A Study in the Book of Joel
(April 2020)
(November 2023)
D.P. Weary
Many scholars date the book of Joel to 835 B.C.
This makes Joel a prophet, who ministered before the fall of the northern
kingdom of Israel (721 B.C.) or the southern kingdom of Judah (586 B.C.).
(Guzik) Joel’s prophecies predate those
of the prophet Daniel by over 200 years.
"The
name Joel means 'Jehovah is God' and therefore constitutes a short confession
of faith, somewhat like the primary New Testament confession, 'Jesus is
Lord.'" (Boice)
Joel’s Prophecy of the Day of the Lord
Chapter 1
[Joe 1:1 NASB] The
word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:
[Joe 1:2 NASB]
Hear this, O elders, And listen, all inhabitants of the land. Has anything like
this happened in your days Or in your fathers' days?
First,
we note that the prophecy about to be told has not yet occurred. Not in the
days of the people Joel was speaking to, or in the past, (in your fathers’
days). This is a prophecy about some future events.
[Joe 1:3 NASB]
Tell your sons about it, And let your sons tell their sons, And their sons the
next generation.
This
prophecy was something to be taught to and for future generations.
[Joe 1:4 NASB]
What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; And what the
swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten; And what the creeping
locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.
The
visual picture painted here is a complete devastation likened to that when
swarms of locus cover a land devouring everything in their path. In Middle
Eastern cultures, using pictures and stories is the way they teach and
communicate. Jesus often taught in parables.
[Joe 1:5 NASB]
Awake, drunkards, and weep; And wail, all you wine drinkers, On account of the
sweet wine That is cut off from your mouth.
It
is inferred here that the people of Israel were asleep like drunkards. Living
in deception and oblivious to their pitiful condition, they would one day wake
up to discover that their wanton ways of living are suddenly cut off.
[Joe 1:6 NASB] For
a nation has invaded my land, Mighty and without number; Its teeth are the
teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness.
[Joe 1:7 NASB] It
has made my vine a waste And my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare
and cast them away; Their branches have become white.
Now
we are told what the “locus” represents. They are a mighty nation that will
invade their land (Israel). This invading nation will be likened to a fierce
lion seeking prey. This nation’s army will strip the vineyards of Israel bare.
There is a hint here about who
this “nation” is. We have encountered the image of a lion representing a nation
in the book of Daniel. That nation was Babylon. Today that could represent the
nations of the Middle East from Turkey to Iran and include parts of northern
Africa. This then hints about the Ezekiel 38 war of God and Magog and the final
10 coalition of nations of the Antichrist.
[Joe 1:8 NASB]
Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth For the bridegroom of her youth.
[Joe 1:9 NASB] The
grain offering and the drink offering are cut off From the house of the LORD.
The priests mourn, The ministers of the LORD.
[Joe 1:10 NASB]
The field is ruined, The land mourns; For the grain is ruined, The new wine
dries up, Fresh oil fails.
[Joe 1:11 NASB] Be
ashamed, O farmers, Wail, O vinedressers, For the wheat and the barley; Because
the harvest of the field is destroyed.
[Joe 1:12 NASB]
The vine dries up And the fig tree fails; The pomegranate, the palm also, and
the apple tree, All the trees of the field dry up. Indeed, rejoicing dries up
From the sons of men.
There
is utter despair in the land. The people mourn like at the death of a loved
one. There is nothing left for even the offering for the house of the Lord. The
fields and vineyards are completely destroyed. There is no rejoicing in the
land.
[Joe 1:13 NASB]
Gird yourselves with sackcloth And lament, O priests; Wail, O ministers of the
altar! Come, spend the night in sackcloth O ministers of my God, For the grain
offering and the drink offering Are withheld from the house of your God.
The
religious leaders are in despair. Darkness has fallen over the land and they
are unable to do anything about it.
There also might be a hint that
these events occur at a time when the sacrificial system of worship is forcibly
stopped. This would be at the midpoint of the 7 years of tribulation.
[Joe 1:14 NASB]
Consecrate a fast, Proclaim a solemn assembly; Gather the elders And all the
inhabitants of the land To the house of the LORD your God, And cry out to the
LORD.
So
the prophet advises these leaders of the land to gather the elders and all the
inhabitants of the land to cry out to the Lord in this hour of great darkness.
[Joe 1:15 NASB]
Alas for the day! For the
day of the LORD is near, And it will come as destruction from the
Almighty.
This
is the verse that defines just what this whole prophecy is all about. It is
about “the day of the Lord”.
Just
what is this “the day of the Lord”? Let’s see from scripture.
[Isa
13:6 NASB] Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction
from the Almighty.
[Isa
13:9 NASB] Behold, the day of the LORD is coming, Cruel, with fury and burning
anger, To make the land a desolation; And He will exterminate its sinners from
it.
[Eze
13:5 NASB] "You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the
wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the LORD.
[Eze
30:3 NASB] "For the day is near, Even the day of the LORD is near; It will
be a day of clouds, A time of doom for the nations.
[Joe
1:15 NASB] Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, And it will come
as destruction from the Almighty.
[Joe
2:1 NASB] Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let
all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For the day of the LORD is coming;
Surely it is near,
[Joe
2:11 NASB] The LORD utters His voice before His army; Surely His camp is very
great, For strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the LORD is indeed
great and very awesome, And who can endure it?
[Joe
3:14 NASB] Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the
LORD is near in the valley of decision.
[Amo
5:18 NASB] Alas, you who are longing for the day of the LORD, For what purpose
will the day of the LORD be to you? It will be darkness and not light;
[Amo
5:20 NASB] Will not the day of the LORD be darkness instead of light, Even
gloom with no brightness in it?
[Oba
1:15 NASB] "For the day of the LORD draws near on all the nations. As you
have done, it will be done to you. Your dealings will return on your own head.
[Zep
1:7 NASB] Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near, For
the LORD has prepared a sacrifice, He has consecrated His guests.
[Zep
1:14 NASB] Near is the great day of the LORD, Near and coming very quickly;
Listen, the day of the LORD! In it the warrior cries out bitterly.
[1Th 5:2 NASB] For you yourselves know full
well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
[2Th
2:2 NASB] that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed
either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that
the day of the Lord has come.
[2Pe
3:10 NASB] But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens
will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense
heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
The
Day of the Lord is the final and ultimate judgment of the unrepentant sinners
of earth. These are the days of God’s wrath. These are the days of judgment
just before the Lord returns to the earth to establish His Kingdom on earth as
King of kings and Lord of lords.
The
“Day of the Lord” are the days of God’s wrath.
[Zep
1:15 NASB] A day of wrath is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of
destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and gloom, A day of clouds and
thick darkness,
[Rom
2:5 NASB] But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are
storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the
righteous judgment of God,
[Rom
1:18 NASB] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
[Eph
5:6 NASB] Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things
the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
[Rev
6:12 NASB] I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great
earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole
moon became like blood;
[Rev
6:15 NASB] Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and
the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the
caves and among the rocks of the mountains;
[Rev
6:16 NASB] and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us
and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath
of the Lamb;
[Rev
6:17 NASB] for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to
stand?"
[Joe 1:16 NASB]
Has not food been cut off before our eyes, Gladness and joy from the house of
our God?
[Joe 1:17 NASB]
The seeds shrivel under their clods; The storehouses are desolate, The barns
are torn down, For the grain is dried up.
[Joe 1:18 NASB]
How the beasts groan! The herds of cattle wander aimlessly Because there is no
pasture for them; Even the flocks of sheep suffer.
[Joe 1:19 NASB] To
You, O LORD, I cry; For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness And
the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.
[Joe 1:20 NASB]
Even the beasts of the field pant for You; For the water brooks are dried up
And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Note
that all of this destruction has been caused by fire and lack of water. In the
last days fire and lack of, or polluted water are associated with war and
natural disasters (Rev 6 and 8).
These verses hint that it is a
time when there is a “house of the Lord”, the sacrificial system is in
practice, and the fields and trees are destroyed. “The Day of the Lord” is near
(the last days before the Lord Jesus returns to the Earth).
[Joe 1:15 NASB] Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, And it will come
as destruction from the Almighty.
These verses hint that these
events are the events of Ezekiel 38, the book of Daniel, and Rev 6 and 8 that occur
just before and during the first 3 ½ years of the 7 years of tribulation.
Sound an Alarm, Destruction is at Hand
Chapter 2
[Joe 2:1 NASB] 1 Blow a trumpet in Zion, And sound
an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, For
the day of the LORD is coming; Surely it is near,
In
chapter 2, the details of the prophecy begin to unfold with the blowing of a
shofar (a ram’s horn). It is to sound an alarm of an approaching attack and
war. Israel is about to be attacked. It is a day of trembling; a day of great
shaking, fear, and anxiety. The blast of the shofar is the announcement that
the day of the LORD is coming and is very near. From the book of Revelation, we
know that this day of the LORD begins in Revelation chapter 6 with the release
of the Antichrist and the subsequent wars at the breaking of the second seal of
the great scroll in heaven.
[Rev
6:1-4 NASB] 1 Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I
heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder,
"Come." 2 I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it
had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to
conquer. 3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature
saying, "Come." 4 And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who
sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay
one another; and a great sword was given to him.
[Joe 2:2 NASB] 2 A day of darkness
and gloom, A day of clouds and thick darkness. As the dawn is spread over the
mountains, [So] there is a great and mighty people; There has never been
[anything] like it, Nor will there be again after it To the years of many
generations.
To the people of
this “day of the LORD”, it will be a day of great darkness and gloom. This
darkness will be dread, despair, hopelessness, and great fear. The attack on
Israel will be by a great and mighty force, so great that it will seem like a
dark cloak covering the land. Again, this great darkness is associated with the
7 years of tribulation before the Lord returns.That there will never be
anything like it again for many generations could be interpreted as, not seen
again until after the 1000-year reign of Christ on the earth when Satan will
for the last time raise a rebellion against the Lord. (Rev 20:7-9).
[Joe 2:3-10 NASB] 3 A fire consumes before them And
behind them a flame burns. The land is like the garden of Eden before them But
a desolate wilderness behind them, And nothing at all escapes them. 4 Their
appearance is like the appearance of horses; And like war horses, so they run.
5 With a noise as of chariots They leap on the tops of the mountains, Like the
crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble, Like a mighty people
arranged for battle. 6 Before them the people are in anguish; All faces turn
pale. 7 They run like mighty men, They climb the wall like soldiers; And they
each march in line, Nor do they deviate from their paths. 8 They do not crowd
each other, They march everyone in his path; When they burst through the
defenses, They do not break ranks. 9 They rush on the city, They run on the
wall; They climb into the houses, They enter through the windows like a thief.
10 Before them the earth quakes, The heavens tremble, The sun and the moon grow
dark And the stars lose their brightness.
These verses
describe the attack. The land is attacked with fire (missiles and bombs) before
the troops arrive and there is great destruction by explosions and fire. The land attack sounds like armored vehicles
and tanks (chariots) rumbling across the mountains on the north of Israel
firing their weapons along the way. This would be consistent with the wars of
Rev 6 and the wars of Isaiah 17, Psa 83, and Jer 49.
However, these verses seem to describe a demonic
army consistent with the events of the second 3 ½ years of the 7 years of
tribulation and the 5th and 6th trumpet judgments (Rev
9).
[Joe 2:11 NASB] 11 The LORD utters His voice before
His army; Surely His camp is very great, For strong is he who carries out His
word. The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome, And who can endure it?
We
are reminded here that this “day of the Lord”, this attack on Israel and the
attacking army, are under the Lord’s control. It is His army. This day of the
Lord is a day of testing, purifying, and judgment (Matt 10:15, 12:36; Jn 16:8;
1 Pet 4:17; 2 Pet 2:9, 3:7; Jude 1:15; Rev 2:2, 3:10, 17:1, 18:10). For Israel,
this army is God’s tool of testing and judgment calling them to repent.
[Joe 2:12-17 NASB] 12 "Yet even now," declares the LORD,
"Return to Me with all your heart, And with fasting, weeping and mourning;
13 And rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the LORD your
God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in
lovingkindness And relenting of evil. 14 Who knows whether He will [not] turn
and relent And leave a blessing behind Him, [Even] a grain offering and a drink
offering For the LORD your God?
Even though this
specific attack is upon Israel, it is affecting the whole world. These attacks are
all a part of the final “day of the Lord”. It is a day of testing and judgment
upon the entire earth. While here in the book of Joel, the call to repent is
directed at Israel, these events are surely a call to the whole earth to repent
before the last of the wrath of God is poured out just before the Lord returns
as King of kings and Lord of lords (Rev 16).
[Rev 12:11 KJV] And
they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony;
and they loved not their lives unto the death.
This repentance is
a true turning away from sin and turning to God, not in ritual (rend your
garments), or halfheartedly, but with all your heart. This repentance is marked
by the action of fasting, and the emotion of weeping and mourning.
“We don't repent with the
idea "God is so mean that if I don't return to Him, He will squash
me." Instead, the idea is "God is so gracious and merciful, slow
to anger, and of great kindness that He will spare me from what I deserve
if turn back to Him." Ultimately, it is His goodness that leads us to
repentance (Romans
2:4).” (Guzik)
15 Blow a trumpet in Zion, Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn
assembly, 16 Gather the people, sanctify the congregation, Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants. Let the bridegroom come out of his
room And the bride out of her [bridal] chamber. 17 Let the priests, the LORD'S
ministers, Weep between the porch and the altar, And let them say, "Spare
Your people, O LORD, And do not make Your inheritance a reproach, A byword
among the nations. Why should they among the peoples say, 'Where is their
God?'"
It is the
“elders”, the leaders among God’s people that are to lead this movement of
repentance. It is these leaders who are to pray before God’s altar. The prayers
are to spare the people who deserve judgment, they are to plead for mercy, to
remind God that they belong to Him, and to remind God that their lack of
repentance brings reproach to His name. The
repentance of the leaders and God’s mercy to them, when they do repent, will
bring God glory among the nations.
[Joe 2:18-20 NASB] 18 Then the LORD will be
zealous for His land And will have pity on His people. 19 The LORD will answer
and say to His people, "Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and
oil, And you will be satisfied [in full] with them; And I will never again make
you a reproach among the nations. 20 "But I will remove the northern [ṣᵊp̄ônî] far from you, And I
will drive it into a parched and desolate land, And its vanguard into the
eastern sea, And its rear guard into the western sea. And its stench will arise
and its foul smell will come up, For it has done great things."
For those in Israel
who do repent, the Lord now promises deliverance and restoration. Note that God
promises to “never again make Israel a reproach among the nations”. This
sets the time at the Lord’s return and the beginning of His 1000-year reign on
the earth.
God
now turns His attention away from Israel and to this mighty army because of the
monstrous things it has done to Israel. God drives this “ṣᵊp̄ôni” (Greek) northerner, (invader from the north) both
back into the desert and its vanguard into the eastern sea. The vanguard is the foremost or leading position in an army or
fleet advancing into battle. The rearguard is driven into the western sea. In general,
the picture painted here is an army from the north of Israel attacking through
Lebanon and Syria through the mountains on the north of Israel. God drives this
army into a desert area like the desert areas of Syria with its leading
positions being driven into an eastern sea. This could be the Sea of Galilee.
The rear guard of the army seems to be driven into the Mediterranean Sea. This seems
to be the defeat of the armies that have gathered in Israel for the battles of
Armageddon just before the Lord returns.
[Joe 2:21-27 NASB] 21 Do not fear, O land, rejoice
and be glad, For the LORD has done great things. 22 Do not fear, beasts of the
field, For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green, For the tree has
borne its fruit, The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full. 23 So rejoice,
O sons of Zion, And be glad in the LORD your God; For He has given you the
early rain for [your] vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The
early and latter rain as before. 24 The threshing floors will be full of grain,
And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil. 25 "Then I will make
up to you for the years That the swarming locust has eaten, The creeping
locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent
among you. 26 "You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied And praise the
name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; Then My people
will never be put to shame. 27 "Thus you will know that I am in the midst
of Israel, And that I am the LORD your God, And there is no other; And My
people will never be put to shame.
After God defeats
the “great army” that has attacked Israel, God reminds Israel that in the end,
He will restore all that this great army has destroyed. The agricultural
blessings that God promises are related to His promise to pour out upon Israel
once again the Autumn rain (the former or early rain), and the latter rain
which falls in the spring. These early and latter rains are essential in Israel
to having good crops.
The early rain and
the latter rain are also pictures of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. The
early rain at the day of Pentecost after the Lord’s ascension, and a latter pouring
out of His Spirit upon Israel at His second coming (Zech 13:1).
The devastation of
war (His army) upon Israel is likened to the devastation of swarming, creeping,
stripping, and gnawing locust. The next promises are profound. God tells Israel
that they will never again be put to shame. At this time, Israel, and the
world, will know that the Lord is in the midst of Israel and that there is no
other God, except the LORD. This Yewyeh completes His covenant promises to
Israel.
"It will strike you at once that the
locusts did not eat the years: the locusts ate the fruits of the years' labor,
the harvests of the fields; so that the meaning of the restoration of the years
must be the restoration of those fruits and of those harvests which the locusts
consumed. You cannot have back your time; but there is a strange and wonderful
way in which God can give back to you the wasted blessings, the unripened
fruits of years over which you mourned. The fruits of wasted years may yet be
yours." (Spurgeon)
It will be during the 1000-year
reign of Christ Jesus on the earth with His Throne in Jerusalem that He will be
in the midst of Israel and the land will flourish like never before.
[Mic 4:1-4, 7 NASB] 1
And it will come about in the last days That the mountain of the house of the
LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains. It will be raised above
the hills, And the peoples will stream to it. 2 Many nations will come and say,
"Come and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD And to the house of the
God of Jacob, That He may teach us about His ways And that we may walk in His
paths." For from Zion will go forth the law, Even the word of the LORD
from Jerusalem. 3 And He will judge between many peoples And render decisions
for mighty, distant nations. Then they will hammer their swords into plowshares
And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation will not lift up sword against
nation, And never again will they train for war. 4 Each of them will sit under
his vine And under his fig tree, With no one to make them afraid, For the mouth
of the LORD of hosts has spoken. ... 7 "I will make the lame a remnant And
the outcasts a strong nation, And the LORD will reign over them in Mount Zion
From now on and forever.
[Joe 2:28-29 NASB] 28 "It will come about
after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and
daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will
see visions. 29 "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My
Spirit in those days.
“The Old
Testament has a rich record of the work of the Spirit, but He was not poured
out on all flesh under the Old Covenant. Instead, certain men were filled with
the Spirit at certain times and only for certain duties. It was rather
selective:
- Joseph was
filled with the Spirit of God (Genesis 41:38)
- The craftsmen
who built the tabernacle were filled with the Spirit of God (Exodus 31:3)
- Joshua was
filled with the Spirit of God (Numbers 27:18)
- The judge
Othniel was filled with the Spirit of God (Judges 3:10)
- The judge
Gideon was filled with the Spirit of God (Judges 6:34)
- The judge
Jephthah was filled with the Spirit of God (Judges 11:29)
- The judge
Samson was filled with the Spirit of God (Judges 13:5, 14:6, 14:19, 15:14)
- Saul was filled
with the Spirit of God (1 Samuel 10:9-10)
- David was
filled with the Spirit of God (1 Samuel 16:13)”
(Guzik)
In Joel 2:28-29
the prophet tells us that there will be a time when God will pour out His Holy
Spirit upon all mankind. This did not begin until after Jesus was resurrected
and ascended into heaven.
[Jhn 16:7 NASB] 7 "But
I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not
go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
This first
outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurred on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1:4-5).
[Act 2:17-18 NASB] 17 'AND
IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,' God says, 'THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT
ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG
MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; 18 EVEN ON MY
BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT
And they shall prophesy.
Both Jew and
Gentile, male and female, young and old were endued with power from on high to
be Jesus witnesses throughout the world.
[Act 1:8 NASB] 8 but you
will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My
witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the
remotest part of the earth."
This outpouring
of the Holy Spirit continues throughout the New Testament. But for Israel, it
will not be complete until the Lord returns.
[Joe 2:30-31 NASB] 30 "I will display wonders
in the sky and on the earth, Blood, fire and columns of smoke. 31 "The sun
will be turned into darkness And the moon into blood Before the great and
awesome day of the LORD comes
Verses 30 and 31
associate this outpouring of the Holy Spirit with the great and awesome day of
the Lord. These are the days as the Lord breaks open the 6th seal of
the great scroll just before the 7 years of tribulation begin (before the great
and awesome day of the Lord comes).
[Rev 6:12 NASB] 12 I looked
when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun
became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;
There is a hint
here that at this point in history, there might be a second and perhaps last
outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon mankind in general. This later day (Autumn)
outpouring might very well be associated with a day of Pentecost as an
equipping for the last season of the ingathering of souls into the Kingdom of
God; the days of testing and judgment before the Lord returns.
32 "And it will come about that whoever calls
on the name of the LORD Will be delivered; For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there
will be those who escape, As the LORD has said, Even among the survivors whom
the LORD calls.
Finally, Joel
reassures us that even in these days of darkness before the final day of the great
and awesome days of the Lord when He returns to the earth as King of kings,
those that call upon the name of the Lord will be delivered, for on Mount Zion
(in Israel) there will be survivors, those who escape the punishment of the
wicked and are saved.
[Rev 12:11 NASB] 11
"And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the
word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with
death.
Judgment in the valley of decision – A warning to the nations
Chapter 3
[Joe 3:1-3 NASB] 1 "For behold, in those days
and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
Joel chapter 3
begins by taking us to a time when God begins to restore the fortunes of Judah
and Jerusalem. This last day’s restoration began when God began to bring Jews
back into the land of Israel after being exiled for almost 2000 years. This
return began in 1917 with the Balfour Accord and is continuing to this day.
Today we find Israel restored as a nation, prosperous, and a great military
force in the Middle East. This was all prophesied by the prophet Ezekiel
(Ezekiel 36 and 37).
2 I will gather all the nations And bring them down
to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there
On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered
among the nations; And they have divided up My land. 3 "They have also
cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a harlot And sold a girl for wine
that they may drink.
"There is no
such valley in the land of Judea; and hence the name must be symbolical.
It signifies the judgment of God, or Jehovah judgeth."
(Clarke)
God’s judgment
will come upon all the nations that have mistreated His people, Israel (the
Jews), scattered them among the nations, and divided up the land of Israel.
This mistreatment has gone to the extreme, considering Jews as worthless,
cheap, and undesirable to the point of wanting to completely exterminate them.
These are the nations that God is going to bring down to the valley of judgment. A good question to ponder is, what current
nations have or are mistreating Jews, divided or are presently trying to divide
the land of Israel, or have scattered Jews among the nations?
“In the judgment of the nations Jesus described in Matthew 25:31-46, the criteria is not faith in
Jesus Christ but how the nations have treated the people of Israel - the brethren
of Jesus. Held on the earth after His return in glory, this judgment determines
who is allowed to enter into the Millennial Earth, and who goes straight to
judgment.” (Guzik)
[Joe 3:4-8 NASB]
4 "Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of
Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me,
swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head. 5 "Since
you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your
temples, 6 and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to
remove them far from their territory, 7 behold, I am going to arouse them from
the place where you have sold them, and return your recompense on your head. 8
"Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons
of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation,"
for the LORD has spoken.
God is challenging the nations to come against Him or His people. To
those that dare, God promises to return their retaliation upon their own heads.
God’s judgment is very logical. Those that reject the saving grace of Jesus
will receive what they deserve before the court of Heaven.
Trapp details the horrors that befell the ten Emperors of the Roman
Empire that persecuted Christians:
“- Nero lost 30,000 of his subjects by pestilence, had his armies
utterly defeated in Britain, suffered a revolution in Armenia, and was so hated
by the senators of Rome that they forced him to kill himself
- Domitian was butchered by his own soldiers
- Trajan died of a foul disease
- Severus died miserably on a military campaign in Britain
- Maximus was cut in pieces, together with his own son
- Decius died as an exile in a far country
- Valerian was whipped to death by the King of Persia who captured
him
- Aurelian was killed by his own soldiers
- Dioclesian poisoned himself
- Maximum hanged himself” (Trapp)
The fate of world leaders and nations that are currently persecuting
Jews, attempting to divide the land of Israel, or even financially dealing
wrongly with them is surely going to be very unpleasant in the days to come.
[Joe 3:9-12 NASB] 9 Proclaim this among the
nations: Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men! Let all the soldiers draw near,
let them come up! 10 Beat your plowshares into swords And your pruning hooks
into spears; Let the weak say, "I am a mighty man." 11 Hasten and
come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, O
LORD, Your mighty ones. 12 Let the nations be aroused And come up to the valley
of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations.
Here God is calling the nations to prepare for the final battles,
the battles of Armageddon.
[Rev
16:12-16 NASB] 12 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river, the
Euphrates; and its water was dried up, so that the way would be prepared for
the kings from the east. 13 And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon and
out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three
unclean spirits like frogs; 14 for they are spirits of demons, performing
signs, which go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them together
for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. 15 ("Behold, I am
coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake and keeps his clothes,
so that he will not walk about naked and men will not see his shame.") 16
And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called
Har-Magedon. (Megiddo)
[Dan
11:40-45 NASB] 40 "At the end time the king of the South will collide with
him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with
horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and
pass through. 41 "He will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many
countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and
the foremost of the sons of Ammon. 42 "Then he will stretch out his hand
against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. 43 "But he
will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the
precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels.
44 "But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will
go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many. 45 "He will
pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy
Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.
The nations that will be involved in these final battles will
include kings from the east, the king of the South, the king of the North,
Egypt, and Libia. Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon or Jordan seem to left out
of these final battles, the battles of Armageddon.
“ Megiddo is in a
region frequently associated with decisive battles: Deborah over Sisera (Judges
5:19); Gideon over the Midianites (Judges 7); Pharaoh over Josiah (2 Kings
23:29; 2 Chronicles 35:22). It is also a place of end-times mourning (Zechariah
12:11).
The vast Valley of Megiddo has seen tremendous
battles through the centuries. Over 200 battles have been fought in the region,
from 1468 b.c. (with Pharaoh Tuthmosis III) to 1917 (with Lord Allenby of the
British).
It is best to see the place as literal, as the
region of Megiddo and the valley of Esdraelon. Revelation 16:14, 17:14 and 19:19 described
an organized battle that must center somewhere, even if it extends much
further.” (Guzik)
As Satan attempts
to establish his kingdom through the terrible destruction of these final
battles, God laughs!
[Psa 2:1-6 NASB] 1 Why are
the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of
the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the
LORD and against His Anointed, saying, 3 "Let us tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!" 4 He who sits in the heavens laughs,
The Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify
them in His fury, saying, 6 "But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon
Zion, My holy mountain."
[Joe 3:13 NASB] 13 Put in the sickle, for the
harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow,
for their wickedness is great.
This is the fate
and judgment of the nations at Armageddon.
[Rev 14:18-20 NASB] 18 Then
another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he
called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Put in
your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because
her grapes are ripe." 19 So the angel swung his sickle to the earth and
gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great
wine press of the wrath of God. 20 And the wine press was trodden outside the
city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses' bridles, for a
distance of two hundred miles.
[Joe 3:14-17 NASB] 14 Multitudes, multitudes in the
valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
15 The sun and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness. 16 The LORD
roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens and the
earth tremble. But the LORD is a refuge for His people And a stronghold to the
sons of Israel. 17 Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in
Zion, My holy mountain. So Jerusalem will be holy, And strangers will pass
through it no more.
As the day of the Lord draws near, indeed multitudes are in the
valley of decision. Today is the day when one must decide to believe in and follow
Jesus. When the world reaches the battles of Armageddon, it will be too late.
It is not God who does the deciding. Megiddo is a place of God’s judgment.
Those involved are thrown into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
On earth, there will be a great trembling (earthquakes), and
darkness. There will be cosmic cataclysmic events as mentioned in Joel 3:30-31.
Yet in the midst of it all, the Lord will be a refuge for His people, the sons
of Israel. And the world will know that Jesus is Lord dwelling in Zion and
Jerusalem will once again be holy.
[Joe 3:18-21 NASB] 18 And in that day The mountains
will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the
brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house
of the LORD To water the valley of Shittim. 19 Egypt will become a waste, And
Edom will become a desolate wilderness, Because of the violence done to the
sons of Judah, In whose land they have shed innocent blood. 20 But Judah will
be inhabited forever And Jerusalem for all generations. 21 And I will avenge
their blood which I have not avenged, For the LORD dwells in Zion.
Joel 3 ends with the restoration and blessings that come to the Jews
and Israel after the final battle and the Lord’s return to establish His
physical Kingdom on earth. God fulfills His covenant promise He gave to Israel
to give them a land flowing with milk and honey. A land flourishing with water.
And water flowing like a spring going out from the house of the Lord (Ezek 47,
Zech 14:8).
[Jer 11:5
NASB] 5 in order to confirm the oath which I swore to your forefathers, to give
them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day."'" Then I
said, "Amen, O LORD."
[Jer
32:22 NASB] 22 and gave them this land, which You swore to their forefathers to
give them, a land flowing with milk and honey.
[Zec 14:8
NASB] 8 And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them
toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in
summer as well as in winter.
“The Valley of
Acacias (Valley of Shittim) was a place associated with both failure and
victory. It is located on the eastern side of the Jordan River, to the north of
the Dead Sea. It was where the King of Moab sent his young women to the men of
Israel to seduce them into idolatry and sexual immorality (Numbers 25:1-3). It was also the
launching place for the armies of Israel when they set out against Jericho and
Canaan in the days of Joshua (Joshua 2:1 and 3:1). When water from the house of the
LORD flows down to the valley of Acacias, then God's grace and provision covers
the past - every sin, every victory is covered over by Him.” (Guzik)
Joel’s prophecy begins with the destruction of wars, but it ends with
redemption, restoration, and the fulfillment of God’s covenants with the
Hebrews (the Abrahamic Covenant). It ends with the beginning of the Millennial
reign of Christ Jesus on the earth with His Throne in Jerusalem.
We note
that all of these prophecies in Joel, Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Isaiah, and
others dealing with the “day of the Lord” are dealing with Israel and the
Hebrews. Conspicuously absent is the true Church. These days are the days of
the wrath of God and the true Church will be kept out of (Greek, ek; out of,
from, away from) His wrath. The Church is not destined for His wrath.
How will God keep His Church out of the events of the terrible “day
of the Lord”? The Lord is coming to meet His Church in the air in a great
“catching away” before His wrath is released upon the earth.
For the true Church:
·
He has not appointed His Church to wrath (1
Thessalonians 5:9). The Great
Tribulation is defined as the time of the wrath of God. Also, we see the Church gathered out of every
nation before the throne and before the Lamb in the seventh chapter of
Revelation (Revelation. 7:9).
·
He shall keep us from the hour of trial that is to come
upon the whole earth (Revelation 3:10).
·
The Lord Himself will come for the Church (1
Thessalonians 4:16-17), but angels will gather the Elect, or Remnant of Israel
at the coming of the Lord (Matthew 24:30-44).
·
Our hope, our joy, our crown of rejoicing is that we are
in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming (1 Thessalonians 2:19).
·
With
the trump of God, we who are alive shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the
air (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
·
Other indications supporting the catching away of the
Church:
·
The Church is mentioned 19 times in the first 3 chapters
of Revelation. From chapter 4 to 19,
there is not one mention of the Church.
From 19 on the Church is described as participating in the Marriage
Supper of the Lamb, and as being the Bride of Christ, with Him in Heaven.
·
God has not appointed the Church to wrath (1
Thessalonians 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10).
·
The Man of Lawlessness, Antichrist, cannot be revealed
until He who restrains is taken out of the way (2 Thessalonians 2:1-9). The true satanic nature of the antichrist is
revealed when he seats himself in the Temple of God, claiming to be God and
demanding to be worshiped. This
restraining is related to "our gathering together unto Him" (vs. 1)
and the "He" is the Church (the body of Christ, the one new man)
functioning as the restrainer of lawlessness (John 16:8-11). Thus the Church
must be removed before Antichrist can be revealed.
·
Jesus taught the Rapture of the Church. Jesus said, "Whoever believes in Me,
although he may die, yet shall he live.
And whoever continues to live (to the time of my coming) and believe on
Me shall never die at all (John 11:25-26).
·
Paul taught that:
1) Not all Christians will die.
2) Before those who are alive are Raptured, Christ will raise the dead
in Christ into incorruptible new bodies.
3) It will be an instantaneous event.
4) The Rapture will occur at the blowing of the last trumpet (Rosh
HaShanah). 5) All believers will be
changed, their mortal earthly bodies changed into incorruptible, immortal
bodies (1 Corinthians 15:51-54).
·
Old Testament promises of protection in the Day of
Trouble or Wrath: Psalms 27:5; 91:8;
Noah, Gen 6; Zephaniah 2:3; Isaiah 26:20; Lot, Gen 19:15-16 and many others.
What all of this tells
us is that there is going to be a Rapture! The dead in Christ will rise first
then we who are alive will rise to meet the Lord in the air (not on the earth).
We will arise in our new, imperishable bodies. This catching away of the true
Church will occur before the wrath of God is poured out upon the wicked on
earth. It will occur before the Antichrist is revealed but possibly after the
tribulation of the first five seals of Revelation 6. We suspect that it does not happen before the
sixth seal because the fifth seal tells us that many believers are being killed
for their faith during the first five seals. It will probably happen before or
during the great earthquake of the sixth seal of Revelation 6. This earthquake
is an indication that the time of the Wrath of God has come (Rev 6:16-17). It
will probably occur on and be a fulfillment of, the Feast of Trumpets. It
occurs during the fall of the year. It is the true Church’s hope of glory and
its finest hour. We are going to the wedding of King Jesus and His Bride, the
true Church. We are going to our wedding. The true Church becomes Queen of
Heaven, the wife of the King and we will sit with Him on His Throne (Rev 3:21)
to reign with Him for all eternity.
Therefore
comfort, encourage, and build up one another with these words.
(1 Thes. 4:18)
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