[The text below represents an edited transcript of this Tomorrow’s World program.]

A “Day” Like No Other

More than 30 prophecies in your Bible describe an awesome event that will rock the whole world. It’s called the DAY OF THE LORD. It will shake all nations and all peoples on earth. It will affect you and your family if you are alive to see it.

Just WHAT IS the DAY OF THE LORD? Is it a day of the week? How long will it last? Just HOW will it affect every nation and person on earth? What will it mean in the flow of Bible prophecy? The book of Revelation introduces the Day of the Lord with dramatic cosmic disturbances. “The stars of heaven” fall to the earth. The sun becomes black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon becomes like blood. There is a great earthquake. As it tells us in Revelation 6:14, “every mountain and island was moved out of its place.”

These heavenly signs are just the INTRODUCTION to the dramatic Day of the Lord. Will you be able to survive this convulsive and dangerous time? You need to know. The prophetic Day of the Lord will set the stage for the greatest and most encouraging event in modern history, the return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. My friends, you need to understand this mysterious time period that will affect every human being on earth! Just what IS the Day of the Lord?

Stay tuned

The Day of the Lord IS Coming!

Warm greetings to all our friends around the world!

There’s a MAJOR PROPHETIC EVENT looming on the horizon. It’s called: THE DAY OF THE LORD. The great prophets of the Bible, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel wrote about it. The so-called Minor Prophets, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Zephaniah, Zechariah, and Malachi, also emphasized this event. Even the Apostles Peter, Paul, and John wrote about it.

Just WHAT is the Day of the Lord? And HOW does it fit into the FRAMEWORK of Bible Prophecy? More than 30 prophecies in YOUR BIBLE refer to the DAY OF THE LORD. On today’s program, we’ll answer the question, “Just WHAT IS the DAY OF THE LORD?” And we’ll be offering you a free audio compact disc that will help you in your study of Bible prophecy. Be sure to write down the phone number and contact information to order your free copy. You can also order this free audio compact disc on our Web site at TomorrowsWorld.org. This free one-hour audio compact disc “THE DAY OF THE LORD” covers much more information than we have time for in this program. Be sure to request your free copy.

If you have your Bible, turn to the Book of REVELATION, CHAPTER ONE. The Apostle John writes in REVELATION, the FIRST CHAPTER, VERSE 10, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet.”

John is NOT speaking of a day of the WEEK. He is speaking of the prophetic period of time described in the rest of the book as the Prophetic DAY OF THE LORD. John is NOT referring to Sunday. If he were, he would have referred to Sunday as “the first day” of the week as he did in the Gospel of John. Jesus Himself said He was Lord of the Sabbath, as it tells us in Mark 2:28! The expression “Lord’s Day” here in Revelation refers to the THEME of the whole book, the prophetic Day of the Lord, culminating in the return of Jesus Christ!

In Revelation CHAPTER FIVE, we read about a scroll sealed with seven seals. Jesus, the Revelator, opens the seals to the book. We read the description of these seals in Revelation the sixth chapter. The first four seals are known as the FOUR HORSEMEN of the Apocalypse. THE FIRST HORSE, the white horse and its rider, represent false religions, false Christs. Jesus Himself points out the sequence of these end-time events in the Olivet prophecy in Matthew 24. We’ve explained this convergence in previous programs. The second seal reveals a horseman riding a red horse with the power to take peace from the earth. The third seal presents a rider on a black horse representing the scarcity of food and resulting famine. The fourth seal shows a rider on a pale horse named “DEATH” “and power was given to them [the four horsemen] over” ONE FOURTH of the earth to kill major populations. Jesus also spoke of the pestilence that normally follows on the heels of famine.

Critics say there has always been war, famine, and pestilence. Our world has experienced epidemics and pandemics over the centuries. Now, mankind faces the challenge of trying to contain a virus more deadly than the SARS virus that spread around the world in 2003. COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus, has caused panic, sickness, and death. But a time is coming when this will seem like the least of our problems. You and I will see the four horsemen of the apocalypse INTENSIFY THEIR RIDE with increasing global impact as time goes on. These four horsemen are revealed in REVELATION CHAPTER SIX as Christ opens the first four seals. Now, what happens when the fifth seal is opened? Turn to REVELATION 6:9.

Christ opens the fifth seal in REVELATION 6:9, “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held.”

Here is described the martyrdom of the saints, true Christians. In the first century, the Emperor Nero violently persecuted Christians and put them to death. This FIFTH SEAL also predicts a major end-time persecution of saints. Then Jesus opens the SIXTH SEAL, revealing the heavenly signs that will shock people all over the earth.

REVELATION 6:12, “I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and EVERY MOUNTAIN AND ISLAND was moved out of its place” (Revelation 6:12-14).

Not only will asteroids and meteors frighten people, but massive earthquakes will also shake the earth. As the Apostle John saw in vision, “every mountain and island was moved out of its place” (Revelation 6:14). Almighty God will get the attention of rebellious humans through these earthquakes and heavenly signs. The Creator God tells us in HEBREWS 12:26, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but also heaven.”

My friends, will you be ready for those literally earth-shaking events? Will you REPENT and HUMBLE YOURSELF before God NOW, instead of being SHAKEN later? The cosmic disturbances and earthquakes introduce the Day of Judgement on all nations. Jesus Christ will judge the nations during the Day of the Lord

The Great Tribulation and the Seals of Revelation EXPLAINED

We saw that the Heavenly Signs will introduce the prophetic Day of the Lord, as “the great day of His [Christ’s] wrath” (that’s in Revelation 6:17). This is a time when Almighty God intervenes powerfully to judge rebellious nations. As we’ll see, He’ll even let the nations actively try to destroy one another in world conflict.

Are we capable of destroying ourselves? Even now, scientists and world leaders are warning us of worldwide cosmocide. On January 23, 2020, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists moved the Doomsday Clock minute hand to 100 seconds before midnight. NPR.com reported: “The End May Be Nearer: Doomsday Clock Moves Within 100 Seconds Of Midnight…. ‘The Doomsday Clock is a globally recognized indicator of the vulnerability of our existence,’ said former Irish President Mary Robinson at the annual clock-unveiling ceremony. ‘It’s a striking metaphor for the precarious state of the world, but most frighteningly, [it is] a metaphor backed by rigorous scientific scrutiny’” (“The End May Be Nearer: Doomsday Clock Moves Within 100 Seconds Of Midnight,” NPR.org, January 23, 2020).

Yes, the world is facing the danger of total destruction. We can be thankful that God will intervene and save us from ourselves. But we must take the warning Christ gives us in Matthew 24:21-22. This unique time in all history is the Great Tribulation. It is ALSO the time of Jacob’s trouble, as pointed out in JEREMIAH 30:7, “Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.”

The United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the British-descended peoples are descendants of Jacob. Not only will they face ruin from military weapons, there will also be incredible ECOLOGICAL DEVASTATION. Imagine massive locust invasions! If you have your Bible, turn to JOEL the FIRST CHAPTER. JOEL is near the end of the Old Testament. It’s the second of the so-called Minor Prophets. The prophet Joel describes locust plagues as a DAY OF THE LORD judgment. JOEL 1:4, “What the chewing locust left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust left, the crawling locust has eaten; and what the crawling locust left, the consuming locust has eaten.”

In January 2020, massive swarms of locusts in Kenya give us a preview.

The hum of millions of locusts on the move is broken by the screams of farmers and the clanging of pots and pans. But their noise-making does little to stop the voracious insects from feasting on their crops in this rural community. The worst outbreak of desert locusts in Kenya in 70 years has seen hundreds of millions of the bugs swarm into the East African nation from Somalia and Ethiopia. Those two countries have not had an infestation like this in a quarter-century, destroying farmland and threatening an already vulnerable region with devastating hunger (“‘This is huge’: Locust swarms in Africa are worst in decades,” The Charlotte Observer, January 26, 2020, p. 30A).

In the future, the insect plagues that some nations experience today will seem minor by comparison. When God brings punishments upon rebellious nations in the future Day of the Lord, He’ll call upon the nations to humble themselves and repent! Of course, we, you and I, don’t need to wait until then! As conditions worsen on the world scene, we all need to pray and cry out to God--and make sure we are on GOD’S SIDE!

Our Savior warns us to watch and pray as He tells us in Luke 21:36. We need to know the signs leading up to the Day of the Lord and the sequence of prophetic events. Where does the Day of the Lord fit in the scheme of end-time prophecy? Let’s notice the biblical framework and the prophetic sequence of events. There are three major periods of time or events we need to look at. They are referred to as the Great Tribulation, heavenly signs, and the Day of the Lord. It’s important to understand the correct order. Jesus spoke of the climax of the age in MATTHEW 24:21, “For then there will be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened” (Matthew 24:21-22).

The first major event is the GREAT TRIBULATION, followed by HEAVENLY SIGNS. The DAY of the LORD, the third event, leads to the Second Coming of Christ. The second chapter of JOEL confirms that the Heavenly signs INTRODUCE the Day of the Lord.

JOEL 2:30, “And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, BEFORE the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD” (Joel 2:30-31).

So we see the sequence of events. #1 is Great Tribulation; #2 is Heavenly Signs (or the 6th Seal of Revelation); #3 is the Day of the Lord (or the 7th Seal of Revelation).

Just how long is the “Day” of the Lord? We’ll answer that question in the next part of our program, but first I’d like to give you another opportunity to order our exciting and informative free audio CD “THE DAY OF THE LORD

The Day of the Lord is a Year of Woes

We have seen that the Day of the Lord will come after the Great Tribulation and the Heavenly Signs. But just HOW LONG will it last? As many students of Bible prophecy know, there is the year-for-a-day principle in prophecy. Remember when the twelve spies of ancient Israel under the leadership of Joshua searched out the Promised Land? The spies came back after 40 days to report on the resources of the land. But ten of the twelve spies gave an evil report and refused to trust God to give them the victory over the giants and the inhabitants of the land. As a result of their unbelief, God condemned them to wander in the wilderness for FORTY YEARS, a year for each of the 40 days they had searched the land.

NUMBERS 14:34, “According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for EACH DAY you shall bear your guilt ONE YEAR, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.”

This principle of a day for a year is also used by God in EZEKIEL 4:6.

How long then, is the Day of the Lord? The Day of the Lord in one sense, is the YEAR preceding the return of Christ! It’s a significant part of God’s plan, something all Christians should know!

Notice also in Isaiah 34:8, “For it is the DAY of the Lord’s VENGEANCE, the YEAR of recompense for the cause of Zion.” Here again, God’s punishment, the day of the Lord’s vengeance, is equated to one year.

Let’s briefly summarize. The environmental and political problems symbolized by the four horsemen of the Apocalypse will continue to intensify. There will be wholesale religious persecution as revealed through the fifth seal of Revelation. The sixth seal, the heavenly signs, will awaken the world to the beginning of the Day of the Lord, the seventh seal!

Let’s understand! The seven seals reveal end-time trends and events. The seventh seal represents the year-long Day of the Lord. It consists of seven TRUMPET judgments during the yearlong Day of the Lord. As we’ll see later, the seventh TRUMPET itself consists of the “seven last plagues” mentioned in Revelation 15:1.

The seventh seal lasts approximately one year and it consists of seven trumpet plagues. These trumpet plagues are described in the 8th and 9th chapters of Revelation. Turn in your Bible to REVELATION the eighth chapter, “When He opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets” (Revelation 8:1-2).

The trumpets give us warning--they announce seven trumpet plagues or judgments! As you read through chapter 8, you’ll notice that, as the first four angels sound their trumpets, there is great ecological devastation all over the earth. There are earthquakes; vast areas of vegetation are burned up; a third of all sea life dies; water sources are poisoned. The heavens are darkened.

The last three trumpet plagues are called woes. The word “woe” is an exclamation of grief! REVELATION 8:13, “And I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’”

The first woe, or the 5th trumpet plague, is described in chapter nine. The 5th angel sounds a trumpet that begins a military action that lasts 5 months. The second woe, or the 6th trumpet plague, is pictured with symbols of horses and horsemen. Here we see an intense military counter-attack.

REVELATION 9:12, “One woe is past. Behold, still two more woes are coming after these things. Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates’” (Revelation 9:12-14). An army of 200 million drives west across the Euphrates River and destroys ONE-THIRD of the earth’s population! This phase of World War III will kill billions of humans! Yes, Jesus said that unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved--otherwise, all life on earth would be destroyed.

Next we hear the sound of the seventh trumpet. For Christians, the sounding of the seventh trumpet is GOOD NEWS because it announces the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth and the return of Jesus Christ. REVELATION 11:15, “Then the seventh angel sounded: and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’”

The one-year period of time, called the Day of the Lord, culminates in the announcement that Christ is taking over all the kingdoms and governments of this world! That’s the good news we all look forward to hearing!

No Peace on Earth Until Jesus Christ Returns!

The Day of the Lord in end-time prophecy consists of seven trumpet events over a period of one year leading up to the return of the Messiah, Jesus Christ. The seventh trumpet announces the good news of Christ’s takeover of world governments. But the seventh trumpet is also called the third woe! Why? Because it also signals the seven last plagues! The Apostle John describes them in the 16th chapter of Revelation. They include plagues of painful sores on those who have worshiped the Beast power and its image. They include even more poisonous rivers and seas to the extent that “every living creature in the sea died” as it states in Revelation 16:3. The sun becomes hotter, resulting in extreme heat waves that torment those who will not repent of their sins!

In northern Israel, on the plain of Jezreel, will be gathered massive military power and might! These armies will actually fight against the commander of Heaven’s armies, Jesus Christ at His return. Turn to REVELATION 19 in your Bible. Revelation 19:14, the Apostle John describes Christ returning to conquer all nations: “And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS” (Revelation 19:14-16).

When Christ returns to this earth, He will conquer all his enemies. He will conquer the nations and their powerful armies that fight against Him at His coming. The Day of the Lord will bring God’s judgment on the nations.

As we’ve seen, in one sense the Day of the Lord is the year preceding the return of Christ. In another sense, it continues on through the Millennium and on out to eternity.

The Apostle Peter describes it this way in 2 PETER 3:10, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Peter 3:10-13).

The Apostle Peter exhorts us to be in a spiritual state of readiness. We must be alert to the Day of the Lord, a sobering period of judgment on the nations. Beyond that lies tomorrow’s world, a wonderful time of beauty, prosperity, and restoration under the rulership of Christ. May God speed that day!