Bible Questions & Answers
What Is the Day of the Lord?
Although God’s plan for mankind will eventually result in peace and prosperity for all who worship and obey Him, painful correction and supernatural intervention will be required to convince humans to repent of their sins. These actions by God are referred to in the Bible as “the day of the Lord.”
Prior to the Day of the Lord, there will be a time of tribulation during which Satan will be given a short time to cause as much rebellion and destruction as God will allow to test the whole world (Mark 13:19; Revelation 3:9-11; 12:12). Satan will accomplish this in part by giving power and authority to political and religious leaders, who will establish a powerful government that will be used as a tool to persecute God’s people for 3½ years (Revelation 13). This period is known as the Great Tribulation, and it will bring humanity to the brink of self-destruction (Matthew 24:21-22).
After the Great Tribulation and a series of heavenly signs designed to get people’s attention (Matthew 24:29; Joel 2:30-31; Revelation 6:12-16), the “day of the Lord” begins. During this time God will intervene with a series of punishments for the purpose of bringing rebellious people to repentance. The Day of the Lord is also called “the great day of His wrath” (Revelation 6:17) because of God’s righteous anger against the corruption and destruction caused by sin and rebellion against His beneficial way of life (Isaiah 13:6-13). The Day of the Lord officially begins with the opening of the seventh seal (Revelation 8:1) and encompasses much of the rest of the book of Revelation, including the seven trumpet plagues and the seven last plagues (Revelation 16). Only those who have been found faithful will be shielded from these punishments (Revelation 7:2-3; 9:4; 14:9-10).
God’s wrath will soon be spent, and He will mercifully prevent humanity from annihilating itself. He will then set up His beautiful and peaceful Kingdom.
Why is the Day of the Lord necessary?
To understand why such a terrible time of punishment is necessary, we have to go back to the beginning and understand God’s purpose for creating man and see how Satan and sin have corrupted this world.
“Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” With these words, God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life (Genesis 1:26; 2:7). Endowed with self-awareness, free will, imagination and conscience, man was created to develop these unique gifts and eventually—with divine help—the righteous moral character of God Himself. But by choosing to eat from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve set in motion a pattern of attitudes and choices that separated us from our Creator. Sin had tainted the relationship.
Centuries of history have proven the folly of trying to live outside a relationship with God. Despite advances in technology and astounding progress in so many fields of study, man is still unable to solve his most dire problems or meet his most pressing spiritual needs. Crime and poverty continue to run rampant over much of the earth. War, political instability and religious conflict still plague the nations. All the while, a gnawing sense of confusion about God and morality persists among many. Yet few understand why.
The Bible reveals the existence of an evil spirit being known as Satan, who currently rules the earth and is responsible for deceiving the whole world (Luke 4:6; John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:3-4; Revelation 12:9). Though he cannot force people to make wrong choices, Satan can influence their behavior by stirring up thoughts and emotions. Through subtle manipulation, he provokes man to devise and commit evil and can even persuade him that these are good things (Isaiah 5:20; 2 Corinthians 11:14). Without the presence of God’s Spirit and a heart to live His way of life, man naturally gives in to Satan’s insidious attacks (Ephesians 6:11-18; 1 John 5:19; 2 Timothy 2:26).
Such was the case with Adam and Eve. Satan’s lies led them to question what God had told them and take matters into their own hands, resulting in their expulsion from Eden and the end of their close relationship with God. Their choice led to death for them and for all who would follow in their footsteps (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12).
By rejecting God’s perfect and beneficial laws and way of life, humanity has been progressively taking on more and more of the evil and destructive attributes of God’s adversary, Satan the devil. God twice before, at the time of Noah and at the Tower of Babel (Genesis 6:5-13; 11:5-9), had to intervene to stop the vicious cycle of sin that destroys and corrupts everything good that God has made. The Day of the Lord will mark the pivotal intervention of the righteous God to put down all evil and finally establish His Kingdom on earth.
After the Day of the Lord
God’s purpose is not to destroy humanity, but to get people’s attention so they will repent of their sins that have caused so much misery since creation (Joel 2:12-13; Revelation 3:19). Unfortunately, even in the midst of the Day of the Lord most will still not repent (Revelation 9:20-21; 16:8-9). Christ will then return to earth with a mighty army to put an end to Satan’s rule and the human rebellion he has inspired (Revelation 19:11-16; 20:2). Though human armies will gather at Armageddon and then try to fight the returning Christ at Jerusalem, they will be soundly defeated. Then finally the people of a humbled world will repent and seek to learn God’s way (Isaiah 2:2-4).
For those who have been invited into a relationship with God and have committed their lives into His service, now is the time to prepare for the perilous time that is coming upon the whole world and to sound the warning to all who will listen. The warning message also includes a message of hope, the gospel (good news) of the peaceful and productive Kingdom of God that Jesus Christ will set up when He returns.
Read more about the Kingdom of God and how to prepare for it in our booklet The Mystery of the Kingdom.
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