[Introduction][The Double Sense of the Day of the Lord][The Two-Fold Nature of the Broad Day of the Lord] [The Narrow Day of the Lord][The Time of Jacob's Trouble and the Great Tribulation] [The Beginning of the Great Tribulation][The Length of the Great Tribulation] [Shortening of the Great Tribulation]

Scriptures declare that God is the ruler of the Universe.  It is He that created all that is in existence for his own sovereign purposes (Re. 4:11), and as a result the entire Universe and everything that is in and on the earth is owned by Him.  In the Scriptures, the term "Day of the Lord" refers to a specific time in istory when God will intervene into the course of world events to judge the world.  It will be during this time that God will demonstrate that He is ruler of the world, judge of all mankind, and is a merciful though just God who will remember the sins of unrepentant mankind and call us to account for them.

Scholars, both Christian and Jewish, have long recognized the significance of the Day of the Lord.  Payne notes,

"The comprehensive hrase, by which the Old Testament describes God's intervention in human history for the accomplishment of His testament is yom Yahwe, "the day of Yahweh." (J. Barton Payne, The Theology of the Older Testament, Zondervan Publishing House, 1962, p. 464).

"The 'day' is thus characterized by an observable accomplishment of the general aims of divine providence.  It refers to that point in history at which the sovereign God lays bare His holy arm on the behalf of His testament and of its heirs, whether in a way that is specifically miraculous or not." (J. Barton Payne, The Theology of the Older Testament, Zondervan Publishing House, 1962, p. 465).

"But at other times, besides the supernatural gloom and terrors that surround Him when He appears, He is represented as using some fierce, distant nation as the instrument by which He executes His judgement.  (A.B. Davidson, "Eschatology" A Dictionary of the Bible, James Hastings, Ed., Vol. 1, Hendrickson Publishers, 1988, p. 76).

The Day of the Lord is very significant because it marks the time during which God will wrest back control of the Earth from Satan and rebellious mankind.  God originally intended for Adam to serve as His representative on earth; to administer His rule over the earthly province of His universal domain.  God designed the government of the earth to be a theocracy, a form of government in which He is the sovereign ruler of the earth, with His rule being administered through a human representative.  However, when Adam first rebelled against God and accepted Satan's temptation, rule over he world system was lost (Gen. 3).  Satan then usurped the rule of the world system away from God (notice that God still owns the world but has allowed Satan to rule the world - for a time).  Satan and rebellious mankind are currently having their day in the world, during which time they try to establish their own sovereignty and deity.

However, God made the world to glorify Himself by demonstrating that He alone is sovereign, and to accomplish this purpose He is determined to have His day at the end times of world history (Isa. 2:10-22).  As we have already indicated, God has already broken into world history to judge nations, and to accomplish immediate divine purpose; to graphically remind us that God is still the ultimate sovereign over all that exists, and give us a foretaste of ultimate judgement and time to repent.  The future Day of the Lord will be far more significant and ominous than all of the other judgements against mankind.  The first phase will be an unprecedented concentrated judgement against the world's nations during which time He will powerfully intervene to disrupt and destroy Satan and rebellious mankind's rule over the world system, evict them from the earth, and end their rule over the world (Isa. 42:13-14, Rev. 6-19).  This time will be characterized by intense darkness and outpouring of God's wrath.  Once this is accomplished and God has wrested control of the world from Satan, He will then initiate the second phase of divine dominion of the world system - starting the time of light.  God will establish his theocratic-kingdom rule over the world through the last Adam, Jesus Christ (Zech. 14:1-9; 1 Cor. 15:45,47; Rev. 20:1-6).  This time will be characterized by a time of light and great blessing.

The Double Sense of the Day of the Lord - A Broad and a Narrow Sense

The Day of the Lord will have a twofold nature; first, there will be a time of judgement (dark) followed by a time of divine authority and rule (light).  This is the "broad" sense of the day involving an extended period of time involving divine intervention relating to the 70th week of Daniel (darkness) along with the one thousand year reign of Christ during the Millennium. As Davidson noted,

"Though the 'Day of the Lord' as the expression implies, was at first conceived as a definite and brief period of time, being an era of judgment and salvation, it many times broadened out to be an extended period.  From being a day it became an epoch."  (Davidson, Theology of the Old Testament, p. 381).

Just as the word "day" in Gen. 1:5 has both a broad sense (a 24-hour day - "And the evening and the morning were the first day") and a narrow sense (the light part of a 24-hour day in contrast with the darkness part), so does the expression "Day of the Lord" have both a broad sense and a narrow sense in the future.

The Two-Fold Nature of the Broad Day of the Lord

Scriptures indicate that this future Day of the Lord will have a two-fold nature.  First, it will be characterized by darkness and a tremendous outpouring of the wrath of God personally against the world (Joel 2:1-2, Amos 5:18-20, Zeph. 1:14-15; 1 Thes. 5:1-11).  Amos 5:18-20 indicates that judgement will be the nature of this time for the enemies of God; there will be complete darkness and no hope of divine blessing or forgiveness for them.  However, this will only occupy the first portion of the Day of the Lord, for Zechariah indicates that the latter part of the day will be characterized by light (Zech 14:6-7) and great blessings as God rules over all the earth.  This latter part of the "day" will be the theocratic rule of the Lord during the Millennium.

This two-fold nature has been recognized by many scholars.  Davidson wrote,

"Hence the 'Day of the Lord' acquires a double-sided character.  It is a day of salvation and judgment, or a day of salvation through judgment...a day of salvation behind this.  Sometimes one side is prominent and sometimes another...Sometimes both sides of the Divine manifestation are brought forward, as in Joel."  (Davidson, Theology of the Old Testament, p. 374).

The Narrow Day of the Lord

The armies of the world will not begin to gather in Israel for Armageddon until the sixth judgement bowl is poured out, and this does not occur until a significant portion of the Broad Day of the Lord has already elapsed.  Both Joel 3:9-16 and Zech 14:1-5 indicate that after these armies have gathered in Israel, "the day of the Lord cometh" and is "near."  It is obvious from this language that this Day of the Lord (in the narrow sense) will not occur until after the armies of the world have gathered in Israel.  Both Joel 3 and Zech. 14 indicate that this Day of the Lord will be a specific time when the Messiah will come to fight against and destroy the armies of the world (and Satan) gathered in Israel.  Rev. 19:11-21 indicates that this time will be when Christ comes from heaven to the earth to take administrative control back from Satan and establish His Kingdom (the "light" portion of the Broad Day of the Lord).  Thus, the Narrow Day of the Lord occurs at the juncture between the dark portion and the light portion of the Broad Day of the Lord - the true dawning of a new day for mankind.

The Narrow Day of the Lord (the Second Coming of Christ) will do several things.  It will expose God's enemies to the actual presence of Christ (which they have been trying to deny for so many millennia), and expose them to the full force ad fury of God's wrath and judgement (Matt. 24:29-30, Matt. 25:31, Rev. 19:11-12, 15).  It will be characterized by a time when Christ, His angelic forces, and the armies of heaven (including us if we participate in the Rapture) will fight against these enemies of God, and bring about the end of the rule of Satan and rebellious mankind over the world system and evice them from the earth, thus ending their day on earth forever.

The Day of the Lord, as it includes both the Time of Jacob's Trouble and the Great Tribulation

The Scriptures indicate that the Day of the Lord, the Time of Jacob's Trouble, and the Great Tribulation have several things in common.  First, the concept of trouble or tribulation is common to all three (The Day of the Lord in Zeph. 1:14-17, The Time of Jacob's Trouble in Jer. 30:7, and the Great Tribulation in Daniel 12:1 [Jesus' Great Tribulation statements in the Olivet Discourse of Mtthew 24 were a reference to Daniel 12:1, indicating that Daniel is referring to the Great Tribulation).  All three of these Old Testament passages use the same Hebrew word for "trouble."  Also, the Hebrew scholars who translated the Hebrew into the Greek used the same Greek word of "Tribulation" to translate the Hebrew word for "trouble" in Zeph 1:15 and Daniel 12:1 indicating that these scholars understood that both the Day of the Lord and the Great Tribulation will be characterized by tribulation.

The concept of an unparalleled time of danger and trouble is identified with all three (the Day of the Lord in Joel 2:1-2, the Time of Jacob's Trouble in Jer. 30:7, and the Great Tribulation in Dan. 12:1 and Matt. 24:21).  Since there can be only one time of unparalleled trouble, they must all be associated with the same time.  The term "great" is also used with all three (the Day of the Lord in Zeph 1:14, the Time of Jacob's Trouble in Jer. 30"7, and the Great Tribulation in Matt. 24:21, and Rev. 7:14).

The concept of "birth pangs" is also associated with all three (the Day of the Lord in Isa 13:6-9, 1 Thess. 5:2-3, and the Time of Jacob's Trouble in Jer. 30:6-7).  The term "that day" is used with all three (the Day of the Lord in Isa 2:12, 17, 19-21, and Zeph 1:7, 9-10, 14-15), and Time of Jacob's Trouble in Jer. 30:7).  Israel's future repentance and spiritual restoration to God is associated with all three (the Day of the Lord in Zech. 12:2-3, 9-14, 13:1-2; 14:1-3, the Time of Jacob's Trouble in Jer. 30:7-9, 22, and latter day Tribulation in Deut. 4:27-30, 30:1-3).

These comparisons between the three seem to indicate that they are closely associated with one another in Scripture.  They indicate that the broad Day of the Lord will not be totally distinct from the Time of Jacob's Trouble and the Great Tribulation; indeed, it seems to indicate that the Day of the Lord will include these other times.

The Beginning of the Great Tribulation
 
 The Great Tribulation will begin in the middle of the seven year period known as the 70th week of Daniel (Dan. 9:27).  At this time, the Antichrist will put an end to the Jewish sacrifices and grain offerings, implying that before this time there will be a restoration of the Temple in Jerusalem, and that the nation's sacrificial system will be restarted.  The Antichrist will stop these sacrifices because of his desire to be worshipped as God.  By this time, he will have turned against every form of worship to clear the way for the worship of himself.  He will magnify himself to the level of deity, take his seat in the new Temple, announce that he is God, and demand that his worshippers worship him in the Temple of God.  He will also at that time set up some form of detestable thing (probably an image of himself) in the Temple (Dan. 7:8, 11, 20, 25, 11:36-37, 2 Thess. 2:3-4, Rev. 13:4-8, 11-17, 19:20, 20:4).  Daniel 9:27 called this activity whereby the Antichrist sets his seat in the Temple and erects an image to worship as "the overspreading of abominations."

Jesus also referred to this activity foretold in Daniel 9:27 in Matthew 24:15, where He said, "then shall be Great Tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."  (Matthew 24:21).  This indicates that the Great Tribulation will begin with the "overspreading of abdominations" of Daniel 9:27, or in the middle portion of the 7 year period.

The Length of the Great Tribulation

The Great Tribulation will last for 3.5 years - through the rest of the night-time portion of the Broad Day of the Lord.  In Matthew 24:15-21, Jesus warned the Jews that this would be a terrible time for those who were living in their homeland during this time.  Those who were living in Judae at that time should flee to the wilderness of the mountains, because there will be an unparalleled time of trouble and disaster known as the Great Tribulation.

Rev. 12 show two divinely revealed signs that also help us understand this period.  The first is a great red dragon (v. 3), and the other is a woman who is clothed with the sun, stood on the moon, had a crown of 12 stars in her head, and gae birth to a son who was caught up to God in heaven and would eventually rule all the nations of the world with a rod of iron (vv. 1-2, 4-5).  The great red dragon represents the Devil or Satan (v. 9).  The correct interpretation of the woman is based on imagery found in the Old Testament.  In Gen. 37:9-10, Israel is portray as a woman, his wife Rachel is the sun, his sons, the heads of the 12 tribes of Israel, are portrayed as the stars.  Thus, this Old Testament imagery indicates that the woman in Rev. 12 is the nation of Israel through which the Messiah was born into the world.  The scriptures indicate that this Messiah will rule in the Messianic Kingdom of the Millennium with a rod of iron (Ps. 2:7-9, Rev. 19:15).  Rev. 12 teaches that the dragon (Satan) will persecute the woman (Israel) through this 70th week of Daniel (v. 13).  It also indicates that the woman will flee to the wilderness in order to escape persecution and that Satan will try to destroy Israel.  Rev. also indicates the length of time this persecution will last.

First, the persecution will last for 1,260 days (3.5 years - v. 6).  Next, Rev. 12 indicates that Israel will hide in the wilderness for one time plus two times plus one-half time - for a total of three and one-half times.  How long is a "time?"  Rev. 13:5-7 declares that the same time period will be 42 months when referring to this same persecution, or 3.5 years.  Thus, it is obvious from these many references to the same time period in days, months, and years (times), that the length of time of the Great Tribulation will be exactly 3.5 years.
 
Second, Daniel 12 also indicates that the Great Tribulation will last throughout the 3.5 years of the second half of the 70 week.  Daniel relates in 12:1 that there will be a "time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time."  Christ referred to this chapter calling it the Great Tribulation.  An angel asked, "How long the end of the wonders?" and was given two answers in Daniel 12:7.  First, the angel was told that the Great Tribulation will last "a time, times, and an half" or again 3.5 years.  Since the Great Tribulation will begin in the middle of the seven year period of the 70th week, it will last throughout the entire second half.  Second, the angel was told the events of the Great Tribulation will continue until "when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people" (v. 7).  The word translater "power" is literally the word for "hand" implying the will.  Thus, the word is realted to the function of the human will.  In line with this, sometimes this same word is used to express "submission" or "obstinate rebellion". (Ralph Alexander, Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, ed. by R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Jr., and Brue K. Waltke, Moody Press, 1980).  The expression translated "the holy people" is a reference to the people of Israel.  The root term for the word "holy" means "to divide" - meaning that the holy people of Israel were meant to be separate from other nations.  In Deut. 7:6, Moses declared to national Israel, "For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God; the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people who are upon the face of the earth."  Taken together then, these meaning of the expressions "to scatter," "power," and "the holy people" indicate that the Great Tribulation will be finished when God has completely shattered the obstinate will and rebellion of the nation of Israel against Him.  Put another way, the Great Tribulation will end when the rebellion of the people of Israel ends.  Thus, any indication as to when the rebellion of Israel ends will also indicate when the Great Tribulation will end.

One purpose of the Great Tribulation is to bring national Israel to repentance; to force them to recognize their Messiah as Jesus Christ.  Certainly, this is beginning to happen now, and there are Messianic Jewish organizations across the world such as Jews for Jesus.  However, the number of Jews belonging to such organizations is still relatively small, and the nation of Israel remains and will remain until the Great Tribulation obstinately Jewish in character.  The Scriptures indicate that the Jews have been repeatedly and stubbornly rebellious against God throughout most of human history, and that this rebellion has brought forth from God a terrible judgement against his unique nation.  In light of Israel's persistent rebellion, God revealed to Daniel an extended future program He has designed for them in order to bring them to repentance.  God indicated that He would use the 70th week of Daniel (seven year period) to accomplish several things with respect to Israel.  First, he would use it "to finish the transgression " (Dan. 9:24).  The word translated "transgression" has the root meaning "to rebel."  Thus, the Great Tribulation would be used to "finish the rebellion" of Israel.  This also implies that God will not intervene to force the national repentance of Israel until the Great Tribulation.  Zech. 12 confirms this interpretation by indicating that Israel will repent of its rebellion and receive Christ as its Messiah-Savior when it sees Him at His Second Coming (vv. 10:14) when all the armies of the world are gathered in its land at Armageddon.  Rev. 16:12-16 indicates that the Battle of Armageddon will not occur until the sixth bowl is poured out - after the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the first five bowls of the 70th week have already taken place.  This indicates that the armies of the world will not amass at Armageddon until nearly the end of the 70th week.  Since the Great Tribulation will end when national Israel accepts Christ and ends its rebellion, the Great Tribulation itself is again dated as being 3.5 years in length.  Finally, it should be noted that when the being giving the angel the answers to his questions was finished, he raised both his hands toward heaven and swore an oath by God.  Usually, only one hand is raised upon swearing an oath.  The fact that both hands were raised further emphasized the solemnity and importance of the oath.  He was affirming in the strongest terms possible the absolute certainty that the Great Tribulation will last 3.5 years until Israel's rebellion against God finally ends.
 
 The length of the rule of the Antichrist also indicates the length of the Great Tribulation.  Jesus taught (Matt. 24:15,21) that the Great Tribulation will begin with the overspreading of abominations of Daniel 9:27 in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel.  As noted previously, this overspreading of abominations will involve the setting up of some abominable thing (probable a statue of the Antichrist) in the future Temple.  This will begin the Antichrist's program of extinguishing all organized religion, the setting up of himself as deity, and demanding worship of himself.  Any Biblical indication as to the length of the reign of the Antichrist will also indicate the length of the Great Tribulation.  Daniel 7:21-22 indicates that the Antichrist will wage war against the saints and prevail against them until the time when the saints are given rule of the earth during the Millennial Kingdom.  This Millennial Kingdom will occur simultaneously with the coming of Christ to the earth after the 70th week of Daniel (Zech. 14:1-9, Rev. 19:11-20:6).  Daniel 7:25 also indicates that the Antichrist will, "wear out the saints of the most High ... and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."  Since a "time" equals a year, Daniel 7:25 teaches that the Antichrist will wage war against the saints for 3.5 years.  The Antichrist will begin to blaspheme God, be worshiped himself as deith, and wage war against the saints for 42 months (Rev. 13:4-8), also equaling 3.5 years.  Iranaeus, one of the pre-Nicene fathers who was himself a student of Polycarp the Bishop of Smyrna who was taught by the Apostle John, indicates,

"But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom." (Iranaeus, Against Heresies, Buggalo, The Christian Literature Publishing Company, 1885, p. 560).

Shortening of the Great Tribulation

Jesus said, "And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saed; but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened" (Matt. 24:21,22).  Did Christ mean that the Great Tribulation will be reduced from 1260 days by this statement, or rather that there will be a definite end to the Great Tribulation that is brought about supernaturally; otherwise, all of mankind might be slaughtered?

Earlier it was noted that the heavenly being who was answering the questions posed by an angel concerning the length of the Great Tribulation indicated with a solemn oath (raising both hands toward heaven) that the Great Tribulation would last for 3.5 years until Israel's rebellion against God ends at the end of the 70th week.  This was his way of indicating with absolute certainty and reliability that this time period would last that long - no longer and no shorter.

In further examining the meaning of Christ's passage in Matt. 24, we need to examine His words in the original language.  In Mark, Christ is quoted to say, "And except the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved; but for the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days."  (Mark 13:20).  The two verbs translated "had shortened" and "hath shortened" in the Mark text, and "should be shortened" in the Matthew text all are in the aorist tense and indicate mood with the argument.  Scholars have concluded that since the two verbs in Mark 13:20 are in that form, they are expressing action in the past - something that has already be accomplished - rather than future action.  Gerhard Delling wrote,

"God has already 'cut short' the time of the tribulation in Judaea.  That is, He has made is shorter than it would normally have been in terms of the purpose and power of the oppressors.  If He had not done so, even those who prove themselves to be the elect by their faithfulness, and who have been wonderfully kept thus far, would be brought to physical destruction." (Gerhard Delling, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965, pp. 823-824).

Other Biblical scholars agree with this statement.  For example, John D. Grassmick wrote,

"If the Lord had not already decided in His sovereign plan to cut short (terminate, not reduce the number of) those days (lit., "the days; cf. 13:19), no one would survive (esothe, "would be saved"; cf. 15:30-31), that is he delivered from physical death; this is in contrast with 13;13.  But God set limits on the duration of the end-time Tribulation, because of the elect, those redeemed during "those days."  (John D. Grassmick, "Mark," The Bible Knowledge Commentary - New Testament, Victor Books, 1983, p. 170).

"Christ's words cannot mean that the days will be decreased in number.  The phrase "cut short" means "to terminate."  If those days with their awful judgements were allowed to continue indefinitely, the human race would be totally destroyed.  Christ meant that God would allow that period to run its course but will terminate it according to His timetable so that a remnant will be spared."  (J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ, Zondervan Publishing House, 1981, p. 403).

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