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Day of the Lord, the coming day of the Lord is a time of
sovereign judgment followed by great blessing, to those that
believe. Judah stands condemned , but God will restore the
fortunes of the remnant. Zephaniah traced his heritage back
four generations to Hezekiah. If this is the godly King
Hezekiah; Zephaniah is the only minor prophet of royal
descent. He was probably an inhabitant of Judah's royal city
because of his use of the phrase "this place" in
Zephaniah 1:4. A factor in the reform that occurs during
Josiah's reign that produced an outward change but did not
fully remove the inward heart of corruption which
characterizes the nations was probably a result of Zephaniah's
forceful prophecy. The message of the day of the Lord,
"judgment day", is repeated over and over . God is
holy and must vindicate His righteousness by calling all the
nations of the world into account before Him. He will judge
not only His own people but also the whole world. No one
escapes from His authority and dominion. The day of the Lord
will have universal impact. To some degree that day has
already come for Judah and all the nations mentioned in
chapter 2:4-15, but there is also a future aspect, when all
the earth will be judged that hasn't come yet!
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