The Day of the Lord

Disclaimer: this is just the tip of the iceberg.  It makes my head spin as I read so many verses with interconnected themes.  Dig into the Bible for yourself and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you; don't just rely on this.

Throughout the Bible there are references to the coming Day of the Lord.  The word day in Scripture can be used symbolically to reference an era, like its usage in today's English.  When we understand that Scripture was written by the Holy Spirit and contains symbols carrying precise meaning, we understand that each of the multiple meanings of day can be understood precisely.

Another way to look at it, prophetic are often self-similar or fractal and point to more than one scale of fulfillment.

At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus provided a definition of the time-period of His First Coming by reading a specific section of this pre-written synopsis pointing to Him.  The time-period of His First Coming spans the time up to, but not including, the day of vengeance of our God.

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;	Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives,   And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”	To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD,
	And the day of vengeance of our God;

Peter specifically connects the time-period leading up to the day of the Lord with the explanation that a day refers to 10³ years:

2 Peter 3:8-13

But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

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.

Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Jesus repeatedly explained that He would be killed and rise again the third day.  Some references He made to this are clearly referring to the 24 hour days He would be in the grave and His resurrection on the third day.  Some references to the third day appear to point to the final day of the Lord.

Mat 17:23 “and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.” And they were exceedingly sorrowful.	Mar 9:31 For He taught His disciples and said to them, “The Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And after He is killed, He will rise the third day.”	Luk 9:22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.”
Mat 20:19 “and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.”	Mar 10:34 “and they will mock Him, and scourge Him, and spit on Him, and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”	Luk 18:33 “They will scourge Him and kill Him. And the third day He will rise again.”
Mat 24:36, 50 v. 36: “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. v. 50: “the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of,	Mar 13:32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.	Luk 12:46 “the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. Luk 17:24 “For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.
Mat 26:29 “But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.”	Mar 14:25 “Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”	Luk 22:18 “for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”

Day of Harvest

Jhn 9:4

“I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.

Jhn 11:9

Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

Day of Trouble

Luk 17:31

“In that day, he who is on the housetop, and his goods are in the house, let him not come down to take them away. And likewise the one who is in the field, let him not turn back.

Luk 19:42

saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.

Raised Up (Raptured)

2Th 2:1-2

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come.

1Th 4:15-17

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Jhn 6:39

“This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.

Jhn 6:40

“And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

Jhn 6:44

“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.

Jhn 6:54

“Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Jhn 11:24

Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

Jhn 11:1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. Jhn 11:6 So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. Jhn 11:17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.

Jhn 12:15-17 “Fear not, daughter of Zion; Behold, your King is coming, Sitting on a donkey’s colt.” His disciples did not understand these things at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written about Him and that they had done these things to Him. Therefore the people, who were with Him when He called Lazarus out of his tomb and raised him from the dead, bore witness.

Mar 9:2

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves; and He was transfigured before them.

Wedding Feast

Jhn 2:1

On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.

Jhn 7:37

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.

Day of Judgement

Jhn 12:48

“He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.

Zechariah 14:1-4

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.
Then the LORD will go forth
And fight against those nations,
As He fights in the day of battle.
And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives,
Which faces Jerusalem on the east.
And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two,
From east to west,
Making a very large valley;
Half of the mountain shall move toward the north
And half of it toward the south.

Today, Tomorrow, and the Third Day

Hosea 6:2

After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.

Luke 13:32

And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.’

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.	Exodus 19:10-11 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. “And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the LORD will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
Zephaniah 1:15 That day is a day of wrath, A day of trouble and distress, A day of devastation and desolation, A day of darkness and gloominess, A day of clouds and thick darkness,	Exodus 19:16a Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain;
Zephaniah 1:16 A day of trumpet and alarm Against the fortified cities And against the high towers.	Exodus 19:16b and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled.   Exodus 19:19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice.

TODO: In 1&2 Tim seems to a difference between latter times (1 Tim 4:1) and last days (2 Tim 3:1).