“Seek ye the LORD, all ye meek of the earth, which have wrought his judgment; seek righteousness, seek meekness: it may be ye shall be hid in the day of the LORD’s anger.” (Zephaniah 2:3)

The theme of the book of Zephaniah is one of fearsome judgment. The immediate fulfillment took place when Babylon captured Judah about 50 years after this prophecy, but Zephaniah also speaks of a future judgment upon the ungodly nations at the end of this age.

Some theologians take this “day of the Lord” to be the tribulation period after Christ has raptured His people, while others believe that it refers to the specific point Jesus returns with His redeemed people when “the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all” (Jude 1:14-15).

Either way, you can be sure that judgment is coming. Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.” And Isaiah 13:11 says, “And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.”

Zephaniah 2:3 is a sober warning to not only the Israelites at that time but to this present world. The apostle Paul said, “But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:4). The day of judgment is still coming. But those who have been saved through Jesus Christ don’t need to fear that day. Praise be to our redeeming God, who commands us “to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come” (1 Thessalonians 1:10). JPT

Days of Praise Podcast is a podcast based on the Institute for Creation Research quarterly print devotional, Days of Praise. Start your day with devotional readings written by Dr. Henry Morris, Dr. Henry Morris III, Dr. John Morris, and others to strengthen and encourage you in your Christian faith.