Zephaniah 1.14-The Day of the Lord is Imminent and Characterized by Anguish and Warfare
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Thursday March 10, 2016
Zephaniah: Zephaniah 1:14-The Day of the Lord is Imminent and Characterized by Anguish and Warfare
Lesson # 28
Zephaniah 1:14 Near is the great day of the LORD, near and coming very quickly; Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly. (NASB95)
Zephaniah 1:14 The great period of judgment to be brought about by the Lord is imminent. Indeed, it is characterized as approaching quickly. The sound during this period of judgment to be brought about by the Lord is characterized by anguish. During this time, the mighty warrior shouts his battle cry. (My translation)
Zephaniah 1:14-18 contains the third subsection contained in the first major section of the book of Zephaniah which appears in 1:2-2:3.
The first subsection appeared in verses 1:2-3 which announced judgment against all the earth while the second appears in 1:4-13 which announces judgment against Judah and the third which appears in 1:14-18 describes the characteristics of the day of the Lord.
The first characteristic is presented in 1:14-18 which is wrath and the second is found in 2:1-3 which is repentance.
So in Zephaniah 1:14, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the prophet Zephaniah solemnly issues several prophetic statements with regards to the day of the Lord.
First of all, he declares that the great period of judgment to be brought about by the Lord is imminent.
Since Zephaniah wrote between 630-635 B.C., this judgment was indeed imminent since the Babylonians conquered Judah and sacked Jerusalem in 605 B.C.
The prophet then advances upon this first prophecy which appears in Zephaniah 1:14 by asserting that this period is characterized as approaching quickly.
Then, he declares that the sound during this period will be characterized by anguish.
Lastly, he asserts that during this period of judgment, the mighty warrior shouts his battle cry.
All three prophecies are related to the subject of the day of the Lord.
In Zephaniah 1:14-18, the prophet gives us a description of the various characteristics of the day of the Lord.
In verse 14, he presents three of these characteristics.
The first that it is imminent since he declares that the great period of judgment to be brought about by the Lord is imminent.
The second is that it will be characterized by anguish.
The third is that it will be characterized by warfare since he makes mention of mighty warriors shouting their battle cries during this period.
In Zephaniah 1:14, “the day of the Lord” is not a twenty-four period.
In a near sense, it refers to a period of time in which the God of Israel judged the kingdom of Judah and her Gentile pagan neighbors by means of the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar.
In a far sense, it speaks of the God of Israel judging Israel and all the nations of the earth during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel.
The term “Day of the Lord” occurs in the following passages: Isa. 2:12; 13:6, 9; Ezek. 13:5; 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18 (twice), 20; Obadiah 15; Zeph. 1:7, 14 (twice); Zech. 14:1; Mal. 4:5; Acts 2:20; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Thess. 2:2; 2 Pet. 3:10.
The phrases “that day” or “the day” or “the great day” also refer to the day of the Lord and appear more than 75 times in the Old Testament.
A survey of these passages reveal that “the day of the Lord” along with a study of human history reveals that many of these prophecies have already been fulfilled in history: (1) Assyrian deportation of the northern kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. (Amos 5:18, 20), (2) locust plague in Joel’s day (Joel 1:15), (3) Babylonian exile of Judah between 605-586 B.C. (Zeph. 1:7; Ezek. 13:5), (4) Babylonian defeat of Egypt in 586 B.C. (Ezek. 30:3), (5) destruction of Edom (Obad. 1-14).
Furthermore, there are several “day of the Lord” prophecies which will be fulfilled during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s Seventieth Week (Zeph. 1:14; Joel 2:1; 2:11, 31; 3:14; Zechariah 14:1-2; Is. 13:6-16).
There are some that will be fulfilled through the Second Advent of Jesus Christ (Zech. 14:3-8) and His subsequent millennial reign (Zech. 14:9-21; Joel 3:17-21).
The following is a list of characteristics of the Day of the Lord: (1) Imminency (Isa. 13:6; Ezek. 30:3; Joel 1:15; 2:1; Obad. 15; 1 Thess. 5:2). (2) Judgment (Obad. 15, Joel 1.15; Isa, 2:11; Jer, 46:10; Amos 5:20; Zeph. 1:7ff; Ezek. 13:5; Mal. 4:1. (3) Terror (Isa. 2:19-21; 13:7-9; Zeph. 1:14-15; Joel 3:16. (4) Repentance (Zeph. 2:2-3; Joel 2:12-17). (5) Restoration (Joel 1:15; 3:9-21; Isa. 1; 11-12; Amos 9:11-15; Hos. 2:18-23; Mic. 4:6-8; Mal. 4:5.
There are certain features with regards to all of these “day of the Lord” prophecies.
First, there is God’s judgment of sin and His sovereignty over the nations including Israel.
There is also the concept of imminency in regards to those prophecies having a near eschatological fulfillment (Joel 1:15; Is. 13:6; Zeph. 1:7; Ezek. 30:3) as well as those having a far eschatological fulfillment (Obad. 15; Joel 3:14; Zeph. 1:14).
There was also the idea of God’s blessing on the nations and Israel and her future restoration under her Messiah and King.
Therefore, we can conclude that the phrase “the day of the Lord” prophecies described the immediate future as well as those events taking place during the Seventieth Week of Daniel and Christ’s Second Advent and millennial reign.
Thus, in far eschatological sense, the “day of the Lord” is “not” a literal twenty-four period but rather, it is an extended period of time.
It begins with God’s dealing with Israel after the rapture of the church that takes place prior to Daniel’s Seventieth Week and extends through the Second Advent of Jesus Christ and His millennial reign, culminating with the creation of the new heavens and the new earth.
However, the day of the Lord could also be a period of time taking place during the prophet’s own lifetime or not too long after.
Therefore, the prophetic statements in Zephaniah 1:14 were fulfilled in a near sense during the sixth century B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army destroyed Judah and her pagan Gentile neighbors in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world.
The fulfillment of these prophecies in a near sense is hyperbole since Babylon only subjugated the nations such as Egypt and those in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions and never conquered all the nations of the earth.
However, the prophetic declarations in Zephaniah 1:14 will be fulfilled in a far sense which does not involve hyperbole.
These prophecies will ultimately be fulfilled during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel when the Antichrist will rule the world and occupy Israel scattering her citizens throughout the world.
All the nations of the earth will be engulfed in a world war during this time according to Matthew 24-25 and Revelation 6-19.
So the prophetic declarations contained in Zephaniah 1:14 were fulfilled in a near sense through Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon sacking Judah and her neighbors in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world during the sixth century B.C.
However, these prophetic declarations will ultimately be fulfilled in a far sense during the tribulation portion of Daniel’s seventieth week.
This is indicated by the prophetic declarations which appear in Zephaniah 1:18 which asserts that the entire earth will be devoured by the fire of the Lord’s jealousy during the day of the Lord.
It also asserts that the Lord will make a complete terrifying end of all the inhabitants of the earth and this has never taken place in history.
However, Matthew 24 and Revelation 6-19 reveal that this will take place during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel.
The purpose for these prophetic declarations in Zephaniah 1:14 and in fact for all the prophecies contained in Zephaniah 1:14-18 is to bring about repentance.
God wanted the people of Judah to repent and the people of all the nations to repent in Zephaniah’s day.
These prophecies will fulfill the same purpose during the seventieth week of Daniel.
Repentance for the unsaved would involve changing their minds about Jesus Christ and trusting in Him as their Savior.
For the believer, this would involve confession of sin to be restored to fellowship which is maintained by obedience to the Word of God.
The prophecies of judgment contained in Zephaniah 1:14-18 and throughout the book obviously imply that the Lord wants both Jew and Gentile, believers and non-believers to repent since He could have destroyed them immediately without warning.
The Lord is leaving room open for repentance which is indicated by the statements recorded in Zephaniah 2:1-3.
God announces judgment of the world in advance so as to afford an opportunity for its people to repent.
The Lord’s desire was not to kill people but rather His will was to forgive them and show mercy to them even though they rebelled against Him.