It is probably fair to say that the Day of the Lord information presented in the previous lessons is to many people either a strange-sounding or a totally false doctrine. I can certainly understand such feelings because it was strange to me when I first began seeing the facts. But I had to let go of my doubt and believe the clear teaching of the Bible. You should also understand that I did not receive this revelation in the same organized way it is presented in the previous articles. It didn’t come in in a burst, nicely packaged with a bow on top. Instead, it came over a period of time, little by little, observation by observation, conclusion by conclusion.

I had read the words of Joel and Acts 2 many times. However, I had not gone to read Joel immediately after reading Peter’s quote from the prophecy of Joel. At some point I began wondering if Peter was quoting Joel’s words as they are presented in the book of Joel. This caused me to turn back to Joel after reading Peter’s sermon. It was then that I discovered Peter’s use of “in the last days” rather than “after this” as in Joel’s prophecy. Then I asked the question, “Why the difference?”

The answer didn’t come right away, either, although I continued to hold the question in my mind. I began to read Joel’s prophecy frequently. And after reading Joel, I would go back to read and re-read Peter’s sermon. Finally, on one of my readings of Joel, I read Joel 2:28, “It will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind …” and I was led to ask the “What?” question (I am referring to the questions employed in the Inductive Bible Study method . For more information on Inductive Bible Study please go to Lesson 1.1 of Revealed Truth).

It was with a great deal of expectation that I began to seek an answer to the question. I went back to Joel 1:1 and began reading to find out specifically what Joel was writing about. Three verses clearly clearly revealed that the ‘this’ of the phrase ‘after this’ was the Day of the Lord. Joel was saying that God was going to pour out His Spirit on all mankind after the Day of the Lord.

Some of the people in the crowd were saying they thought the disciples were drunk. That’s when Peter steps forward makes an astounding statement: 

 

15 “For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only the  third hour of the day [9:00 AM]; 

16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: 

17 ‘And it shall be in the last days‘ God says, ‘that I will pour forth of my Spirit on all mankind.'” (Acts 2:15-17a)

Peter was asserting that the outpouring of the Spirit spoken of by Joel was happening at that very moment. Since Joel said the outpouring of the Spirit would take place ‘after’ the Day of the Lord, it follows that the Day of the Lord had already occurred before Peter began to speak. Therefore, Peter couldn’t use Joel’s words, “after this“, so instead he said, “in the last days.”

No Contradictions

However, even with this understanding, I didn’t immediately begin writing about a past timing of the Day of the Lord. I was struggling with my long-held agreement with the position of accepted theology that the Day of the Lord was an event that would come some time in the future. It was also difficult for me to disagree with Bible verses such as:

1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,

2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the Day of the Lord has come. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

These two verses connect the coming of Jesus and the Day of the Lord in some way. Verse two is generally interpreted as indicating that the Day of the Lord had not yet happened when Paul wrote the letter. And that conclusion seems to be clear and obvious.  But there is good reason to call that conclusion into question. 

Given the way verse two is translated, the above passage clearly says that the Day of the Lord is a day that had not yet arrived at the time Paul wrote this letter to the Thessalonians. However, I now faced a dilemma in that I have concluded that the Day of the Lord had occurred the day Jesus was resurrected. And I was certain the Holy Spirit had directed me to the findings which I have presented. Rather than giving up my study and considering my conclusions to be a lost cause, I did what I believe should be done, I continued to seek the Lord for a resolution to my quandary.

We who are believers in Jesus Christ believe that all Scripture was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is necessary to ask a serious question: Did the Holy Spirit get it wrong in 2 Thessalonians 2:2? Did He not know the Day of the Lord had taken place when Jesus was resurrected, as I have claimed? Of course, the Holy Spirit did not make an error.

I was in a difficult position. On the one hand 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 blows my proposition out of the water. But even in the face of what appeared to be extremely convincing evidence, I was not prepared to discount my conclusion which is based on the straightforward facts presented in my three positions. I continued to hold on to my proposition, not because I thought I couldn’t be wrong, but because I believed I had received the positions and the conclusions from the Holy Spirit.

Since the Holy Spirit cannot contradict Himself, I continued to seek a resolution from the Lord believing there had to be a correct resolution to this seeming contradiction. So it was a matter of which position was true, that the Day of the Lord had not occurred when Paul wrote the verses in question, or that it had in fact taken place on the day Christ was resurrected as I have claimed.

So I continued to seek for an answer to this difficult predicament. After a period of some time, I was led to do a closer examination of the 2 Thessalonians 2:2. A Greek scholar I am not, but I have studied some Biblical Greek and I am capable of using basic Greek reference materials. So I set out to see what, if anything, I could discover.

As a reference aid, here again is the passage in question.

1 Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him,

2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)

The Greek word which is translated ‘has come’ in verse two is, enestēken (en-is’-tay-ken – Strong’s number 1764). The origin of this word is from two Greek words, en (en) and histémi (his’-tay-mee). The following definitions are from the Greek Interlinear Bible at biblehub.com.

en Strong’s No. 1722 (a preposition) — properly, in (inside, within); (figuratively) “in the realm (sphere) of,” as in the condition (state) in which something operates from the inside (within).

In the realm or sphere of indicates something that is related to or associated with.

histémi Strong’s No. 2476 (a verb) — to make to stand, to stand. Usage: trans: (a) I make to stand, place, set up, establish, appoint; mid: I place myself, stand, (b) I set in balance, weigh; intrans: (c) I stand, stand by, stand still; met: I stand ready, stand firm, am steadfast.

Histémi appears in Luke where it is translated ‘came to a halt’ according to the idea of ‘standing firm’ or ‘standing still.’

And He [Jesus] came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt [histémi]. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” (Luke 7:14)

En and Histémi combine to form the word enestēken. One of the meanings of en is in the realm or sphere of. Histémi can be translated as stand still, stand firm or came to a halt as in Luke 7:14. Thus, by combining these two meanings, enestēken can be thought of as meaning: In the condition or realm of standing firm or having come to a halt. If something is said to be standing firm or has come to a halt, it must already be in existence. And if it is in existence, it is not reasonable or accurate to make a statement which suggests it is not in existence? A reasonably logical statement to make about something that is in existence would have to do with whether the thing had ceased to exist or halted its function. That is to say that the existence of the coffin in Luke 7:14 cannot be called into question. It was there in front of Jesus. Thus, it cannot be said that it was not there.

It is reasonable at this point to ask if enestēken in 2 Thessalonians 2:2 could be translated differently? If it had been translated as stood still or stopped the meaning would be quite different. If the translation used in Luke 7:14 were used, 2 Thessalonians 2:2 would read as follows:

That you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the Day of the Lord has come to a halt.

Had 2 Thessalonians 2:2 been translated as shown above the clear understanding is that the Day of the Lord was an event that took place in the past and was still active in the present. The verb, enestēken, is presented in 2 Thessalonians 2:2 in the perfect tense. The Ezra Project website defines the Greek perfect tense as follows:

PERFECT TENSE

The perfect tense in Greek is used to describe a completed action which produced results which are still in effect all the way up to the present.  Sample translation:  “I have believed.”

Notice that the perfect tense carries two ideas:  (1) completed action and (2) continuing results.  The action was completed at some time in the past, and the results continue up to the present. (Emphasis Added)

Ezra Project, https://ezraproject.com/greek-tenses-explained/

Since the perfect tense describes an action completed in the past, the way 2 Thessalonians 2:2 is translated, strongly suggesting that the Day of the Lord had not come is not consistent with the tense of the verb used in the manuscript. It should have been translated to portray an event that had taken place in the past and which was continuing into the present.

There is yet another factor to consider. In the first part of 2 Thessalonians 2:2 Paul exhorts the believers not to be “quickly shaken from their composure or be disturbed.” The question I must ask is what would most likely shake or disturb the believers at Thessaloniki, or anywhere, for that matter:

• • • That the Day of the Lord had come, or…
    • That the Day of the Lord had come to a halt?

Not that it had come, but surely that it had come to a halt. Let me explain.

Righteous Judgment

A key feature of the Day of the Lord is the establishment of God’s system of judgment called the Righteous Judgment of God. (God’s righteous judgment is the topic of the next section where it is explored in great detail.) As briefly discussed in previous articles in this section, this aspect of the Day of the Lord is God’s system of justice whereby every person’s deeds, whether evil or good, receive a just reward. Let me now draw your attention to Luke 3:17-18 which references John the Baptist. 

17 “His [Jesus’] winnowing fork is in His hand to thoroughly clear His threshing floor, and to gather the wheat into His barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

18 So with many other exhortations he [John the Baptist] preached the gospel to the people. (Luke 3:17-18)

Note that John the Baptist said that Jesus was going to gather the wheat (those who perform good deeds) into the barn (heaven), but the chaff (those who perform evil deeds) are burned up with unquenchable fire (in hell). This is a clear indication of the Righteous Judgment of God. Please note that verse 18 says that this is the gospel, i.e., the good news. So let me ask again, why would believers and followers of Jesus Christ be distressed if they were told that the good news of the Righteous Judgement of God had come? My answer is that they would not. Instead, they would be greatly distressed and disturbed to learn that the Day of the Lord and the thereby the execution of the Righteous Judgment of God had also ceased to exist or come to a halt.

Paul describes the Righteous Judgment of God as a system of justice where every person (unbeliever and believer alike) is rewarded for his or her deeds whether good or evil.

5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 

6  who will render to each person according to his deeds:

7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 

8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. 

9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew  first and also of the Greek, 

10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (Romans 2:5-10)

The heart of the psalmists was for God to execute His righteous judgment. They wanted their righteousness to be blessed and the wickedness of evil doers to be destroyed. Let’s look at just a few examples.

10 Hold them [those who are rebellious] guilty, O God; by their own devices [or according to their deeds] let them fall! [A call for the Righteous Judgment of God] In the multitude of their transgressions thrust them out, for they are rebellious against You.

11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad, [A call for the righteous to be blessed.] Let them ever sing for joy; and may you shelter them, that those who love Your name may exult in You. (Psalms 5:10-11)

6 Arise, O Lord, in Your anger; lift up Yourself against the rage of my adversaries, and arouse Yourself for me; You have appointed judgment.  [A call for the Righteous Judgment of God to be administered.]

7 Let the assembly of the peoples encompass You, and over them return on high.

8 The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me. [Or, judge me according to my righteous deeds.]

9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; for the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.

10 My shield is with God, Who saves the upright in heart.

11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day. (Psalms 7:6-11)

2 I will be glad and exult in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

3 When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before You.

4 For You have maintained my just cause; You have sat on the throne judging righteously. [The righteous are glad for God’s righteous judgment.]

7 But the Lord abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment,

8 And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity.

15 The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made [their own deeds come back on them]; in the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught. [They are judged according to their deeds.]

16 The Lord has made Himself known; He has executed judgment. In the work of his own hands [that is, according to his deeds] the wicked is snared. Higgaion  Selah. (Psalms 9:2-4, 7-8, 15-16)

1 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

2 In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted; let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. [That is,  judged according to their deeds.] (Psalms 10:1-2)

2 Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry to You for help, when I lift up my hands toward Your holy sanctuary.

3 Do not drag me away with the wicked and with those who work iniquity, who speak peace with their neighbors, while evil is in their hearts.

4 Requite [give an appropriate return for their deeds] them according to their work and according to the evil of their practices; requite them according to the deeds of their hands; repay them their recompense.(Psalms 28:2-4)

5 How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire?

6 Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which do not know You, and upon the kingdoms which do not call upon Your name.

9 Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name; and deliver us and forgive our sins for Your name’s sake.

10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let there be known among the nations in our sight, vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed. [Verses 6 through 9 are a call for God’s righteous judgment.]

11 Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power preserve those who are  doomed to die.

12 And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom the reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord. (Psalms 79:5-6, 9-12)

Let me emphasize what the above verses, and many other similar verses, mean to me.

As shown by the above smattering of examples, the call of the righteous is for justice to be executed. They are crying out to God for His righteous judgment to be carried out. And since the Righteous Judgment of God is part of the Day of the Lord, the cry of their hearts is also for the coming of the Day of the Lord. And isn’t that the same desire for all believers, even today? Of course it is. All believers are comforted in the knowledge that they are blessed for their steadfastness while the wicked are cursed for their rebellion, not after they are dead, but here and now. If God’s righteous judgment were not in place, a powerful incentive for believers to find the strength and courage to remain steadfast in their faith would be gone and many would not be able to stand. And it would be useless for the Day of the Lord and the Righteous Judgment of God to take place at a time in the future after a believer is dead. When a believer dies, they go to heaven. There is no need for the Day of the Lord or the Righteous Judgment of God in heaven because no one with an evil heart resides there. The need for righteous judgment is here on earth while all people, unbelievers and believers alike, are alive in an unjust and ungodly world.

Why then would believers be shaken or disturbed if they were told that the Day of the Lord had come as the standard translation of 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 indicates? Just the opposite is true: Believers would be shaken or disturbed if they were to learn that the Day of the Lord and therefore the Righteous Judgment of God had either come to a halt or had not yet been instituted.

The Day of the Lord is the time when believers and unbelievers alike receive their just reward, and this is a blessing to believers. It also means that believers have a strong motivation for continuing to serve and follow God. If those who do not follow God are not punished, and if the righteous are not blessed, what incentive do believers have for striving to follow God’s commandments? Very little or none at all, I believe.

Future Timing Or Present Reality

A key reason there is so much sin in the Church is that judgment has been pushed out to an unknown distant future. Every parent knows that discipline for a child’s unacceptable behavior must be administered close to the infraction or any chance of correcting the unwanted behavior is lost. The Day of the Lord established God’s system of immediate justice over the whole earth. This system of justice is called the Righteous Judgment of God.

It is God’s way to dispense judgments, either curses or blessings, immediately.

9 “Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness [He blesses those who keep His commandments] to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments; 

10 but repays those who hate Him [those who do not keep His commandments] to their faces, to destroy  them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. 

11 “Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them. (Deuteronomy 7:9-11)

The blessings or curses of the eternal covenant are issued to all people according to their deeds whether good or evil. And He does it to your face, or immediately, He does not delay.

The actual timing of the Day of the Lord was easily exposed in the three positions presented earlier. The Biblical facts are pretty much laid out in plain sight. Advanced theological degrees are not needed to find it. It disturbs me that this revelation is so easily missed. If a truth so easy to discover is not seen, I suspect many more of God’s more deeply hidden jewels of truth also remain unnoticed. However, it could be that revelations such as the one just uncovered are not overlooked but rather ignored. If this is so in this case, I have two questions: Why is such a plain truth readily ignored and replaced with a yet future timing for the Day of the Lord, and what are we to do about it?

There is only one reason such a clear truth would be ignored and that is to advance another scenario. There is a desire to make a case for the Day of the Lord and the Righteous Judgment of God to be pushed from the present to an unknown time in the future. By doing this, people find it much easier to deceive themselves into believing that they are escaping God’s judgment for their rebellion against God.

It is widely accepted today that the Day of the Lord is associated with the doctrines of the rapture of the saints and the second coming of Christ rather than His resurrection. I believe the true motive behind this is an attempt to avoid God’s judgment. If judgment can be avoided, or put off to an undetermined time in the future, the necessity for anyone to crucify the flesh is largely eradicated. This is, of course, all orchestrated by Satan through the flesh that wars against the Spirit. The flesh wants to always direct everyone’s behavior, unbelievers and believers alike. If Satan cannot prevent a person from becoming a believer, he will use any means possible to thwart her or him from walking in faith. False doctrines are one of his best weapons. They are easy for believers to accept, because they appeal to the old, familiar flesh nature. If we are not totally committed to hearing and following the Holy Spirit in all things and at all times, we are susceptible to being deceived by our flesh.

The result of adopting a doctrine of a yet future Day of the Lord is this: It says a person can be born again and still continue to behave according to the flesh, the old nature, without immediate consequence. It’s a flip-flop theology that accepts the proposition that a believer can alternate between doing the work of the Spirit as well as the deeds of the flesh. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Neither the Old nor New Covenants ever required anything less than keeping the commandments.

Yet the Lord warned Israel and Judah, through all His prophets and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways [repent from the ways of the flesh] and keep My commandments, My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you through My servants the prophets.” (2 Kings 17:13) And Jesus said the same thing more simply when He said, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” (John 14:15)

Judgment deferred has essentially no power to control or change behavior. Children would have no incentive to obey their parents if discipline or reward was postponed until their seventy-fifth birthday. A future Day of the Lord theology has the same effect. A combination of sinful and righteous behavior is so common in most of the Church a name has been given to such people … they are said to be Carnal Christians. To be carnal is to be driven by a fleshly nature. But how can believers be led by a fleshly nature when they have crucified their fleshly nature on the cross with Jesus Christ? Paul asked the same question in his letter to believers in Rome.

1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?

2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? (Romans 6:1-2)

Believers are to be led by the Spirit. This is not, as I understand it, a matter of choice or degree. “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

Shifting the Day of the Lord to an unknown future date presents another problem: What do we do with the information presented above? Setting a future date for the Day of the Lord contradicts what has just been reviewed. We’ve seen that the Day of the Lord will only happen once (Joel 2:2). So if we want to develop a yet-future timing for the Day of the Lord, we must ignore the past timing which has been so clearly presented here.

Seek The Truth From The Holy Spirit

What should we do? If you are a believer then you must agree with the writer of Hebrews who wrote:

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)

Therefore, accept the proposition that God blesses, i.e., rewards, believers here and now, for each and every act of obedience. He isn’t waiting until you get to heaven. Then, take comfort in knowing that those who refuse to acknowledge or obey God are likewise judged and rewarded with the curses of the covenant here and now for every act of disobedience. Next, if you cannot accept what my presentation has concluded, do not throw the idea away too quickly. Rather, please set it aside until you have an opportunity to continue reading and studying the Bible daily looking for evidence and seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit regarding the doctrines of the Day of the Lord I have presented. The truth will be supported by revelation from the Holy Spirit and the entire word of God. Remember, there is no better One to reveal the Truth hidden in the written Word than the Holy Spirit who inspired it.

The only way you can be certain of the truth of what has been presented here, or of any other teaching, is to hold aside any doctrines with which you have difficulty agreeing until you clearly receive revelation of the Holy Spirit. Trust that He can and will lead you into all truth. When you see the truth the Holy Spirit reveals to you, you will find true freedom because it is the truth that makes you free as Paul wrote to the Galatians, “It was for freedom that Christ set us free.” (Galatians 5:1a)

May the eyes of you heart be opened to receive revelations of Truth from the Holy Spirit,

Peter Giardina