Doctrine of Days

The word “day” is used in the Bible in three ways. The context of the Scripture always makes the meaning explicit.

A day shorter than twenty-four hours:
1. The “DAY OF SALVATION” describes that moment when an individual believes in the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 6:2).
2. The “day of Christ” refers to the Rapture of the Church which will be instantaneous, “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52; Phil. 1:10; 2:16).
3. The “day of wrath” occurs when the unbeliever is judged by Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment and is cast into the lake of fire (Rom. 2:5; Rev. 20:11–15).
4. The “day of redemption” refers to the believer’s ultimate sanctification or redemption of the body at resurrection, the Rapture of the Church (Rom. 8:23; Eph. 4:30).
A day longer than twenty-four hours:
1. The “day of the LORD” can have one of two meanings, depending on the context:
  1. The combined period including the Tribulation, Second Advent, and Millennium, approximately 1,007 years
  2. Any one segment of the Tribulation, Second Advent, or Millennium (Isa. 13:6; Joel 1:15; 2:1; Zech. 14:1; 1 Thess. 5:2; 2 Pet. 3:10)
2. The “day of God” refers to eternity (2 Pet. 3:12).
A twenty-four-hour day (a solar day):
1. The six days of the earth’s restoration which were literal twenty-four-hour days (Gen. 1:3–31)
2. The Sabbath, a special day of rest and worship in the Dispensation of Israel (Ex. 20:10)
3. “The Lord’s day,” Sunday in the Dispensation of the Church (Rev. 1:10)
4. Living one day at a time in the Christian way of life (Rom. 14:5–6)
5. The “all the day” concept of learning Bible doctrine daily (Ps. 119:97)

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