Dr. Couch, is Zephaniah 1 about judgment events in Zephaniah's day or is it about the future coming tribulation, the Day of the Lord?
ANSWER: Many are confused with this issue in the book. You got it right in that "the Day of the Lord" is indeed the tribulation. The apostle makes this clear. He writes: "You yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night" (1 Thess. 5:2). For the world, THEY, will say "Peace and safety! Then sudden destruction will come upon THEM (not us, the church saints) suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and THEY (the lost) shall not escape."
But back to Zephaniah 1, there is something important to notice. 1:2-4a. The Lord will bring universal judgment upon the world: "I will remove all things from the face of the earth," and "I will remove man and animal, and birds of the sky, and the fish, and I will cut off man from the face of the earth."
But then Zephaniah comes back to the context of his day. God will stretch out His hand against Judah and Jerusalem (v. 4a), and, He will judge the pagans (Baal), "the remnant from this place (the holy land)." Thus, "the day of the Lord is near … it is against 'all the people of Canaan'" (v. 7). This is "a punishment on that day" (v. 10a); it "will come about at that time" (v. 12a).
However, note the change in 1:14. "Near is the GREAT day of the Lord." Having translated the passage from Hebrew I noted that it should best read:
"Imminent (in duration) [is] the Day of the Lord, the GREAT (Ha'Ga'Dol)."
This is the only place in Zephaniah where GREAT is used. The other references to "the Day of the Lord" probably are referring to what happened in time past, but then, "the GREAT DAY" would be the terrible tribulation of the end times. But look what is said in verses 15-16:
"A day of wrath is that day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness, a day of trumpet and battle cry" (vv. 15-16).
Compare this with Jeremiah 30:3-8: "For the days are coming" … a sound of terror, of dread, and there is no peace, a woman in childbirth (the birth pangs), all faces turn pale, Alas! For that day is GREAT, there is none like it; it is the time of Jacob's (Israel's) distress (or tribulation), it shall come about in that day ..."
The BIRTH PANGS are clearly about the tribulation just as Christ and Paul say: "It is the beginning of the birth pangs, there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:8, 21). And Paul adds, "The day of the Lord will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they (the lost in the world) shall not escape" (1 Thess. 5:3).
So, Zephaniah has several stages. But the Great Day of the Lord would specifically be the future tribulation. Zephaniah concludes:
"On the day of the Lord's wrath; and all the earth will be devoured in the fire of His jealousy, for He will make a complete end. Indeed a terrifying one, of all the inhabitants of the earth" (1:18).
Thanks for asking.
—Dr. Mal Couch (5/11)
