Why the snatching away will precede “the Lord’s day” (part two)

Snatched away before the Lord’s day

In 1 Thess. 5:1-3, Paul wrote the following concerning the time when the day of the Lord begins:

“Now concerning the times and the eras,[1] brethren, you have no need to be written to, for you yourselves are accurately aware that the day of the Lord is as a thief in the night -- thus is it coming! Now whenever they may be saying ‘Peace and security,’ then extermination is standing by them unawares, even as a pang over the pregnant, and they may by no means escape.”

It should be noted that Paul didn’t say that the believers to whom he wrote were accurately aware of when the day of the Lord would come (or that they should be able to figure out that it had come). That of which Paul said the Thessalonians were “accurately aware” – and which is the reason Paul gives for why they had no need to be written to concerning “the times and the eras” – is simply the fact that “the day of the Lord is as a thief in the night–thus is it coming!” Notice that Paul didn’t say that the day of the Lord is coming as a thief in the night for some but not all. There is no qualification given. Similarly, when Peter declared that “the day of the Lord will be arriving as a thief” (2 Pet. 3:10), he also gave no indication that this would be the case for some but not all.  When the day of the Lord comes, it will come “as a thief in the night” for everyone who will be alive on the earth at the time. And that’s because there will be no prophetic announcement or forewarning given to those on the earth that the day is about to come. Even those who know that this day is coming (and who may believe that the “season” is near) will not know for sure that it has come until after it has already arrived.

Moreover (and as I’ve noted elsewhere), what Paul wrote in these verses is remarkably similar to what Christ declared to his disciples in Luke 21:34-36: 

“Now take heed to yourselves, lest at some time your hearts should be burdened with crapulence and drunkenness and the worries of life's affairs, and that day may be standing by you unawares, as a trap, for it will intrude on all those sitting on the surface of the entire earth. Now be vigilant, on every occasion beseeching that you may be prevailing to escape all these things which are about to occur, and to stand in front of the Son of Mankind.”

In light of the striking similarities between these two passages, it’s reasonable to believe that Paul had the above passage in mind when he wrote what he did in 1 Thess. 5:1-2 concerning the start of the day of the Lord.[2] In any case, Christ’s words here further confirm the fact that, when the day of the Lord comes “as a thief” (i.e., suddenly and without warning or notice), it will do so for everyone on the earth at the time. No one who is “sitting on the face of the entire earth” will be excluded from the “all” on whom the day of the Lord is going to “intrude.”

Notice also what Paul revealed certain people would be saying when the day of the Lord comes. Here, again, is verse 3: ”Now whenever they may be saying ‘Peace and security,’ then extermination is standing by them unawares, even as a pang over the pregnant, and they may by no means escape.” The words “peace and security” indicate that the day of the Lord that Paul had in mind here will begin during a time when the inhabitants of the earth will not be expecting or anticipating judgment. They will, instead, see “peace and security” as characterizing their present state of affairs, and as being promised by the future. They will be oblivious to what is to come (and when it does come, it will be too late for them to escape). In contrast with the state of affairs that will be present when the day of the Lord begins (i.e., “whenever they may be saying ‘Peace and security’”), we know that, just before Christ returns to earth to destroy the enemies of Israel and establish the kingdom of God, the inhabitants of the earth will have gone through the most horrific and tumultuous time in history that the world has ever known, and will still be reeling from the “last seven calamities” of the “fury of God” that will have recently been poured out (Rev. 15:1, 16:1-21). And even before these last seven calamities begin to occur, “peace and security” will be the last thing on anyone’s mind. For one of the earliest judgments that will be occurring during the day of the Lord will involve peace being removed from the earth (Rev. 6:3-4). After this judgment occurs, life on earth is going to become increasingly more disrupted and chaotic until everything finally comes to a climax with the return of Christ to the earth.

This being the case, it follows that the time of apparent “peace and security” that will be present when the day of the Lord comes must be before the breaking of the second seal (and all subsequent seals) referred to in Revelation 6. We can therefore conclude that the time at which people on the earth will be saying “peace and security” (and which will coincide with the arrival of the day of the Lord) will be prior to the various judgments described throughout Rev. 6-18. And this means that when Paul referred to the “day of the Lord” in 1 Thess. 5:3, he had in mind the same period of time that John referred to as “the Lord’s day” in Rev. 1:10 (which will initially be characterized by “peace and security” before peace is subsequently removed from the earth as a result of the breaking of the second seal). But what implications does this have with regard to the timing of the snatching away of the body of Christ from the earth?

After revealing to the Thessalonian believers what unbelievers would be saying when the day of the Lord comes as a thief, Paul went on to write the following in verses 4-5:

”Now you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day may be overtaking you as a thief, for you are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness.”

According to Paul, it is only those who are “in darkness” who may be overtaken by the day of the Lord as a thief. But why did Paul say “may be overtaking?” Answer: the possibility being expressed in the words “may be” is based on the fact that, among those who are “in darkness,” only those who are alive on the earth when the day of the Lord comes will be overtaken by this day as a thief when it comes. But when the day of the Lord comes, it ”will intrude on all those sitting on the surface of the entire earth.” In other words, everyone who will be residing on the earth when the day of the Lord comes will necessarily be overtaken by this day as a thief (for to be “overtaken” by this day “as a thief” simply means to suddenly be in this day, without having had prior knowledge that it was going to come when it did). In other words, everyone who is alive on the earth when they day of the Lord comes will be overtaken by this day “as a thief.”

Thus, the only way that anyone couldn’t be overtaken by the day of the Lord as a thief is if they won’t be on the earth at the time when the day of the Lord arrives. And Paul is clear that believers are not among those whom the day of the Lord may be overtaking as a thief. Rather than being “in darkness,” “of the night” and “of the darkness” (as is the case for those whom the day of the Lord may be overtaking as a thief), we who are in the body of Christ are ”all sons of the light and sons of the day.” But what does it mean for believers to be “sons of the light and sons of the day” (as opposed to being “in darkness,” “of the night” and “of the darkness”)? I think Paul’s words in Colossians 1:12-13 and Romans 13:11-12 can provide us with some insight into what Paul likely had in mind here. In Rom. 13:11-12 we read the following:

“This, also, do, being aware of the era, that it is already the hour for us to be roused out of sleep, for now is our salvation nearer than when we believe. The night progresses, yet the day is near.”

“The night” to which Paul was referring in v. 12 likely represents “the era” referred to in v. 11 (and which is referred to in Rom. 11:5 as “the current era”). This era belongs to “the present wicked eon” (Gal. 1:4), and consists of days that are “wicked” (Eph. 5:16). However, the “salvation” to which Paul was referring (and which is “nearer than when we believed”) will involve being extricated “out of the present wicked eon” (Gal. 1:4) and being transported to the location in which “our realm” is said to be “inherent” – i.e., the heavens (Phil. 3:20; Col. 1:5; 2 Cor. 5:1-2), where we will be “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:6-9). It is this coming salvation (which will involve being extricated from the realm in which “the night progresses”) that is symbolized as “day.”

Concerning this salvation, we read in Col. 1:12-13 that “the Father…makes [us] competent for a part of the allotment of the saints, in light” and that he “rescues us out of the jurisdiction of Darkness, and transports us into the kingdom of the Son of His love…” Notice that the “part of the allotment of the saints” for which the Father has qualified us is said to be “in light,” and is contrasted with the “jurisdiction of Darkness,” from which the Father rescues us. We can therefore conclude that being ”sons of the light and sons of the day” (rather than being “in darkness,” “of the night” and “of the darkness”) refers to our status as those who have been qualified by God for this allotment (which occurred when, after believing the evangel of our salvation, we were justified by God and “sealed with the holy spirit of promise”; Eph. 1:13-14).

Thus, the fact that we are “not in darkness” has nothing to do with our conduct or the extent of our knowledge during this lifetime. It is instead based on the fact that, as believers, we have been qualified by God for a heavenly allotment “in light,” and are thus “sons of the light and sons of the day.” It is because of this status that we cannot be overtaken by the day of the Lord as a thief. However, since everyone who will be alive on the earth when the day of the Lord comes will be overtaken by this day as a thief, it follows that the body of Christ is not going to be present on the earth when the day of the Lord comes. When the day of the Lord comes, we will have been removed from the earth (in fulfillment of the event prophesied in 1 Thess. 4:15-17).

But what about Paul’s subsequent exhortation in 1 Thess. 5:6-8 (where believers are exhorted to “not be drowsing” but to “be watching and be sober”)? I think Paul's words in Eph. 5:9-17 (which have a lot in common with what Paul wrote in 1 Thess. 5:4-8) can inform our understanding of the meaning of Paul’s “drowsing” and “watching” terminology here. After exhorting believers not to become joint partakers with “the sons of stubbornness” on whom the indignation of God is coming, Paul wrote:

As children of light be walking (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), testing what is well pleasing to the Lord. And be not joint participants in the unfruitful acts of darkness, yet rather be exposing them also, for it is a shame even to speak of the hidden things occurring, done by them. Now all that which is being exposed, by the light is made manifest, for everything which is making manifest is light. Wherefore He is saying, 'Rouse! O drowsy one, and rise from among the dead, and Christ shall dawn upon you!' Be observing accurately, then, brethren, how you are walking, not as unwise, but as wise, reclaiming the era, for the days are wicked. Therefore do not become imprudent, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

The exhortation for the “drowsy one” to “rouse” seems to be explained by Paul’s subsequent exhortation to “be observing accurately...how you are walking, not as unwise, but as wise," and to "not become imprudent, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Those who are doing this will be heeding Paul's exhortation in 1 Thess. 5:8. However, “watching” has nothing to do with figuring out when the day of the Lord is coming (or discerning that it has already come). And it certainly doesn’t determine whether or not a believer will avoid being overtaken by the day of the Lord as a thief. Again, it is only those who are “in darkness” who “may be overtaken by the day of the Lord as a thief.” Since we who are in the body of Christ are not “in darkness,” we’re not among those who may be overtaken by this day as a thief.

Thus, Paul’s exhortation in 1 Thess. 5:6-8 doesn’t mean that that those believers who aren’t watching will be overtaken by the day of the Lord as a thief. Paul is simply telling believers how we should live in light of the fact that we’re “of the day” (v. 8). It is our status (i.e., being ”sons of the light and sons of the day”) and not our conduct (“watching” and being “sober” rather than “drowsing”) that is the reason why we won’t be overtaken by the day of the Lord as a thief. For as Paul makes clear in 1 Thess. 5:8-10, this status (and the salvation associated with it) belongs to the believer irrespective of whether he or she is “watching or drowsing.” In these verses we read the following:

”Yet we, being of the day, may be sober, putting on the cuirass of faith and love, and the helmet, the expectation of salvation, for God did not appoint us to indignation, but to the procuring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for our sakes, that, whether we may be watching or drowsing, we should be living at the same time together with Him.”

The salvific event that will result in our “living at the same time together with [Christ]” was described by Paul in greater detail in the previous chapter. In 1 Thess. 4:15-17 we read the following:

“For this we are saying to you by the word of the Lord, that we, the living, who are surviving to the presence of the Lord, should by no means outstrip those who are put to repose, for the Lord Himself will be descending from heaven with a shout of command, with the voice of the Chief Messenger, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ shall be rising first. Thereupon we, the living who are surviving, shall at the same time be snatched away together with them in clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And thus shall we always be together with the Lord.”

In 1 Thess. 1:10, Paul referred to the indignation from which believers will be saved by means of the event described in the above passage as follows:

“…and how you turn back to God from idols, to be slaving for the living and true God, and to be waiting for His Son out of the heavens, Whom He rouses from among the dead, Jesus, our Rescuer out of the coming indignation.”

In accord with what’s said in these verses concerning the believer’s exemption from indignation, we read the following in Romans 5:9-10:

”Much rather, then, being now justified in His blood, we shall be saved from indignation, through Him.[3] For if, being enemies, we were conciliated to God through the death of His Son, much rather, being conciliated, we shall be saved in His life.

Based on the information revealed in these passages, we could formulate the following argument:

1. God did not appoint those in the body of Christ to indignation, but rather to the “procuring of salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9).

2. The salvation from indignation to which those in the body of Christ have been appointed will involve being snatched away from the earth to be with Christ, so that we may “be living at the same time together with him” (1 Thess. 4:15-17; 5:9).

3. The snatching away is the means by which God will prevent the body of Christ from going through “the coming indignation” (1 Thess. 1:10; 5:10).

But what, exactly, is the “coming indignation” from which members of the body of Christ shall be rescued? Answer: it is the indignation that will be manifested during (and which will characterize) the coming “day of the Lord” or “Lord’s day.” Thus, regardless of whether one is “watching or drowsing” prior to the arrival of the day of the Lord, every believer in the body of Christ is going to be snatched away from the location where those who are “in darkness” are going to be overtaken by this day as a thief. And since this future time period will include the earliest judgments and cataclysms that we find prophesied in Revelation (i.e., those associated with the opening of the first four seals of the seven-sealed scroll), we can conclude that the snatching away of the body of Christ will take place before the events associated with the opening of the seal begin to occur (since we cannot be on the earth when the day of the Lord begins).

---

[1] The fact that Paul introduced the subject covered in these verses by referring to “the times” and “the eras” (cf. Acts 1:6-7) suggests that he had in view the period of time that will be leading up to the actual day of Christ’s return to earth, and not the day of Christ’s return itself (which is referred to in Joel 2:31 and Malachi 4:5 as “the day of the Lord, the great and advent day,” and will be occurring within the broader period of time that John referred to as “the Lord’s day” in Rev. 1:10; see the following article for further remarks on this subject: https://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2019/05/before-pangs-begin-defense-of-imminence_15.html).

[2] This, of course, implies that Paul was familiar with Luke’s Gospel Account. But we have good reason to believe that this was the case. Not only did Paul and Luke have a ministerial relationship and friendship (Phil. 1:24; Col. 4:14; 2 Tim. 4:11), Paul even quoted from Luke’s account on one occasion (1 Tim. 5:18; cf. Luke 10:7). And what Paul said concerning the “Lord’s dinner” also has more similarities with Luke’s account than with the other Gospels (see 1 Cor. 11:23-26 and compare with Luke 22:17-20).

[3] Every other occurrence of the term translated “indignation” (or “wrath”) in Paul’s letter to the Romans refers to some expression or occurrence of God’s indignation. Thus, had Paul been referring to the indignation of someone other than God in Rom. 5:9, we can reasonably believe that he would’ve qualified his statement in such a way that would’ve made this clear. Since Paul didn’t do this, we have good reason to believe that the indignation to which Paul was referring is also God’s indignation. Moreover, since it is only believers who are said to be exempt from indignation (1 Thess. 5:4-11), we can conclude that those referred to as having been “now justified in His blood” are believers. That is, Paul had in mind all who have become members of that company of saints referred to elsewhere as  “the body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:12-13, 27; Rom. 12:4-5) and “the ecclesia which is [Christ’s] body” (Eph. 1:22-23; 4:4; 5:23-24, 30).

This is in accord with the fact that Paul elsewhere referred to justification (or having “the righteousness of God”) as a status that, at present, belongs exclusively to believers (see Rom. 3:22, 28-30; 5:1; 8:30-33; 1 Cor. 6:11; Gal. 2:16; 3:8, 24; Titus 3:7). In contrast with the present righteous status of believers, the justification of all mankind is referred to by Paul as if it were something that will occur in the future (Rom. 5:18-19). Moreover, just a few verses before Paul referred to certain people as having been “justified in [Christ’s] blood,” Paul referred to them as having been “justified by faith,” and as able to “be having peace toward God, through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). This can only refer to believers and not to unbelievers. 

Why the snatching away will precede “the Lord’s day” (part one)

In Revelation 1:10 we read that the apostle John ”came to be, in spirit, in the Lord’s day.” The key to understanding what John was revealing here is, I believe, found in the words “in spirit.” Concerning John’s use of this expression, A.E. Knoch has provided the following helpful remarks in his commentary:

The same phrase occurs on three other occasions. These are safe and sure indexes of its meaning here. In each case the apostle is transported in spirit, to a place or time which his body could not occupy. He thus ascended to heaven and beheld the magnificent throne scene (4:2). He is carried away, in spirit, into a wilderness, to behold the woman on the scarlet wild beast (17:3). He is carried away, in spirit, to a mountain on the new earth to behold the holy city (21:10). In every case John is taken out of himself, leaves His body, and sees and hears what belongs to the far future.

Since John was not bodily present where (or when) he experienced what he did while “in spirit,” the implication is that what John experienced while “in spirit” was experienced in a vision. Consider, for example, the following from Ezekiel:

Ezekiel 8:3

He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.

Ezekiel 11:1

The spirit lifted me up and brought me to the east gate of the house of Yahweh, which faces east. And behold, at the entrance of the gateway there were twenty-five men.

Ezekiel 11:24

And the spirit lifted me up and brought me in the vision by the spirit of God into Chaldea, to the exiles. Then the vision that I had seen went up from me.

Ezekiel 37:1

The hand of Yahweh was upon me, and he brought me out in the spirit of Yahweh and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones.

Ezekiel 43:5

The spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of Yahweh filled the temple.

In each of these examples, Ezekiel “travelled” to the various locations referred to by means of “the spirit.” And the locations to which Ezekiel travelled by means of the spirit were experienced in visions that were given to him. Thus, Ezekiel’s body was not actually present in the locations to which he travelled by means of the spirit.

Now, as noted by Knoch in the above quotation, the phrase “in spirit” was used by John a total of four times in Revelation. After its first occurrence in Rev. 1:10, the next occurrence of the phrase is found in Rev. 4:1-2. Immediately after Christ finished telling John what to write to the messengers of the seven ecclesias in the province of Asia (Rev. 2-3; cf. 1:4), we read the following:

“After these things I perceived, and lo! a door is open in heaven, and lo! the first sound which I hear is as a trumpet speaking with me, saying, ‘Come up here! and I will be showing you what must be occurring after these things.’ Now immediately I came to be in spirit, and lo! a throne, located in heaven, and on the throne One sitting.”

In this second occurrence of the phrase “in spirit,” the implication is that, when John “came to be in spirit,” he found himself in the place to which he was being invited (i.e., the heavenly throne room). In other words, as soon as John “came to be in spirit,” he found himself present somewhere that his body was not present, and was able to perceive all the heavenly things and events that he went on to describe. He was not bodily present in the heavenly throne room, but had been transported there in a vision. Thus, in response to the question, “In what location did John immediately come to be in spirit?” the answer would be, “in heaven.”

The next occurrence of the phrase is in Rev. 17:1-3:

“And one from among the seven messengers who have the seven bowls came, and he speaks with me, saying, "Hither! I shall be showing you the sentence of the great prostitute who is sitting on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth commit prostitution, and those dwelling on the earth are made drunk with the wine of her prostitution." And he carries me away, in spirit, into a wilderness. And I perceived a woman sitting on a scarlet wild beast replete with names of blasphemy, and having seven heads and ten horns.”

As with the previous occurrence of his being “in spirit,” John’s being “in spirit” at this time involved his being in a state in which he was able to be carried away to a place and time in which his body was not (and indeed could not be) present. And in response to the question, “Into what was John carried away in spirit at this time?” the answer would be, “a wilderness.”

The last occurrence of the phrase is in Rev. 21:9-10. There, we read:

“And one of the seven messengers who have the seven bowls brimming with the last seven calamities came, and he speaks with me, saying, "Hither! I shall be showing you the bride, the wife of the Lambkin." And he carries me away, in spirit, on a mountain, huge and high, and shows me the holy city, Jerusalem, as it is descending out of heaven from God…”

Here, John’s being “in spirit” involved his being carried away “on a mountain, huge and high” so that he could perceive the “new Jerusalem.” Thus, in response to the question, “On what was John carried away in spirit at this time?” the answer would be, “a mountain, huge and high.”

Thus, following its initial occurrence in Rev. 1:10, every subsequent passage in which the expression “in spirit” is found involves John’s having been spiritually (and, it would seem, instantaneously) transported to a place where his body was not present. In light of this, let’s again consider John’s words in Rev. 1:10: “I came to be, in spirit, in the Lord’s day…” According to John, it was “in the Lord’s day” that he “came to be in spirit.” Since “the Lord’s day” refers to a time (rather than a place), we can reasonably conclude that the first recorded event in which John states that he came to be “in spirit” involved his being spiritually transported (i.e., carried away by the spirit in a vision) to a time when his body was not actually present (i.e., the future time when Christ begins opening the seven-sealed scroll, and when the events associated with the opening of this scroll begin to take place on the earth). Thus, in response to the question, “in what time period did John come to be ‘in spirit’ while he was on Patmos?” the answer would be, “the Lord’s day.” But what time period did John have in mind by his use of this expression?

Most Christians assume that the “Lord’s day” is a reference to Sunday. However, nowhere else in Scripture is Sunday referred to as the “Lord’s day.” Instead, the day that many English-speakers refer to as “Sunday” is referred to in Scripture as the “first day of the week” (just as the seventh day is regularly referred to in Scripture as “the Sabbath”). Had John intended to inform his readers that it was Sunday when he wrote, he would’ve written, “on the first day of the week.” Similarly, had John wished to inform us that it was on the Sabbath, there’s no reason to think that he would’ve referred to this day of the week as anything other than “the Sabbath” (as this is how he consistently referred to the seventh day in his Gospel Account).

Moreover, if John had been at all concerned about informing his readers of the date on which his supernatural experience occurred, why would he have mentioned only the day of the week (and not more specific information)? Consider, for example, how Ezekiel began his prophetic work:

“In the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the exiles by the Chebar canal, the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. On the fifth day of the month (it was the fifth year of the exile of King Jehoiachin), the word of Yahweh came to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the Chebar canal, and the hand of Yahweh was upon him there.”

It would’ve made little sense for Ezekiel to have simply remarked that it was “on the fifth day” that he received his visions. And yet, that’s how many Christians understand John’s reference to “the Lord’s day” in Rev. 1:10. But aside from the fact that it would’ve been rather odd for John to have made it a point to inform his readers of what day of the week it was when his supernatural experience took place (without providing any other helpful chronological information), one would think that if this had been John’s intention, he would’ve simply used the standard, straight-forward way of designating the days of the week (as he did in his own Gospel Account). The fact that John didn’t do this strongly suggests that it wasn’t John intention to inform his readers of what day of the week it was in Rev. 1:10. But what, then, was John revealing here?

I believe that the expression “the Lord’s day” should best be understood as an alternate form of the expression “the day of the Lord.” Concerning this future time period, we read the following in Amos 5:18-20 and Zephaniah 1:14-18:

Woe to you who desire the day of Yahweh! Why would you have the day of Yahweh? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him.  Is not the day of Yahweh darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

The great day of Yahweh is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of Yahweh is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there. 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. I will bring distress on mankind, so that they shall walk like the blind, because they have sinned against Yahweh; their blood shall be poured out like dust, and their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them on the day of the wrath of Yahweh. In the fire of his jealousy, all the earth shall be consumed; for a full and sudden end he will make of all the inhabitants of the earth.

It should be noted that, in Scripture, the term “day” is not always used to refer to a literal 12-hour period lasting from sunrise to sunset (or a 24-hour period lasting from sunset to sunset). In some verses and passages – such as, I believe, the passages quoted above – the term is being used in a figurative sense to denote a time period of unspecified length having a distinctive feature or characteristic. And based on what we read in these passages, the distinguishing characteristic of this future time period will be the “wrath” of Yahweh being manifested through the judgment of earth’s inhabitants (which will stand in contrast with the present era of world-conciliation in which we’re living today [Rom. 11:15], and which Paul referred to in 2 Cor. 6:2 as “a day of salvation”). Moreover, what we read in Revelation 6-19 makes it clear that this future time of divine wrath will involve increasingly more severe and cataclysmic judgments on the earth that will lead up to, and climax with, the return of Christ to the earth. 

In Acts 17:30-31, Paul declared to the Athenians that a certain “day” has been assigned by God, in which God will be “judging the inhabited earth in righteousness by the Man Whom he specifies...” And in Rom. 2:3-5, Paul referred to this time period of judgment as “the day of indignation and revelation of the just judgment of God.”[1] Other expressions used to refer to this future time of judgment include “the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice” (Zeph. 1:8), “the day of Yahweh’s rage” (Zeph. 1:18), “that day” (Isa. 2:11), “in those days” (Joel 3:1), “the day of visitation” (Isa. 10:3), “the day of [Yahweh’s] hot anger” (Isa. 13:13), “the day of vengeance” (Isa. 34:8), a “day coming for Yahweh” (Zech. 14:1), “the day of judging” (2 Pet. 2:9; 3:7), “the great day” (Jude 6) and simply “the day” (Heb. 10:25).

The most common way of referring to this time period in the Hebrew Scriptures, however, is “the day of Yahweh.” And this expression can be translated into Greek as either “the day of the Lord” (as in 1 Thess. 5:3[2] and 2 Pet. 3:4) or “the Lord’s day” (as in Rev. 1:10). In both forms of the translated expression “the day of Yahweh,” the divine name “Yahweh” is translated “Lord.” This is in accord with the ancient customary practice of translating Yahweh with “Lord,” which we find reflected in the LXX (from which the inspired writers often quoted) as well as in the Greek Scriptures (where any quotation of a verse from the Hebrew Scriptures in which the name Yahweh occurs is replaced with “Lord”).  However, the only way to write or say “the Lord’s day” in the language of the Hebrew Scriptures would’ve been “the day of the Lord.”[3]

Thus, although John used the adjective form of the word “Lord” in Rev. 1:10 rather than the noun, the meaning is essentially the same in both expressions. The only difference is one of emphasis. Another example of the adjective form of a noun being used in the Greek Scriptures instead of the noun itself is found in 1 Corinthians 4:3, where Paul referred to “man’s day” (which likely refers to the time of human history transpiring prior to the day of the Lord, or “the Lord’s day”). Here, the adjective form of “man” is used rather than the noun. However, in the Hebrew it would be written as “the day of man.” Although the emphasis is slightly different in the two expressions, the essential meaning is the same. The reason John wrote “the Lord’s day” (using the adjective form of Lord) rather than “the day of the Lord” is probably due to the fact that he wanted to put the emphasis on the word “day” (thereby emphasizing the time period in which he had, in spirit, come to be present).

Since the expressions “the day of the Lord” and “the Lord’s day” are both translations of the original Hebrew expression “the day of Yahweh,” we can therefore conclude that, in Rev. 1:10, John had in mind that future period of time during which God, through Christ, will begin intervening in world affairs to judge the inhabitants of the earth and prepare Israel (and the entire earth itself) for the coming of Christ and the establishing of the kingdom of God on the earth. The implication of this is that all of the prophesied events and judgments that John subsequently described as leading up to Christ’s return (as well as the events taking place afterword, until the passing away of the present heaven and earth) will be occurring during the Lord’s day/day of the Lord. And this, of course, will include the earliest calamities associated with the opening of the seven-sealed scroll. In other words, the coming day of the Lord (or “Lord’s day”) will include the judgments associated with the “four horsemen” unleashed by the opening of the first four seals (and which, as I argued in my two-part study, ”Before the Pangs Begin,” Christ referred to in Matthew 24 as “the beginning of pangs”).

In fact, we have good reason to believe that, when John came to be in the Lord’s day, he was transported to the earliest part of this future time period (e.g., the first 24-hour day of this future time period). For when John was spiritually transported to the heavenly throne room to witness the opening of the seven-sealed scroll, this likely took place on the same literal, 24-hour day on which he saw and heard the things which we’re told he saw and heard in the first three chapters of Revelation (and which occurred “in the Lord’s day”). In Rev. 4:1 we read that “after these things” John came to be in the heavenly throne room to be shown “what must be occurring after these things.” To what “things” was John referring (and after which he came to be in the heavenly throne room)? Answer: the “things” to which John was referring are the events of which we read in Rev. 1:11 through Rev. 3:22. But these things simply consisted of what John saw and heard in the first three chapters of Revelation (i.e., John’s vision of Jesus, and the things John was told by Jesus to write to the messengers of the seven ecclesias). And these events could’ve easily transpired within the span of a few hours (and certainly within the span of a single, 24-hour-day). And the next events leading up to the opening of the first seal could’ve easily happened on the same day (or even within the same hour) as the previous “things” that John saw.

Moreover, even before John sees the seals begin to be opened by Christ (and the resulting judgments begin to occur), we have reason to believe that the day of the Lord had already commenced. For prior to his description of the events associated with the opening of the scroll, we read in Rev. 4:5 that John perceived the following phenomena: “And out of the throne [of God] are issuing lightening and voices and thunders.” Elsewhere in Revelation, the phenomena described in this verse are associated with, and can be understood as a manifestation of, God’s indignation (cf. Rev. 8:5; 11:19; 16:18). We therefore have good reason to believe that, when John came to be “in the Lord’s day,” he was spiritually transported to the very start of this future time period of judgment. And if John was transported to the earliest part of the future day of the Lord (e.g., the first 24-hour day of this future time period), then it follows that the day of the Lord will begin around the same time that the events associated with the opening of the first seal begin to occur on the earth.

For part two, click here: http://thathappyexpectation.blogspot.com/2021/05/why-snatching-away-will-occur-before_20.html

---

[1] Although some students of Scripture do not believe that the “day” referred to by Paul in Rom. 2:3-5 is the same as the “day of the Lord,” there’s no good reason to believe that Paul – just like the inspired Hebrew prophets before him – wouldn’t have used slightly different terminology to refer to the same general time period that will be characterized by various expressions of God’s indignation. Paul’s use of the expression “the day of indignation” is in accord with Zephaniah’s description of this time period as “the day of the wrath of Yahweh” (as well as a number of other prophecies in which this “day” is described as a time in which divine judgment will be manifested against the inhabitants of the earth). In Scripture – as in everyday language and writing – the same person, thing or time period can be referred to or described in more than one way.

[2] Some have questioned the validity of the translation “the day of the Lord” (with the article “the” used) here, since the article is not present in the Greek (which is indicated by the use of lightface type for “the” in the CLNT translation). However, in accord with the grammatical rule known as Apollonius’ Canon, the nouns “day” and “Lord” can both be understood as definite. According to this rule, when one noun governs another noun (i.e., when a noun is qualified by a genitive noun), both are either definite or indefinite (and can thus both be translated with either the definite article “the” or the indefinite article “a”). In the expression translated “the day of the Lord” in 1 Thess. 5:2, the noun “Lord” (Κυρίου) is in the genitive case. Since it qualifies the noun “day,” both “day” and “Lord” can be understood as definite (and thus translated with the use of the definite article “the”). Similarly, in 1 Thess. 4:16 we read of “the voice of the Chief Messenger” (1 Thess. 4:16). Although the article is not present in the Greek, the noun translated “Chief Messenger” (ἀρχαγγέλου) is in the genitive case. Thus, both the noun “voice” and the noun “Chief Messenger” can, in accord with Apollonius’ Canon, be understood as definite.

[3] Consider also the frequent use of the Greek adjective “eonian” rather than the expression “of the eon.” Again, in the ancient Hebrew language in which the Hebrew Scriptures were written, an expression like “eonian life” would have to be written as “the life of the eon” (using the Hebrew noun, olam). But in the Greek, the meaning can be expressed in two different ways (using either the noun aión or the adjective form of the noun, aiónios).