• Job 3:5 Let gloom and deep darkness claim it. Let clouds dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
• Isaiah 29:18 In that day the deaf shall hear the words of a book, and out of their gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind shall see.
• Joel 2:2 a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations.
• Amos 5:20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?
• Zephaniah 1:15 A day of wrath is that day, a day of distress and anguish, a day of ruin and devastation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
• Jude 1:6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—

We tend to stay clear of the message of doom and gloom in favor of mercy, forgiveness and hope. Those who already feel the doom and gloom in their life seek an escape. That is what the good news is all about, we do not have to suffer those prophecies spoken of in so many places in scriptures. Joel 2 is unique in the amount of detail of the events of a particular day.

Isaiah 29:18 is surrounded by Isaiah 29:17“Is it not yet a very little while until Lebanon shall be   into a fruitful field, and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?” and Isaiah 29:19 “The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the Lord, and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.” The subject of Isaiah 29 is the Siege of Jerusalem. It hints at the location but not the time. It also indicates that some shall not suffer, which is not indicated in Joel 2.

There is continuity of scripture given the words of Amos 5 before and after the words of doom and gloom. Amos 5:18 “Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord! Why would you have the day of the Lord? It is darkness, and not light,” and  Amos 5:21 “I hate, I despise your feasts, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.” The whole of Amos 5 is about seeking the Lord in order to live and being warned about the manner of our worship.

I find myself in the arena of Amos 5:18 in that I desire to see God’s justice and worse than that I can see myself as a member of the Army of the Lord that dispenses that justice. In this I must repent to keep focused on the here and now as we can see that doom and gloom is not a single event but rather a construct of the human condition as mankind inflicts great horrors upon one another.

If we have empathy for the victims, show them the exit and the One who is knocking at the door.

Joel 2:12-14 English Standard Version

Return to the Lord

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13  and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster.
14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the Lord your God?

Three key words are very important here and they are “return to me”. This is a clear warning to those who were with God and fell away chasing after other gods. Over and over again throughout all of Israel’s history they strayed, repented and returned to God. This warning is meant for everyone who worships the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, especially Christians.

2 Thessalonians 2 (in part)

The Man of Lawlessness

“Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.”

The opportunity for repentance and forgiveness is abundant up until the time that the Son of Perdition (KJV term) is revealed and then it will be too late. 

Do not be deceived, do not fall away from the faith, since his influence has always been at work in the world but at some time, perhaps soon, it will be even more persuasive. 

Do not look to the signs of his appearance, look to our faith and make sure it does not falter. The falling away of our faith is our last warning.