When you are in distress and all these things have happened to you, then in later days you will return to the LORD your God and listen to His voice

–Deuteronomy 4:30

So the pride of man will be brought low, and the loftiness of men will be humbled; the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,

— Isaiah 2:17

And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will run with water, and a spring will flow from the house of the LORD to water the Valley of Acacias.

— Joel 3:18

Behold, a day of the LORD is coming when your plunder will be divided in your presence.

— Zechariah 14:1

17 ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.

18 Even on My menservants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

— Acts 2:17-18

For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

— John 6:40

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and peace to you from the Lord Jesus.

Have we ever thought, “If only I had known what would happen, I would have acted differently”? We may think the if we could force the future, we would always make wise decisions. But would we, really? The Bible leaves no doubt that this earth as we know it will end. Revelation makes this truth abundantly clear. Both the Old and New Testaments often call the final time period of this earth “the day of the Lord.” What does this phrase mean, and what will that day be like? One thing is clear: All people on earth will experience this day. The day of the Lord will reap judgment for unbelievers and deliverance for believers.

The Old Testament contains many prophetic references to “the day of the Lord,” using phrases such as “in later days,” or “in that day,” of judgment and salvation. “Day” often refers to different lengths of time, such as a year, a generation, a thousand years to even more. We currently live within the time between Jesus’ death and resurrection and God’s final judgment on earth. And the New Testament speaks of this “day” as well. Peter at Pentecost announced on “the last days” God poured out the Holy Spirit on His people. Concerning the judgment of the “last day,” Jesus also said, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last days.”