The Great Day

Jesus will arrive to gather his people on the Day of the Lord. In the New Testament, this event is known also as the Day of Christ.

In 2 Thessalonians, Paul refutes claims that the “Day of the Lord” is imminent if not already underway. Contrary to what some voices claim, that day will not come until the “Apostasy” occurs and the “Man of Lawlessness” is unveiled in the House of God. When Jesus does “arrive,” he will gather his elect and destroy this “Lawless One.”

The “Day of the Lord” is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the visitation and judgment of God, the “Day of Yahweh” when he rescues His people and judges His enemies. That day will be characterized by celestial and terrestrial upheaval - (Isaiah 2:12, Joel 1:15, 2:1, 2:31, 3:14, Malachi 4:5).

[Dawn Photo by Remi Yuan on Unsplash]

In his Letter, the Apostle connects this event to Christ’s “arrival” or ‘Parousia’ when he “gathers” his saints and destroys the “Man of Lawlessness.” Jesus will be “revealed from Heaven” and he will “take vengeance” on men who disobeyed the gospel, but he also will be glorified in his gathered “saints.” The righteous will be rewarded, and the wicked condemned and punished - (2 Thessalonians 1:5-10, 2:1-12).

Paul also discussed the “Day of the Lord” in his first letter to the Thessalonians. That day will mean “sudden destruction” for the unprepared, but the “sons of light” who remain faithful will not be overwhelmed or destroyed. Instead, they will “acquire salvation” on that final great day - (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:1-8).

Elsewhere, Paul identifies the “Day of the Lord” as the “Day of Jesus Christ” when he vindicates his righteous ones but judges the wicked.  The terms “Day of the Lord” and the “Day of Jesus Christ” become synonymous in Paul’s letters - (1 Corinthians 1:8, 5:5, 2 Corinthians 1:14, Philippians 1:6-10, 2:16, 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).

The connection between the “Day of the Lord” and the return of Jesus did not originate with Paul. Jesus himself applied language from key Old Testament passages about the “Day of the Lord” when he described the future “coming” of the “Son of Man” – (Matthew 24:29-31).

On that day, the “sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven.” When the Lord appears from heaven, “all the tribes of the earth will mourn,” and he will dispatch his angels with the “sound of a trumpet to gather” his elect. This description echoes several passages from the Hebrew Bible; for example:

• (Isaiah 13:10) – “The day of Yahweh is coming… For the stars of heaven and its constellations will not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in its going forth, and the moon shall not cause its light to shine” - (Compare Isaiah 11:12 and Joel 3:15).

• (Zechariah 12:10) – “They shall look unto me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son… On that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem.”

The Apostle Peter also linked the “Day of the Lord” to the ‘Parousia’ or “arrival” of Christ. Despite “scoffers” who ask, “Where is the promise of his arrival,” the “Day of the Lord” will come. When it does, the “heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat.”

In the meantime, we must live righteously and “earnestly desire the coming of the Day of God,” thereby “hastening the Day”- (2 Peter 3:7-12).

The Book of Revelation also uses Old Testament language that originally described the “Day of Yahweh,” only now, it is identified with the slain “Lamb.”

For example, on that day, the “sun became black as sackcloth, the moon became as blood, and the stars of the heaven fell unto the earth.” Men will attempt to hide in caves and under rocks to escape the “face of Him that sits on the throne and the wrath of the Lamb, for the Great Day of their wrath came” - (Revelation 6:12-17).

Likewise, all the “Kings of the Earth” will be gathered for the “war of the Great Day of God, the Almighty” at “Armageddon.” Jesus will arrive “as a thief in the night” - (Revelation 16:14).

The New Testament consistently identifies the “Day of the Lord” with Christ’s “arrival” from heaven when he gathers and rewards his saints and judges his enemies, a day characterized by celestial upheaval “in the heavens” and tremendous events on Earth.

That day will not arrive before the final “falling away” and the unveiling of the “Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Destruction,” the one who will seat himself in the “Sanctuary of God” and employ “all power and signs and lying wonders” to deceive all those who refuse the “love of the truth.”

This evil figure will be destroyed by Jesus when he “arrives” on that final day – (“Whom Jesus will destroy with the breath of his mouth and paralyze with the manifestation of his arrival {‘Parousia’}” – 2 Thessalonians 2:8).

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SEE ALSO:

• Day of Christ - (Jesus will arrive on the Day of the Lord when the dead are raised, the wicked are judged, and death will cease forever)

• The Revelation of our Lord - (At the revelation of Jesus, the saints will experience glory, but the wicked receive everlasting destruction)

• Final Events - (In explaining the future resurrection, Paul lists the key events that will precede or coincide with the arrival of Jesus)

• Événements Finaux - (En expliquant la résurrection, Paul énumère les événements clés qui précéderont ou coïncideront avec l'arrivée du Christ à la fin des temps)