“On that day . . .”: Zechariah and the Day of the Lord

A Chapter a Day

• Sunday, February 21, Galatians 3
• Monday, February 22, Galatians 4       
• Tuesday, February 23, Galatians 5
• Wednesday, February 24, Galatians 6
• Thursday, February 25, Ephesians 1
• Friday, February 26, Ephesians 2
• Saturday, February 27, Ephesians 3

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What are some of the special days in our lives?

• day
• day
• day
• The day your is born
• The day you are — the day that your first repent (turn from sin) and believe (trust) in Jesus

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2, ESV)

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24, ESV)

Zechariah 12

The oracle of the word of the Lord concerning Israel: Thus declares the Lord, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: ² “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. ³ On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. ⁴ On that day, declares the Lord, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. ⁵ Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the Lord of hosts, their God.’

⁶ “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem.

⁷ “And the Lord will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. ⁸ On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:1-9, ESV)

• The phrase “on that day” appears times in chapter 12, times in chapter 13, and times in chapter 14 of Zechariah.

• The “day” that Zechariah is referring to is “the of the ” (not “the Lord’s day,” cf. Revelation 1:10, which is Sunday, the first day of the week, the day Jesus rose).

Seven Things to Know about the Day of the Lord

1. It is a day that is still in the .

2. It will be a day of and defeat for God’s enemies.

3. It will be a day of , vindication, and rescue for God’s people.

4. Before the day of the Lord comes, there will be times of great for God’s people.

5. Before the day of the Lord comes, the will be shared with .

6. No one exactly the day of the Lord will come.

7. It will occur on the day that comes again in and great .

 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, (Zechariah 14:4a, ESV)

And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one. (Zechariah 14:9, ESV)

²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.  (Matthew 24:29-31, ESV)