THE DAY OF THE LORD by T.

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 6, 1901

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 27, No. 10.

THE DAY OF THE LORD.

By T.

The thirteenth chapter of Isaiah presents “the burden of Babylon, which Isaiah the son of Amoz did see.” The old Babylonish kingdom was the great mother of evils. Her sun-worship and other idolatrous practices made her iniquities such that the Bible continually uses her as a symbol of the evils of succeeding ages. In the book of Revelation the apostasies of the church, clear to the end of time, are presented under the term “Babylon.”

So when we find Babylon mentioned in the Bible we will not get the full truth, as the Lord presents it to us, unless we take into account the use that the Word of God makes of the name. It may seem to the superficial thinker that the prophet is describing things that took place in the time of the old Babylonish kingdom, when in reality the thought should be directed to things that are to take place at the close of time.

This thirteenth chapter of Isaiah begins with “the burden of Babylon,” but in the sixth verse we read, “Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.” So it should be evident to us that there is a connection between the conditions in old Babylon, and the time that immediately precedes the “day of the Lord.” To assist in seeing this more clearly, read the whole of the chapter in connection. You will then see that the complete and everlasting overthrow of Babylon is placed before the mind. And from other scriptures we learn that this overthrow was caused by the incorrigible wickedness and arrogance of that nation. At the time of the “day of the Lord” the world will again be going almost wholly to evil, hence the overthrow of Babylon is set forth as a type of the everlasting overthrow of the whole world because of its evils. This accounts clearly for the frequent mention of Babylon in connection with things that so manifestly apply to the closing hours of time.

With these thoughts before us let us read what is said in this chapter about “the day of the Lord.” It is as follows:—

“Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt; and they shall be afraid; pangs and sorrow shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth; they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames. Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate; and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for this evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the Lord of hosts, and in the day of His fierce anger.” Verses 6–13.

Carefully consider some of the expressions in this remarkable prophetic scripture. When the “day of the Lord” is at hand, there is to be a howling among the people. “As a destruction from the Almighty” shall it come. “All hands” shall “be faint,” and “every man’s heart shall melt.” The fear that possesses them shall be such that “pangs and sorrow shall take hold of them,” so that “they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth.” As they look at one another they shall be “amazed,” because “their faces shall be as flames.” These words of the Lord certainly present, in most vivid language, the conditions among men when the “day of the Lord” is at hand. These statements should be pondered carefully, for they narrate facts that will exist in the days that are just before us. To enable us to escape these awful conditions the Lord is calling us to His shelter, that is not only secure, but ample for every one that will allow himself to be persuaded to enter into it.

Think of the condition of the world at the present time. Men as a general thing are considerate of anything else rather than the “day of the Lord.” They do not consider that the Lord will have much to do with the affairs of this world, and so crime and wickedness are freely indulged in. Hilarious and absorbing amusements are the order of the day. He who can convince the people that he can provide them with the most “fun” is the one who draws the crowd. Upon the ears of this giddy throng the warnings of the “day of the Lord” fall as an idle fancy of a fanatical dreamer.

But “the great and the terrible day of the Lord” is steadily coming on, and finally, after all its warnings have been despised, it bursts with all of its intense realities upon the deluded throng. Is it any wonder that such indescribable anguish and suffering will take hold of the people at that time? In the face of trumpet-toned warnings they have pursued the pleasures of sin. They have mocked at every entreaty that the Father of infinite love could send them, and now they are left to their terrible fate. And terrible indeed will be that condition!

No one in that time can say that they have not been told of these on-coming dangers. The Word of God most forcibly and explicitly foretells the current events that are a sure evidence that the “day of the Lord” is approaching, and we may see these things and be prepared if we will. Hence the remorse of that time will be the bitter sorrow of realizing that the truth of the Almighty and His shelter so beneficently prepared have been stubbornly repelled until hope is gone and eternal despair is the dreadful fruit.

But not only does the prophet depict these things that will be stirring the souls of men so intensely in that day, but he also tells of the upheavals in the earth itself. The anger of the Lord will “lay the land desolate,” and further the Lord says, “I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place.” The great frequency of earthquakes and terrible storms in recent years is the beginning of the fulfilment of this prophecy. What will it be when the heavens are being shaken, and the earth removed out of her place? Are you prepared for these events that are coming?

Note, as is stated in verse 11, that the Lord is required to do this punishing because of the wickedness of mankind. Men may parade their sins today, and boast of them, as so many are doing, but the time is not far distant when every one of these sins will be a burning remorse, to eat the very soul. These are not the expressions of fancy, but they are the words of the eternal truth of the living God. To be honest to yourself you must admit that there is a strange and solemn conviction that steals over you, in spite of yourself, as you read these warnings from the Lord. That conviction that is thus coming to you is the effort of the Spirit of God, acting with the presentation of His Word, to lead you away from the sin and folly of this time into the shelter that the Omnipotent One has prepared.

How grand is the thought that right in connection with the stirring prophecy that presents these thrilling themes, and that tells of the destruction that will be visited by the Lord because of sin, there is also the wonderful promise that “I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir”! Verse 12. The mammon god of this present generation is seeking to turn the minds of all to the value of gold. Man, made in the image of his Maker, is ground beneath the wheels of selfish, greedy commerce and traffic in the furious scramble for wealth. But our heavenly Father, thru every human instrument that will permit it, will make it manifest to all the universe that a man is more to be esteemed than the most precious of the finest gold.

How thrilling is the thought to be living amid such scenes! How inspiring it is to know that the God of heaven and earth is calling men to act with

Him to-day in the great events that are described in this wonderful prophecy! The Lord is doing all that infinite power can do to save men from the terrible calamities that are surely and rapidly coming on the world because of the sins of this time; and in that great work of saving men He is calling loudly for human volunteers. How can you find it in your heart to refuse such a call? It is the grandest opportunity of the ages. Great business interests, or the most ideal dreams of worldly pleasures, or the kingliest honors that earth can bestow, are as insignificant nothingness in comparison to it.

Do not make a mistake in these times that are so freighted with eternal possibilities and opportunities. Take the Word of God as your sure guide, and thus know that you stand with the right. T.