Is the Day of the Lord really just one day?

Introduction

Is the Day of the Lord (DOTL) really just one day?  Yes!  In the Book of Malachi it says, ” ‘they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,’ says the LORD Almighty.”¹  Note that it says that the wicked will be ashes under our feet on the day when I do these things!  Many Bible scholars, especially those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, believe that the Day of the Lord is a time period measured in years rather than days.  Many believe that the DOTL begins at a pre-tribulation rapture before the last seven years have commenced and extends through to the end of 1000 years until the eternal state comes into existence.  They do not believe that the DOTL is just one day but my studies have found that it is just one single solitary day, when Christ returns to the earth in glory.  And I want to prove that to you from the Scriptures.

Does it matter?

You might ask why does it matter?  Well, because it affects the way one sees how everything progresses in the end during the last seven years before Jesus comes back.  It could lead to a person ignoring the sign to flee to the wilderness when the abomination of desolation is standing in the holy place because they are waiting for a rapture that hasn’t arrived yet.

In the New Testament, Paul associates the so called rapture of the church with the DOTL.²  So it must be important.  It’s the day that we see the sun of righteousness, an allusion to Jesus himself, rising with healing in his wings as the new age dawns.

When exactly is it?

So a very important question in light of all this is, when exactly is the DOTL coming?  When will healing come from the sun of righteousness?³  When will we see wickedness stamped out?  On the DOTL of course, but I can tell you that the Scriptures prove that this Day comes after the seven year tribulation period.

In the Old Testament, a specific sign is associated with the coming of the DOTL.^4 5  The darkening of the sun and moon will specifically identify that day.

Proof

We have the sign, so what about the exact timing?  The Scripture gives us that as well!  Two Scriptures taken together prove to us that the DOTL has to come after the tribulation period.  To make the proof easier let’s call the seven year tribulation period Event A, the darkened sun and moon Event B and the DOTL Event C.

“The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.”⁶

Joel tells us that Event B (sun and moon darkened) comes before Event C (DOTL).

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”⁷

Matthew tells us that straight after Event A (tribulation) then Event B (darkened sun and moon) arrives.

Now there isn’t a verse in the Bible that directly relates Event A and C so that we can say that the DOTL comes after the tribulation.  But the link and the key is Event B, the sun and the moon being darkened!  So if Event B comes after Event A and Event B before Event C, then logically Event C comes after Event A.  There is no overlapping allowed by these verses. A clear sequence of events of A→B→C is established.  No other interpretation is possible.  See the graphic below which illustrates this sequence.