The Day of the LORD

Addendum: Limited/Local Judgments

The prophet Amos addressed primarily the Northern Kingdom, to warn them of the LORD's impending judgment for their continued obstinance. There are two passages in the book in which the “Day of the LORD” and “That Day” are used to detail events and judgments which are distinct from the Day of the LORD (which is the return of the Lord Christ to rule national Israel and the earth, as detailed in this article). In context, Amos warns them about the judgment which would eventually lead to the fall of the Northern Kingdom to Assyria.

Three times the prophet mentions the “Day of the LORD” and once “that Day”:

Amo 5.16-20
Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the Lord,
“There is wailing in all the plazas,
And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They also call the farmer to mourning
And professional mourners to lamentation.
“And in all the vineyards there is wailing,
Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says the Lord.
Alas, you who are longing for the day of the Lord,
For what purpose will the day of the Lord be to you?
It will be darkness and not light;
As when a man flees from a lion
And a bear meets him,
Or goes home, leans his hand against the wall
And a snake bites him.
Will not the day of the Lord be darkness instead of light,
Even gloom with no brightness in it?

Amo 8.7-10
The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob,
“Indeed, I will never forget any of their deeds.
“Because of this will not the land quake
And everyone who dwells in it mourn?
Indeed, all of it will rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed about
And subside like the Nile of Egypt.
“It will come about in that day,” declares the Lord God,
“That I will make the sun go down at noon
And make the earth dark in broad daylight.
“Then I will turn your festivals into mourning
And all your songs into lamentation;
And I will bring sackcloth on everyone’s loins
And baldness on every head.
And I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son,
And the end of it will be like a bitter day.”