What is the "Day of the Lord"?

Many believe that the Day of the Lord is a time of darkness in which the Lord unleashes his vengeance upon the earth.  This view is correct as evidenced by Isaiah 13.

Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.  (Isa 13:6)

However, the Day of the Lord includes not only God's vengeance at the Second Coming but also the Lord's millennial reign during his kingdom.

Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.

And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.  (Zec 14:1, 9)

It is further clear that the Day of the Lord, which begins with the Second Coming and lasts through Christ's 1000 year reign on the earth, also includes the dissolving of the current heavens and earth.

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.  (2Pe 3:10)

It is thus clear that the Day of the Lord is not a single event or even a series of related events occurring closely in time but a number of different events that play out over more than 1000 years.  The scriptural definition of the Day of the Lord is not simply God's judgment at the Second Coming or Christ's millennial reign but all events that transpire when the Lord is present.  According to Zephaniah, it is the presence of the Lord that makes the Day of the Lord what it is.

Hold thy peace at the presence of the Lord GOD: for the day of the LORD is at hand: for the LORD hath prepared a sacrifice, he hath bid his guests.  (Zep 1:7)

The fact that the Day of the Lord is fundamentally the presence of the Lord leads to a number of significant conclusions.  First, the Day of the Lord does not begin on earth until the Lord's Second Coming.  Many hold that the Day of the Lord includes the entire tribulation, but that is not the implication of the following verses:

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  (Joel 2:30-31, Matt 21:29-30)

From the perspective of those on the earth, the Day of the Lord does not and cannot begin until the Lord's physical return to the earth at the end of the tribulation at his Second Coming.

Second, the Day of the Lord must begin in the heavens before it begins on the earth.  Revelation 12 makes it clear that the heavens are cleansed before Christ returns to the earth.

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.  (Rev 12:7-9, 12)

Since Christ must physically pass through the heavens to return to the earth, it is only natural that the Day of the Lord must begin in the heavens prior to his descent to the earth.

For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Idumea, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.  (Isa 34:5)

Once one understands that the Day of the Lord is a reference to Christ's presence, it is natural to wonder what Paul refers to when he uses the following terms: the day of Christ, the day of Jesus Christ, the day of the Lord Jesus, and the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Since these phrases are found only in Paul's epistles, some have concluded that these terms are simply a reference to the Rapture.  However, the Day of Christ cannot refer solely to the Rapture given what Paul says in 2Thessalonians 2.

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.  (2Th 2:1-2)

If the Day of Christ is simply the Rapture, then there would be no reason for the Thessalonians to fear the coming of the Day of Christ.  What the Day of Christ refers to is not simply the Rapture but the revealing of the Lord's presence to the body of Christ.

Since the body of Christ is not appointed to wrath (1Thess 5:9, Rom 5:9), its Day of Christ must of necessity be different from the wrath that characterizes the beginning of the Day of the Lord.  Instead, the day of Christ is a reference to the Rapture, the judgment seat of Christ, and the subsequent events that transpire in the heavenly places as God reconciles the heavens to himself.

In both the prophecy and the mystery programs, it is clear that a man's earthly life is a walk of faith while he will operate by sight in his eternal destination where the Lord is present.

            Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.  (Heb 11:1, 2Cor 5:6-8)

The prophecy and mystery programs each have their own event that transforms faith into sight.  For the prophetic program, that event is the physical, visible return of Christ to the earth.  Once the Second Coming occurs, saints in the prophecy program will not walk by faith but by sight.  For the mystery program, when the body of Christ meets the Lord in the air at the Rapture, it will then walk by sight not faith.  Thus, the day of Christ is the visible, physical revelation of Jesus Christ to the body of Christ just as the Day of the Lord was the comparable revelation to the kingdom church.

With this understanding, 2Thessalonians poses no difficulty.

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; (2Thess 2:2-3)

The specific phrases used in reference to the day of Christ are "at hand" and "shall not come."  The day of Christ is never "at hand" for the body of Christ because it is never physically close.  1Thessalonians 4 makes clear that the body of Christ is caught up into the heavenly places at the Rapture.  Thus, in the visible, physical, spatial sense, the day of Christ is never "at hand" for the body of Christ while it is on the earth.  The immediately following verse makes clear that the subject that is being addressed is where the Lord's presence is manifest.

In short, both the Day of the Lord and the day of Christ refer to the Lord's presence to bring to culmination his purposes for the earth and the heavens.

The Scriptural Definition and Symbolism of Certain Terms

Why Angels Do Not Have a Second Chance

Those who have come to understand God's abundant grace toward man often marvel at what God has done for man despite our utter and complete unrighteousness.  While God has chosen to bestow grace upon man, the scriptures are noticeably silent as to any provision for fallen angels.  While the author does not pretend to know all of the reasons in the mind of God as to why such provision was not made, a few insights can be gleaned from how the scriptures describe angels.

We begin with the observation that angels hold a higher rank and position in the universe than man does but that man's position is only slightly inferior.

What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?

For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.  (Ps 8:4-5)

A key difference between men and angels is that angels are incapable of dying while all men die.

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.  (Luke 20:35-36)

In fact, the very reason that Christ was made a little lower than the angels was so that he could suffer death. 

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.  (Heb 2:9)

Since one of the key differences between men and angels is the ability to suffer death, it is important to understand what it means to die.  Death is not, as commonly thought, the cessation of existence because a man's soul is eternal. 

What transpires at death is the separation of a man's soul and his spirit from his physical body.

And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing, (for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.  (Gen 35:18, Jam 2:26)

Death is simply the departure of the soul and the spirit from the physical body.  Thus, when scripture indicates that angels cannot die, it is an indication that the nature of the heavenly bodies given to angels is such that the bodies cannot be separated from their souls and spirits.

Prior to the saints of this dispensation occupying their positions of service in heavenly places they must be given new incorruptible bodies (Rom 8:23, 1Cor 15:42-44).  The explicit reason given for these change is that our corrupt bodies are not suitable to receive our inheritance in heavenly places.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.  (1Cor 15:50)

The corruption in our physical bodies is a reference to sin dwelling in our flesh. 

Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.  (Rom 7:20, 23)

Our corruptible flesh in which sin dwells is unfit for heavenly places.  If, after removing fallen angels from heaven, God were to allow us to enter our heavenly positions in our sinful flesh, soon the heavenly places would again be filled with sin just as the earth is today.  Therefore, God has provided new spiritual, incorruptible bodies for us to avoid contaminating heaven.

As discussed above, angels were created as a higher class of being and are incapable of dying.  Thus, angels that have sinned inhabit bodies where sin resides and from which the angels' souls cannot be set free.  As a result, if God wishes the new heavens and the new earth to be free from sin, he has no choice but to prevent fallen angels from entering into it since they cannot be given new bodies.  It is for this reason (and perhaps others) that scriptures do not record angels as having a second chance.[1]

What is "the body of Moses" in Jude 9?

Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.  (Jude 9)

Many have understood this verse to indicate that Michael and the devil had an argument over the disposition of Moses’ corpse.  It is easy to see why many have reached this conclusion since when scripture uses the phrase "the body of" followed by a proper noun, it often refers to the man's corpse (1Sam 31:12, 1Ch 10:12, Matt 27:58, Mark 15:43, Luke 23:52, 24:3, John 19:38, 19:40, 20:12).  Further, the scriptures indicate that the disposition of Moses’ remains was exceptional in that God himself buried Moses in a secret place that no man knew of.

So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.

And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.  (Deut 34:5-6)

Perhaps because of the highly unusual nature of Moses' burial recorded in Deuteronomy, many have understood Jude 9 as a reference to a dispute over Moses’ corpse.  However, viewing Jude 9 as a reference to Moses’ physical body raises many questions.  There is no evidence elsewhere in scripture of a dispute over Moses’ corpse, and it is not clear why the devil would want Moses’ body in the first place.

The key to understanding Jude 9 is to recognize that scripture sometimes uses the term "the body of" followed by a proper noun to describe a particular church.  In this current dispensation of grace, Paul repeatedly refers to the church as the body of Christ (1Cor 12:27, Eph 4:12, Col 1:24).  Given that saints who lived before the crucifixion did not have a clear understanding of the cross (Luke 18:31-34, Mark 9:30-32), it would be odd to use this term to refer to the Old Testament church.  It would, however, make sense to use the term, the body of Moses, since the Old Testament saints did understand who Moses was.

Consider the following that address the believer's spiritual baptism today into the body of Christ.

For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  (1Cor 12:13)

Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?  (Rom 6:3)

Since Ephesians 4:4 is clear that there is one baptism today, the above baptisms must be the same thing, and thus, being baptized into the church, the body of Christ (1Cor 12:13), is the same thing as being baptized "into Jesus Christ" (Rom 6:3).

Notice how scripture describes baptism in Moses’ day.

Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; (1Cor 10:1-2)

If the saints during Moses’ time were "baptized unto Moses," we know from 1Corinthians 12:13 and Romans 6:3 that this refers to being baptized into the church of that day, which Jude 9 calls the "body of Moses."

Similarly, Hebrews 3 makes clear that Moses can be used as a reference to the house of faith that God was building in Old Testament times.

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;

Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.

For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.  (Heb 3:1-3)

In sum, the reference in Jude 9 to the "body of Moses" is a reference to the Old Testament body of believers just as the church of today is referred to as the body of Christ.  With this understanding, it is easy to understand the real dispute between Michael and the devil.

Michael's responsibility in the scriptures is to serve as the great prince who stands for Israel.

And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: ...  (Dan 12:1)

Notice what the passage of scripture that deals most extensively with the conflict between Michael and the devil mentions about the devil.

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,

And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.

And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.  (Rev 12:7-10)

While Michael was given the task of defending Israel, the devil is constantly accusing Israel.  Thus, it is hardly a surprise that Michael and the devil would have a dispute between them.  Their argument is not over Moses’ corpse, but over Satan's endless accusations against believing Israel, the body of Moses.