Prophetic ‘Days’ and ‘Hours’ :: By Mark A. Becker

[Andy C]

This study survey attempts to be as thorough as possible when considering the prophetic words for “days” and “hours,” especially within the Brit Chadashah (New Testament), and how they are utilized in Bible eschatology.

Our prayer is that this article helps to pave the way for the Bible student to better understand and appreciate how these words should be understood and applied to the texts when studying Bible prophecy.

Underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.

‘The Day of the Lord’ in the Tanakh

The phrase “the day of the LORD” is frequently mentioned throughout the Tanakh (Old Testament) and generally depicts the wrath of God being poured out on the world in judgment, man’s ultimate rebellion against the Creator, and Satanic/demonic supernatural events – all of which will embody the horrific seven-year (2,520-day) Tribulation.

Examples of these include Zephaniah 1:14-18, Isaiah 13:9-11, Joel 3:11-16, Amos 5:18-20, etc.

‘That Day’ in the Tanakh

The phrase “that day” or “in that day” is another prophetic term that is often used in the Tanakh.

Though this phrase can be used interchangeably with “the day of the Lord” for the pouring out of God’s wrath (Isaiah 24:21-23, Jeremiah 25:33, Zephaniah 3:8, et al.), other times this same phrase can be speaking exclusively of a prophecy that is close to the prophet’s day.

For our study, however, it is very noteworthy that this phrase is also used quite often in connection with Messiah’s First Advent as well as the Messianic Millennial Kingdom, as noted in the examples below.

“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” – Isaiah 11:10

“In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.” – Micah 4:6-7

“Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.” – Zephaniah 3:14-16

https://www.raptureready.com/2024/06/26/prophetic-days-and-hours-by-mark-a-becker/

 

[mattfivefour]

An interesting study. For those wondering whether it's worth reading such a long article, I include the following passage with which the article concludes:

In the end, both Prophetic ‘Days’ and ‘Hours’ are essentially divine time durations, evaluated and deciphered upon context. As students of the Word of God, and with rightly dividing and cutting straight the Word of Truth, we should be able to contextually ascertain how to apply these time signatures in our own studies.

 

[Spartan Sprinter]

This study survey attempts to be as thorough as possible when considering the prophetic words for “days” and “hours,” especially within the Brit Chadashah (New Testament), and how they are utilized in Bible eschatology.

Our prayer is that this article helps to pave the way for the Bible student to better understand and appreciate how these words should be understood and applied to the texts when studying Bible prophecy.

Underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.

‘The Day of the Lord’ in the Tanakh

The phrase “the day of the LORD” is frequently mentioned throughout the Tanakh (Old Testament) and generally depicts the wrath of God being poured out on the world in judgment, man’s ultimate rebellion against the Creator, and Satanic/demonic supernatural events – all of which will embody the horrific seven-year (2,520-day) Tribulation.

Examples of these include Zephaniah 1:14-18, Isaiah 13:9-11, Joel 3:11-16, Amos 5:18-20, etc.

‘That Day’ in the Tanakh

The phrase “that day” or “in that day” is another prophetic term that is often used in the Tanakh.

Though this phrase can be used interchangeably with “the day of the Lord” for the pouring out of God’s wrath (Isaiah 24:21-23, Jeremiah 25:33, Zephaniah 3:8, et al.), other times this same phrase can be speaking exclusively of a prophecy that is close to the prophet’s day.

For our study, however, it is very noteworthy that this phrase is also used quite often in connection with Messiah’s First Advent as well as the Messianic Millennial Kingdom, as noted in the examples below.

“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.” – Isaiah 11:10

“In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; And I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever.” – Micah 4:6-7

“Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout, O Israel; be glad and rejoice with all the heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. The Lord hath taken away thy judgments, he hath cast out thine enemy: the king of Israel, even the Lord, is in the midst of thee: thou shalt not see evil any more. In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack.” – Zephaniah 3:14-16

https://www.raptureready.com/2024/06/26/prophetic-days-and-hours-by-mark-a-becker/

I've read some of his stuff, the only thing i don't agree with is how he uses Matthew 24 as rapture support passages

 

[Spartan Sprinter]

Hmm here's another thing that makes me feel a bit hmmm about his writings, he seems to be advocating that the 144000 witnesses will have a seperate rapture for themselves ?

Revelation 14:1-5

“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads.” – Revelation 14:1

I fully expect this to be a supernatural event. Similar to Philip’s translation in Acts 8:39-40, the 144,000 Israeli Witnesses will be translated to Mount Zion to meet Messiah so that He can escort them back to heaven in what can only be described as a supernatural rapture-type event.

The next thing we read is that the 144,000 Israeli Witnesses are in heaven singing a new song before the throne of God, the four beasts, and the elders:

https://www.raptureready.com/2024/07/10/the-144000-israeli-witnesses-by-mark-a-becker/

What do you guys think about this ?

 

[mattfivefour]

This article is amusing in that he says he will never engage in conjecture, but he will engage in suppositions! Nevertheless, there is a lot of good in this article. And, yes, it is possible (though not necessary) to conclude that the 144,000 are indeed raptured as a group. After all there is more than one rapture in the Bible, starting with Enoch. I wouldn't build doctrine on Mark Becker's "suppositions", but his writing is interesting and thought-provoking.

 

[Spartan Sprinter]

This article is amusing in that he says he will never engage in conjecture but he will engage in suppositions! Nevertheless, there is a lot of good in this article. And, yes, it is possible (though not necessary) to conclude that the 144,000 are indeed raptured as a group. After all there is more than one rapture in the Bible, starting with Enoch. I wouldn't build doctrine on Mark Becker's "suppositions", but his writing is interesting and thought-provoking.

He did have some other good bits in there i must admit, it's just that my awkward alarm went off when he got to the part about what appeared to be that he was of the opinion that the 144K witnesses would be raptured seperately after their ministry had been completed