When Jesus comes at the end of the Great Tribulation, there will be a terrible time known as the Day of the LORD. We already looked at two aspects of this day. Last time we saw that all the nations and people who did not fear God were gathered together to fight against God. However, it will not be a day of victory for them. It will be a day of experiencing the wrath, anger, and judgment of God. The wicked will be destroyed out of the earth. All the evil the wicked have brought upon others will be returned upon their own heads. Let us take a look at Isaiah 13:9-14.
“9) Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. 10) For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. 11) And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. 12) I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. 13) Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger. 14) And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.”
What do these verses say about the day of the LORD? They tell us several things.
1. That day will be cruel, both with wrath and fierce anger. According to Strong’s, wrath here means “an outburst of passion, rage.” Fierce anger means, “a burning of anger, sore displeasure, fury.” The day of the LORD will be a time when God no longer has patience with the wicked; the time of patience has past and the time of judgment is come.
2. The land will be laid desolate and the sinners will be destroyed out of it. The land will become a ruinous waste, and the sinners will be found no more. Remember the words of Psalm 37:8-10, “8) Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. 9) For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth. 10) For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.”
3. The stars and the moon will not give their light. The sun also will be darkened in its going forth.
4. The whole world will be punished for its evil; the arrogancy of the proud will cease; the haughtiness of the terrible will be laid low. The mighty oppressors who terrified others will now be brought low themselves.
5. Men will be scarce. It will be as hard to find men as it will be to find the golden wedge of Ophir. Ophir was a place of great wealth and was mentioned elsewhere in the Bible. When Solomon reigned as king, he had a navy. Hiram sent him men knowledgeable about the seas. These journeyed with the servants of Solomon and went to Ophir, where they got gold and brought four hundred and twenty talents of it back to Solomon. (See I Kings 9:27,28) There are many speculations as to where Ophir really was. Some think it may be somewhere in Africa. That makes sense because Africa would be within easy sailing distance to Israel, and parts of Africa are known to have gold. Others think it may be elsewhere in the world. Evidently, gold from Ophir is a rare and precious thing and hard to come by. There will come a day when it will be hard to find a man. They will be as rare and precious as this gold of Ophir.
6. God will shake the heavens and the earth will remove out of its place.
7. People will have great terror. They will no longer be gathered to battle, but everyone will flee back to his own place and his own people.
When God comes to judge the earth and shake the heavens, it will be a time of great fear. God will be pouring out judgment on the earth for all the sins that are in it. The wicked will be destroyed out of the earth. The time for patience with man will be past and God will pour out judgment and wrath as He punishes sin and as He revenges His own. God promises, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” (See Romans 12:19) He will do so with thoroughness.