What is the Day of the Lord?

A Bible Study

By John Harrell

Introduction

The “Day of the Lord” is a recurring phrase in the Bible, appearing mostly in Old Testament prophetic books but also five times in the New Testament. In the Old Testament it is written in Hebrew as לַיהוָ֧ה י֞וֹם (Yah-weh yō-wm), literally translated to English as the Day of the Lord. In the New Testament it is written in Greek as ἡμέρα Κυρίου (hēmera Kyriou), which is also literally Day of the Lord.

As we study the Old Testament prophetic books and/or eschatology we encounter this phrase over and over. Its repeated use raises the question:

· What exactly is the event or events called the Day of the Lord?

There is no succinct definition of this key phrase provided in the Bible, but there are many specific characteristics of the “day” that are described in scriptures. But these characteristics are scattered among various books and authors and each provides only a partial description so it is hard to immediately see a complete picture.

The purpose of this study is to try to gain a better understanding of the Biblical meaning of the day of the Lord by reviewing passages from the Bible that specifically describe it. More specifically, the approach used in this study is to bring together in a summary the various characteristics that are provided in all of the relevant scriptures so a broader, hopefully more complete, understanding of the day of the Lord can be discerned.

For reference, listed below are the scripture passages in which the specific phrase “day of the Lord” appears in either Hebrew (OT) or Greek (NT).

Old Testament -

Isa 2:12,17-19

Isa 13:6-19

Jer 46:10

Ezek 13:3-6

Ezek 30:3

Joel 1:15

Joel 2:1-2

Joel 2:11

Joel 2:30-32

Joel 3:14-16

Amos 5:16-20

Oba 1:15-16

Zeph 1:7-18

Zech 14:1-8

Mal 4:5

New Testament -

Acts 2:20

1 Cor 5:5

1 Thes 5:1-4

2 Thes 2:2

2 Pet 3:10

Verses

Isa 2:12, 17-19

12 For the day of the Lord of hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty, upon everything lifted up— and it shall be brought low …17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; the Lord alone will be exalted in that day, 18 but the idols He shall utterly abolish. 19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty, when He arises to shake the earth mightily. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· the loftiness of man will be bowed down

· the Lord alone will be exalted

· idols shall be utterly abolished

· men will tremble with fear and hide at the glory of His majesty

· the Lord will shake the earth mightily

Isa 13:6-19

6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. 7 Therefore all hands will be limp, every man’s heart will melt, 8 and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames. 9 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. 10 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. 11 “I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will halt the arrogance of the proud, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12 I will make a mortal more rare than fine gold, a man more than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger. 14 It shall be as the hunted gazelle, and as a sheep that no man takes up; every man will turn to his own people, and everyone will flee to his own land. 15 Everyone who is found will be thrust through, and everyone who is captured will fall by the sword. 16 Their children also will be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished. 17 “Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, who will not regard silver; and as for gold, they will not delight in it. 18 Also their bows will dash the young men to pieces, and they will have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye will not spare children. 19 And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldeans’ pride, will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.” [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· destruction from the Almighty

· men’s hearts will melt with fear

· men will have sorrow and pain

· cruel, with wrath and fierce anger

· sinners destroyed

· stars, sun, and moon darkened

· punishment for evil

· men will be humbled

· mortals will be made rare

· heavens will shake and earth will be moved

· everyone will flee to his own land

· captured will fall by the sword

· children will be dashed to pieces

· wives ravished

· Babylon will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah

Jer 46:10

10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. The sword shall devour; it shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood; for the Lord God of hosts has a sacrifice in the north country by the River Euphrates. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· day of God’s vengeance

· the sword shall devour

· a sacrifice in the north country by the River Euphrates

Ezek 13:3-6

3 Thus says the Lord God: “Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing! 4 O Israel, your prophets are like foxes in the deserts. 5 You have not gone up into the gaps to build a wall for the house of Israel to stand in battle on the day of the Lord. 6 They have envisioned futility and false divination, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord!’ But the Lord has not sent them; yet they hope that the word may be confirmed. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· woe to false prophets

· Israel to stand in battle

Ezek 30:3

3 For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near; it will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles. [NKVJ]

Key characteristics:

· day of clouds

· time of the Gentiles

Joel 1:15

15 Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as destruction from the Almighty. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· destruction from the Almighty

Joel 2:1-2

1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; for the day of the Lord is coming, for it is at hand: 2 a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, like the morning clouds spread over the mountains. A people come, great and strong, the like of whom has never been; nor will there ever be any such after them, even for many successive generations. [NKJV]

Key observations:

· day of darkness and gloom

· day of clouds and thick darkness

· a people come, great and strong like has never been nor will ever be after them

Joel 2:11

11 The Lord gives voice before His army, for His camp is very great; for strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; who can endure it? [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· great and very terrible; who can endure it?

Joel 2:30-32

30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: blood and fire and pillars of smoke. 31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 32 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, among the remnant whom the Lord calls. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· wonders in the heavens and in the earth before that day

· blood and fire and pillars of smoke before that day

· preceded by sun and moon turned into darkness

· whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved

· deliverance for a remnant in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem

Joel 3:14-16

14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will diminish their brightness. 16 The Lord also will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; the heavens and earth will shake; but the Lord will be a shelter for His people, and the strength of the children of Israel. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· sun, moon and stars will grow dark

· heavens and earth will shake

· Lord will be a shelter for His people and be the strength of the children of Israel

Amos 5:16-20

16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord, says this: “There shall be wailing in all streets, and they shall say in all the highways, ‘Alas! Alas!’ They shall call the farmer to mourning, and skillful lamenters to wailing. 17 In all vineyards there shall be wailing, for I will pass through you,” Says the Lord. 18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light. 19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him! Or as though he went into the house, leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him! 20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it? [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· wailing

· darkness, and not light

· nowhere to escape

Oba 1:15-16

15 “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; as you have done, it shall be done to you [Edom]; your reprisal shall return upon your own head. 16 For as you drank on My holy mountain, so shall all the nations drink continually; yes, they shall drink, and swallow, and they shall be as though they had never been. “But on Mount Zion there shall be deliverance, and there shall be holiness; the house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· upon all the nations

· nations shall be as though they had never been

· deliverance on Mount Zion

Zeph 1:7-18

7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; for the day of the Lord is at hand, for the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests. 8 “And it shall be, in the day of the Lord’s sacrifice, that I will punish the princes and the king’s children, and all such as are clothed with foreign apparel. 9 In the same day I will punish all those who leap over the threshold, who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit. 10 “And there shall be on that day,” says the Lord, “the sound of a mournful cry from the Fish Gate, a wailing from the Second Quarter, and a loud crashing from the hills. 11 Wail, you inhabitants of Maktesh! For all the merchant people are cut down; all those who handle money are cut off. 12 “And it shall come to pass at that time that I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and punish the men who are settled in complacency, who say in their heart, ‘The Lord will not do good, nor will He do evil.’ 13 Therefore their goods shall become booty, and their houses a desolation; they shall build houses, but not inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards, but not drink their wine.” 14 The great day of the Lord is near;

It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; there the mighty men shall cry out. 15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, 16 a day of trumpet and alarm against the fortified cities and against the high towers. 17 “I will bring distress upon men, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like refuse.” 18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· princes and King’s children punished

· punishment for those who adopt “foreign apparel”

· punishment for violence and deceit

· wailing from the Fish Gate, the Second Quarter and the hills

· punishment for the complacent

· near and hastens quickly

· bitter

· day of wrath, trouble, distress, devastation, desolation

· darkness and gloom

· a day of clouds and thick darkness

· against fortified cites and high towers

· distress on men for sin

· whole land devoured by the fire of His jealousy

· speedy riddance for all those who dwell in the land

Zech 14:1-17

1 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; the city shall be taken, the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle. 4 And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. 5 Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the Lord my God will come, and all the saints with You. 6 It shall come to pass in that day that there will be no light; the lights will diminish. 7 It shall be one day which is known to the Lord— neither day nor night. But at evening time it shall happen that it will be light. 8 And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur. 9 And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be— “The Lord is one,” And His name one. 10 All the land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall be raised up and inhabited in her place from Benjamin’s Gate to the place of the First Gate and the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s winepresses. 11 The people shall dwell in it; and no longer shall there be utter destruction, but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem: their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet, their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets, and their tongues shall dissolve in their mouths. 13 It shall come to pass in that day that a great panic from the Lord will be among them. Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor, and raise his hand against his neighbor’s hand; 14 Judah also will fight at Jerusalem. And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together: Gold, silver, and apparel in great abundance. 15 Such also shall be the plague on the horse and the mule, on the camel and the donkey, and on all the cattle that will be in those camps. So shall this plague be. 16 And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, on them there will be no rain. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· nations gathered to battle against Jerusalem

· half of the city to go into captivity

· a remnant of the people not cut off from the city

· the Lord will fight against nations

· Lord’s feet will stand on the Mount of Olives

· Mount of Olives will be split in two

· You shall flee to Azal

· the Lord God will come, and all the saints with Him

· there will be no light; the lights will diminish

· at evening time it will be light

· living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, east and west

· Lord shall be King over all the earth

· Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited

· a plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem

· for those who fought against Jerusalem, their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet

· eyes and tongues will dissolve

· great panic from the Lord

· Judah will fight at Jerusalem

· the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together

· a plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and on all the cattle

· afterwards the attacking nations will go to Jerusalem to worship the King

Mal 4:5

5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· Elijah to come first

Note: This must be a future Elijah since Malachi wrote this long after the original Elijah lived in the 9th century BC

Acts 2:17-21

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood and fire and vapor of smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· A time of prophesy, visions, and dreams

· Wonders in the heavens

· Signs in the earth

· Blood, fire and smoke

· Sun turned into darkness and moon turned into blood before the day of the Lord

1 Thess 5:1-4

1 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· comes as a thief in the night (to those who are in darkness)

· comes when some say “peace and safety”

· brethren not in darkness and so not surprised by the day

2 Pet 3:10

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. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· comes as a thief in the night

· heavens pass away with great noise

· elements (elemental things, principles, components) melt with fervent heat

· earth and the works that are in it will be burned up

Questions for Thought or Discussion

1. Prophetic literature can be literal, hyperbolic, or metaphorical. Which characteristics described above do you think fall into each category?

2. Do you think these different authors are describing the same event or different events?

3. If they are describing multiple distinct events can you identify historically when any of these scriptures were fulfilled and which verses apply to that/those events?

4. If they are describing the same event, has that event happened?

5. In a few sentences, how would you describe the Day of the Lord?

Summarizing the Day of the Lord Passages

If these passages are all pointing to a single event how might that look? To help explore that question all the characteristics can be put together in one list and sorted into four categories;

1. Those characteristics that describe events or contexts that immediately precede the “What is the Day of the Lord?"

2. Those characteristics that describe what the “Day” will be like or things that will happen during the “Day”

3. Those characteristics that describe the immediate results or outcome of the “Day”

4. Those characteristics that describe the final outcome

Note that sorting the characteristics in this way does involve some speculation.

The events or contexts that immediately precede the “Day of the Lord” –

· Elijah to come first

· It comes when some say “peace and safety”

· (the day is) near and hastens quickly

· comes as a thief in the night (to those who are in darkness)

· brethren not in darkness and so not surprised by the day

· nations gathered to battle against Jerusalem

· a people come, great and strong like has never been nor will ever be after them

· Israel to stand in battle, Judah will fight at Jerusalem

· the sword shall devour

· the captured will fall by the sword

· wives ravished

· children will be dashed to pieces

· wailing

· everyone will flee to his own land

· half of the city to go into captivity

· time of the Gentiles

· a time of prophesy, visions, and dreams

· whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved

· preceded by visible signs in the heavens; sun and moon will grow dark

· wonders in the heavens and in the earth before that day

· blood and fire and pillars of smoke before that day

· sun turned into darkness and moon turned into blood before the day of the Lord

The characteristics of that “Day” –

· day of clouds, darkness, and not light

· there will be no light; the lights will diminish

· at evening time it will be light

· the Lord will shake the earth mightily

· heavens and earth will shake

· day of God’s vengeance

· day of wrath, trouble, distress, devastation, desolation

· destruction from the Almighty

· great and very terrible; who can endure it?

· cruel, with wrath and fierce anger

· men’s hearts will melt with fear

· men will tremble with fear and hide at the glory of His majesty

· distress on men for sin

· punishment for violence and deceit

· the Lord will fight against nations

· princes and King’s children punished

· sinners destroyed

· punishment for evil

· a plague on the horse, the mule, the camel, the donkey, and on all the cattle

· wailing from the Fish Gate, the Second Quarter and the hills

· men will have sorrow and pain

· nowhere to escape

· upon all the nations

· bitter

· great panic from the Lord

· punishment for those who adopt “foreign apparel”

· punishment for the complacent

· woe to false prophets

· for those who fought against Jerusalem, their flesh shall dissolve while they stand on their feet

· eyes and tongues will dissolve

· a plague with which the Lord will strike all the people who fought against Jerusalem

· against fortified cites and high towers

· Babylon will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah

· a sacrifice in the north country by the River Euphrates

· You shall flee to Azal

· earth and the works that are in it will be burned up

· the Lord God will come, and all the saints with Him

· Lord’s feet will stand on the Mount of Olives

· Mount of Olives will be split in two

· a remnant of the people not cut off from the city

· the Lord will be a shelter for His people and be the strength of the children of Israel

The immediate results –

· whole land devoured by fire of His jealousy

· mortals will be made rare

· speedy riddance for all those who dwell in the land

· nations shall be as though they had never been

· deliverance for a remnant in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem

· idols shall be utterly abolished

· the proud will be humbled

· the Lord alone is exalted

· heavens pass away with great noise

· elements (elemental things, principles, components) melt with fervent heat

· the Lord shall be King over all the earth

· living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, east and west

Final outcome –

· Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited

· the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be gathered together

· afterwards the attacking nations will go to Jerusalem to worship the King

Other Potentially Related Passages

This is obviously not all that can be said about the Day of the Lord. There are other scripture passages that may also apply to this same event. Phrases in scripture such as “the wrath of the Lord”, “day of His wrath” and even “that day” may be pointing to the same period of time. The following additional passages are listed below for consideration as possible descriptions of the same Day of the Lord.

Psalm 110:1-7

1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”

2 The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. Rule in the midst of Your enemies! 3 Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power; in the beauties of holiness, from the womb of the morning, You have the dew of Your youth. 4 The Lord has sworn and will not relent, “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” 5 The Lord is at Your right hand; He shall execute kings in the day of His wrath. 6 He shall judge among the nations, He shall fill the places with dead bodies, He shall execute the heads of many countries. 7 He shall drink of the brook by the wayside; Therefore He shall lift up the head.

Key characteristics:

· His people shall be volunteers

· He shall execute kings

· He shall judge among nations

· He shall fill the places with dead bodies

· He shall execute the heads of many countries

Isa 13:13

13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth will move out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts and in the day of His fierce anger.

Key characteristics:

· Heavens will shake

· Earth will move out of her place

· Day of His fierce anger

Ezek 7:19

19 ‘They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will be like refuse; their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord; they will not satisfy their souls, nor fill their stomachs, because it became their stumbling block of iniquity.

Key characteristics:

· They will discard their riches as of no value

· Riches became their stumbling block of iniquity

Ezek 38:19-23

19 For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, 20 so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ 21 I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. “Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22 And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23 Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.”’

Key characteristics:

· Great earthquake in the land of Israel

· All men and creatures shall shake

· Mountains shall be thrown down

· Every wall shall fall

· Men will fight with each other

· Pestilence and bloodshed

· Flooding rain, hailstones, fire and brimstone on Gog and his troops

· He will be seen by many nations

Zeph 2:1-3

1 Gather yourselves together, yes, gather together, O undesirable nation, 2 before the decree is issued, or the day passes like chaff, before the Lord’s fierce anger comes upon you, before the day of the Lord’s anger comes upon you! 3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger. [NKJV]

Key characteristics:

· Lord’s fierce anger

· righteous and humble may be hidden

Rev 6:17

17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Key characteristics:

· No one is able to stand

Jer 30:7-11

7 Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it. 8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘that I will break his yoke from your neck, and will burst your bonds; foreigners shall no more enslave them. 9 But they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up for them. 10 ‘Therefore do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord, ‘nor be dismayed, O Israel; for behold, I will save you from afar, and your seed from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid. 11 For I am with you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you; though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you, yet I will not make a complete end of you. But I will correct you in justice, and will not let you go altogether unpunished.’

Key characteristics:

· none is like it

· time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it

· foreigners shall no more enslave them (Israel)

· they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king

· God will save them from afar

· Israel shall return, have rest and be quiet, and no one shall make him afraid

· God will make a full end of all nations where He scattered Israel

· He will not make a complete end of Israel

· He will correct Israel in justice, and will not let Israel go altogether unpunished

Conclusions

While these other passages are not explicitly identified by the phrase Yah-weh yō-wm the associated characteristics are quite consistent with the characteristics of the passages that explicitly use the phrase day of the Lord.