How long is the day of the Lord?
There have been various opinion as what is
"The day of the Lord". Is this a single day event which
stands for Jesus returning to earth, or is it a term for
7 years tribulation? I find the answer in Zephaniah 2.
Zephaniah 2:1 Gather yourselves together,
yea, gather together, O nation not desired;
2 Before the decree bring forth, before
the day pass as the chaff, before the fierce anger of
the LORD come upon you, before the day of the LORD'S
anger come upon you.
3 Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the
earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek
righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid
in the day of the LORD'S anger.
There's an urgent calling from Zephaniah,
"Seek ye the Lord, so that you may be hidden in the day
of the LORD's anger". Zephaniah describes more
precisely what the day of the Lord is. The day of the
Lord is the day of the Lord's anger. It begins when the
Lord calls the church home, and unleashes all the seals,
trumpets, and vials judgment on earth. Simply put, the
day of the LORD is the 7 years tribulation.
A note here. Zephaniah also supports the
view of pre-tribulation rapture. He says for those who
seek the Lord, they shall be hidden in the day of the
Lord's anger which is the 7 years tribulation.
Also, Zephaniah 2 is an epitome of seven
years tribulation. According to Zephaniah, the day of
the Lord's anger begins with judgment on Ashkelon, Gaza
,Moab and Ammon. Gaza and Ashkelon is where Hamas is.
Moab and Ammon is Jordan who is one of the participants
in three shepherds war and the 4th transgression. They
shall gather against israel. This battle begins right
before the tribulation.
Zephaniah then shifts the attention
to Ethiopia and prophesies her downfall. This is
a near mid-trib event. Antichrist shall invade
Egypt and Ethiopia after he trespass Israel in mid-trib
according to Daniel 11:42-43.
Zephaniah concludes the day of the Lord's
anger by prophesied the judgment on Assyria and Nineveh.
God shall destroy Assyria and makes Nineveh desolate.
This is the end trib event, very close to Jesus'
returning to Jerusalem.
By laying out God's judgment on three
different cities and countries which occurs in the
beginning, middle, and end of tribulation, Zephaniah
foretells the day of the Lord's anger lasts for the
entire tribulation, or simply put, the day of the Lord
equals to 7 years tribulation.
Ray