We have found that the great day of the Lord is a day of wrath, of retribution, of destruction, for the enemies of God. It begins with the close of probation, the day of salvation. The first event in the day of the Lord is the pouring out of the seven last plagues, the wrath of God without mixture of mercy. This covers a period of one year. Under the sixth plague the nations are gathered to the battle of Armageddon, and under the seventh plague that great battle is fought. Rev. 16:12-19; Jer. 25:30-33; Rev. 19:11-21.
Then the Saviour comes with power and great glory, and the wicked who were not cut down by the plagues nor slain in “the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14), will be consumed with the spirit of His mouth, and destroyed by the brightness of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8). He also takes the saints home with Him, and they reign with Him a thousand years in the heavenly city. At the end of the millennium the wicked are raised from the dead, and Satan gathers them from all parts of the earth to lay siege to the New Jerusalem. A period of time, “a little season” (Rev. 20:3),—how long, the Scriptures do not reveal,—is consumed in this gathering and the preparation for the capture of the city.
The Close of the Great Day.
The great day of the Lord closes with the utter destruction of Satan and all his evil host in the lake of fire, from which arise, in Edenic purity and loveliness, new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. 2 Peter 3:10-13. Then the following scriptures will be fulfilled: “The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.” Ps. 37:29. “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt thee to inherit the land; when the wicked, are cut off, thou shalt see it.” Verse 34. The stone of Dan. 2:34, 35 then becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth. This stone, which represents the kingdom of
God, breaks in pieces the great image, which symbolizes earthly kingdoms, and they are swept away. Verses 44, 45. Christ and His people will then “reign on the earth,” “under the whole heaven.” Dan. 7:27; Rev. 5:9, 10. Then “all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Num. 14:21. It will also “be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” Hab. 2:14; Isa. 11:4-9. Then the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ (Rev. 11:15), and the meek shall inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5).
The Curse Removed.
Ever since the fall of man by disobedience in Eden, the earth has been under a curse for man’s sake. Gen. 3:17-19. The way of the transgressor is hard. God, in His love and mercy, has ordained this, so that man might be encouraged and blessed in well-doing, and chastised and afflicted in pursuing a course of sin and rebellion against God. The object of this is that man would find the pathway of evil so thorny that he would choose the pathway of life. The crown of thorns, placed upon the Saviour ’s head, was emblematic of the fact that He took upon Himself the curse pronounced upon the ground for man’s sake, as well as the sins of men, which He bore on Calvary’s cross. Matt. 27:29; 1 Peter 2:24.
Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10. Satan overcame man, and caused him to sin, the wages of which is death. Rom. 6:23. Man also lost his home as well as his life. By His death, Christ not only purchased man from the realm of sin and death, but He purchased the home, the possession, and the dominion which was lost by sin. Micah 4:8; Eph. 1:13, 14. When sin and sinners are destroyed in the lake of fire, the curse upon the earth is removed, and the purchased possession is redeemed, brought back to its Edenic purity and loveliness, and the redeemed of the Lord inherit it. For this reason, when the Saviour calls His people to inherit the earth, He says, “Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Matt. 25:34. God’s original purpose in the creation of the earth was to have it inhabited by righteous people. He “created it not in vain.” Isa. 45:18. The entrance of sin with its bitter experiences and profitable lessons, will only continue for a brief period, as compared with eternity, and can not thwart the eternal purpose of God. Eph. 1:9-14.
When the lake of fire has done its work of destruction and purification, there will come forth new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness, according to God’s promise. Isa. 65:17-19; 66:22, 23; 2 Peter 3:10-13. Then there will be “no more curse.” Rev. 22:3. The curse never extended beyond this world, and when it is made new, the curse will be forever removed, and all sorrow and pain and death will be banished from God’s universe. Rev. 21:1-5.
As righteous Noah and his family were borne safely in the ark through the flood of waters from the world that then was, to the earth which now is (2 Peter 3:5-7), so the redeemed righteous will be safely sheltered in the New Jerusalem from the flood of fire which will envelop the earth while the heavens and earth which are now, are made new in God’s crucible, becoming the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Verses 7, 10-13; Heb. 1:10-12; Rev. 21:5.
A Clean Universe.
Then God will have a clean universe, and “every creature” in all His wide dominion6will swell the glad anthem of praise recorded in Holy Writ. “Blessing and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, forever and ever.” Rev. 5:13.
From the Scripture evidence presented, we know that the great day of the Lord begins with the close of the day of salvation, or the end of probation. The following events occur during that great day:
The millennium; the saints reigning with Christ in heaven (Rev. 20:4), the wicked all dead; Satan bound (Verses 1-3).
The second resurrection. Satan loosed. Verses 3, 5 (first part), 7.
Satan’s last, desperate effort against God and His saints. Verses 8, 9.
Satan and all the wicked consumed in the lake of fire. Verses 9, 10, 14, 15.
Thus the day of the Lord, the day of retribution, closes, and we are assured that the destruction in the lake of fire, called in Nahum “an overrunning flood,” will “make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.” Nahum 1:2-10. The new heavens and the new earth will ever remain before the Lord. Isa. 66:22. Like His immortal, redeemed people, they will never pass away. They will constitute an everlasting kingdom. Dan. 2:44; 2 Peter 1:11; Luke 1:32, 33. Shall we share its joys and blessings throughout eternity? It is our privilege.
