A Study Of The "Day Of The Lord” In The Scriptures – All References Part 1 – Isaiah, Lamentations Series

A STUDY OF THE “DAY OF THE LORD” IN THE SCRIPTURES – ALL REFERENCES PART 1 – ISAIAH, LAMENTATIONS

INTRODUCTION

This whole study was a number of presentations to a study group. The purpose was to wrap up all the biblical references on “The Day of the LORD” which is a most important subject throughout all the Old Testament Prophets and into the New Testament.

The Old Testament prophets frequently used the term [[“The DAY of the LORD”]] but it is interesting when you wonder what the writers considered the term meant. None of them could see the roll out of history and the unfolding of their prophecies, and in the case of “The Day of the Lord”, which is still unfulfilled, except the smallest shadow touching on the destruction of Israel in the past, all these great prophecies remain to be fulfilled.

I have been considering all these references for more than 10 years and have gathered them into an article which has been split into about 12 separate postings. I trust with the Lord’s help that we will gain an understanding of the enormity of this scriptural term, “The DAY of the LORD”. It is a distinctive term. More correctly the term is “The Day of JEHOVAH”.

DOUBLE AND PARTIAL FULFILLMENT

Mention must be made again of the principles of double fulfillment and partial fulfillment. Sometimes a prophecy is made and is partially fulfilled, but its greater fulfillment still is in the future. As an example I cite this one –

{{Luke 4:16-21 He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read, and the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favourable year of the Lord.” He closed the book and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”}}

Jesus read from Isaiah, actually from Isaiah 61, and He said that the scripture that day was fulfilled in their hearing. Now we will look at the scripture as it is written in Isaiah and take note of the underlined parts – {{61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners; Isa 61:2 to proclaim the favourable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; Isa 61:3 to grant those who mourn in Zion, (giving them a garland instead of ashes), the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting so they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.”

The underlined parts above still await fulfillment. (The formatting loses the underlying but it is most of verses 2 and 3). The vengeance refers to the Tribulation, and the comfort for those who mourn will be for the Jewish saints when the Lord comes for them at the Second Coming. At His first coming, the Lord did not come in judgement on the world, or to take vengeance, but after the Rapture, this Isaiah passage will be fulfilled completely. That Luke scripture is an example of a double fulfillment, a partial fulfillment. Some of the Old Testament passages that speak of the Day of the LORD are looking at the judgement of God that happened in the Old Testament (especially Judah’s overthrow) but they will all go beyond that for a greater fulfillment.

The DAY OF THE LORD is “The Day of Jehovah” and its usage is always associated with something dire, with judgement, and with events outside the implementation of man. In other words, it is the intervention of God with the power of God in the affairs of this world. It has a primary application to Israel, but that is always extended often to a wider field, and that involves the world. The whole world comes under the vengeance of The Day of the LORD.

The term covers the chronology of events after the Rapture right up to the new heavens and the new earth, which is the culmination of all human history before the eternal state. It is the time when God openly and dramatically intervenes in the undertakings of this earth in awesome power and wrath. Therefore, the DAY of the LORD covers the Tribulation; the judgments and the way humans will react to it. In particular, the greatest concentration of prophecies, and the usage of this term, relate to the Second Coming of the Lord – His glorious appearing; the Second Coming which is for Armageddon and His Return to His earthly people, the Jews. It often deals with signs and people’s emotions and cosmic happenings. It is very much connected with Israel and her dealings with God and the world’s nations.