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DAY OF CHRIST - DAY OF THE LORD
DAY OF CHRIST
[Phil 1:9-10]:
(v. 9) "And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment, (v. 10) so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,"
"the day of Christ" =
[Compare 1 Cor 1:8]:
"He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ."
C. I. Scoffield states in a footnote in the Oxford NIV Scofield Study Bible, p. 1198:
"The expression 'the day of our Lord Jesus Christ,' identified with His coming (1 Cor 1:7), is the period of blessing for the Church beginning with the rapture. This coming day is referred to as 'the day of the Lord' (1 Cor 5:5; 2 Cor 1:14), 'the day of Christ Jesus' (Phil 1:6), and 'the day of Christ' (Phil 1:10; 2:16), 'The day of Christ' in all six references in the N.T. is described as relating to the reward and blessing of the Church at the rapture in contrast with the expression 'the day of the Lord which is related to judgment upon unbelieving Jews and Gentiles, and blessing on millennial saints:
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[Joel 2:1-2]:
(v. 1) "Blow a trumpet in Zion, [Israel]
And sound an alarm on My [God's] holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of the Lord is coming;
Surely it is near,
(v. 2) a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was of old
nor ever will be in ages to come."
THE DAY OF THE LORD HAS A BROAD AND NARROW MEANING IN SCRIPTURE DEPENDING UPON THE CONTEXT
The day of the Lord in Scripture in a BROAD sense is referred to taking all of the Scripture references into consideration as a sequence of events transpiring over a period of time beginning with judgment, the dark portion, climaxing at our Lord's Second Coming which moment in its crescendo is also called the Day of the Lord - even the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord in a NARROW sense and then history moves into a continuation of the BROAD sense of the term the Day of the Lord after the crescendo of the Second Coming into the blessing portion, the light portion = millennial rule of our Lord on into eternity future.
THE BROAD SENSE
So the Day of the Lord has a broad meaning in Scripture as context provides =
That period of judgment, the dark period of time beginning with the rapture of the church, (1 Thes 4:13-18; 2 Thes 2:1-12; Jn 14:1-4);
then the 7 year tribulation period including and crescendoing into the Great Tribulation, (Isa 2:12, 19; 13:9-11, 13; 26:20-21; 34:1-2, 8; Ezek 30:2-3; Joel 1:15; 2:1-3, 11; 2:30-32; 3:12-16, 18; Amos 5:18, 20; Obad vs. 15-17; Zeph 1:14-15, 17; Zech 12:2,9,10; 14:1-5, 8-9, 20; Mal 4:1-3; 1 Thes 5:2-3; 2 Pet 3:8, 10; Mt 24:1-28; Rev 6:1-19:10)
and then the Crescendo peak: The Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to put down rebellion and bringing in His Millennial Kingdom to rule for 1,000 years, (Rev 19:11-20:4; Mt 24:29-25:46; Joel 2:10-11; Zech 14:all),
and finally the Great White Throne Judgment and eternity future with a new heaven and a new earth, (Rev 20:7-22:21)
THE NARROW SENSE
And the term also has a narrow meaning when the context refers specifically to the moment of our Lord's Second Coming, (Joel 3:14b-16; Zec 14:1-6).
ISRAEL AND NOT THE CHURCH IS IN VIEW IN THIS PASSAGE AND THE PERIOD IN TIME IS THAT PORTION OF THE BROAD DAY OF THE LORD BEGINNING WITH THE END OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD THRU THE SECOND COMING AND THEN THE MILLENNIAL PERIOD
"Blow a trumpet in Zion" [= Israel]
And sound an alarm on My [God's] holy mountain!
[= Jerusalem, (Isa 27:13)]
Let all the inhabitants of the land [Israel] tremble"
[Joel 2:1-2 cont.]:
(v. 1) "Blow a trumpet in Zion, [Israel]
And sound an alarm on My [God's] holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of the Lord is coming;
Surely it is near,
(v. 2) a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was of old
nor ever will be in ages to come."
The broad day of the Lord is referred to here in Joel since it covers a portion of time before and leading up to the narrow concept of the Second Coming and later in the passage, into the blessings of His Millennial Rule:
"For the day of the Lord is coming;
Surely it is near,
(v. 2) a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness.
Like dawn spreading across the mountains
a large and mighty army comes,
such as never was of old
nor ever will be in ages to come."
[Joel 2:3-27]:
The rest of this passage in Joel up to verse 18 continues to describe the future horrors of the tribulation period before the Lord Jesus Christ appears at His Second Coming. Verses 18-27 then describe our Lord's coming and His setting up of the millennial kingdom.
Notice that NONE of what is described in Joel chapter 2 up to verse 28 has occurred yet.
For example:
In chronological order we have a number of key events that must occur before God pours out His Spirit on all people in verse 28:
A large and mighty army such as never in history past present and future will invade, (vv. 2b-10a)
The sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine... the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood...(v. 10b, cf v. 31a)
The Lord thunders at the head of His army, His forces beyond number, (v. 11, cf. v. 31b)... will arrive in His Second Coming, (v. 11c, cf. v. 31b), and will drive the northern army far from.. [Israel, (v. 23)] into the Dead and Mediterranean Seas, (v. 20)
Then verses 28-29 follows chronologically which are the controversial verses which the Apostle Peter quoted in Acts 2:17 in order to point not to the fulfillment of this prophecy in Joel but to point to the Agent Who is working to fulfull such kinds of events: God the Holy Spirit Who would pour out His Spirit on all mankind who are left after our Lord's triumph over the world rebellion against Him - this same Holy Spirit was also working in the limited number of believers in the time of Peter re: providing in them the gift of speaking in tongues]:
[Joel 2:28]:
"And it will come about after this, that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind, And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions."
["And it" = The Kingdom with the Lord ruling, (vv 18-27).
"And it will come about after this" = And the Millennial Kingdom will come about after the tribulation period and our Lord's Second Coming which were described earlier as noted. The phrase "after this" is located in the text such that it tells us that the Rapture, the 7 year tribulation period and our Lord's Second Coming must occur BEFORE the pouring out of the "Spirit on all mankind"]:
[Joel 2:28-29]:
(v. 28) "And it will come about after this, that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind, And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
(v. 29) And even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
[And referring back in history to the events at the end of the Great Tribulation period just preceding our Lord's Second Coming]:
(v. 30) And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire, and columns of smoke.
(v. 31) The sun will be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and awesome Day of the Lord comes.
(v. 32a) And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Will be delivered..."
So considering the event which is described as, "I will pour out My Spirit on ALL mankind" = God's Spirit has not yet been poured out on ALL people - not at that 'first' Pentecost and not throughout history.
"The sun will be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes." = All of this which is just preceding when our Lord comes in glory in His Second Coming in the clouds of heaven, (Dan 7:13-14; Mt 24:30-31), has not occurred yet.
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[Comments from J.F. Strombeck, ("First the Rapture" by J.F. Strombeck, Strombeck Agency, Moline, Ill, 1950, pp. 31-37)]:
"CHAPTER 4
The Day of the Lord
It is impossible to understand rightly two of the most important Scripture passages that throw light on the time of the rapture, without an adequate understanding of the meaning and extent of that period of time which is known as 'the day of the Lord.' It is therefore necessary to trace throughout the Bible that which is said about that day. The following are portions of some important prophecies descriptive thereof.
[Isa 2:12, 19]:
'For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low. And they shall go into the holes of the rock, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of Hid majesty, when He ariseth to shake terrible the earth'
[Isa 13:9-11]:
'Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in His going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger'
[Isa 26:20-21]:
'Come, My people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the Lord cometh out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity'
[Isa 34:1-2, 8]:
'Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken ye people:...For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations, and His fury upon all their armies: He hath utterly destroyed them, He hath delivered them to the slaughter. For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance'
[Ezek 30:2-3]:
'Son of man, prophesy and say, ....Howl ye, Woe worth the day! For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen'
[Joel 1:15]:
'Alas for the day! for the day of the Lord is at hand, and as a destruction from the Almighty shall it come'
[Joel 2:1-3]:
'Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand; a day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,...there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, even to the years of many generations. A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them'
[Joel 2:30-32]:
'And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.'
[Joel 3:12-16,. 18]:
'Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about. Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. 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 shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The LORD also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the LORD will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with water, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim.'
[Amos 5:18, 20]:
'Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! To what end is it for you? The day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? Even very dark, and no brightness in it?
[Obad vs 15-17]:
'For the day of the LORD is near upon all the heathen...They shall be as though they had not been. But upon mount Zion shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions'
[Zeph 1:14-15, 14]:
'The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: The mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness. I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung'
[Zech 12:2, 9, 10]:
'Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon Me Whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.'
[Zech 14:1-5, 8-9, 20]:
'Behold, the day of the LORD cometh... For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle ..Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when He fought in the day of battle. And His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east. ..And the LORD my God shall come and all the saints with thee. And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; ..And the LORD shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one. In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD'
[Mal 4:1-3]:
'For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall'
Paul dramatically described the beginning of the day of the Lord in these words:
[I Thess 5:2-3]:
'The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, '''Peace and safety;''' then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape'
In this is seen a period of apparent peace. But it is a time of false security because of impending sudden destruction. It is important to remember this description by Paul of the beginning of the day of the Lord.
More could be quoted in explanation of the day of the Lord, as the Messianic rule with its blessings of Israel and the Gentile nations. Because these have no bearing on the time of the rapture, they are here omitted.
Peter also wrote of the day of the Lord. He preceded his comments by the words:
[2 Pet. 3:8, 10]:
'But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.'
[Then he wrote]:
...But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up'
This passing away of the heavens and earth must come at the end of the Messianic reign. All this is evidence that the day of the Lord shall continue for a thousand years.
The above quotations describe certain aspects of the day of the Lord which must be recognized in determining the time of the rapture.
1) It shall come with unexpected suddenness upon the dwellers on the earth at a time 'when they shall say, '''Peace and safety''' - a time of false security.
2) That day shall come as a destruction from the Lord; and as a devouring fir. It shall be a day of trouble and distress. It is the day of wrath and fierce anger and of the Lord's vengeance.
3) It shall be a day of clouds, a day of gloom and darkness, even thick darkness. The stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light. The sun shall be darkened and the moon turned to blood. The heavens and the earth shall be shaken and the earth removed out of her place.
4) The indignation of the Lord shall be upon all people. The Lord shall punish the world for their evil and the wicked for their iniquity. He shall bring distress upon men because they have sinned against Him.
5) The day of the Lord shall be the day of Jacob's trouble. Sinners of Israel shall be destroyed out of the land. It shall be a day of purging before the Son of man comes in the clouds of heaven.
6) But deliverance shall come in Mount Zion and Jerusalem in the remnant of Israel. The Lord shall be the hope of His people and the strength of Israel. Their land shall be blessed and the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions.
7) Israel shall see Him Whom they have pierced and mourn as one mourneth for the only son. Unto those who fear His name shall the Sun of righteousness appear with healing under His wings. The feet of the Lord shall stand upon the Mount of Olives and living waters shall go out from Jerusalem. Jesus said that after the tribulation the Son of Man shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. [Mt 25:30] Then the Messianic kingdom shall be established and the Lord shall be King over all the earth."
Compare this to passages about the Day of Christ:
[Phil 1:6]:
Being confident of this, that He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
[Phil 2:16]:
"As you hold out the word of life - in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing."
[2 Tim 4:8]:
"Now there is in store for me [Paul] the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day [the day of Christ] - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for [loved] His appearing."
Additional
commentary on the Broad and Narrow Sense of the Day of the Lord
