The Day of the Lord in Bible Prophecy | Telecasts | Tomorrow's World

The Day of the Lord in Bible Prophecy

The Day of the Lord in Bible Prophecy

How is the Day of the Lord linked to the end times, the Great Tribulation, and Jesus Christ’s Second Coming? Learn which Bible prophecies show the meaning of the Day of the Lord and how it is one of three major events leading to the end of the world as we know it.

[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

A Time Like No Other

Bible prophecy has foretold the chaotic world we all are experiencing at this time. The prophet Daniel revealed what he called “the time of the end.” God showed Daniel prophetic trends we are witnessing every day. Daniel chapter 12 and verse 4 states:

“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

Even while we recover from coronavirus-related lockdowns, many cities and regions again face traffic congestion, reflecting the symbolic prophecy of Isaiah 2:7;

“Their land is also full of silver and gold, And there is no end to their treasures; Their land is also full of horses, And there is no end to their chariots.”

Knowledge, too, has increased exponentially in these end-times. Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg observed that one daily copy of The New York Times contains more information than the average seventeenth-century Englishman encountered in a whole lifetime. Futurist Buckminster Fuller, as far back as 1982, said that the knowledge available to humanity was doubling every year. More recently, scientists at IBM found that as of 2020, knowledge was doubling every twelve hours.

But we need to seek the REAL knowledge. Daniel also foretold the Great Tribulation, later confirmed by the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, in Matthew 24. Daniel 12:1:

“And there shall be a time of trouble, Such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time.”

Bible prophecy reveals the future for all nations in the next decade and beyond. Do you know what happens after the Great Tribulation? The Book of Revelation and many other prophecies reveal the sequence of events and the prophetic Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord is coming soon. It’s the time of God’s judgments on the rebellious nations of this world. Will you and your family be prepared? You need to understand the Day of the Lord in Bible prophecy.

Stay tuned.

Trials and Heavenly Signs

Warm greetings to all our friends around the world. The world has experienced two world wars. All nations were affected by these wars. Will there be a World War III? On today’s program we will answer that question. Your Bible reveals that future global conflicts will ravage our world during the prophetic Day of the Lord. You need to know how the Day of the Lord will affect you and your family.

On the Day of Pentecost in 31 AD, the Apostle Peter quoted from the prophet Joel, explaining the supernatural darkness surrounding our Lord’s crucifixion.

“I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord” (Acts 2:19–20).

That darkness was also a type of the cosmic disturbances that will introduce the future Day of the Lord. Yes, it will be “the great and awesome day of the Lord.” If you have your Bible, turn to Revelation the sixth chapter. The heavenly signs follow the Great Tribulation. Revelation 6:12:

“I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place” (Revelation 6:12–14).

All the earth will see these signs introducing the Day of God’s judgment on the nations. Every few years we see “blood moons.” NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, describes their color as “sunset-red” or, as the eclipse progressed, “filling it with a coppery glow and transforming the Moon into a great red orb” (“Colorful Lunar Eclipse,” NASA Science, science.NASA.gov, September 18, 2014). 

This spectacular sight is just a type of the great blood moon yet to come.

The Day of the Lord is a period of one year consisting of seven trumpet judgments or plagues, when God will judge all nations. The first six trumpets are described in Revelation chapters eight and nine. When will this take place? And what is the sequence of events you should be watching? Your Bible reveals the framework of prophecy leading up to the Day of the Lord, Armageddon, and World War III. My friends, what is the solution to mankind’s conflicts and world wars? We should all look forward to the solution to world war. That solution is the coming Kingdom of God. Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:10,

“Your Kingdom come.”

Jesus Christ will return as King of kings and Lord of lords to bring lasting peace and prosperity among the nations of this world. We look forward to the Second Coming of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. 

Three major milestones lead up to the climax of human history and the end of this age. They are: 

1. The Great Tribulation; 

2. The Heavenly Signs;

and

3. The Day of the Lord. 

These three events cover a period of about 3 and one-half years. There are over 30 prophecies in your Bible referring to the Day of the Lord. Isaiah 34:8 and Isaiah 63:4 show that the Day of the Lord in end-time prophecy, the time preceding the Second Coming, is a period of one year. You might want to write down those references: Isaiah 34:8 and Isaiah 63:4.

As the Great Tribulation unfolds, the famous four horsemen of the Apocalypse will intensify their ride. In the book of Revelation, chapter five, we read of a scroll sealed with seven seals. Jesus, the Revelator, opens the seals to the book. We read the description of those seals in Revelation the sixth chapter. The first four seals are known as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse. They are described in Revelation 6:1–8. The first horse, the white horse and its rider, represent false religions, false Christs. Jesus Himself points out the sequence of these end-time events in His Olivet prophecy in Matthew 24. The second seal reveals a horseman, riding a red horse, with the power to take peace from the earth. The third seal presents a rider on a black horse, representing the scarcity of food and resulting famine. The fourth seal shows a rider on a pale horse, representing death and pestilence. These four horsemen have power to kill major portions of earth’s population. As it tells us in Revelation 6:8, 

“And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth.”

Yes, there has always been war, famine, and pestilence. But you and I will see the four horsemen of the apocalypse intensify their ride, with unprecedented global impact. Then the fifth seal describes an end-time persecution of the saints. Then Jesus opens the sixth seal, revealing the heavenly signs that will terrify people all over the earth.

The Trumpets Heralding God’s Wrath

The Great Tribulation lasts for two-and-a-half years. Then God sends the cosmic disturbances or the heavenly signs. The Day of the Lord follows the heavenly signs and brings God’s judgment on the nations for a period of one year.

What happens during that year-long period of judgment? Revelation 8 and 9 describe six of the seven trumpet plagues. A major key to understanding the book of Revelation is that there are seven seals, seven trumpet events, and seven last plagues or bowls. Simply stated, as you can see on this chart, the seventh seal consists of seven trumpet events. The seventh trumpet consists of the seven last plagues, including the final battle between good and evil referred to as Armageddon.

What happens during the Day of the Lord? Let’s read what happens when the Lamb, Jesus Christ, opens the seventh seal. Turn in your Bible to Revelation, the eighth chapter. Let’s understand. The seventh seal represents the Day of the Lord and the events taking place in that one year period. This is very important. Why? Because these events lead up to the greatest event ever to occur in history, the Second Coming of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Revelation 8:1,

“When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets” (Revelation 8:1–2).

These seven trumpets represent God’s judgments on the nations. The first four disrupt the ecology and environment. Notice the subheads summarizing these judgments in verses 7 through 13:

“First Trumpet: Vegetation Struck.” “Second Trumpet: The Seas Struck.” “Third Trumpet: The Waters Struck.” And the “Fourth Trumpet: The Heavens Struck.”

These trumpet plagues, as they are called, will bring devastation on the earth. Nations will cry out for basic necessities that will disappear from their lands, lakes, and rivers.

Three trumpet plagues remain, Revelation 8:13. The Apostle John writes what he sees and hears in vision:

“And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’”

The last three trumpet plagues are called woes. The word “woe” is an exclamation of grief! The first woe or the fifth trumpet plague is described in chapter nine. The fifth angel sounds a trumpet that begins a military action that lasts five months. And what power supports that military action? Revelation 9:11,

“And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.” 

Yes, the destroyer, Satan the devil, gives power to this military force. The second woe, or the sixth trumpet plague, is pictured with symbols of horses and horsemen. Here we see an intense military counter-attack. Revelation 9:12,

“One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things. Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’”

An army of 200 million drives west across the Euphrates River and destroys one third of the earth’s population. Revelation 9:15,

“So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to KILL A THIRD OF MANKIND. Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. And thus I saw the horses in the vision: those who sat on them had breastplates of fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow; and the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions; and out of their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a THIRD OF MANKIND was killed—by the fire and the smoke and the brimstone which came out of their mouths.”

This phase of World War III will kill billions of people. Jesus said in Matthew 24:22, that unless those days were shortened no flesh would be saved—otherwise, all life on earth would be destroyed.

Judgment Upon Mankind’s Sins

Our Lord reveals the sequence of events leading up to His Second Coming. My friends, I hope you are praying daily as Jesus taught us in Matthew 6:10,

“Your kingdom come.”

While this seventh trumpet announcement will be good news to you and me, rebellious nations will reject that announcement and even fight against Christ at His coming. Revelation 11:15,

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’”

The heavenly beings praise God at this glorious announcement, but notice the response of earthly nations. Revelation 11:16,

“And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: ‘We give You thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was and who is to come, because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.”

The seventh trumpet also introduces God’s final wrathful judgment on rebellious nations. This judgment period executes “the wrath of the Lamb.” As it tells us in Revelation 6:17,

“For the great day of His wrath has come….”

The seventh trumpet concludes this year-long Day of the Lord with seven final judgments. Revelation 15:1,

“Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.”

Revelation the 16th chapter describes these final judgment plagues. The Apostle John writes,

“Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, ‘Go and pour out the bowls of the wrath of God on the earth’” (Revelation 16:1).

For the sake of time, I’ll just list the plagues as titled in the New King James Version of the Bible of the Bible:

First Bowl: Loathsome Sores
Second Bowl: The Sea Turns to Blood
Third Bowl: The Waters Turn to Blood
Fourth Bowl: Men Are Scorched
Fifth Bowl: Darkness and Pain
Sixth Bowl: Euphrates Dried Up
Seventh Bowl: The Earth Utterly Shaken

You might think people would respond to God’s correction and repent. But no;

“And men were scorched with great heat, and they blasphemed the name of God who has power over these plagues; and they did not repent and give Him glory” (Revelation 16:9).

The rebellious nations of planet earth will be angry. After the Euphrates River is dried up, armies will gather at Megiddo in northern Israel to fight what is commonly called the Battle of Armageddon. You can read about that in Revelation 16:12–16. Yes, the climax of World War III is already foretold. The King of kings Himself gives us this admonition and blessing:

“Behold, I am coming as a thief. Blessed is he who watches, and keeps his garments, lest he walk naked and they see his shame” (Revelation 16:15).

Yes, my friends, keep watching world news for prophetic events. Learn the sequence of prophetic events and stay spiritually awake.

And what will be the result of that climactic battle of all time? It’s called the battle of that great day of God Almighty in Revelation 12:14. The kings of the earth join the symbolic Beast at Armageddon. The Beast superpower will be a revival of the ancient Roman Empire, as we’ve explained in previous programs. Their judgement is already determined in this amazing prophecy. Turn in your Bible to Revelation 17:12:

“The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and THE LAMB WILL OVERCOME THEM, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:12–14).

Yes, genuine Christians will be with the King of kings. And, yes, they will escape the Day of the Lord judgments on the nations. My friends, some of you watching this program may have come to the place in your life where you want to make a dramatic change and live a new life, repenting of your past sins and accepting Christ’s shed blood for the forgiveness of your sins. The Apostle Peter addressed thousands of worshippers in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost in 31 AD. Read that in your own Bible in Acts 2. The mobs of people had been complicit in the crucifixion of Christ and they were cut to the heart in response to Peter’s message. They asked Peter and the apostles,

“Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).

Listen to Peter’s answer that is just as urgent for us today:

“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

If you have studied your Bible enough to understand repentance and the commitment to obey your Savior and the Bible’s requirements, we have representatives in many regions around the world. Just call the number on the screen or contact us at one of our regional offices listed in Tomorrow’s World magazine or on TomorrowsWorld.org website.

Will you be with Christ at His coming as one of those who are “called, chosen, and faithful”?

Armageddon—And Beyond…

More than 30 prophecies in your Bible refer to the Day of the Lord. We’ve seen the future devastation that comes from world war. Thankfully, at the conclusion of the Day of the Lord, the seventh trumpet announces the good news of Christ’s takeover of world governments. Turn in your Bible to Revelation 19. Revelation 19:11, the Apostle John writes,

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:11–16).

The nations will respond to Christ’s announced coming with anger, as it tells us in Revelation 11:18. When Christ returns to this earth, He’ll conquer his enemies. He’ll conquer the nations and their powerful armies that fight against Him at His coming. The Day of the Lord will bring God’s judgment on the nations. As we’ve seen, in one sense the Day of the Lord is the year preceding the return of Christ. In another sense, it continues on through the millennium and on out to eternity. 

The Apostle Peter describes it this way. 2 Peter 3:10,

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be DISSOLVED, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:10–13).

Thank you for watching. To understand the prophetic events leading up to the Day of the Lord, order your free CD titled “The Day of the Lord” by clicking the link in the description. Remember to subscribe so you don’t miss another Tomorrow’s World video. See you next time!


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