Amos’ prophecies concerning the fall of Israel and Judah came about just as described in his writings. It took several hundred years for these events to transpire, but Amos writes about them as if they’ve already happened. His detailed accuracy is astounding. One of the prophecies that Amos adds to his description concerning the day of God’s judgment on man’s sin is found in Amos 8:9. It says, “And on that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight.” The day referred to as “that day” is reminiscent of “The Day Of The Lord,” at which time God judges the sins of mankind.
The ultimate fulfillment of that prophecy occurred the day Jesus was hung on the cross about 500 years later. The New Testament writers tell us that the sun was blackened out, and there was darkness over the land at midday when Jesus died for the sins of the world. But this is only one of hundreds of Old Testament prophecies that give specifics about the day of Christ’s death for the sins of the world. Ryrie has pointed out that “by the law of chance, it would require two hundred billion earths, populated with four billion people each, to come up with one person who could achieve one hundred accurate prophecies without any errors in sequence. But the Bible records not one hundred but over three hundred prophecies fulfilled in Christ’s first coming.” Dr. George Sweeting once estimated that “more than a fourth of the Bible is predictive prophecy…Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1800 references appear in the O.T., and seventeen O.T. books give prominence to this theme. Of the 260 chapters in the N.T., there are more than 300 references to the Lord’s return—one out of every 30 verses. Twenty-three of the 27 N.T. books refer to this great event…For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are eight on Christ’s second coming.”
The book of Revelation, therefore the whole Bible, ends with the prayer, “Come, Lord Jesus.” We definitely want to see that day. It will be like the age of Aquarius, “Peace will guide the planets, and love will steer the stars.” All evil will be gone. When Jesus ascended into the clouds, His disciples wanted to know when they could expect that day. He told them not to worry about the timing. David Jeremiah has it right, “We simply can’t set a date for the return of the Lord. We don’t know it. The angels don’t know it. God the Father knows when it will occur, and all we can do is prepare ourselves for that day, for it is coming soon. If we could figure out the date of Jesus’ second coming, some people would live in sin right up to the appointed week, then clean up their lives and prepare for the return. Other people would stop everything they were doing and then wait for the return of the Lord. And if others knew when Christ was coming, they wouldn’t establish any future plans or long-term relationships at all. In His infinite wisdom, the Lord chose not to reveal to us the exact time of His return.”[1]
[1] Jeremiah, David. 2007. Until Christ Returns: Living Faithfully Today While We Wait for Our Glorious Tomorrow (Study Guide). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.