Amos 5:20

20 At God's coming we face hard reality, not fantasy - a black cloud with no silver lining.

Amos 5:20 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 5:20

[Shall] not the day of the Lord [be] darkness, and not light?
&c.] The design of such a question is strongly to affirm, that, in this day of the Lord spoken of, there should be nothing but misery and distress, and no prosperity and happiness, at least to the wicked Israelites, or the unbelieving Jews: even very dark, and no brightness in it?
signifying that there should be no deliverance, nor the least glimmering view or hope of it; that the calamity should be so very great, and the destruction so entire, that there should be no mixture of mercy, nor the least appearance of relief.

Amos 5:20 In-Context

18 Woe to all of you who want God's Judgment Day! Why would you want to see God, want him to come? When God comes, it will be bad news before it's good news, the worst of times, not the best of times.
19 Here's what it's like: A man runs from a lion right into the jaws of a bear. A woman goes home after a hard day's work and is raped by a neighbor.
20 At God's coming we face hard reality, not fantasy - a black cloud with no silver lining.
21 "I can't stand your religious meetings. I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions.
22 I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.