Isaiah 13:6

The day of the Lord. This expression occurs at least 20 times in the writings of the various OT prophets. It is always used in reference to a time of divine judgment upon a city or nation (rather than upon individuals), or eventually upon the inhabitants of the whole world. In contrast, what might be called “the day of man” is described in Scripture as the “day of salvation” (Isa. 49:8; 2 Cor. 6:2), “an acceptable time” (Ps. 69:13; Isa. 49:8), the time when probation for men as individuals or as nations still lingers (see Ps. 95:7, 8, Heb. 4:7).

Conversely, “the day of the Lord” is the time when, historically, the probation of a city or a nation closes, and ultimately when the destiny of all men is forever fixed. During the “day of salvation” men and nations are free to exercise their God-given power to choose between right and wrong, but with the arrival of “the day of the Lord” God’s will becomes supreme, being no longer circumscribed by the exercise of the human will.

“The day of the Lord” against Judah (see Isa. 2:12; Joel 1:15; 2:1; Zeph. 1:7) was thus the day when, as a nation, it was no longer permitted to continue on in its reprobate course and divine judgment was meted out against it (see Eze. 12:21-28). The same was true with the northern kingdom, Israel (Amos 5:18), with Egypt (Eze. 30:3), with Edom (Obadiah 15), and with other nations of antiquity (see Dan. 5:22-31). What happens to a city or to an entire nation when “the day of the Lord” comes to it is similar to what will happen to the whole world at the close of its history (see Matt. 24, Luke 21). Thus, principles that apply when “the day of the Lord” comes to any city or nation also apply when “the day of the Lord” comes upon the world as a whole, and an OT prophetic description of the fate of some ancient city or nation in terms of “the day of the Lord” applies also in principle to “the great day of the Lord” (Zeph. 1:14) at the end of time.

It shall come as a destruction. “The day of the Lord” is never referred to in Scripture as a time when men will have a second chance, another opportunity to accept salvation. “The day of the Lord” is always, without exception, a day of judgment, a day of destruction, a day of darkness (see Joel 1:15; 2:1, 2; Amos 5:18-20; etc.).