‘Ga•nav’ if a thief and ‘lay•la’ is night. the prefix ‘ke’ mean ‘as’ or ‘like,’ and ‘ba’ means ‘in the.’
What is the nature of this destruction called ‘the day of the Lord? Apparently, it is a ‘payback’ day for the wicked and the sinners. It is described with similar characteristics in both the Old and New Testaments, and in both it is associated with darkness:
‘Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light? Very dark with no brightness in it?’
Why can’t the day of the Lord happen in broad daylight? The ‘payback effect would probably increase and all may witness the rage of God in the open. Light always gives an advantage by creating the illusion that if we can see the surrounding we are not completely helpless. The day of the Lord is not only a punishment. Rather, it is coupled with dramatic, almost theatrical, audio-visual effects such as the great ‘production’ at the foot of Mount Sinai while giving the Torah.
On the day of the Lord, the impact is much greater:
‘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 be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.’ Therefore since all these things will be destroyed like this, what kind of people ought you to be in holy living and godliness, looking for and earnestly desiring the coming of the day of God, which will cause the burning heavens to be dissolved, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?
Think how awesome and awful this will look over dark skys. The darkness, besides its symbolic implications, will surely contribute to the feeling of complete helplessness of the sinful and wicked…
Recent Comments