The New Testament speaks of the “day of the Lord.” The following scriptures link that day to a time of judgement for the wicked and resurrection as reward for the righteous.
1. Matthew 7:22 – Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ “That day” is the day of judgment.
2. John 6:39 – And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. The resurrection occurs on the last day.
3. John 6:40 – 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 him up at the last day.” The resurrection occurs on the last day.
4. John 6:44 – No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day. The resurrection occurs on the last day.
5. John 6:54 – Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. The resurrection occurs on the last day.
6. John 11:24 – Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” The resurrection occurs on the last day.
7. John 12:48 – There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. Judgment occurs on the last day.
8. Acts 2:20 – The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. The day of the Lord will be accompanied by celestial signs.
9. 1 Corinthians 1:8 – He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. The day of the Lord is a time when it is good to be found blameless. This implies a judgment.
10. 1 Corinthians 5:5 – hand this man over to Satan, so that the flesh may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord is a day of destruction and salvation. This implies the final judgment.
11. 2 Corinthians 1:14 – as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus. The day of the Lord will be a time of boasting in Jesus, a time of testimony.
12. 1 Thessalonians 5:2 – or you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
13. 2 Timothy 1:18 – May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus. Mercy can be found on “that day.”
14. 2 Timothy 4:8 – Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. Rewards come on “that day.”
15. 2 Peter 3:10 – The day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.
According to Joel, the timing for the Spirit’s work is described as preceding “the day of the Lord” for a time of judgment and reward of the righteous. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit promised in chapter 2 would be “before the great and terrible day of the Lord.” The end would also be associated with a vindication of martyred souls, who were anxious for that day to come. The righteous blood from Abel to Zachariah would be vindicated upon that generation who rejected the Messiah when he was alive and the Holy Spirit who spoke through the apostles and prophets of those days. They would be resurrected and the unrighteous dead ones punished.
This day is associated with the blast of a trumpet that signals the day has arrived and the culminating events of the age are upon them. Notice the following passages connecting the trumpet to the end of the age. Matthew 24:3,31 – …Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age? And He answered them saying…And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. Apparently, at the end of the age the elect are gathered. This would appear to be the time when saints are “caught up.
1 Corinthians 15:52 – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. At the last trumpet, the dead will be raised.
1 Thessalonians 4:16 – For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. At the trumpet, the Lord descends, and the dead in Christ are raised, first, i.e., before the living saints.
Revelation 10:7 – But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. The mystery is accomplished is accompanied by the seventh trumpet. But what is the mystery.
Ephesians 3:3-6 – that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. The mystery is that the Gentiles are also to be included in the kingdom of God and salvation.
Revelation 11:15 – The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.” The seventh trumpet is the last trumpet mentioned in the series of seven of this section of Revelation.
It’s always difficult to express “the evidence of things unseen” which is the bedrock of our faith. This is why Jesus always used parables to express the invisible realities of our existence. However, John is given revelation of two witnesses (Revelation 11), who were raised and invited to come up. They ascended in a cloud as their enemies watched them. Though Josephus does not confirm the resurrection, he speaks of the two priests who were slain in the streets and left for dead during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. So, this is not a spiritual resurrection or the restoration of Israel. It is similar to the resurrection appearances and ascension of Christ, with the exception that they did not show themselves alive by many witnesses for a period of 40 days like Jesus. If Jesus’ resurrection was a physical sign of a spiritual reality, how do we explain this resurrection of these two witnesses within the city walls of Jerusalem? It seems like a good illustration of the chronology offered in Revelation 20 that commences with the binding of Satan, the first resurrection, and their reign with Christ for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-6). In addition, the saints who are alive and remaining at His coming will meet the resurrected saints in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17).