The Day of Great Distress and Trouble – the Last Days

Coming back to Zephaniah, he speaks about the day of the Lord being near. Day of wrath, the day of trouble, a day of distress upon men. Word used in Hebrew there is Adam אָדָם [ʾādām], the name for the first man, which also means humanity.

² “I will utterly consume everything
From the face of the land,”
Says the Lord;
³ “I will consume man אָדָם [ʾādām] and beast;
I will consume the birds of the heavens,
The fish of the sea,
And the stumbling blocks along with the wicked.
I will cut off man אָדָם [ʾādām] from the face of the land,”
Says the Lord. Zephaniah 1:2-3

So, he’s saying this is not just for Israel and that part of the world, it’s for the whole of humanity. Something’s going to come which is going to be a day of trouble for the whole human race.

He also speaks about a day of devastation מְשׁוֹאָה [mǝšôʾâ] and the word used in Hebrew there is the word  šō·w·’āh מְשׁוֹאָה [mǝšôʾâ] which if you’re familiar with the Hebrew terms that’s the word which is used in Hebrew for the holocaust הַשּׁוֹאָה [haššôʾâ].

¹⁵ That day is a day of wrath,
A day of trouble and distress,
A day of devastation מְשׁוֹאָה [mǝšôʾâ] and desolation,
A day of darkness and gloominess,
A day of clouds and thick darkness, Zephaniah 1:15

So it’s speaking about a day of great distress, great, great trouble, and he speaks about the whole land being devoured.

In the passage we read here he uses the word land אֶרֶץ. The Hebrew word is erets אֶרֶץ [ʾereṣ]. And ‘erets’ can either mean the land speaking about the land of Israel, but ‘erets’ could also mean the whole earth.

³ Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth אֶרֶץ [ʾereṣ],
Who have upheld His justice.
Seek righteousness, seek humility.
It may be that you will be hidden
In the day of the Lord’s anger.

⁴ For Gaza shall be forsaken,
And Ashkelon desolate;
They shall drive out Ashdod at noonday,
And Ekron shall be uprooted.
⁵ Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast,
The nation of the Cherethites!
The word of the Lord is against you,
O Canaan, land אֶרֶץ [ʾereṣ] of the Philistines:
“I will destroy you;
So there shall be no inhabitant.” Zephaniah 2:3-5

So, it Zephaniah could be referring to a specific problem coming upon the land of Israel, but also something which is to affect the whole earth.

If you follow through the end time prophecies, you see that that is very much the case. That Israel is the epicentre if you like. This is what takes place in Israel in and the neighbouring lands over the burdensome stone of Jerusalem. But it is something which affects the whole earth and which is a day of trouble for the whole world.

The Book of Jeremiah which we looked at briefly last week, speaks about the ‘time of Jacob’s trouble’, a time of in trouble for for people of Israel. But it also speaks about a time of general trouble on the earth.

Jesus spoke about a time of great tribulation unlike any that has been before or ever shall be which will affect the whole earth.

⁴ And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. ⁵ For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. ⁶ And you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. ⁷ For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. ⁸ All these are the beginning of sorrows.

⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. ¹¹ Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. ¹² And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. ¹³ But he who endures to the end shall be saved. ¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:4-14