1. the time unlike any other, such as never was, and never will be.
Most people who deny the pretribulation rapture compare Matt 24:29 which puts the stellar signs "after the tribulation", and Joel 2:31 which puts the stellar signs "before the Day of the Lord". They then happily and simply conclude that the order of events is as follows: the tribulation, then the stellar signs, then the day of the Lord. They conclude this in order to put the day of the Lord and the rapture after the tribulation. This poses a serious problem, however, because both the tribulation and the Day of the Lord are described as a unique time unlike any other, such as never was, and will never be. So, if there are two sequential time periods, each of which is worse than any other, and no other day will be like it, that's quite an unresolved paradox in their theology; which time is the time of trouble unlike any other, the tribulation or the Day of the Lord?
Matthew 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.
Joel 2:
1 Blow ye the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain:
let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the LORD
cometh, for it is nigh at hand;
2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and
a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more
after it, even to the years of many generations.
This unique phrase, this unique time, must be one time period. There can be only ONE day or time unlike any other, there can only be one worst time. They cannot be sequential time periods. The Day of the Lord and the great tribulation are the same time of trouble and distress. After being presented with this evidence, the only way one can deny it is to say that each of these unique times are still so unique they really are unlike each other. Yet, as we shall see, the two times are described in the same terms!
This shows that the great tribulation (a day unlike any other), and the Day of the Lord (a day unlike any other), are speaking of the same time. Yes, the Day of the Lord, is clearly described as tribulation, distress, trouble.
Zephaniah 1:
14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly,
even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress,
a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a
day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against
the high towers.
17 And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk
like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood
shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung.
Other translations, such as the NIV translate the word for tribulation in Matt 24:29 as "distress". --In which case we would have an exact match. The Worldwide English translation says "time of trouble" for Matt 24:29. Of course, the words in Zephaniah 1:15 is not the exact same word as in Matt 24:29, one is Hebrew, the other is Greek. Here are the definitions from Strong's concordance so you can see how well they match: They match extremely well, even being derived from similar root words meaning a narrow compressed tightness, trouble, distress.
Matt 24:29 "tribulation" GREEK
2347 thlipsis {thlip'-sis}
from 2346; TDNT - 3:139,334; n f
AV - tribulation 21, affliction 17, trouble 3, anguish
1,
persecution 1, burdened 1, to be afflicted + 1519 1; 45
1) a pressing, pressing together, pressure
2) metaph. oppression, affliction, tribulation, distress,
straits
2346 thlibo {thlee'-bo}
akin to the base of 5147; TDNT - 3:139,334; v
AV - trouble 4, afflict 3, narrow 1, throng 1, suffer
tribulation
1; 10
1) to press (as grapes), press hard upon
2) a compressed way
2a) narrow straitened, contracted
3) metaph. to trouble, afflict, distress
Zeph 1:15 "trouble" HEBREW
06869 tsarah {tsaw-raw'}
from 06862; TWOT - 1973c,1974b; n f
AV - trouble 44, distress 8, affliction 7, adversity
5, anguish 5,
tribulation
3, adversary 1; 73
1) straits, distress, trouble
2) vexer, rival wife
06862 tsar {tsar} or tsar {tsawr}
from 06887; TWOT - 1973a,1973b,1974a,1975a; adj
AV - enemy 37, adversary 26, trouble 17, distress 5, affliction
3,
foes 2, narrow 2, strait 2, flint 1, sorrow 1, misc 9; 105
1) narrow, tight
2) straits, distress
3) adversary, foe, enemy, oppressor
4) hard pebble, flint
Zeph 1:15 "distress"
04691 m@tsuwqah {mets-oo-kaw'} or m@tsuqah {mets-oo-kaw'}
from 04690; TWOT - 1895e; n f
AV - distress 6, anguish 1; 7
1) straitness, distress, straits, stress
The five word concepts, "trouble, distress, tribulation, affliction, straits" are contained in both the Greek and Hebrew words. Not only that, but as we just saw, Daniel 12:1 and Jeremiah 30:7 both used the phrase "time of trouble".
3. The Day of the Lord is also described as the
"trouble":
Some people easily identify the tribulation with the time of trouble
in Daniel 12:1 or Jeremiah 30:7, but continue to refuse to identify it
with the Day of the Lord, because that would conflict with their theology.
But the Day of the Lord, which is clearly described as travail, is also
described as the "trouble" in Isaiah 26:16-21:
Isaiah 26:16 LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured
out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.
17 Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery,
is
in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy
sight, O LORD.
4. The Day of the Lord and the Tribulation from Matt 24 are both the "time of travail or birth pains or labor pains".
Matthew 24:8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. KJV
Matthew 24:8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. NIV
Isaiah 13:6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall
come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them;
they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be
amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
1 Thessalonians 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have
no need that I write unto you.
2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so
cometh as a thief in the night.
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall
not escape.
Those who identify the time of Jacob's trouble with the great tribulation, must also identify it with the Day of the Lord, because of the birth pains, and travail.
Jeremiah 30:6 Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with
child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as
a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?
Jeremiah 30:7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it:
it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out
of it.
See also: Revelation 12:2, Isaiah 66:7-9, which I have already discussed in the context of the rapture of the man child (Rev 12:4) nation (Isaiah 66) happening before the travail. This all means that the rapture happens before the great tribulation, before the Day of the Lord, before the time of trouble.
5. The Day of the Lord is the "wrath of God", and the wrath of God will be the entire seven year tribulation week, the 70th week of Daniel.
In Daniel Chapter 9, Daniel realizes that his people have not repented and turned back to God during their 70 years of captivity. This troubles him, probably because he knows the law in Leviticus 2618-24, which says that if the people do not repent after being punished, there will be a punishment seven times as great. Sure enough, at the end of Chapter 9, we see the 70 years become 70 weeks of years. Ezra writes how the 70 years were the wrath of God.
Ezra 5:12 But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven
unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon,
the
Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into
Babylon.
Since the 70 years were from the wrath of God, the seven fold judgment of 70 weeks of years will also be the wrath of God. The first 69 weeks of years were troublesome, the wall and street were rebuilt in "troublous times", and so too, will the last week be troublesome, the "time of trouble" from Jer 30:6-7.
Dan 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
The 70 years was a "curse poured out upon us" (Dan 9:11), and the 70 weeks of years are a curse of the Law in Leviticus 26. Since Christians are not under the curse of the law, (Gal 3:13) Christians are not appointed to endure this time of the curse of the law, the 70th week.
Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Additionally, Christians are not appointed to wrath.
1 Thess 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
Therefore, Christians will be raptured before the wrath of God during the Day of the Lord.
Zeph 1:14 The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth
greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry
there bitterly.
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day
of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of
clouds and thick darkness,
Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
6. The "Day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night" (1 Thess 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10)
The "thief in the night" is a wedding reference which shows that the groom comes to steal away (rapture) his bride like a thief. Thus, the Day of the Lord begins with the rapture.
7. Luke describes the "great distress" or tribulation as containing wrath.
Luke 21:23 But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.
8. Destruction of crops and famine takes place during the Day of the Lord.
Joel Chapter 1 describes destruction of vegetation leading to famine as a part of the Day of the Lord. This is like the first trumpet of Rev 8:7. Famine is also mentioned in Revelation 6:5-8, the fourth seal, and in Revelation 18:8.
9. Death of sea life takes place during the Day of the Lord.
Zephaniah Chapter 1:3 describes the Day of the Lord as the death of the fishes of the sea, which appear to cause the cry of the fishermen in the fish gate.
Zeph 1:3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the
heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with
the wicked: and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
Zeph 1:10 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD, that
there
shall be the noise of a cry from the fish gate, and an howling from
the second, and a great crashing from the hills.
Thus, the second Trumpet and Vial are in the Day of the Lord because both involve the death of fishes of the sea.
Rev 8:
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning
with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had
life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
Rev 16:3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
The day of the Lord certainly cannot come after the second vial, when sea life is destroyed.
10. Satan will be brought low in the Day of the Lord.
Isaiah 2 says "the Lord alone shall be exalted" in the Day of the Lord. Many have mistakenly thought that since Satan is worshipped by men in the tribulation, that this proves that the Day of the Lord comes after the great tribulation. However, Isaiah 2 actually proves the opposite, that Satan will be brought low and cast out of heaven in the Day of the Lord. Since Satan is cast out of heaven before the great tribulation, as I have shown in Revelation 12, then the Day of the Lord must begin before the great tribulation.
Isaiah 2:11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness
of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that
day.
Isaiah 2:12 For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every
one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and
he shall be brought low:
Satan is included in the phrase "upon every one that is proud and lofty", since Satan's main attribute is pride and self exaltation. Some have suggested that the context of Isaiah 2, (verse 11) means that men only, and not the fallen angels, will be "humbled and bowed down", despite the inclusiveness of the language "upon every one". It does not say "upon every man". A closer examination of the context of Isaiah 2 says that this day is not only upon "every one" but also upon every cedar, oak, mountain, hill, tower, wall, ship and picture, Isaiah 2:13-16. Interestingly, between the chapters in Ezekiel which describe the fall of Satan in great detail, Chapters 28-32 (specifically Ezekiel 31) its describes Satan as a tree. Satan might also be likened to a mountain: Jeremiah 51:25, Ezekiel 38:20, Luke 3:5, Rev 6:14, 8:8, 17:9, Matthew 21:21. But regardless of whether trees or mountains might be symbolic of Satan, the wording "upon every one that is proud and lofty" surely includes Satan whose pride was the cause of his fall.
Isaiah 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
Isaiah further clarifies the point that the day will include "the host of the high ones that are on high", which would be the fallen heavenly host of Satan and his angels.
Isaiah 24:21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
Getting back to the main point, Satan, during the tribulation, does not actually succeed in fulfilling his goal of exalting himself "above the stars of God" or "above all that is called God", he simply tries to exalt himself. It seems simple enough to say that Satan's statement about himself, "I am God" is simply another lie.
2 Thessalonians 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
Those who insist that the Day of the Lord cannot be during the tribulation, on the grounds that someone other than God is exalted, are actually arguing that Satan IS exalted. Thus, their argument depends on exalting Satan! But their argument still fails because the word "exalted" does not mean "to be worshiped". Yes, Satan is worshipped during the tribulation. But the Hebrew word for "exalted" means to be set safe and secure on high, and at the time of the tribulation, Satan is cast low, out of heaven, "...for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time." (Rev 12:12). Satan in the tribulation is neither secure, nor high, nor safe, he is not truly exalted in any sense of the word. Satan in the tribulation will be far away from accomplishing his goal as stated in Isaiah 14:13, "I will exalt my throne above the stars of God", because the stars (angels) of God will have just finished casting him out of heaven. Rev 12:7-8
During the tribulation, scripture says that Satan "exalts himself", and by that point he will be doing everything he can to exalt himself over men.
Isaiah 2 is not actually even saying that only God will be worshipped during the day of the Lord. I argue that the Day of the Lord is 1000 years, as 2 Peter 3:8-10 states. In the millennium, there will be the occasional rebellion against God. In Zech 14, nations who refuse to worship God will not have any rain. In Isaiah 65:20, we see that it will be a rare man who dies young at 100, and will be considered a child, and cursed. Again, probably because he refused to worship God. Thus, the occasional rebellion of not worshipping God is not excluded by the statements in Isaiah 2 that "the Lord alone will be exalted" in that day of the Lord.
I believe the two main points of the phrase "the Lord alone will be exalted in that day", is that Jesus will take the throne in heaven at the start of the Day of the Lord, no longer at the "right hand of God" (Mark 16:19, Luke 22:69, Acts 7:55-56, Romans 8:34, Colossians 3:1, Hebrews 10:12, Hebrews 12:2, 1 Peter 3:22), and that Satan is cast down at the start of the Day of the Lord.
Daniel 7:9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.