Zephaniah 1.15-A Nine-Fold Description of the Day of the Lord
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday March 15, 2016
Zephaniah: Zephaniah 1:15-A Nine-Fold Description of the Day of the Lord
Lesson # 29
Zephaniah 1:15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. (NASB95)
“A day of wrath is that day” is composed of the following: (1) masculine singular construct form of the noun yôm (יוֹם), “a day of” (2) feminine singular noun ʿebrâ (עֶבְרָה), “wrath” (3) articular masculine singular form of the noun yôm (יוֹם), “day” (4) articular common singular noun ʿēt (עֵת), “time” (5) definite article ha- which is not translated (5) third person masculine singular pronominal suffix hûʾ (הוּא), “that.”
The prophet Zephaniah is employing the figure of asyndeton in order to express the solemn nature of the prophetic statement in verse 15 which is directed at the inhabitants of the entire earth in Zephaniah’s day and ultimately those living during Daniel’s Seventieth Week.
This figure is designed to get these individuals living during these two distinct time periods to meditate upon this prophetic statement in verse 15 that the Day of the Lord is a period when God exercises His righteous indignation against unrepentant sinners.
The purpose of such meditation is personal application which would be repentance.
The noun yôm means “time period” and refers to the period of time in which the Lord will judge the inhabitants of the earth.
In a near sense, it refers to the period of time when Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Judah and her neighbors during the period between 605-587 B.C. and ultimately it is referring to the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel.
The noun ʿebrâ means “wrath, righteous indignation” since it pertains to God’s legitimate anger towards evil and sin since both are contrary to His holiness or perfect character and nature and is an expression of His holiness.
“A day of trouble and distress” is composed of the following: (1) masculine singular construct form of the noun yôm (יוֹם), “a day of” (2) feminine singular noun ṣārâ (צָרָה), “trouble” (3) conjunction w (וְ), “and” (4) feminine singular noun mĕṣûqâ (מְצוּקָה), “distress.”
The noun ṣārâ means “trouble, distress, anguish” since it pertains to intense inner turmoil in a person describing the anguish of a nation or city beseiged by an enemy and speaks of the terror of a people before an approaching army or while an army is attacking them.
Here it speaks of the terror caused by the Babylonian invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. and during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s seventieth week.
The noun mĕṣûqâ means “distress, anguish, agony” since it pertains to the severe physical and psychological hardship or distress that individuals or a nation suffers on account of an external force or party such as an invading army.
It describes the terrible suffering and oppressive siege conditions inflicted on a population by an invading or occupying army and is used often in Scripture in relation to catastrophic conditions caused by an army attacking.
Here it is used in relation to God’s judgment of unrepentant sinners on planet earth during the Babylonian invasions of the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. and ultimately during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s seventieth week.
“A day of destruction and desolation” is composed of the following: (1) masculine singular construct form of the noun yôm (יוֹם), “a day of” (2) feminine singular noun šôʾâ (שׁוֹאָה), “destruction” (3) conjunction w (וְ), “and” (4) feminine singular noun mĕšôʾâ (מְשׁוֹאָה), “desolation.”
The noun šôʾâ means “devastation” and speaks of the devastation on planet earth caused by the Babylonian invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. and during the world-war which will take place during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s seventieth week.
The noun mĕšôʾâ means “desolation” since the word pertains to the state of showing the effects of abandonment and neglect and the state of a place devoid of inhabitants.
It speaks of the desolation on planet earth caused by the Babylonian invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. and during the world-war which will take place in the future during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s seventieth week.
“A day of darkness and gloom” is composed of the following: (1) masculine singular construct form of the noun yôm (יוֹם), “a day of” (2) masculine singular noun ḥōšek (חֹשֶׁךְ), “darkness” (3) conjunction w (וְ), “and” (4) feminine singular noun ʾăpēlâ (אֲפֵלָה), “gloom.”
The noun ḥōšek means “darkness” and is used of the darkness which will characterize the period of the Babylonian invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. and ultimately during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s seventieth week.
The noun ʾăpēlâ means “gloom” since it pertains to an atmosphere of depression in a particular place and is used of the gloom which will characterize the period of the Babylonian invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. and ultimately the entire earth during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s seventieth week.
“A day of clouds and thick darkness” is composed of the following: (1) masculine singular construct form of the noun yôm (יוֹם), “a day of” (2) masculine singular noun ʿānān (עָנָן), “clouds” (3) conjunction w (וְ), “and” (4) masculine singular noun ʿărāpel (עֲרָפֶל), “thick darkness.”
The noun ʿānān means “cloudiness” since it pertains to the state of a particular geographical location being overcast with clouds.
Here it is used of the overcast skies of planet earth which will characterize the period of the Babylonian invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. and ultimately the entire earth during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s seventieth week.
The noun ʿărāpel means “thick cloudiness” since it pertains to cloudiness in a particular geographical location which nearly blocks all light from the sun and moon.
Here it is used of the thick cloudiness on planet earth which will occur during the period of the Babylonian invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. and ultimately during the last three and a half years of Daniel’s seventieth week.
Zephaniah 1:15 This particular period will surely be characterized by righteous indignation, a period characterized by terror as well as agony, a period characterized by devastation as well as desolation, a period characterized by darkness as well as gloom, a period characterized by cloudiness, yes, thick cloudiness. (My translation)
In Zephaniah 1:14-18, the prophet Zephaniah gives us a description of the various characteristics of the day of the Lord and now, here in Zephaniah 1:15, he presents a nine-fold description of this period of judgment.
Of course, the period he is referring to in Zephaniah 1:14-15 is “the day of the Lord” which as we noted 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.
Therefore, Zephaniah’s description of the day of the Lord in Zephaniah 1:14-15 was fulfilled in a near sense during the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army destroyed Judah and her pagan Gentile neighbors in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian regions of the world.
However, the prophetic declarations in these verses will ultimately be fulfilled in a far sense in that they will be fulfilled during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel when the Antichrist and the tribulation armies will wage war across the entire earth.
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.
The purpose for these prophetic declarations in Zephaniah 1:14-15 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 whereas 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 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.
So Zephaniah 1:15 continues to describe the period in which the Lord will judge the inhabitants of the earth.
In other words, it continues to describe the day of the Lord and specifically the Babylonian invasions in the sixth and seventh centuries B.C. and ultimately the world war which will take place during the last three and a half years of the seventieth week of Daniel.
In verse 15, the prophet Zephaniah solemnly presents a nine-fold description of this period of judgment.
This description is directed at the inhabitants of the entire earth in Zephaniah’s day and ultimately those living during Daniel’s Seventieth Week.
The prophet wants these individuals living during these two distinct time periods to meditate upon this prophetic description for the purpose of personal application which would involve repentance.