come when no one expects it so we need to always be ready, for at any given moment, we will either stand before a Holy, Righteous, Just God and be condemned for our sins or we’ll be judged already in Christ and be spared from the eternal fires of hell.  Some associate this day with the tribulation but either way, it is the beginning but not the totality of the judgment coming on the world.

Old Testament Warnings of the Day of the Lord

Isaiah wrote of this day that is coming in 2:12 “For the Lord of hosts has a day against all that is proud and lofty, against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low,” for “the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion” (Isaiah 34:8). On that day, money will be useless to deliver the unrepentant because “Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord” (Ezk 7:19b).  Zephaniah writes “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” (Zeph 1:15) because the wrath of God is on all who disbelieve.  Jesus said in John 3:36b “whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”  For those who have been forgiven through a saving relationship through Christ, they now have peace (Rom 5:1) but Isaiah asks “What will you do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help, and where will you leave your wealth” (Isaiah 10:3)?  The answer of course is there’ll be nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.

New Testament Warnings of the Day of the Lord

The New Testament is a rich source for what is sometimes accurately called that “great and terrible day of the Lord.”  Sometimes it is simply called “the day” or “the day of wrath” as Paul writes to those who have refused to repent in Romans 2:5 and tells these sinners that “you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed” when “He will render to each one according to his works” (Rom 2:6) because “for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Rom 2:8) for at that time “There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek” (Rom 2:9).

Many people are skeptical about Christ’s return but “you yourselves (Christians) are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thess 5:2-3).  Jesus said “you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matt 24:44) and for those who delay their salvation, they’ll wait just one day too long as Jesus says “the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 24:50-51).

When is the Day of the Lord?

The answer to the question “When is the Day of the Lord” comes from Jesus Himself when He said “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. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matt 24:36-39).  Since the Father is the only one to know when the Day of the Lord is, anyone that proclaims to set a date is lying.  If only the Father knows, this means that no human could possibly know.  Jesus says that it’ll come just as suddenly as the floodwaters drowned the world except for Noah and his family.  It will come instantly and people will be unaware of it.  Just like in Noah’s day people will be getting married, eating their meals as they’ve always done, and drinking (parties?) as if nothing will ever change but that’s the time when “the coming of the Son of Man” will be to judge the world.

Just prior to Jesus’ ascension into heaven His disciples asked Him “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority” (Acts 1:6-7) so if the Father has this time already fixed and Jesus said it wasn’t for even the disciples to know, how can we expect anyone else to?  The answer is we don’t know and we shouldn’t even try to guess because “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever” (Duet 29:29).  We have no business trying to find out because those are the secret things and they “belong to the Lord our God” and are none of our business.  One thing we do know is that “the things that are revealed belong to us” and what has been revealed to us is that we are to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, even if it’s next door (Matt 28:18-20).

Conclusion

Today is the best day to repent and be saved if you haven’t already done so for the Day of the Lord could come today while you’re reading this, tonight in your sleep or if you were to die, the very next moment of your consciousness.  This is all the more reason to heed Jesus’ warning “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15).  I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book  Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon