"The Day Of Evil"
"Be not a terror unto me: thou art my hope in the day of evil. Let them be confounded that persecute me, but let not me be confounded: let them be dismayed, but let not me be dismayed: bring upon them the day of evil, and destroy them with double destruction." (Jer. 17: 17-18)
When the four horsemen of the Apocalypse rush into this world "the day of the Lord" will have begun. This same day is otherwise described in the holy scriptures as "the day of judgment," "the day of wrath," "the day of tribulation," "the day of vengeance," "the day of his coming," and as in the above text, "the day of evil."
The first trouble or judgment that "comes" upon the world from Heaven's court is described under the rider on the red horse. After reaching a time of peace and prosperity such as the world has not known before (which is the case now in our day), there comes "sudden destruction" with the coming of the red horse rider. Wrote Paul:
"For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief." (I Thess. 5: 3-4)
"Sudden destruction - Destruction that was unforeseen ( αἰφνίδιος aiphnidios) or unexpected. The word here rendered “sudden,” occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, except in Luke 21:34, “Lest that day come upon you unawares.” The word rendered “destruction” - ὄλεθρος olethros- occurs in the New Testament only here and in 1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 Timothy 6:9, in all of which places it is correctly translated destruction." (Barnes)
Is the description of the calamities and slaughter under the red horse rider not a "destruction"? Is not "taking away the peace" a good definition of that destruction? And, how does God destroy wicked men under the red horse rider? He causes them to fight and to kill one another as we have already partially observed and will bring out more fully in upcoming postings. Peace and safety one moment and all gone the next moment! Totally unexpected by the masses, yet the saints of those days will not be taken by surprise.
The "sudden destruction" will be marked by multiple tribulations as a woman in travail has repeated pains. The rider on each horse may not only be comparable to individual arrows shot from the toxon of the white horse rider, as we have seen, but they also may each represent a separate "labor pain."
Likewise we may view each rider as a separate and distinct tribulation. This is what we see with the coming of the four horsemen, but not with them only, but also with each broken seal, each trumpet and vial; each judgment scene bringing on another instance of tribulation. Well did the prophet describe this time of tribulation in these words:
"Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?" (Amos 5: 18-20)
For some "the day of the Lord" will bring one trouble after another and we are given an example of such in the above words. A man faces a lion and is in danger. That is trouble number one. Next, after having survived the lion by fleeing, the one in danger is met by a bear! That is trouble number two. What else can go wrong? Well, the one fleeing for safety makes it into what is supposed to be the safety of the house and "Murphy's law," the man is bitten by a deadly viper in the house! Can it get any worse? Yes, it all goes dark!
Another prophecy concerning this "day of evil" is found in these words:
"For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the LORD of hosts. Therefore prophesy thou against them all these words, and say unto them, The LORD shall roar from on high, and utter his voice from his holy habitation; he shall mightily roar upon his habitation; he shall give a shout, as they that tread the grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth. A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth; for the LORD hath a controversy with the nations, he will plead with all flesh; he will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the LORD. Thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth. And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground." (Jer. 25: 29-33)
Clearly this prophecy receives fulfillment when the red horse rider appears! Notice that the evil is universal. Nothing of this magnitude since the flood in Genesis has happened. This has not yet been fulfilled. Its fulfillment awaits the coming of the red horse rider.
Concerning this "day of evil" king Solomon wrote:
"The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil." (Prov. 16: 4)
Wrote Dr. John Gil on these words:
"this is added to illustrate the general proposition in the preceding clause, and to obviate an objection, that might be taken from the destruction of the wicked, against all things being for the glory of God; for even the destruction of the wicked, which is under a divine appointment, is for his glory. It is not the sense of this text, nor of any other passage of Scripture, that God made man to damn him; nor is this to be inferred from the doctrine of predestination: God made man, neither to damn him, nor to save him, but for his own glory; and that is secured, whether in his salvation or damnation; nor did or does God make men wicked; he made man upright, and he has made himself wicked; and, being so, God may justly appoint him to damnation for his wickedness, in doing which he glorifies his justice. "The day of evil", or "evil day", is the day of wrath and ruin, unto which wicked men are reserved by the appointment of God, agreeably to the Targum, Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions. This is true of wicked angels, wicked men, and particularly of that wicked one, the man of sin and son of perdition, antichrist; the word here used is in the singular number."
The day of evil, being often another name for the day of the Lord, or the day of wrath and judgment, is not intended for any but for unbelieving and unrepentant sinners. These words of Solomon are similar to those of the Lord Jesus who spoke of "the everlasting fire" being "prepared for the devil and his angels." Just as the Lord "made" (planned or brought into being) "the day of evil" for the detriment of the lost and unbelieving world, so too has he "prepared" the torments of the Apocalypse and of Gehenna for both fallen angels and men.
Another prophet condemned the unbelieving sinners in his day, describing them in these words:
"Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near." (Amos 6: 3)
If we look at the time of one's death as an "evil day," then may we not ask - do sinners who reject God's call to faith and repentance not put off obeying that call, thinking that the day of death (evil) is yet far off in the future? Do they not think that they have all the time in the world? But, not only is it true in regard to the day of death but also in regard to the day of Christ's return and of his judgment of the world. They make light of it, scoff at it, call those who preach impending judgment as fanatics, quacks, Chicken Little types, and think that such fears of judgment are but unhealthy phobias. But, no matter, that great "day of evil" will surely come and it will "surprise the hypocrites" (Isa. 33: 14 & cited previously). They "put far off" the coming day of divine reckoning. Rather than deal with the thought of it, they put it out of their minds, and feel "safety and security" in their own comfortable homes.
In the prophecies and texts cited already we have focused on those texts where "the day of evil" clearly is a reference to the end time day of judgment, to the time of the judgments of the Apocalypse. But, the "day of evil" like "days of evil" may refer to what is commonly experienced by all human beings. For instance, old age is spoken of as a time of "evil days." "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not..." (Eccl. 12: 1) And the Lord Jesus Christ said: "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matt. 6: 34) Each day has its troubles, its trials and tribulations. Some days have far greater calamities than other days, as all know. Wrote Paul: "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." (Eph. 5: 16) "Days of evil" recalls the words to that famous song "Jesus Is Coming Soon":
Troublesome times are here, filling men's hearts with fear
Freedom we all hold dear now is at stake
Humbling your hearts to God saves from the chastening rod
Seek the way pilgrims trod, Christians awake
Troublesome or turbulent times come when the rider on the red horse takes peace from the earth. How can we prepare? Wrote Paul:
"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” (Eph. 6: 13)
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