This week we’re continuing our series on Joel with a survey of Chapter 2, the heart of Joel’s prophecy.  (By the way, the Jewish Feast of Hanukkah began on December  11th.  For our study on this eight day Festival go to http://gracethrufaith.com/selah/holidays-and-holy-days/the-feast-of-hanukkah-history-and-prophecy/ )  Now let’s turn to Joel 2.

Blow the trumpet in Zion;  sound the alarm on my holy hill.  Let all who live in the land tremble,  for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand- a day of darkness and gloom,  a day of clouds and blackness.  Like dawn spreading across the mountains  a large and mighty army comes,  such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come. (Joel 2:1-2)

The End of the Age is finally arriving.  The phrase “Blow the Trumpet in Zion” indicates there’s an Old Covenant keeping remnant of Jews in the promised land. The sound of a trumpet can mean either great news or terrible news in Israel.  In this case,  the phrase “the Day of the Lord is coming” means it’s the most terrible news imaginable.  Any more references to locusts are now symbolic of the judgment that’s coming upon the whole world, to test those who who live on the Earth.  The Lord has promised to keep the Church out of both the time and place of this event (1 Thes. 1:10 & Rev. 3:10) but no such promise has been made to Israel, and certainly not to the unbelieving world, which is about to be totally destroyed.

Before them fire devours, behind them a flame blazes.  Before them the land is like the garden of Eden,  behind them, a desert waste—  nothing escapes them. They have the appearance of horses; they gallop along like cavalry.  With a noise like that of chariots  they leap over the mountaintops,  like a crackling fire consuming stubble,  like a mighty army drawn up for battle. At the sight of them, nations are in anguish; every face turns pale. (Joel 2:3-6)

In Rev. 8-9 we read of the Trumpet judgments and encounter wording so similar it might have been lifted from the pages of Joel 2.  All the grass of the land is burned up (Rev. 8:7) The locusts have the appearance of horses (Rev. 9:7)  and make a noise like that of chariots (Rev. 9:9) as they leap over the mountain tops.  Men are in anguish and every face turns pale (Rev. 9:6).

They charge like warriors;  they scale walls like soldiers.  They all march in line,  not swerving from their course.  They do not jostle each other;  each marches straight ahead.  They plunge through defenses  without breaking ranks.  They rush upon the city;  they run along the wall.  They climb into the houses; like thieves they enter through the windows.  Before them the earth shakes,  the sky trembles,  the sun and moon are darkened, and the stars no longer shine.  The LORD thunders  at the head of his army;  his forces are beyond number, and mighty are those who obey his command. The day of the LORD is great;  it is dreadful.  Who can endure it? (Joel 2:7-11)

In his book “The Late Great Planet Earth” Hal Lindsey saw Rev. 9 as John’s attempt to describe fleets of attack helicopters filling the skies above the battle ground.  Our exposure to war movies makes this easy to imagine, and we can almost hear their unique ground thumping sound as they swoop in to release another barrage of rockets.  Their number is so great that just the sound of them makes the Earth tremble, and they blot out the sun and moon (Rev. 9:2).  John gave the number of mounted troops they support as 200 million (Rev. 9:16) an incredible force.  Before they’re finished 1/3 of mankind will die (Rev. 9:18). And this is just the beginning.  The full fury of God’s wrath will be released in His final effort, the Bowl Judgments.

Some incorrectly interpret the Bowl judgments as the only time of God’s wrath, but that’s not how John described it.  He said that the wrath will begin with the Seal Judgments (Rev. 6:17) and will be completed with the Bowl Judgments (Rev. 15:1), not begun there.  By the time He’s finished the nations to which His people have been dispersed will have been completely destroyed (Jere.30:11) all the cities of the world will have been reduced to rubble (Rev. 16:19) and every island and mountain will have disappeared (Rev. 16:20)

I believe that one purpose of the Tribulation judgments will be to return Earth to the condition it was in when God created it, in preparation for the Millennium. The elimination of the mountains and islands may point to the reversal of changes brought about in the Great Flood. Psalm 104:8 says the flood waters flowed over the mountains and down into the valleys God prepared for them.  Some scholars interpret this to mean that at the time of the Great Flood, the mountains were raised up and the valley floors depressed to make room for all the water generated in the flood. Those deep valleys are now the floors of the sea.

Perhaps this act will be reversed, eliminating the high mountains and raising up valley floors.  And if the continents are brought back together into one land mass, as some scholars speculate they once were, there will be no islands, either.  Looking at a map of the continents, you can see how they’re shaped in such a way as to hint that they may have all been joined together in the distant past.  Scholars have named this single land mass Pangea, which means All-Earth, or One World.  Some believe that Genesis 1:9 describes Pangea and that Genesis 11:25 says it was divided into the seven continents we know after the flood.

Isaiah 65:20 hints at the return of long life spans, such as was the case in the earliest days.  This was made possible by a water vapor canopy that surrounded the Earth until the Flood. (Genesis 1:6-8)    Since Rev. 21:1 says there’ll be no more sea, this water could likely be used to restore the canopy.

If all this is true, then passages like this one from Habakkuk are not just poetic license but are describing very scary times ahead.

He stood, and shook the earth;  he looked, and made the nations tremble.  The ancient mountains crumbled  and the age-old hills collapsed.  His ways are eternal. (Habakkuk 3:6)

Rend Your Heart
“Even now,” declares the LORD,  “return to me with all your heart,  with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

Rend your heart  and not your garments.  Return to the LORD your God,  for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love,  and he relents from sending calamity.  Who knows? He may turn and have pity  and leave behind a blessing—  grain offerings and drink offerings  for the LORD your God. (Joel 2:12-14)

Even in wrath God remembers mercy (Habakkuk 3:2).  In the midst of judgment, all we have to do is admit our sin and seek His forgiveness.  Some form of the phrase “slow to anger and abounding in love” appears eight times in the Old Testament.  Eight is the number of new beginnings, meaning the Lord is always ready to start over with us.  His mercies are new every morning. (Lament. 3:22-23)

Blow the trumpet in Zion,  declare a holy fast, call a sacred assembly.  Gather the people,  consecrate the assembly;  bring together the elders,  gather the children,  those nursing at the breast.  Let the bridegroom leave his room  and the bride her chamber.  Let the priests, who minister before the LORD, weep between the temple porch and the altar.  Let them say, “Spare your people, O LORD. Do not make your inheritance an object of scorn,  a byword among the nations.  Why should they say among the peoples,  ‘Where is their God?’ ” (Joel 2:15-17)

This will be a time for every man, woman, and child to petition the Lord for mercy. From the elders to the nursing babies, and every one in between.  Not even the bride and bridegroom sequestered in their bridal chamber will be exempt.  The priests ministering in the Temple will stop what they’re doing and beg the Lord to spare them.

“Come, let us return to the LORD,” they’ll say.  “He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.  After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.  Let us acknowledge the LORD;  let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises,  he will appear;  he will come to us like the winter rains,  like the spring rains that water the earth.” (Hosea 6:1-3)

The LORD’s Answer
Then the LORD will be jealous for his land  and take pity on his people.  The LORD will reply to them: “I am sending you grain, new wine and oil,  enough to satisfy you fully;  never again will I make you  an object of scorn to the nations. I will drive the northern army far from you,  pushing it into a parched and barren land,  with its front columns going into the eastern (Dead) sea  and those in the rear into the western (Mediterranean) sea.  And its stench will go up;  its smell will rise.”

Surely he has done great things. (Joel 2:18-20)

If this judgment were left to run to its logical concllusion, not a single soul would survive, but for the sake of His elect, the Lord will bring it to an end (Matt. 24:22)  Locust plagues move in the direction and at the speed of the wind.  They typically end when the swarms are blown into the desert or out to sea.  It’s an act of God, and that’s how Joel characterizes the end of the Great Tribulation.

Be not afraid, O land;  be glad and rejoice.  Surely the LORD has done great things. Be not afraid, O wild animals,  for the open pastures are becoming green.  The trees are bearing their fruit;  the fig tree and the vine yield their riches. Be glad, O people of Zion,  rejoice in the LORD your God,  for he has given you  the autumn rains in righteousness.   He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains, as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain;  the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. (Joel 2:18-24)

In the Kingdom Age the land will once again be plentiful.  And though He has shaken the mountains and removed the hills, the Lord’s unfailing love for them will never be shaken, nor His peace removed. (Isaiah 54:10)

“I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten—  the great locust and the young locust,  the other locusts and the locust swarm — my great army that I sent among you.  You will have plenty to eat, until you are full,  and you will praise the name of the LORD your God,  who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.  Then you will know that I am in Israel, that I am the LORD your God, and that there is no other; never again will my people be shamed. (Joel 2:25-27)

The Lord will restore Israel to its former glory as the pre-imminent nation on Earth. Instead of disgrace  His people will rejoice in their inheritance. They will inherit a double portion in their land and everlasting joy will be theirs. (Isaiah 59:7)

The Day of the LORD
“And afterward,  I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and daughters will prophesy,  your old men will dream dreams,  your young men will see visions.  Even on my servants, both men and women,  I will pour out my Spirit in those days.  I will show wonders in the heavens  and on the earth, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness  and the moon to blood  before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD.And everyone who calls  on the name of the LORD will be saved;  for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem  there will be deliverance,  as the LORD has said,  among the survivors  whom the LORD calls. (Joel 2:28-32)

This prophecy achieved only a partial fulfillment on the day of Pentecost when the Church was born (Acts 2:17-21) and the Holy Spirit was given.  Its ultimate fulfillment awaits the time when the Sun turns to darkness again and the Moon becomes blood red before the coming of the great and dreadful Day of the Lord (Rev. 6:12).  Once more the Lord will pour out His Spirit  and everyone who calls upon the His name will be saved.

We’ll conclude this study next week.  See you then.

Blow the trumpet in Zion;  sound the alarm on my holy hill.  Let all who live in the land tremble,  for the day of the LORD is coming. (Joel 2:1)

Joel could be called the unknown prophet because outside of his three chapter book and one reference in Acts 2:16 there’s not much said about him anywhere. Not in the Bible and not in the history books.  His father Pethuel (the name means vision of God) was unknown as well.  In the absence of fact scholars rush in with opinion but there’s no consensus among them as to when Joel wrote his book.  Some say it was in the 9th Century BC and others claim it was 300 years later, after the return from Babylon.  Interpreting Joel’s book of prophecy doesn’t depend upon knowing the correct date of its publication so we won’t get into that debate except to say that what little evidence there is favors the early date, around 850 BC.  The Book of Joel must have carried a lot of weight right from the beginning, because it appears from their writings that Amos, Micah, Zephaniah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel all borrowed phrases from it.

There is agreement that  Joel was speaking to what would become the Southern Kingdom, seeing the massive locust plague and severe drought that were devastating Judah at the time as a model of the Great Tribulation. Therefore his message is one of repentance, comparing the locusts to armies sent by the Lord to judge the nation for its sins.  Unlike some contemporary scholars who see the Day of the Lord as being a time of judgment upon the Gentiles while bringing deliverance for Israel, Joel knew that the unfaithful of Israel would be taken to task as well.  Only following their judgment would Israel be restored.  This is consistent with Jeremiah’s later admonition that although the nations will be completely destroyed during the Great Tribulation, Israel will not go entirely unpunished but will be disciplined (Jere. 30:11).  And Zechariah compared the Day of the Lord to a refiners fire, by which Israel’s impurities will be removed before the Kingdom age begins. (Zech. 13:9).

With that brief introduction, let’ see what Joel has to say to Israel at the End of the Age.

Joel 1, An Invasion Of Locusts
The word of the LORD that came to Joel son of Pethuel. Hear this, you elders; listen, all who live in the land.  Has anything like this ever happened in your days  or in the days of your forefathers? Tell it to your children,  and let your children tell it to their children,  and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:1-3)

Joel’s name means “The Lord is God” and he opened by claiming that what we’re about to read are the Lord’s own words, flowing through Joel’s pen.  The Lord commanded the first generation of readers to pass this along through those who would follow.

What the locust swarm has left  the great locusts have eaten;  what the great locusts have left the young locusts have eaten; what the young locusts have left other locusts have eaten. (Joel 1:4)

There are 24,000 varieties of locusts, some up to 10” long, and they live for 6-7 years.  Some unexplained hormone change causes them to swarm unexpectedly. When that happens they don’t really fly but are carried on the wind, completely divesting the place they land on of every trace of vegetation before being carried off again. People who’ve experienced a locust plague claim the swarms are so large and so dense they darken the sun, and at night as you lie in bed you can actually hear them chewing outside your window.

 

While the exact meaning of the Hebrew here is unclear, it appears to be describing four different  kinds of locusts, coming one after the other until there’s nothing left.

We’re going to resist the temptation to allegorize this plague as some commentators do, seeing the four kinds of locusts as being representative of the four Gentile Kingdoms that eventually brought about the disappearance of Israel. It’s pretty clear that in the beginning Joel was describing the devastation of an actual plague of locusts.  But rest assured, he’ll be talking about the End of the Age soon enough.

The Drunks
Wake up, you drunkards, and weep!  Wail, all you drinkers of wine;  wail because of the new wine,  for it has been snatched from your lips. A nation has invaded my land,  powerful and without number;  it has the teeth of a lion,  the fangs of a lioness.  It has laid waste my vines  and ruined my fig trees.  It has stripped off their bark  and thrown it away, leaving their branches white.  Mourn like a virgin in sackcloth grieving for the husband of her youth. (Joel 1:5-8)

The crops will be completely destroyed, and those who habitually consume them will mourn like a bride-to-be grieving over the loss of her betrothed, all the hopes and dreams of marriage snatched away before even one of them comes true. This was considered to be one of the most severe kinds of emotional loss, and the drinkers of wine would experience that same feeling when they saw the crops destroyed without warning before they got a single taste.

The Priests
Grain offerings and drink offerings are cut off from the house of the LORD.  The priests are in mourning,  those who minister before the LORD.  The fields are ruined, the ground is dried up; the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails. (Joel 1:9-10)

The grain offering was a voluntary act of worship in recognition of God’s goodness and provision.  The drink offering accompanied the twice daily burnt offering given for the general protection of the people. The locust plague made these daily offerings impossible, preventing the people from expressing their worship of the Lord. At opposite ends of the social spectrum, the priests would mourn their inability to worship, just as the drunks mourned their inability to imbibe.

The Farmers
Despair, you farmers,  wail, you vine growers;  grieve for the wheat and the barley,  because the harvest of the field is destroyed. The vine is dried up  and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, the palm and the apple tree— all the trees of the field—are dried up. Surely the joy of mankind is withered away.(Joel 1:11-12)

Farmers were the most directly affected, the fruit of their labor destroyed before it could replenish their depleted stores or  be exchanged for compensation. A whole year’s work for naught. Some would not even have sufficient grain for seed, making the next harvest unlikely as well.

These three groups are meant to be representative of the entire community, from the lowest to the highest and everyone in between. No one would emerge from this unscathed.

A Call to Repentance
Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn;  wail, you who minister before the altar.  Come, spend the night in sackcloth,  you who minister before my God;  for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.

Declare a holy fast;  call a sacred assembly.  Summon the elders  and all who live in the land  to the house of the LORD your God,  and cry out to the LORD.  Alas for that day!  For the day of the LORD is near;  it will come like destruction from the Almighty. (Joel 1:13-15)

The transition has been made.  Having begun by describing a plague of locusts Joel now sees the coming Day of the Lord, and calls everyone to fast and pray.

Has not the food been cut off before our very eyes— joy and gladness from the house of our God?  The seeds are shriveled beneath the clods.  The storehouses are in ruins, the granaries have been broken down,  for the grain has dried up. How the cattle moan! The herds mill about because they have no pasture;  even the flocks of sheep are suffering.  To you, O LORD, I call,  for fire has devoured the open pastures  and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.  Even the wild animals pant for you;  the streams of water have dried up  and fire has devoured the open pastures. (Joel 1:16-20)

At the outset of Daniel’s 70th week the anti-Christ will make his initial appearance  as the rider on a white horse (Rev. 6:2).  He’ll come to power in the guise of a peacemaker (Daniel 8:28) following the Battle of Ezekiel 38-39, and will fool everyone. But it’s a big lie and while people are saying “Peace and safety” destruction will come upon them suddenly and they will not escape. (1 Thes. 5:3)  With the arrival of the rider on the red horse peace will be taken from the Earth and war will suddenly break out again.  (Rev. 6:4)

This will bring a time of famine in the midst of plenty. There’ll be shortages almost everywhere.  As if that isn’t bad enough, runaway inflation will price even those foods that can be found out of the reach of many. It’ll take an average day’s wages just to feed one person. (Rev. 6:6)  Those who can’t support themselves will be left to starve with no one able to help them.  Then, as the Trumpet Judgments begin, one third of of the trees and all the green grass will go up in smoke (Rev. 7:7) destroying the animals’ pastureland.

War also renders public health services ineffective.  Sanitation facilities stop working. Power and water longer flow.  Hospitals can’t handle the burden so disease runs rampant, causing even more death.    The Great Tribulation is still ahead and yet in 1/4th  of the world, millions of people will have already died from the wars, famine, and  plagues.  Even the wild animals will be going crazy from lack of food and water, brazenly attacking humans for sustenance. (Rev. 6:8).  This is no longer a mere plague of locusts that happened 29 centuries ago. This is the run up to the Day of the Lord, and we’re the generation for whom Joel’s warning is intended.  Stay tuned, there’s plenty more ahead.