There are two stories of Christmas. We usually blend them into one chronological account, but they are very distinct. One appears in the Gospel of Matthew, 1:18-25, 2:1-23, and the other in Luke 2: 6-20.

Matthew tells the story from Joseph’s point of view. The angel appears to him, telling him not to fear to take Mary as his wife, even though she is expecting a Child. He names the child. The wise men appear, and then Joseph is warned to flee to Egypt, and told to return when Herod died.

Luke is Mary’s story - in fact, she alone could have recounted these things to Luke. The story of Zacharias and Elisabeth; Mary’s visit to Elisabeth; the birth of John; the angel appearing to Mary, the birth of Jesus, and the tale of the shepherds all speak of Mary’s part in this event.

There are remarkably consistent differences in the accounts. In the Matthew story the angel always appears in a dream, and he gives commands. “Do not be afraid to take to yourself Mary your wife.” “Call His name Jesus.” “Do not return to Herod” was the command to the wise men. “Arise, take the young child and Mary his mother, and flee into Egypt.” “Return, for they are dead who sought the young Child’s life.” Specific commands, which Joseph and the wise men obeyed.

In the Luke story the angel is actually seen, and carries on conversations with both Zacharias and Mary. An angel choir appears to the shepherds. What is surprising is that no actual commands are given. Zacharias is told that his prayer will be answered, and he will have a son. Mary is told she will be with child of the Holy Spirit, and she willingly accepts it. The shepherds are told the tidings of great joy, but it is they who say, one to another, “Let us now go, even to Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.”

Another amazing difference is the presence of Herod and his people in Matthew. He is shown in his wickedness and deceit, pretending to wish to worship Jesus while plotting to kill Him. He uses his counselors, none of whom are interested in the actual birth of the Christ, though they now know that a star has heralded His birth. Then there is the terrible story of Herod’s murder of the little ones around Bethlehem.

None of this appears in Luke. There is just a glancing reference: “There was in the days of Herod the king of Judea......” What a different tone, therefore, appears in Luke. It is one of peace and rejoicing, of wonder and gratitude, spoken from the heart by Zacharias, by Mary, and by Simeon. By contrast, Matthew tells of Joseph’s sadness and thought of putting Mary away privately, of Herod’s treachery and the sin of infanticide. And Matthew tells also how futile were Herod’s efforts, for the angel of the Lord provided that Joseph brought the infant Lord safely out of his reach.

So what are these two stories telling us about our lives, here, today? They speak of how the Lord is born in our minds and hearts. Let us leave Zacharias and Elisabeth and John out of this sermon. John represents repentance, and his birth precedes the birth of Jesus. But after we have repented of our sins, then the Lord Himself comes to be born in us. That birth is the implanting within us of charity - the ability to love others unselfishly. It is this birth which makes us into angels, which puts the stamp of eternal love in our hearts, which causes us to be “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

When charity begins to become felt in us we respond in two distinct ways. Matthew tells how our understanding reacts to His coming. Luke speaks of how His birth receives a response in the new will which the Lord is creating in us.

Joseph seems to represent the good of truth. He was a carpenter, working with tools of iron on wood to shape it, and his very act pictures the efforts of the human understanding, taking the truths of revelation and working to apply them to a life of goodness.

Joseph at first feared that Mary had been unfaithful to him, and that the child was conceived of a man. When we have done the deeds of repentance, and the Lord begins to create this wonderful, heavenly love inside of us, we too will doubt. How can I, a person who has been selfish up to date, how can I feel these tender, loving thoughts towards others? How can I be moved to do kind deeds with no thought of reward? I must be deceiving myself. This is just human-born selfishness under another guise.

But an angel of the Lord told Joseph that this birth was unique in all of history. The angel represents an insight from within, the presence of the Lord within the truths that we have learned, which gives us assurance that indeed unselfish love can be ours. The Word has promised that it will be so. Don’t doubt it. You can be a truly loving, unselfish, caring person. And when you feel this love inside of you, call it by its proper name. Call it “Jesus,” which means, “Jehovah is the Savior.” Realize that this is salvation come into your heart.

Joseph obeyed the angel. We need to believe that charity can be ours, and unite ourselves to the innocent love for the truth (which is what Mary represents).

Then, when this beautiful charity blossoms in our hearts, new truths come to herald that birth. The wise men had studied the Word, knew that a star would appear when the Christ was born, and took a long journey to find Him. The truths they represent, learned because we are moved to study and reflect on His Word, are the ones that tell us how to live the life of love. They are conscious truths, and they spur us to action.

The wise men gave three gifts to Jesus, and for two thousand years they were the last people on earth to know why these gifts, and no others, were suitable. For there are only three things we can give to the Lord, only three things we can withhold. Myrrh represents obedience; frankincense, love to others; and gold, love to the Lord Himself. We can withhold these from the Lord and He cannot make us give them to Him. When moved by charity, we plan to offer Him the only gifts which we can possibly give - the offerings of a grateful heart to obey, to love His children, and to love Him.

But the Matthew story contains Herod also. Within each of us there is a powerful love of self, and all sorts of false and horrible thoughts are tied to it. Through this love the hells seek to kill our unselfish instincts. They use deceit, they even use the truths of the Word (as Herod did when seeking to know where Christ should be born). For much of our lives we have given a fairly free rein to our selfish impulses. They don’t relinquish their kingship over us without a struggle. The story of Herod speaks of the plots of the hells to destroy our love for others, and of how the Lord protects us. When we obey the commands of His Word our love grows, quietly and secretly, in a safe place where Herod cannot find it.

So we come to the gospel of Luke. Why is Herod not mentioned there? It is in the Lord’s amazing mercy that there are times when selfishness seems to be a distant memory. We know it’s there - “In the days of Herod the King,” Luke says. We know that battles lie ahead, but there are moments when we see the joy of life, and these feelings give us an inner reason to fight for heaven. When you first fall in love, you feel only unselfish love for that person. At times you read the Word, and feel in its pages the certainty of the Lord’s love, and its promise of a heaven, a life of charity, just for you!

Selfishness seems far off. You know it will come back, but right now you know that there is a life beyond selfishness. There truly is a greater love that leaves self behind, and at times, at oh-so-precious times, you are allowed to feel it. The Lord touches our hearts, and the best image of that is Christmas night in the stable in Bethlehem.

In our peaceful states there is Mary, the innocent affection for truth. We often call it idealism. It is a deep-seated conviction about the highest ideals in life. We see deeply into the Word, see the values it teaches, we want a value system that will last for all time. We want the Lord to be our God, the God of our hearts and minds. In our innocent times we just don’t question these things, we long for them. Mary, betrothed, and longing for marriage, represents this innocent love, longing to experience the full heavenly marriage of good and truth, to make ideals work.

Mary went to Bethlehem, for that little town represents new truth, the truth of the internal sense of the Word. To go from Galilee to Bethlehem is to go upward, into the deeper regions of our minds, and experience that love which is the birth of the Lord in us. It is to feel, in the living waters of the Word, that we do love others, and this love is “God with us.”

Yet the inn at Bethlehem had no room for the infant Jesus. Many spiritual truths in our minds have languished, and lost their meaning. Other needs have crowded them out, even falsified them. There are many places in our minds where we know the truth, but that knowledge is full of earthly concerns which take the joy, the wonder out of it.

In His mercy the Lord prepares other places in our minds. The spiritual manger stands for lower truths, simple ideals long held precious. For example, you have truths in your minds about how to care for infants and how to teach little children about the Word and how to care for the needs of the elderly or those who are hurting. You understand these truths. A manger, where horses feed, represents such an understanding.

And you have simple, innocent ideas in your minds also which are, as it were, wrapped around charity. These truths tell you that certain things hurt others, that certain things, said with gentleness, touch their hearts. These truths tell you when to deal gently with others, and when to be firm but loving at the same time. They are simple ideas from the Word, first truths, which keep charity warm in your heart. “....and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger.”

How beautiful is the story of the shepherds. They too represent interior truths, long held, which through the night of our selfish lives have kept us turning towards good values. They kept watch over our spiritual flock, our valuable feelings, even though we have often been selfish and uncaring. These values are called forth, and respond with joy when love is born in our hearts.

The story of Luke is one of a free response to the Lord and His creation of heaven in our minds. It is full of joy. Zacharias prophesied, with a heart full of gratitude. Mary’s soul magnified the Lord and her spirit rejoiced in God her Savior. Simeon gave thanks because he had seen the Lord’s salvation, prepared for all people. The shepherds returned, praising God for all that they had seen.

When you feel heartfelt gratitude in your lives because of a special love the Lord has granted you, - why then, stop, stand still, lift up your heart and rejoice in that moment. And know this: that if you persist in following Him, that special love will become your heaven. It will be a love born of no human father. The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you, and that holy love growing in you is indeed born of God.

Two stories of Christmas. Both so beautiful. The Lord gave each to us that we may see with our understandings, and feel in our hearts the wonder of this holy birth. They are secret stories, scarce felt because of the noisy pressures of worldly life, but revealed in all their wonder for the New Church. The spiritual Joseph and wise men are conscious, understood truths which are obeyed, and bring deep joy to the human mind. The spiritual Mary and Bethlehem and the manger and the swaddling cloths and the shepherds represent affections for deep ideals, and for practical ideas. These find inner happiness and peace when He comes to us.

For the greatest event in human history was the birth on earth of God Himself. And the greatest event in anyone’s life is when there is born to you the love from God that will never die. This is truly the spirit of Christmas.

(References: Apocalypse Explained 706; Matthew 2)

4. To confirm the reality of this, in this first section I intend only to cite places in the Word where we find references to “that day, ” “in that day, ” or “at that time, ” where “day” and “time” mean the Lord’s advent.

In Isaiah:

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established on the top of the mountains.... ...Jehovah alone shall be exalted in that day.... ...the day of Jehovah of Hosts shall come upon everything proud and lofty.... In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver and...gold.... (Isaiah 2:2, 11-12, 20)

In that day the Lord (Jehovih) will take away the finery.... (Isaiah 3:18)

In that day the offshoot of Jehovah shall be beautiful and glorious.... (Isaiah 4:2)

It will roar against him in that day..., and he will look down upon the land, which, behold, is darkness, distress; and the light will be darkened among the ruins. (Isaiah 5:30)

It shall come to pass in that day that Jehovah will whistle for the fly that is in the farthest part of the rivers of Egypt.... In that day the Lord will shave...in the crossings of the river.... ...in that day he shall vivify.... In that day every place...will become a thicket of briers and thorns. (Isaiah 7:18, 20-21, 23)

What will you do in the day of visitation..., which is coming? ...in that day...Israel...will rely on Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. (Isaiah 10:3, 20)

It shall come to pass in that day that the root of Jesse, which shall stand as a banner to the people..., shall the Gentiles seek..., and His resting place shall be glorious. (Especially) in that day shall the Lord...seek back the remnant of His people.... (Isaiah 11:10-11)

You will say in that day, “I will confess You, Jehovah....” You will say in that day, “Confess Jehovah, call upon His name.” (Isaiah 12:1, 4)

...the day of Jehovah is at hand! It will come as destruction from Shaddai. Behold, the day of Jehovah is coming, cruel, and one of indignation and wrath and anger.... “...I will shake heaven, and the earth will move out of her place..., ” in the day of the anger of His wrath.... His time is near, and is coming, and (the) days will not be prolonged. (Isaiah 13:6, 9, 13, 22)

It shall come to pass in that day that the glory of Jacob will wane.... In that day a man will look to his Maker, and his eyes...to the Holy One of Israel. In that day his cities of refuge will be as the forsaken places of the forest.... (Isaiah 17:4, 7, 9)

The inhabitant of (the) island will say in that day, “(Behold,) our expectation!” (Isaiah 20:6)

In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt speaking the language of Canaan.... In that day there will be an altar to Jehovah in the midst...of Egypt.... In that day there will be a road from Egypt to Assyria, and...Israel will be...in the midst of the land.... (Isaiah 19:18-19, 23-24)

...a day of tumult and of a treading down and perplexity as regards the Lord Jehovih Of Hosts.... (Isaiah 22:5)

...in that day Jehovah will pass judgment on...the host of the exalted, and on...the kings of the earth.... After many days they will be visited. Then the moon will blush and the sun be ashamed. (Isaiah 24:21-23)

(Jehovah) will say in that day: “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him to liberate us....” (Isaiah 25:9)

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city....” (Isaiah 26:1)

In that day Jehovah will visit with His sword.... In that day reply to her, “A vineyard of pure wine!” ...It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord will thresh from the stream of the river to the river of Egypt; and you will be gathered one by one, you children of Israel. It shall come to pass also in that day that the great trumpet will be blown; and those perishing in the land of Assyria will come, and the outcasts from the land of Egypt, and they shall bow to Jehovah in the holy mount at Jerusalem. (Isaiah 27:1-2, 12-13)

In that day Jehovah of Hosts will become a crown of adornment and a miter.... (Isaiah 28:5)

Then the deaf in that day shall hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see...out of darkness. (Isaiah 29:18)

There will be...streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. And the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun..., in the day that Jehovah binds up the bruise of His people.... (Isaiah 30:25-26)

...in that day every man shall throw away his idols of silver and...gold.... (Isaiah 31:7)

...the day of Jehovah’s vengeance, the year of His retributions.... (Isaiah 34:8)

These two things shall come to you...in one day: The loss of children and widowhood. (Isaiah 47:9)

...My people shall know My name, (and) in that day that I am He who speaks: “Behold, it is I.” (Isaiah 52:6)

...Jehovah has anointed Me..., to proclaim the agreeable year of Jehovah, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn.... (Isaiah 61:1-2)

...the day of vengeance is in My heart, and the year of My redeemed has come. (Isaiah 63:4)

[2] In Jeremiah:

...in those days...they will say no more, “The ark of the covenant of Jehovah.” ...At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah.... In those days the house of Judah shall go to the house of Israel.... (Jeremiah 3:16-18)

...in that day...the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder. (Jeremiah 4:9)

...behold, the days are coming...when...the land shall turn into a wasteland. (Jeremiah 7:32, 34)

...they shall fall among those who fall in the day of their visitation.... (Jeremiah 8:12)

Behold, the days are coming...that I will visit everyone circumcised among the uncircumcised.... (Jeremiah 9:25)

In the time of their visitation they shall perish. (Jeremiah 10:15)

...there shall be no remnant for them, I will bring evil on (them) in the year of their visitation. (Jeremiah 11:23)

...behold, the days are coming...when it shall no more be said.... (Jeremiah 16:14)

I will look upon the back of their neck and not their faces in the day of their destruction. (Jeremiah 18:17)

...behold, the days are coming...when...I will turn this city into a wasteland.... (Jeremiah 19:6, 8)

Behold, the days are coming...when I will raise to David a righteous offshoot, (who) shall reign as king.... In (those) days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell secure.... Therefore, behold, the days are coming...when they shall no longer say.... ...I will bring evil on them in the year of their visitation.... At the end of days you will understand intelligence. (Jeremiah 23:5-7, 12, 20)

For behold, the days are coming...when I will turn again... Alas! For great is this day, and none is like it.... It shall come to pass in that day...that I will break (the) yoke...and burst (the) bonds. (Jeremiah 30:3, 7-8)

...there shall be a day when the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, “Arise, let us go up to Zion, to Jehovah our God.” ...Behold, the days are coming...when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast.... Behold, the days are coming...when I will make a new covenant.... Behold, the days are coming...when the city shall be rebuilt for Jehovah.... (Jeremiah 31:6, 27, 31, 38)

Behold, the days are coming...when I will establish the good word.... In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a righteous offshoot.... In those days Judah will be saved.... (Jeremiah 33:14-16)

...I will bring...words against this city for evil...in that day.... But I will rescue you in that day.... (Jeremiah 39:16-17)

That day is to Jehovah of Hosts a day of revenge, vengeance He will take on His enemies.... ...the day of...destruction is coming upon them, the time of their visitation. (Jeremiah 46:10, 21)

Because of the day coming to lay waste.... (Jeremiah 47:4)

...upon it I will bring the year of...visitation.... Yet I will bring back (its) captives...at the end of days.... (Jeremiah 48:44, 47)

I will bring destruction...upon (them) at the time of their visitation.... ...her young men shall fall in (the) streets, and all the men of war shall be cut off in that day.... ...at the end of days I will bring back (their) captives.... (Jeremiah 49:8, 26, 39)

In those days and at that time...the children of Israel and the children of Judah shall come together...and seek Jehovah their God.... In those days and at that time...the iniquity of Israel shall be sought, but there shall be none.... Woe to them! For their day has come, the time of their visitation.... For your day has come, the time of your visitation. (Jeremiah 50:4, 20, 27, 31)

Such vanity, a work of errors; in the time of their visitation they shall perish. (Jeremiah 51:18)

[3] In Ezekiel:

An end has come, the end has come; the morning has come upon you.... The time has come, a day of tumult is near.... Behold, the day! Behold, it has come! The morning has gone out; the rod has blossomed, violence has sprouted.... The day draws near, the time has come...on its whole multitude.... Their silver and gold will not rescue them in the day of the wrath of Jehovah.... (Ezekiel 7:6-7, 10, 12, 19)

(They said of the prophet,) “The vision that he sees will come to pass many days from now; he prophesies for times far off.” (Ezekiel 12:27)

(They will not) stand in battle on the day (of the wrath) of Jehovah. (Ezekiel 13:5)

You, pierced through, impious, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, at the time of the final iniquity.... (Ezekiel 21:25, 29)

The city sheds blood in the midst of it, so that its time is coming.... You have caused (the) days to draw near, so that you are coming to your years. (Ezekiel 22:3-4)

...will it not be in the day when I take from them their strength...? On that day one who has been rescued will come to you for the instruction of the ears. On that day your mouth will be opened with him who has been rescued.... (Ezekiel 24:25-27)

In that day I will cause the horn of the house of Israel to grow.... (Ezekiel 29:21)

Wail, alas the day! For...the day (of Jehovah) is near, the day of Jehovah is near. It will be a day of clouds, the time of the gentiles.... On that day messengers shall go forth from Me.... (Ezekiel 30:2-3, 9)

In the day that you go down into hell.... (Ezekiel 31:15)

I Myself will seek My flock...on the day that he is among the flock, and...I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered, on a cloudy and dark day. (Ezekiel 34:11-12)

On the day that I cleanse you of all your iniquities.... (Ezekiel 36:33)

...prophesy and say..., “On that day when My people Israel rest securely, will you not know it? ...in the latter days I will bring you into My land.... In that day, in the day that Gog comes upon the land.... In My zeal, in the fire of My indignation..., if there is not in that day a great earthquake upon the land of Israel. (Ezekiel 38:14, 16, 18-19)

Behold, it is coming..., this day of which I have spoken.... It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place (in the land) of Israel...that the house of Israel may know that I am Jehovah their God from that day and from then on. (Ezekiel 39:8, 11, 22)

[4] In Daniel:

...God in heaven...has revealed secrets..., what will be in the latter days. (Daniel 2:28)

...the time came for the saints to establish the kingdom. (Daniel 7:22)

“Attend..., because the vision is for the time of the end....” He said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen at the end of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be....” “The vision of the evening and morning...is true; ...you must hide away the vision, because it is for many days....” (Daniel 8:17, 19, 26)

I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people at the end of days, because the vision is for days.... (Daniel 10:14)

...the intelligent shall be tested, to purge them and cleanse them..., until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time. (Daniel 11:35)

At that time Michael shall rise up, the great prince who stands up for the children of your people; and there shall be a time of distress, such as has not been since there was a nation.... Yet at this time your people shall be rescued, everyone who is found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1)

You, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end.... But from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination laying waste occurs, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.... you will arise into your inheritance at the end of the days. (Daniel 12:4, 9, 11, 13)

[5] In Hosea:

...I will bring an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. ...in that day I will break the bow of Israel.... ...great will be the day of Jezreel! (Hosea 1:4-5, 11)

...in that day...you will call Me “My Husband”.... In that day I will make a covenant for them.... ...in that day I will listen.... (Hosea 2:16, 18, 21)

...the children of Israel shall return and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king...at the end of days. (Hosea 3:5)

...behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back.... (Joel 3:1)

Come, and let us return to Jehovah.... After two days He will revive us, and on the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight. (Hosea 6:1-2)

The days of visitation have come; the days of retribution have come. (Hosea 9:7)

[6] In Joel:

Alas the day! For the day of Jehovah is at hand; and it shall come as destruction from Shaddai. (Joel 1:15)

...the day of Jehovah is coming...it is at hand, a day of gloom and darkness, a day of clouds and haziness.... ...the day of Jehovah is great and very terrible; and who can endure it? (Joel 2:1-2, 11)

...on the menservants and on the maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.... The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and terrible day of Jehovah. (Joel 2:29, 31)

...in those days and at that time...I will gather all nations.... ...the day of Jehovah is near.... It will come to pass in that day that the mountains shall drip new wine.... (Joel 3:1-2, 14, 18)

[7] In Obadiah:

...in that day...I will destroy the wise men from Edom.... Do not rejoice over (them) in the day of their destruction..., in the day of their distress.... For the day of Jehovah is near upon all the nations.... (Obadiah 1:8, 12-15)

[8] In Amos:

The stout of heart...shall flee naked in that day.... (Amos 2:16)

In the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel upon him.... (Amos 3:14)

Woe to you who desire the day of Jehovah! What is the day of Jehovah to you? It will be one of darkness and not light.... Is not the day of Jehovah one of darkness and not light? Very dark, and having no brightness in it? (Amos 5:18, 20)

The songs of the temple shall wail in that day.... ...in that day...I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in daylight.... In that day the fair virgins and youths shall faint from thirst. (Amos 8:3, 9, 13)

On that day I will set up the collapsed tabernacle of David.... Behold, the days are coming...when...the mountains shall drip sweet wine.... (Amos 9:11, 13)

[9] In Micah:

In that day one shall...lament..., “We are utterly devastated!” (Micah 2:4)

...at the end of days the mountain of Jehovah’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains.... In that day...I will assemble the lame.... (Micah 4:1, 6)

...in that day...I will cut off your horses...and...your chariots. (Micah 5:10)

The day of your watchmen, your visitation has come.... The day has come to build your walls.... This day shall come even to you.... (Micah 7:4, 11-12)

[10] In Habakkuk:

...the vision is yet for an appointed time, and it will speak at the end.... If it tarries, wait for it, because it will surely come, and will not delay. (Habakkuk 2:3)

O Jehovah..., do Your work in the midst of the years! In the midst of the years make it known.... God will come.... (Habakkuk 3:2-3)

[11] In Zephaniah:

...the day of Jehovah is at hand.... In the day of Jehovah’s sacrifice I will visit judgment upon the princes and the king’s children.... I will visit judgment also upon everyone who leaps over the threshold, in that day.... There shall be on that day...the sound of a cry.... ...at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps.... The great day of Jehovah is near.... This day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and oppression, a day of devastation and desolation, a day of gloom and darkness, a day of clouds and fog, a day of the trumpet and its sounding.... ...in the day of Jehovah’s wrath...the whole land shall be devoured..., and He will make a speedy end of all the inhabitants of the land. (Zephaniah 1:7-10, 12, 14-16, 18)

...when the day of Jehovah’s anger has not yet come upon you! ...Perhaps you will be hidden in the day of Jehovah’s anger. (Zephaniah 2:2-3)

...wait for Me...until the day of My rising up for plunder, for My judgment.... In that day you shall not be shamed of any of your deeds.... In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Do not fear....” ...at that time I will destroy your oppressors.... At that time I will bring you back..., at (that) time I will gather you; for I will make you renowned and praised.... (Zephaniah 3:8, 11, 16, 19-20)

[12] In Zechariah:

I will remove the iniquity of (the) land in one day. In that day...everyone will call to his companion, under his vine and under his fig tree. (Zechariah 3:9-10)

(Then) many nations shall cleave to Jehovah in that day.... (Zechariah 2:11)

In those days ten men...shall take hold of the sleeve of a Jewish man.... (Zechariah 8:23)

Jehovah their God will save them in that day, as the flock of His people. (Zechariah 9:16)

(My covenant) was broken on that day. (Zechariah 11:11)

...in that day that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all peoples.... In that day...I will strike every horse with stupor.... In that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a fiery furnace in the woodpile.... In that day Jehovah will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem.... ...in that day I will seek to destroy all the nations.... In that day a lamentation shall grow in Jerusalem.... (Zechariah 12:3-4, 6, 8-9, 11)

In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem.... It shall be in that day...that I will cut off the names of the idols in the land.... ...in that day the prophets will be ashamed.... (Zechariah 13:1-2, 4)

Behold, the day of Jehovah is coming.... In that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives.... ...in that day there will be no light or illumination. It shall be one day which will be known to Jehovah — neither day nor night — about evening time...it will be light. ...in that day...living waters shall flow from Jerusalem.... In that day Jehovah shall be one and His name one. ...in that day there will be a great disturbance from Jehovah.... In that day HOLINESS TO JEHOVAH shall be...on the bells of the horses.... In that day there shall no longer be a Canaanite in the house of Jehovah.... (Zechariah 14:1, 4, 6-9, 13, 20-21)

[13] In Malachi:

Who may endure the day of His coming? And who will stand when He has appeared? ...So that they are Mine...on the day that I make them a special possession.... ...behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven.... Behold, I am sending you Elijah the prophet, before the great and dreadful day of Jehovah comes. (Malachi 3:2, 17, 4:1, 5)

[14] In Psalms:

In His days the righteous shall flourish, and abundant peace.... And He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth. (Psalms 72:7-8)

And so on elsewhere.