While Zechariah does not use the term, “the day of the Lord,” he speaks frequently (21 times) of “that day,” which is his abbreviated way of referring to the day of the Lord. So what is “that day” and “the day of the Lord?”
In the Old Testament, the term generally is used to refer to some coming judgment of God. The judgment might be in the immediate future (like the Israelites being taken captive into Assyria, or Judah into Babylon; see Amos 5:18, 20 and Is. 13:1-9). Or it might be some future judgment, generally the judgment of the tribulation or the more specific battle at Armageddon (see Joel 2:31; Mal. 4:5//Mt. 24:29; Joel 3:12-14, 17).
The day of the Lord as judgment is necessary because God created the world so He could rule it through mankind that was made in His image. But man sinfully rebelled against God’s authority and the story of history is the story of God’s work to “redeem and renew mankind…to make possible their…successful dominion over all things as his viceroys.” If His Kingdom would have dominion, the rebellious kingdoms of the world had to be finally put down. There can only be one King, and the defeat of all other kings and the establishment of the One great King is the story of the Day of the Lord. [See Michael Vlach, Everlasting Dominion]
But the day of the Lord is not just about judgment; it is also about blessing — a blessing that is coming for inhabitants of the nations when they repent (e.g., Joel 2:32) and blessing for Israel (Joel 3:20-21; Amos 9:11). Most often these blessings are in the form of the rule of the Messiah in His Millennial Kingdom after evil and rebellion has been suppressed (e.g., Rev. 14:14ff; 16:14ff). While Zechariah often includes the idea of judgment when he mentions “that day,” most often his view is of the blessing of Messiah’s rule that is coming in “that day.”
For instance, in Zechariah 2:11 after speaking of the judgment against Israel in the Tribulation (2:6-7), Zechariah reminds that judgment is not final but that God’s people remain precious to Him (vv. 8, 12) and God will live with them — that’s the blessing of “that day.” Even more, the nations also will come and live as His people in His kingdom (v. 11), which was always His plan (Gen. 12:3). So while judgment is part of “that day” in Zechariah 2, the millennial blessing is of greater import in that section.
Consider also Zechariah 3:8-10 when the Messiah will come and there will be a massive conversion and the removal of all sin in a single day (cf. also 6:11-15; Is. 66:8). In those verses, “that day” is the day of Messianic salvation and blessing.
Further, in Zechariah 8:23 the prophet anticipates the Millennial Kingdom blessing of redeemed people from the nations who want into the Kingdom. Israel will be blessed by God’s provision in the Kingdom, but so will the converts of the nations.
Israel is the subject of unique blessing in Zechariah 9:16. The nation had rejected the Messiah at His first coming (9:9), yet they will not be rejected. They will be saved when God acts to defend them (9:11-15) and they will be redeemed in the day of His coming (9:16). In one massive act of conversion, the nation will be saved spiritually.
Finally, in Zechariah 12-14, the King will vanquish the nations and establish His throne (14:9). He alone will be King, and the curse of sin and death will be removed (v. 11). Israel and the nations will enjoy the blessing of the reality that Christ is victorious.
The hope of the Old Testament believer — even the one who was in bondage in Babylon — was that the day of the Lord was coming in which sin would be finally judged in all people and nations, and that the gracious gifts of God in His Kingdom would be established and Christ would rule His people. And that same day of the Lord is the comfort for the New Testament believer as well — “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing” (1 Thess. 5:9–11).
“The sun shines above the Earth’s horizon” by NASA Johnson is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Words of Grace 