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The Lord had tired of their waywardness and proclaimed the arrival of the end of His patience with them. Destruction, captivity and death were pronounced upon their nation and the people. Their possessions were to become a burden to them as nettles, stinging and useless. Their dwelling places as thorns sticking and piercing them. Items which have had any comfort and joy removed. Hos. 9:6 Today is no different than that day. The things for which we neglect the Lord, to seek after become nettles and thorns. They are grossly unprofitable and not necessary for a happy life. Mark 8:36.
The day of visitation has come. Hos. 9:7 A day which their unbelief convinced them, that it would not happen. The prophecies of the Word of the Lord will be consummated at the end of the age. It may seem that there is a delay but the Lord is always right on time. Jesus called the terrific events which will herald His second coming as the days of vengeance. Luke 21:22 It is a time when the most minute event found in the Word will be fulfilled, exactly as prophesied. Sign after sign, phenomenon after phenomenon, on earth and in the universe will take place, all as warnings of the impending day of visitation.
Jesus also termed the days yet to come, as the beginning of sorrows. Mt. 24:8 He likewise taught that at the close of the tribulation period He would darken the sun, and moon and that the stars would be shaken, in what can only be termed as a quaking of the universe, the whole of the heavens being shaken, as an introduction to His coming. Mt. 24:29 Then, at that time, and not until then, the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the heavens. The whole of mankind will see His return in the clouds. Mt. 24:30 For it is here that He comes as lightening, lighting up the whole of the sky with a blaze of light such as has never been seen. Mt. 24:27 At the time of this occurrence, the trumpet will sound and He will commission His angels to gather together His elect, living and resurrected Unto Himself. Mt. 24:31.
The day of the LORD, whether then, now or in the future, is a day of utter chaos. The LORD said concerning that day that He would not come their way again. As a nation, the ten tribes, were to come to an end of their existence. Amos 8:2 In the vocabulary of the LORD, destruction is complete and eternal. As individuals, the descendents of Israel may come to the Lord and find pardon, but as a nation the Lord will not deal with them again. A good description of the great day of the LORD may be found in the prophecy of Zephaniah. He reported the conditions which will prevail in that day in detail. Zeph. 1:14-18 There is a similarity between his words and that recorded in the New Testament pertaining to the day of the Lord or the second coming of Christ.