THE DAY OF THE LORD

Isa 13:9-16 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate, and He will destroy its sinners from it. For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened in its going forth, and the moon will not cause its light to shine.

Isaiah speaks in the "prophetic tense," having in mind both a near fulfillment (the day of judgment against the Babylonian Empire) and an ultimate fulfillment (the final day of judgment at the return of Jesus). The day of the LORD is an important phrase, used some 26 times in the Bible. It speaks of not a single day of judgment, but the season of judgment when the LORD sets things right. It is as if today is man's day, but the LORD's day is coming! The stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be darkened: Several prophetic passages describe the cosmic disturbances that will precede and surround the return of Jesus Joel 2:10, Revelation 6:12-14, Isaiah 34 In fact, Jesus was probably quoting or paraphrasing this passage from Isaiah in Matthew 24:29: Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

In the near fulfillment of the judgment of Babylon, they felt like the whole world was coming apart. In the ultimate fulfillment connected with the return of Jesus, the whole world will be falling apart. 

I will punish the world for its evil: This was said to Babylon with the world, ripe for ultimate judgment, is consistent through the Scriptures. We aren't surprised that Isaiah has prophetically combined the vision of Babylon's judgment with the judabylon "Was the seat of the civilization that expressed organized hostility to God." (Tenney, Interpreting Revelation). Babylon was later the capital of the empire that cruelly conquered Judah. "Babylon, to them (the Jews), was the essence of all evil, the embodiment of cruelty, the foe of God's people, and the lasting type of sin, carnality, lust, and greed." Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place: Haggai 2:6 and Hebrews 12:25-28 echo this same thought. Since God can shake the heavens and move the earth, and since God Himself is unshakable, it makes a lot more sense to trust in God than even the ground we stand on and the air we breathe. It shall be as the hunted gazelle: The picture of God's judgment, upon both Babylon and the world in general, is unrelenting. It is like one of the nature movies where the hunted gazelle is overtaken by the lion, and it is utterly consumed. There is no escape from God's unrelenting judgment. 

If you take comfort in Jesus, remember that this is the same unrelenting judgment that was poured out upon Him on the cross. In this picture from Isaiah, Jesus was the hunted gazelle, and willingly made Himself so!

Prayer: Thank you Lord for a day that awaits me, as I prepare to approach this day, grant me the grace to live for your Glory so that I don't miss it in Jesus name. Amen

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The Lady Evangelist Kim

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