The last 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation (known as the “Great Tribulation” or
“Time of Jacob's Trouble”) will be a time of woe that this world has never
known... “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it:
it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it”
(Jeremiah 30:7). The saints will be removed from the earth before
God's wrath is poured out...
1st Thessalonians 5:9, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”
There is much confusion concerning the phrase “the day of the Lord.” From comparing and contrasting Scripture with Scripture, it becomes apparent that THE DAY OF THE LORD must include everything between the middle of the Tribulation until the end of the 1,000 year Millennium period.
Dr. Max D. Younce offers the following helpful insight into the Day Of The Lord....
The “day of Christ” should be translated “the day of the LORD”, which is the correct translation. Distinguishing between the Day of Man (the Church Age), the Day of Christ (the Tribulation of 7 years from the Rapture to the Revelation of Christ), and the Day of the LORD (from the middle of the Tribulation to the end of the Millennium), is imperative to understanding Verse 2. Therefore, if the Day of Jehovah was at hand, then the Rapture would have already taken place. No wonder they were troubled and worried. Paul, in Verse 3, sets the doctrine straight. The Day of the LORD was not at hand, as the Rapture and the enthronement of the Antichrist as God must take place first. In other words, “The letter you received was a forgery and you have not missed the Rapture!”
SOURCE: Will the Church Be Raptured Before, During, or After the Tribulation Period?
In Revelation 9:10, deadly scorpion-like creatures from Hell will aggressively bite and cause their victims to suffer and seek death for “FIVE MONTHS,” but they won't be able to die. Creepy!!! It sounds like an episode of “Creep Show” or “Tales From The Darkside!” People will be tormented and unable to commit suicide for 5 MONTHS.
Paul quotes Isaiah 13:8 in 1st Thessalonians 5:3, likening the fearful men of the day of the Lord as being in great travail, as a pregnant woman in travail. Revelation 13:8 teaches that the sun and moon will be darkened during The Great Tribulation (the last 3 1/2 years of the 7-year Tribulation). Thus, “the day of the Lord” is no doubt referring to both the Great Tribulation, Christ's Second Coming (and according to 2nd Peter 3:10, also the millennial kingdom). 2nd Peter 3:10, “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.”
Jesus referred to “the day of the Lord” in Mark 13:24-26 and related it to His second coming (notice the phrase “after that tribulation” below)...
Mark 13:24-26, “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.”
Isaiah 13:10-13 confirms that Mark 13:24-26 speaks concerning Christ's Second Coming...
Isaiah 13:10-13, “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 (see Revelation 8:12). 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 make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore 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.”
This prophetic event happens after the 1,000 millennial reign of Christ (known as the “MILLENNIUM”). Hence, as you can see “the Day of the Lord” has a very broad application to numerous prophetic events, but all pertaining to the Lordship and preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who “is the spirit of prophecy” (Revelation 19:10). The “DAY OF THE LORD” refers to God's time of taking action. Enough is enough! What a great day it will be when Jesus reigns over the world!
Nevertheless, the phrase “the day of the Lord” almost always refers to The Great Tribulation followed by Christ's return. This is the primary application of this term in the Word of God. There is theological debate whether or not “the day of the Lord” includes the millennial kingdom, but 2nd Peter 3:10 cannot be left out. We do know that “the day of the Lord” DOESN'T refer to the Rapture! In 1st Corinthians 5:5 we read the phrase, “in the day of the Lord Jesus.” Paul said to turn the man living in fornication over to the Devil for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit might be saved “in the day of the Lord Jesus.” This phrase applies only to the saved person, and refers to the Rapture.
So “the Day of the Lord” includes THE LORD
judging the world, coming again, defeating the Antichrist in the battle of
Armageddon, His millennial reign from Jerusalem and the final chapters of
humanity and the universe as we know it. There is no other conclusion that can
be reached if you view all the Scriptures referring to “the Day of the Lord.”
Keep in mind that the term “last days” has referred to the past 2,000 years of
history. 2nd Timothy 3:1, “This know also, that in the
last days perilous times shall come.”
Hebrews 1:1-2, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds.” We are living in the
LAST DAYS and have been since Christ walked this earth. We are now also
clearly entering into
the END TIMES!
We learn from the Old Testament in Zephaniah about the dreaded DAY OF THE LORD. This phrase “The Day of the Lord” appears 7-times in Zephaniah. Obadiah and Joel were the first of the writing prophets to use the phrase. Zephaniah uses the phrase more than anyone. Here it has a particular application to the Great Tribulation. The Day Of The Lord includes the Millennial kingdom. The theme of the little book of Zephaniah is “The Dark Side Of Love.” The Day Of The Lord is presented in Zephaniah as being dark instead of light, but it is both. Here is a wonderful exegesis of the book of Zephaniah and “the day of the Lord” by Pastor J. Vernon McGee.
1st Thessalonians 5:1-4, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that 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. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.”
“The day of the LORD” is mentioned 24 times in the Old Testament (Isaiah 2:12; 13:6,9; 34:8; Jeremiah 46:10; Lamentations 2:22; Ezekiel 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1,11,31; 3:14; 5:18,20; Obadiah 1:15; Zephaniah 1:7,8,14,18; 2:2,3; Zechariah 14:1 and Malachi 4:5). “The day of the LORD'S anger” is used three times (lamentations 2:22; Zephaniah 2:2-3). “The day of the LORD'S vengeance” is used once in Isaiah 34:8. “The day of the LORD'S wrath” is mentioned in Zephaniah 1:18. Clearly “the day of the Lord” in part deals with God's fury being poured out upon the wicked world for their sins. God is sick of the world's wickedness. It is as in the days of Sodom. It wasn't even this bad 10-years ago. Every day this world gets more sick, more sinful, more perverted!
When I look around America and see the sodomy that abounds, that lewd nakedness and fornication in SIN CITY La Vegas, I realize that we are living in the times of Noah and Sodom. What happened to Sodom was an example of what will happen AGAIN! It will be PAYDAY SOMEDAY for the filthy, wicked sinners of this world! Get is going to settle the score, punishing the inhabitants thereof!!! God is going to punish the world! Jude 1:7, “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” This describes the United States today, when everyone is going after fornication (immoral relationships) and strange flesh (homosexuality). Life is short, Hell is hot and eternity is a long time!!!
Isaiah 13:11, “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.” This Scripture uses the law of Double Reference...
"Double references" are prevalent in scripture. A double reference is when generally when a prophecy has partial fulfillment at one time, but whose ultimate fulfillment occurs at a later date or is still yet future. Many of Daniel's prophecies are double references (i.e., the reference to Antiochus Epiphenes and the Antichrist) as are Isaiah's. SOURCE
Again, the preceding Scripture (Isaiah 13:11) uses the law of Double Reference, referring to the wicked who are cast into the Lake of Fire, as well as God's wrath which will be poured out upon the world during the Tribulation. This truth is confirmed by reading the surrounding passage of Scriptures...
Isaiah 13:10-13, “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 (see Revelation 8:12). 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 make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore 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.”
In the New Testament, there are five times when “the day of the Lord” is used (Acts 2:20; 1st Corinthians 5:5; 2nd Corinthians 1:14; 1st Thessalonians 5:2 and 2nd Peter 3:10). All of these Scripture passages clearly speak of God's wrath upon the ungodly. God's kindness toward “the unthankful and to the evil” (Luke 6:35) will not last forever. God's day of wrath against mankind is coming! As in the days of Noah, the world today has no fear of God, living in utter wickedness (Matthew 24:37-39). 2nd Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Albeit, the DAY will come when God will say “ENOUGH!” In this present Church Age (the times of the Gentiles, Luke 21:24), we see God's grace manifested towards mankind in a way that it never was before. When the Great Tribulation comes, beginning “The Day Of The LORD,” it will be a time of woe as the world has never before known.
Isaiah 13:6-9, “Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. 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.”
Isaiah 13:10-13 prophecies of the darkening of the sun, moon, and stars just as Joel did in Joel 2:31. Jesus also referred to this prophetic event in Mark 13:24-26 and related it to His second coming. Paul quotes Isaiah 13:8 in 1st Thessalonians 5:3. Thus, “the day of the Lord” is clearly referring to both the Great Tribulation and Christ's Second Coming. The Bible speaks of these separate prophetic events in the Old Testament as one event. The “DAY OF THE LORD” refers to God's time of taking action and exercising His Lordship over humanity. Enough is enough! We are living in times of God's great patience toward humanity. 2nd Peter 3:9 tells us why, that is, because God doesn't want anyone to perish but desires for all men to repent. Albeit, time is running out!
Like today, people during Zephaniah's time were saying that it doesn't matter what men do, because God doesn't do anything either way. Zephaniah 1:12, “And it shall come to pass at that time, that I will search Jerusalem with candles, and punish the men that are settled on their lees: that say in their heart, The LORD will not do good, neither will he do evil.” Well, in the Day of the LORD, men won't be saying that anymore. They'll be hiding in the mountains in fear of God (Revelation 6:16).
The Bible teaches that The Great Tribulation is 3 1/2 years
long, beginning with the Abomination of Desolation midway though the
7-year Tribulation. This entire event, from the Great Tribulation onto
Christ's Second coming is all part of “the day of the LORD.”
Is “the Day of Christ” a Mistranslation in 2nd Thessalonians 2:2?
Before I make my point, please let me say that I support the ministries of many great men of God, some of whom I don't agree with all their views, which is to be expected as human beings. My loyalty is to truth, principles and God, and not to any man or group of men. If we disagree, we disagree, and that is ok unless it involves the plan of salvation or the use of counterfeit Bible versions.
I have a copy of Dr. John MacArthur's revised and updated Study Bible. In his commentary for 2nd Thessalonians 2:2 concerning the phrase “the day of Christ,” MacArthur states: “the better text sources indicate 'the Lord' rather than 'Christ'.” Respectfully, MacArthur can put his “better text sources” (i.e., the corrupted Westcott and Hort manuscripts) where the sun doesn't shine. MacArthur often quotes heretic Brooke Westcott in his Study Bible. Although Dr. MacArthur does make some brilliant theological statements at times, respectfully, he is a reprobate concerning the blood of Christ and the simple plan of salvation. In my humble opinion, the phrase “day of Christ” is correct and it would be errant to use “day of the Lord.” I also love and respect Dr. J. Vernon McGee, but in his THRU THE BIBLE audio series, he states that “day of Christ” ought to be “day of the Lord.” I disagree. That's just my opinion. Does the King James Bible have any friends these days?
I have a thousand books which I've collected over the years since Bible college (about 30 small boxes), which have become a big burden to me lugging them from one place to another. I love books, but my space is limited. I don't have a book case, so I dig through the boxes to find them. A 106 M.P.H. typhoon named Dolphin just water-soaked a bunch of my books, and I mopped-up an inch of water from one end of the apartment to the other, but thankfully they're still readable. God is always good!!! My power is back on after two days in the dark. Amen! And so, I've been reluctantly giving many of my books away, because I need the space, but I'm holding onto most of my Bible commentaries as long as I can.
Anyway, I just dug out my water-soaked Dr. Oliver B. Greene commentaries for Romans, Hebrews and Thessalonians. Dr. Greene also thinks that “the day of Christ” in 2nd Thessalonians 2:2 is a gross mistranslation in the King James Bible. I'm no Greek scholar, but I know enough to know that only the modern corrupted Bible versions say “day of the Lord.” Call me what you will, but I'm tired of so-called arrogant scholars and pastors criticizing the King James Bible and calling it “horrible.” What they are really saying is that we don't have a perfect, inerrant, trustworthy, preserved, pure, holy, Bible today from God!!! What a sad thing it is to believe that the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-present, God of the universe is incapable of preserving an inerrant and reliable copy of His inspired Words for the world in modern times. Instead, we apparently need educated religious men to tell us what the Bible should actually say. The 53 men whom God used to give us the Authorized King James Bible weren't idiots.
Kindly, I'm tired of hearing preachers correct the Authorized King James Bible. By the new corrupted Bible versions changing the phrase “the day of Christ” to “the day of the Lord,” it has misled many Bible students to conclude a postribulation Rapture (e.g., Texe Marrs). Certainly, 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3 can be a tricky passage to properly interpret. And may I say, you cannot decipher the correct meaning of 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-4 without cross-referencing this passage with other Scriptures, such as Mark 13:32-37 (where Jesus said no man knows WHEN He will return). I see absolutely nothing wrong with the phrase “the day of Christ” in 2nd Thessalonians 2:2. Remember, there were no chapter divisions in the original Koine Greek manuscripts, men added them. So when you read the first and second chapters of 2nd Thessalonians as being one, you get a clearer understanding. 2nd Thessalonians 1:10 plainly reveals “that day” to refer to Christ's Second Coming to earth, after the 7-year Tribulation. I agree with Dr. Merrill Unger in his Unger's Bible Dictionary (as quoted earlier concerning the day of Christ). 2nd Thessalonians 1:10 identifies “that day” as the day of Christ. I find no fault in the King James Bible!!!
In 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 the apostle Paul teaches about the glorious appearing of Christ at the Rapture. This is the first phase of the day of Christ. Then in 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 Paul teaches about the dreadful coming of the day of the Lord, in which the wicked shall be judged (as in the days of Noah, Matthew 24:37-39). Dr. John MacArthur assumes, as many scholars errantly do (in my humble non-expert opinion), that the Thessalonian believers were worried about the day of the Lord, but that's not accurate. Why would they care about the coming troubles for the wicked? 1st Thessalonians 5:3 describes the day of the Lord as a time when the world will proclaim peace, followed by sudden destruction. This refers to the Abomination of Desolation (Daniel 9:27; 12:11; Matthew 24:15), when the Antichrist breaks his peace covenant with Israel and the Great Tribulation begins.
Notice what Paul says in 2nd Thessalonians 1:7 and 10, “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels. ... When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” Notice, “THAT DAY.” This refers to the second phase of “the day of Christ.” This is what Paul is referring to when he mentions “the day of Christ” in 2nd Thessalonians 2:2. This is the “THAT DAY” of 2nd Thessalonians 2:3, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” The Bible interprets itself. MacArthur and the so-called “better texts” are WRONG!!! The apostle Paul is comforting his converts in Christ by encouraging them. They were troubled that the Rapture had already came and then were left behind.
As I pondered this passage of Scripture in 2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3, and prayed for God to teach me His Word, I wondered why Paul didn't just tell the believers at Thessalonica that nothing can happen until after the Rapture happens first. But then I realized that Paul couldn't do that, simply because there are NO signs or indicators of WHEN the Rapture will happen. I think what troubled the believers at Thessalonica was what Paul said in 1st Thessalonians 5:1, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” I think they didn't know perfectly, which is evidenced by Paul's second epistle to them, addressing this very issue of WHEN the Rapture will occur. Since Paul cannot tell them what will happen BEFORE the Rapture, he tells them what events will happen AFTER the Rapture, during the Tribulation and prior to Christ's Second Coming (advent).
Now the saints at Thessalonica were troubled about WHEN Christ would return. As is commonly believed by Bible students, it is possible that someone even forged a letter in Paul's name to the church at Thessalonica, saying that Christ had returned (2nd Thessalonians 2:2). Deceivers have always been a threat to the churches. So Paul assures the saints in his second epistle that Christ has not yet returned, by giving them some signs of what must happen during the Tribulation and world rebellion prior to Christ's second Coming. Note that this is all AFTER the Rapture. It makes sense that Paul couldn't give them signs of what to look for prior to the Rapture, because there simple are none, as Jesus taught in Mark 13:32-37. Paul does begin 2nd Thessalonians chapter two by speaking regarding Christ's second coming and our gathering together unto Him (the Rapture). These are two separate events, 7-years apart.
Although the world has always been evil, and there have been rebellious nations against the Lord throughout history, there has never been a time since before the flood of Noah's day that the entire world united in rebellion against God. They were headed that way at the tower and city of Babel in Genesis 11:7-9, but God intervened and stopped them. Today, 4,500 years later, God is allowing mankind once again to come together under Satan's New World Order in rebellion against God. The Rapture must be oh so near!!!!!!!
I am going to teach you what I simply believe concerning the following controversial Scripture passage . . .
2nd Thessalonians 2:1-3, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”
First, the apostle Paul plainly mentions the “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him.” I believe this refers to Christ's Second Coming and the Rapture. These two prophetic events happen 7-years apart from each other. The “gathering together unto Him” can only refer to the Rapture. Texe Marrs interprets this passage to mean that the Rapture cannot happen until after the Antichrist appears. I don't agree with that at all. I think it means the opposite, that is, since the Rapture must happen before the events of the Tribulation, you know that Christ hasn't returned—not because the Rapture happens after the Antichrist appears; but rather, because the Rapture happens before he appears!
I would not be dogmatic on the issue, because these passages are open to speculation. What I do know for a FACT is that Jesus said in Mark 13:32-37 that NO MAN knoweth the time nor the hour of His return, not even the angels in Heaven. This can only mean that the Rapture happens in timing BEFORE everything else during the Tribulation. There is absolutely no way that Christ can return after the Antichrist appears (as Dr. Texe Marrs and Pastor Steven Anderson teach) and yet His return be imminent, sudden, unpredictable and without signs. We would know exactly when Christ will return. Pastor Anderson has even set a date, 75 days after the Abomination of Desolation. Kindly, this is totally unbiblical. It appears that Texe Marrs and Steven Anderson share almost identical beliefs concerning the Rapture. In sharp contrast, if you take the Bible at face value, you can only conclude a pretribulation rapture.
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