• Sign in

• Home
• Write for World-Wide Bible Studies
• Sign in
• About
• Contact

Day of the Lord - War

Zeph 1:15-16 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet blast and battle cry against the fortified cities and against the lofty battlements.

One of the most frequent woes associated with the day of the Lord is military conflict. In this passage Zephaniah’s description of wrath, ruin, gloom, and battle sounds eerily like the four riders of the Apocalypse (Rev 6:2-8). Jesus predicted war and rumor of war (Mk 13:7). Paul points to day of the Lord Jesus as yet to come in at least five passages. Peter also speaks of the day of the Lord as a future time (2 Pe 3:10) and includes a description of the end of the earth. The bible contains many more references to a day of wrath or judgment, much like this passage. A few also include a reference to a trumpet. 1 Cor 15:52 and 1 Th 4:16 are two frequently quoted references to a day when Christ will return with the sound of a trumpet and closely associated with his return is the idea of worldwide judgment and wrath.

Lifting Zeph 1:15-16 from the context, however, leaves us uncertain if he could be speaking of that day or perhaps another day of a more specific and limited judgment. Certainly the fall of Jerusalem was viewed by Daniel and the post-exile prophets as God’s righteous judgment against a chosen people who chose to follow after pagan gods and all sorts of wickedness. The people of Jerusalem experienced distress, anguish, ruin, devastation, darkness and gloom when the Babylonian armies captured the city. Zephaniah doesn’t mention Jerusalem specifically, however. The vagueness of “fortified cities” leaves plenty of room for Messianic or second-coming interpretation. Of course from the perspective of Babylonian fulfillment, there were many smaller towns in the region of Judea which fell over the course of the Babylonian conquests.

• Home
• Terms of Service
• Privacy
• Categories
• Writers' Guidelines
• Write for World-Wide Bible Studies
• Tag Cloud
• About
• Contact