A contemporary of Jeremiah, the prophet, Zephaniah, broadened the concept of “the Day of the Lord.” It would be an awesome occasion symbolized by the word, “evrah” or “wrath.”

While the remnant of the Jewish people would survive, they were automatically recovenanted to the Divine laws of morality. The candles symbolize God's searching for the morally apathetic within the city of Jerusalem. He calls for the light to penetrate the darkness and the thick clouds. The Day of the Lord was to be heralded by a shofar of alarm and the outbreak of fire.

Consistent with his consummate loyalty to the Jewish people, Zephaniah preached a message of universality to all humanity. On that "Day of the Lord," "shall all the isles of the nations worship Him, everyone from his place."