The Day of the Lord theme stretches from Isaiah to Acts and Revelation. You won’t see many greeting cards or Facebook memes about the Day of the Lord, but that doesn’t make it any less real.
Isaiah contended with a nation where the majority chose self-sufficiency over dependency on God. Isaiah knew that the Day of the Lord would challenge human self-sufficiency and pride.
And so people are humbled,
and everyone is brought low—
do not forgive them!
Enter into the rock,
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the Lord
and from the glory of his majesty.
The haughty eyes of people shall be brought low,
and the pride of everyone shall be humbled,
and the Lord alone will be exalted on that day.
For the Lord of hosts has a day
against all that is proud and lofty,
against all that is lifted up and high. (Isaiah 2.9-12)
On the Day of Pentecost, Peter reminded his audience that God has another day in his plan for humanity, the Day of the Lord.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. (Acts. 2.20)
John’s vision of the Day of the Lord continued the basic elements of earlier prophecies.
When he broke the sixth seal, I looked, and there was a great earthquake; 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 drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale.
The sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place (Revelation 6.12-14).
Human Pride Humbled
God is not on an ego trip, but he doesn’t want us to be on one either. When we make a “god” out of ourselves, we miss an opportunity to connect with the Greatest Being of All.
Not only does human pride fail to recognize the opportunity of loving God; it also leads to the abuse of other people.
The Day of the Lord is the ultimate “rock bottom” for great and small humans. The prophet Hosea, who wrote in the same era as Isaiah, made this fact very clear. Note, Zephaniah 1:14-18 is a lengthy description of what Hosea covers in one verse.
The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow up
on their altars.
They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
and to the hills, “Fall on us.” (Hosea 10.8)
The Book of Revelation pictures sinful humans fleeing for the mountains and crying for death rather than facing the judgment of God.
Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful and everyone, slave and free, hid 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 the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,
For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6.15-17)
The vision given to John reveals that the beginning of the end is at hand. The stage is set and six of the seven seals have been opened.
The question, “Who can stand?” (verse 17) needs to be personally answered by each human on earth.
A Sobering Reminder
The Day of the Lord is a sobering reminder that human pride will be humbled in the face of God’s judgment.
We must not make a “god” out of ourselves and abuse others, but rather recognize our dependency on God and love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
As we await the ultimate judgment, we must ask ourselves if we are ready to stand before the One seated on the throne. Let us turn from our sinful ways and live a life pleasing to God, ready for the Day of the Lord.
YouTube Video
I interview Rudy Ross on this passage today. Rudy has spent years studying the Book of Revelation. You will appreciate his thoughts on the Bob Spradling YouTube channel.
Real Voices 