“Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light, as if a man fled from a lion, and a bear met him, or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall, and a serpent bit him. Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?”
Amos 5:18-20
What is the Day of the Lord?
According to Amos, it is not a bright, shiny day of happiness for Israel. Why?
“I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; and the peace offerings of your fattened animals, I will not look upon them. Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
Amos 5:21-24
The Day of the Lord is God’s arrival to bring justice against those who oppose His kingdom rule. Unfortunately for Israel in the time of Amos, they were in the position of opposing God’s kingdom and therefore were on the wrong side of God’s justice. Instead of lining up behind God as their King, Israel had lined up behind Babylon, choosing the ways of the world, which God must always oppose.
We first see the way of the world with Cain in Genesis 4, attacking his brother who was threatening his desires. Then the whole world chose violence and evil, which brought on the flood. Genesis 11 is the first world city, often called Babel, but the word is Babylon. The kingdom of this world was founded right then and the mission was clear: make a name for ourselves.
This was precisely the trap Nebuchadnezzar fell into:
“The king answered and said, ‘Is not this great Babylon, which I have built by my mighty power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?’”
Daniel 4:30
Ignoring Daniel’s warning from a year before, the king chose his own glory and his own kingdom, and was therefore transformed into a beast of the field.
The Day of the Lord is God’s judgment falling on those who act like beasts, which is typical for most human kingdoms. Humans were designed to rule over the beasts, not to become like them. We were made in the image of God to exercise dominion on His behalf, for His glory. That’s what the Son of Man title was all about.
So don’t miss the central point in Revelation as it relates to the Day of the Lord: justice is coming against all “beasts” who resist God’s kingdom and serve Babylon instead. Notice the arrival of the Day of the Lord in all three waves of judgment, with the seals, trumpets and bowls.
“When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains…”
Revelation 6:12-15
“Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.’ The nations raged, but your wrath came, and the time for the dead to be judged, and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear your name, both small and great, and for destroying the destroyers of the earth. Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.”
Revelation 11:15-19
“The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, ‘It is done!’ And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake such as there had never been since man was on the earth, so great was that earthquake. The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell, and God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.”
Revelation 16:17-19
Justice is coming. The details, as Amos indicated, are pretty overwhelming. But Jesus is the one bringing the justice. Notice the last phrase in Jesus’ self-stated job description.
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God.”
Isaiah 61:1-2
In His first coming, Jesus inaugurated the year of the Lord’s favor. In His second coming He will bring the final judgment and vengeance of God.
All of this raises the question for us, as it did for Israel in the days of Amos: are we living for God’s kingdom or for Babylon? Should we pray for the Day of the Lord or tremble in fear at its impending arrival?