Puzzle Pieces 22 & 23
I have already established in previous chapters that the “Day of the Lord” is referring to the final day of Daniel’s 70th week. The last day of a week is considered to be a Sabbath, when no one should work. Jesus told us in Matthew 24:20 to pray that our “flight” would not take place on the Sabbath. Earlier in the chapter, He tells us to flee to the mountains. I believe that Jesus is referring to 2 types of fleeing, or escaping. The first is fleeing to Mount Zion, the heavenly Jerusalem, at the time of the Rapture. This takes place immediately before the Sabbath (or 7th day of Daniel’s 70th week) begins. The other type of fleeing is for those left behind – those who have to literally flee into the mountains to escape the cities in order to try to survive. What Jesus is telling us in Matthew 24:20 is that if you are still here during the Sabbath (or 7th day of Daniel’s 70th week), that your flight will have to take place on the Sabbath, which means you were left behind. This is why Jesus told us to pray that our flight would not take place on the Sabbath. Jesus also told us in Luke 21:36, “Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. " Psalm 24:3-4 tells us, “Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. Those who are able ascend to Mt. Zion and to stand before the Son of Man are those with pure hearts. The Bride of Christ will enter her rest and our Bridegroom Jesus will no longer restrain Satan during this final year. I would like to look at some of the Scriptures that talk about the Day of the Lord, which is also referred to as an “hour” in some passages.
1. Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
2. Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes, Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger, To lay the land desolate; And He will destroy its sinners from it.
3. Isaiah 34:8 For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance, The year of recompense for the cause of Zion.
4. Jeremiah 46:10 For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, A day of vengeance, That He may avenge Himself on His adversaries. The sword shall devour; It shall be satiated and made drunk with their blood; For the Lord God of hosts has a sacrifice In the north country by the River Euphrates.
5. Ezekiel 30:3 For the day is near, Even the day of the Lord is near; It will be a day of clouds, the time of the Gentiles.
6. Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is at hand; It shall come as destruction from the Almighty.
7. Joel 2:1 Blow the trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm in My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble; For the day of the Lord is coming, For it is at hand: 8. Joel 2:11 The Lord gives voice before His army, For His camp is very great; For strong is the One who executes His word. For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; Who can endure it?
9. Joel 2:31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come.
10. Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
11. Amos 5:18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! For what good is the day of the Lord to you? It will be darkness, and not light.
12. Amos 5:20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Is it not very dark, with no brightness in it?
13. Obadiah 1:15 “For the day of the Lord upon all the nations is near; As you have done, it shall be done to you; Your reprisal shall return upon your own head.
14. Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent in the presence of the Lord God; For the day of the Lord is at hand, For the Lord has prepared a sacrifice; He has invited His guests.
15. Zephaniah 1:14 The great day of the Lord is near; It is near and hastens quickly. The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter; There the mighty men shall cry out.
16. Zephaniah 1:18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord’s wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of His jealousy, for He will make speedy riddance of all those who dwell in the land.
17. Zephaniah 2:3 Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger.
18. Acts 2:20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
19. 2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
20. Revelation 17:12 The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour.
21. Revelation 18:10 `Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city! For in one hour your judgment has come.'
22. Matthew 24:36 Mark 13:32 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
23. Luke 12:39 But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
24. Revelation 14:7 And he said with a loud voice, "Fear God, and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth and sea and springs of waters."
25. Zechariah 14 Behold, the day of the Lord is coming, and your spoil will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem; The city shall be taken,the houses rifled, and the women ravished. Half of the city shall go into captivity, but the remnant of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-5 , “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.”
I also would like to add one more thought to what Jesus said in Matthew 24:36, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” Most people are unaware of this, but the Jewish people fast on the Day of Atonement for 25 hours. It is the only Feast in Israel that lasts for one day and one hour. When Jesus said the words, about that day and hour, He was not only referring to the Day of the Lord, which is also referred to as an hour in numerous Biblical passages, but He was also specifically pointing us to the Day of Atonement, the only Jewish Feast that lasts for a day and an hour.