Is the Day of the Lord Near?

The prophets all spoke of the day of the Lord.
However, they all spoke of a time that was
future to their day. Is the day of the Lord
near to us?

Peter records that they did not prophesy for
their time, but for a future generation. Abraham,
who likewise saw the day of God, (John 8:56),
saw it afar off (Heb. 11:13).

On the other hand, some in the New Testament
saw the day of the Lord as having occurred as
early as the mid-first century. (2 Thess 2:1).

Why is there such a wide span of time related
to the day of the Lord? How can this time span
as early as the first century to as long as some
time in our future?

Such uncertainty creates endless speculations
both about the veracity of end time prophecy
and the time in which the event would occur.

How can we come to any degree of sanity or
certainty in our understanding? It’s not difficult.
It simply takes a little thought, careful reading
of the text, and clear thinking.

As we delve into the subject, let’s get a few of
the intellectual and textual obstacles before us.

First, it is said that know one knows the day or
the hour of the Lord’s return. So isn’t the attempt
to know when it happens an exercise in futility?

Secondly, the Lord’s coming is said to be like
a thief in the night. Thieves are not in the habit
of pre-announcing their arrival, for fear that
the owner may be waiting to surprise them.

There are six indicators of the Lord’s return that
help us to identify the time without violating
either of the requirements above. They answer
the question of is the day of the Lord near?

Once these are understood, the mystery about
the time of the day of the Lord vanishes. The
following indicators help to pinpoint the time
with a reasonable degree of certainty.

The coming of Elijah the prophet.Malachi announced that Elijah would appear
before the coming of the day of the Lord,
(Malachi 4:5, 6)

The New Testament records that Elijah is
John the Baptist. Luke 1:16, 17; Matt. 11:11,
17:11–13. This is a first century event.
The coming of the Holy Spirit.Joel prophesied that the Holy Spirit would be
poured out in the last days before the great
and terrible day of the Lord comes.

Peter affirms that 50 days after Jesus was
crucified, the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost
of A.D. 30 as precursor to the end.

“But this is that which was spoken by the
prophet Joel: And it shall come to pass in
the last days, says God, That I will pour
out of My Spirit on all flesh. . .

The sun shall be turned in to darkness, and
the moon into blood, before the coming of the
great and awesome day of the Lord. . .
(Acts 2:16–20).
The world-wide preaching of the gospel.Another sign that the day of the Lord was
at hand in the apostles day was the world-
wide spread of the gospel.

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be
preached in all the world as a witness to
all the nations, and then the end will come.”

The apostles affirmed the gospel was in fact
preached to all the world in their day before
Jerusalem fell. (Rom. 1:5; 10:18, 16:26, Col.
1:5, 6, 23).

Those who object to the gospel going to all
the world in the first century, fail to recognize
that “all the world” used in context referred to
the Roman empire, per Luke 2:1, 2).
The abomination of desolation.Daniel predicted the abomination of desolation,
i.e. the profaning of the temple in Jerusalem
before the time of the end.

Jesus announces Daniel’s prophecy relates
to the subject of the destruction of Jerusalem.

“Therefore when you see the abomination of
desolation,’ spoken of By Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place” then let those who
are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Mt. 24:15)

What is significant here is that this Luke ties
this same prophecy to the day of the Lord,
Luke 17:30, 31).

“Even so will it be in the day when the Son of
man is revealed. In that day, he who is on
the housetop, and his good are in the house,
let him not come down to take them away…

In chapter 21, Luke connects all points in
connection with the Roman invasion and
desolation of Jerusalem, (Luke 21:20–22).
The great apostasy.In response to the Thessalonicans’ “trigger
happy” enthusiasm, in believing that Christ
had come as early as 50 A.D., Paul had to
curb their zeal.

However, it is significant, that these believers
did not see the Lord’s coming as a planet ending
event. They recognized that life would continue
on earth as usual. Nor did they anticipate Rapture.

Yet, Paul had to give them some physical signs
so they weren’t misled. (2 Thess 2:1, 2).

“Let no one deceive you by any means; for that
day will not come unless the falling away comes
first…” (2 Thess. 2:3)

The apostasy or falling away is well documented
in the New Testament from Galatians, 2 Timothy,
Hebrews, 2 Peter, Jude and Revelation.
The coming of the lawless one, i.e. man of sin.The last sign was the coming of the man
of sin, i.e. the lawless one, (2 Thess 2:3)
).
Paul says the mystery of lawlessness was
already at work in his day.

Obviously, the Thessalonicans knew by former
conversations to whom Paul referred. “Do you
not remember that when I was still with you I
I told you these things?

And you now what is restraining, that he may
be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of
lawlessness is already at work. (2 Thess 2:5–7)

Thus, until they observed the revelation of the
apostasy and destruction of the man of sin,
they could not conclude that Christ came.

With all of these signs occurring in the first century,
it should be clear why Christ taught the day of
the Lord would occur within his generation,
(Matt. 24:34).

This also shows why the apostles all taught the
day of the Lord was at hand, or imminent in their
time, (Rom. 13:11, 12; 1 Cor. 10:11; Gal. 5:5;
Phil. 4:5; Hebrews 10:25, 37, James 5:7, 8,
1 Peter 4:5–7, 13, Revelation 1:1–3; 22:6–10).

But now we come to the last question of the day
and hour being unknown and coming as a thief
in the night.

Very simply, Jesus predicted the “generation” not
the day and the hour. There is no contradiction.
You can know the generation or “general” time in
which an event occurs without knowing the day
an hour.

For example, let’s say that your children promised
to visit you next year. They have not chose a date
booked their flights or made any travel arrangements.

If that’s all the information they gave you, would you
know the day and hour they would arrive? No. You’d
only know a general time, i.e. that they are coming
the next year.

In like manner, Jesus spoke of coming within his
generation. Yet, he did not specify the day and hour.
Thus, the disciples could know the general time and
follow the signs being revealed in their generation.

Lastly, Jesus’ promise to come as a thief was
directed not to believers, but to unbelievers.
It is the unbelievers who did not recognize the
signs.

Why? It’s because they did not believe in him as
their Messiah and king. In each of the passages
that mention his coming as a thief, he always
applies that language to the unbelievers.

When the Lord spoke of his coming as a thief, he
referred to the event in Noah’s day, saying that
the people continued their every day norms and
did not know until the flood came overtaking them.

Likewise, it would be the same when Jesus returned
upon that generation, Matt. 24:37–39. Paul says
the day of the Lord would not overtake Christians
as a thief, but those in darkness.

In Revelation, Jesus said, he would come as a thief
to those who would not watch. (Rev. 3:3, 16:15).

For more studies on the day of the Lord and Jesus’
first century return, order your copy of The
Re-Examination by the author.