“Don Campbell – ON THAT DAY – Zephaniah 1-3 Ref: 2 Peter 3:8-13”

From August 6th, 2019

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Rev. Don Campbell

Zephaniah 1-3

THOUGHT FOR TODAY, August 6, 2019

“THE DAY OF THE LORD”

The thrust of Zephaniah’s ministry was to announce, “The day of the Lord is near.” The day of the Lord was a day of intervention in which God’s hand in the affairs of man became obvious. The term refers to impending judgment, which prefigures the time when God breaks into history in a mighty way destroying the wicked and saving eternally the faithful. A day was rapidly approaching when Jerusalem would be destroyed and Judah carried into captivity: “The great day of the Lord is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the Lord 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 fortified cities and against the lofty battlements” (Zephaniah 1:14-16).

The historical account of the day of the Lord of which Zephaniah (and seven of the other prophets) had warned is in 2 Chronicles 36:17-20: “So the Lord brought the king of Babylon against them. The Babylonians killed Judah’s young men, even chasing after them into the Temple. They had no pity on the people, killing both young men and young women, the old and the infirm. God handed all of them over to Nebuchadnezzar. The king took home to Babylon all the articles, large and small, used in the Temple of God, and the treasures from both the Lord’s Temple and from the palace of the king and his officials. Then his army burned the Temple of God, tore down the walls of Jerusalem, burned all the palaces, and completely destroyed everything of value. The few who survived were taken as exiles to Babylon, and they became servants to the king and his sons until the kingdom of Persia came to power” (NLT).

The day of the Lord had come, but that day was not the final day of the Lord. There is still one to come: “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11).

Some believe that Paul is speaking of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. It might be, but Peter clearly is not: “But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment. Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness” (2 Peter 3:8-13).

CONNECTIONS

1. For over 100 years, Christians have sung Will L. Thompson’s hymn “There’s a Great Day Coming.” Remembering that a thousand years to the Lord is like a day, we should all consider the question “Are you ready”:

There’s a great day coming,
A great day coming,
There’s a great day coming by and by,
When the saints and the sinners shall
be parted right and left,
Are you ready for that day to come?

2. For a very graphic description of the coming day of the Lord, read Revelation 6:12-14. Are you ready?